Sturmmann

Sturmmann ([ˈʃtʊʁm.man], lit. 'Storm man') was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in the year 1921. The rank of Sturmmann was used by the Sturmabteilung (SA) and the Schutzstaffel (SS).

Sturmmann
SS Gorget patch
SS Shoulder and sleeve insignia
Country	Nazi Germany
Service branch	Hitler Youth National Socialist Motor Corps National Socialist Flyers Corps Schutzstaffel Sturmabteilung
Formation	1921
Abolished	1945
Next higher rank	Rottenführer
Next lower rank	Oberschütze (Waffen-SS) Mann (Allgemeine SS and SA)
Equivalent ranks	Gefreiter

The word originated during World War I when Sturmmann was a position held by soldiers in German pioneer assault companies, also known as "shock troops".

Creation

Following the defeat of Germany in 1918, Sturmmann became a paramilitary rank of the Freikorps, violent groups of military veterans who opposed Germany's loss of World War I and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles.

In 1921, Sturmmann became a paramilitary title of the Nazi Party's private army, the Sturmabteilung (SA or "Assault Detachment").[1] Sturmmann would eventually become a basic paramilitary rank of almost every Nazi organization, but is most closely associated as an SA rank and as a rank of the SS.

The rank of Sturmmann was bestowed upon those members of the SA and SS who had served for six months in the organization and had demonstrated basic abilities and competence.[2]

Use

SS-Sturmmann Gerardus Mooyman

Final ranks to enlisted men until 1945

Waffen-SS	Heer (Army)	Luftwaffe (Air Force)	Kriegsmarine (Navy)
SS-Schütze	Soldat	Flieger	Matrose
SS-Oberschütze	Oberschütze
SS-Sturmmann	Gefreiter		Matrosengefreiter
SS-Rottenführer	Obergefreiter		Matrosenobergefreiter
No equivalent		Hauptgefreiter	Matrosenhauptgefreiter
No equivalent	Stabsgefreiter		Matrosenstabsgefreiter
No equivalent			Matrosenoberstabsgefreiter

Sturmmann was senior to the rank of Mann in the Allgemeine-SS.[3] In organizations which did not use the rank of Mann (such as the National Socialist Motor Corps), the rank of Sturmmann was the equivalent of a private and wore a blank collar patch with no insignia.[4] Within the Waffen-SS, an SS-Sturmmann was senior to an SS-Oberschütze.[3]

The rank of Sturmmann was junior, in both the SS and SA, to the rank of Rottenführer.[1][3] It was considered the equivalent to the rank of Gefreiter in the German Army and a lance-corporal in the British Army.[5] The insignia for Sturmmann consisted of a bare collar patch with a single silver stripe.[4] The field grey uniforms of the Waffen-SS also displayed the sleeve chevron of a Gefreiter.

Insignia

• 
  Shoulder strap in Feldgrau
  (all other enlisted ranks OR-1 to OR-3 of the Waffen-SS)
• 
  SS Gorget patches
• 
  SS Sleeve badge
• 
  SA gorget patch
• 
  NSKK gorget patch
• 
  NSFK gorget patch

Post-war use

The term and rank has not been used in Germany since World War II.

See also

• Table of ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS

Junior rank SS-Mann	Rank Allgemeine SS SS-Sturmmann	Senior rank SS-Rottenführer
Junior ranks SS-Oberschütze	Rank Waffen-SS SS-Sturmmann	Senior rank SS-Rottenführer
Junior rank SA-Mann	SA rank SA-Sturmmann	Senior rank SA-Rottenführer
Junior rank Oberschütze also Oberkanonier Obergrenadier (from 1942) Oberpionier Oberfahrer Oberfunker, etc.	Rank Wehrmacht (Heer) Gefreiter	Senior rank Obergefreiter[3]

Notes

1. McNab 2009b, p. 15.
2. Lumsden 2000, p. 109.
3. McNab 2009, p. 30.
4. Flaherty 2004, p. 148.
5. Stein 1984, p. 297.

Bibliography

• Flaherty, T. H. (2004) [1988]. The Third Reich: The SS. Time-Life Books, Inc. ISBN 1 84447 073 3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Lumsden, Robin (2000). A Collector's Guide To: The Waffen–SS. Ian Allan Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-7110-2285-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• McNab, Chris (2009). The SS: 1923–1945. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906626-49-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• McNab, Chris (2009b). The Third Reich. Amber Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-906626-51-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Stein, George (1984) [1966]. The Waffen-SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War 1939–1945. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-9275-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)