We Are The Mighty

Thank you for sharing my friend CW5 Jack Cardwell somebody's idea of the mighty from WWI. Not surprising somebody decided that the U.S. Marine Corps Infantry were shock troops in WWI [limited to late 1917 to late 1918] and not mentioning the Nepalese Gurkhas of the British Commonwealth not to mention any units which fought against the Ottomans in southwest Asia and north Africa.
1. During World War I (1914–1918), more than 200,000 Gurkhas served in the British Army, suffering approximately 20,000 casualties, and receiving almost 2,000 gallantry awards.
2. "Shock troop" is a calque, a loose translation of the German word Stoßtrupp. Military units which contain assault troops are typically organized for mobility with the intention that they will penetrate enemy defenses and attack into the enemy's vulnerable rear areas.
3. It is interesting that the authors included the Austro Hungarian Jagdkommandos and the Italian Arditi "The Daring Ones" both of those units were underequipped and fought against each other in northern Italy.
4. Northern Italy was not a major area until the Germans got involved - LT and CPT Erwin Rommel led stormtroopers in northern Italy. That was where he developed tactics he used in WWII -AKA blitzkrieg,

If my paternal grandfather who fought in Gallipoli [1915] and France and Belgium [1916-1918] as a British Army lance corporal along with his brother, the only one he would recognize from this grouping as a shock troop or special force would be the German Shock troops by definition.
He would certainly have listed the Nepalese Gurkhas as a special forces unit with shock troop capabilities. He was a British school teacher and administrator with an interest in history - probably helped foster my own interest.

FYI LTC Bill Koski CW5 (Join to see) MSG Brad Sand SGM Steve Wettstein SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SP5 Mark Kuzinski PO1 William "Chip" Nagel PO1 John Miller SP5 Robert Ruck SPC (Join to see) PO3 Steven Sherrill SN Greg Wright Maj Marty Hogan SCPO Morris Ramsey TSgt Joe C. Cpl Joshua Caldwell SGT Michael Thorin SP5 Dave (Shotgun) Shockley SPC Margaret Higgins

Great share about WWI special forces

That was an excellent read.