Training
If your knowledge about training and doctrine came from the two Zuber books, my opinion is that it is best to try to flush all that out . We will get to what he calls” doctrine” later. But as far as training goes we have two completely divergent views. He stresses homogeneous training for the entire army. I contend that this was totally fouled up and that each army corps conformed to what the corps commander wanted. There were wildly different standards in the inspections for each corps.
The superiority of German training has been discussed in many books without providing an understanding of the cyclical nature of training in these units. There was a general expectation from a calendar perspective of how the soldier would train. Taking a look at the two-year service cycle, we have to overlay it on the annual calendar. In calendar year one, the new inductee would undergo somewhat different training than the second year “old soldiers.” In the middle of October after harvest, those selected to begin their military service would report into their units. The starting date was known as the Einstellungstag. These brand-new soldiers were treated as recruits for 15 weeks in a period of basic training known as Rekrutenschule. Instruction included drill, hygiene, physical training, and dry fire marksmanship.
There were weekly training exercises in the countryside where the weight of the pack was increased gradually until it reached approximately 60 pounds. During this time, second-year soldiers also underwent a period of individual training and weapons drill. This training was known as Exerzierausbildung. The junior lieutenant in the company was responsible for the individual training that was conducted by the NCOs. The 15 weeks was interrupted by a week of Christmas holidays for all. Officers and senior NCOs went through their own winter training cycle (Winterausbildung) that included more advanced training such as staff rides, training rides, evaluation rides on the regimental and brigade levels (Erkundungsritten, Geländebesprechungen), wargames, and sand table exercises (Sandkastenübungen). Winter studies (Winterarbeiten) for the officers and senior NCOs also included research questions that were provided by the War Ministry (Kriegsministerium) or the War Academy (Kriegsakademie), as well as lectures and sports. Individual training ended in the first half of February with the evaluation of basic training success (Rekrutenbesichtigung) conducted by the battalion commander.
After individual training, seven to eight weeks of advanced training (Kompanieschule) began in February with emphasis on weapons’ drill, live firing exercises, and tactical drill on the regimental training ground (Standortübungsplatz). This advanced individual training also included an additional week of vacation for Easter holidays and was usually completed by mid-April with an inspection and evaluation of company training success by the regimental commander (Kompaniebesichtigung). This focused on outdoor skills (Aussendienst) and technical skills.
Battalion level training then commenced for three to four weeks (Bataillionschule). Again using the regimental training ground, there would be battalion level technical training and live-fire exercises at the local rifle range (Standortschiessanlage). The commanding general of the army corps conducted the battalion training inspection (Batallionbesichtigung) in mid-May. It was executed whenever possible at the army corps training center (Truppenübungsplatz). The battalion inspection centered upon field skills and tactical training including night exercises (Felddienst- und Gefechtsausbildung, Nachtausbildung) as well as tactical marches and sports that were an important part of the training regimen.
Summer training started after the mid-May inspection and lasted until the end of July. This training concentrated on tactical drill at both the company and battalion levels to improve the deficiencies identified during the company and battalion inspections. Live firing was conducted on local firing ranges and resulted in the Kaiserpreis and marksmanship awards (Schützenschnur). Tactical marches increased in length and level of difficulty. During this time, soldiers both old and new (especially those coming from rural families), were sent home and exempted from service in the early summer to help out on the farms.
Once they returned, at the end of July, the units were moved by rail to the army corps training area. Here in the first week of August, live firing (Gefechtsschießen) took place on the company level, sometimes on a local firing range (Standortschießanlage). During the second week of August, the units experienced advanced tactical training on a regimental level (Regimentsschule) by doing regimental exercises. This training included one day of rest. The schedule during the third week of August was advanced tactical training on the brigade level (Brigadeschule) and included brigade exercises that were either two regiments fighting each other or the tactical use of the brigade as a whole, aided by artillery and/or cavalry reinforcements. This brigade training also included one day of rest. Around 20 August, the unit took railroad transport back to their garrison where they conducted tactical drill, weapons drill, and formal drill.
Around 10 September, railroad transport was taken to the maneuver area in preparation of autumn maneuvers. The maneuver area was part of the countryside and included towns and villages. There were three or four days of brigade maneuvers followed by a day of rest. This training was followed by five days of division level maneuvers and then a day of rest. Three days of corps maneuver training followed, or if the unit was selected, it could become part of the Kaisermanöver. As the name implied, the Kaiser was present and participated in these maneuvers. Foreign dignitaries—officials and observers, who attended these maneuvers, included both Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
This large exercise regularly consisted of three or four army corps. It was considered by some the most important training in the Army. During Schlieffen’s time, the Kaisermanöver became a joke. The maneuver was always decided by a massive cavalry charge, often ordered by the Kaiser, and he was not allowed to lose. It was part of Moltke the Younger’s intended reforms to fix these maneuvers and make them militarily useful again.
When the maneuvers were over, units returned to the Kaserne and those soldiers due for discharge turned in all of their equipment except for one uniform to wear home and their field cutlery (forks and knives) that were usually “buried” in an informal ceremony on the last night in the field. Once they left, the unit prepared for the receipt of the new recruits in early October.