Chef des Stabes/ Chief of Staff

My intentions for Chef des Stabes military history blog is to probe a little more deeply into comments often made by some of the mainstrean military historians of both world wars while describing an incident, battle or event .  Intended as a ‘throwaway’ such comment may sometimes mask an important piece of information that would add to our understanding of what is often loosly called ‘the German army’ (more accurately a coalition of Central European nations). In a word, something worth more than a footnote in a history, something that just got me thinking .

One of the difficulties faced is actually searching for and getting the information required without spending a fortune.  These days as a particular line of research becomes popular the published sources, previously ‘free to access’ suddenly become ‘subscription’ services.

If you are still wedded to the concept of freedom of information – with emphasis of the ‘free’ – discovering the ‘mother lode’ is a bit like ranging a mortar.  You can see absolutely nothing of the ‘front’ from the bottom of a mortar pit but the mortar is a weapon when accurately employed can bring effective fire on an enemy position supporting an attack or a defence, on the other hand, mishandled it’s a waste of time and ammunition.

Not sure into which category the of the Chef des Stabes blog falls just yet. Either way, just like the mortar, you cannot see exactly what is happening beyond the pit without ‘feedback’ from the MFC!  Mortar fire is controlled by the MFC (Mortar Fire Controller) generally positioned well forward with the troops being supported. The MFC in contact with the mortar position by radio gives the location of the targer and corrects the fall of the rounds, directing them onto the target.

So what we need is a few MFC’s out there.

Talking of mortars, it’s probably opportune to mention the German 8.1 cm heavy mortar, first manufactured in 1934, was the standard heavy infantry mortar of the German Army during WW2 and like the French 81mm Brandt Mortar used by the Irish Army  it is a smoothbore, muzzle-loading weapon for high-angle fire.

Of conventional design, the 8-cm model 34 mortar for manhandling it is broken down into three parts: (1) the base plate, (2) the tube, and (3) the bipod with the traversing, elevation, and cross-levelling mechanisms.   A leather-covered handle attached to the collar clamp near the muzzle is used apparently to change elevations when the tube is hot.

In my time I have fired both the 60mm and 81mm mortars in the Glen of Imaal and was an observer at the firing of the 120mm on a number of occasions. Always an impressive display of firepower and a ‘mortar shoot’ leaves one in no doubt that coming under fire from a well-trained crew can be a ‘life-changing’ event.

And Finally….Despite its reputation there was nothing remarkable regarding the design of this German 81mm mortar.

Much of the respect it gained as a weapon should instead have gone to the thorough training and efficiency of the men who used it, for throughout the war the German mortar crews seemed always to have an edge over their rivals.

They became experts at getting their sGrW 34s in and out of action rapidly and by careful use of plotting boards and other fire-control aids, they were able to obtain maximum accuracy from their fire.