Sturmmann

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").{{sfn|McNab|2009b|p=15}} 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.{{sfn|Lumsden|2000|p=109}}

File:Gerardus Mooijman (1943).jpg]]

{{WWII German enlisted ranks}}

Sturmmann was senior to the rank of Mann in the Allgemeine-SS (general-SS).{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=30}} 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.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=148}} Within the Waffen-SS, an SS-Sturmmann was senior to an SS-Oberschütze.{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=30}}

The rank of Sturmmann was junior, in both the SS and SA, to the rank of Rottenführer.{{sfn|McNab|2009b|p=15}}{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=30}} It was considered the equivalent to the rank of Gefreiter in the German Army and a lance-corporal in the British Army.{{sfn|Stein|1984|p=297}} The insignia for Sturmmann consisted of a bare collar patch with a single silver stripe.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=148}} The field grey uniforms of the Waffen-SS also displayed the sleeve chevron of a Gefreiter.

==Insignia==

SS Mannschaften.jpg| Shoulder strap in Feldgrau
(all other enlisted ranks OR-1 to OR-3 of the Waffen-SS)

SS-Sturmmann.svg| SS Gorget patches

WSS-Stuma OF2 slv 1945.svg| SS Sleeve badge

SA-Sturmmann.svg| SA gorget patch

NSKK-Sturmmann.svg| NSKK gorget patch

NSFK-Sturmmann.svg| NSFK gorget patch

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

• Table of ranks and insignia of the Waffen-SS

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book | last = Flaherty | first = T. H. | title = The Third Reich: The SS | publisher = Time-Life Books, Inc | year = 2004 | orig-year = 1988 | isbn = 1-84447-073-3 }}
• {{cite book | last = Lumsden | first = Robin | title = A Collector's Guide To: The Waffen–SS | year = 2000 | publisher = Ian Allan Publishing, Inc | isbn = 0-7110-2285-2 }}
• {{cite book | last = McNab | first = Chris | title = The SS: 1923–1945 | publisher = Amber Books Ltd | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-1-906626-49-5 }}
• {{cite book | last = McNab | first = Chris | title = The Third Reich | publisher = Amber Books Ltd | year = 2009b | isbn = 978-1-906626-51-8 }}
• {{cite book | last = Stein | first = George | title = The Waffen-SS: Hitler's Elite Guard at War 1939–1945 | url = https://archive.org/details/waffensshitlers00stei | url-access = registration | publisher = Cornell University Press | year = 1984 | orig-year = 1966 | isbn = 0-8014-9275-0 }}

{{refend}}

{{Nazi Germany Paramilitary Ranks}}

Category:SS ranks