The World's First Assault Rifle: The StG 44

The rifle has been the infantryman’s most defining piece of military equipment for a very long time. Rifles like the AK-47 and M16 are instantly recognized worldwide. Previously though, soldiers had been equipped with rifles that were longer, heavier and limited in overall firepower. Going back to World War I, many aspects of the 18^th and 19^th century battlefield tactical formations still existed. Even during World War II, this generational trend was still prevalent to many degrees. Although infantry small arms did see many upgrades and improvements, the soldier of World War II was still equipped with rifles that failed to keep pace with the evolving nature of the battlefield. This all changed with the introduction of the German 7.92x33mm Kurz Sturmgewehr 44.

During World War I, new advances in small arms technology had a profound effect on the battlefield. Bolt-action rifles had long range, accurate capabilities but had limitations in rate of fire and maneuverability in close quarters. Machine guns possessed a devastating volume of firepower and range, but were heavy and largely stationary weapons. Submachine guns were light, maneuverable and boasted a high rate of fire, but had abysmal range, accuracy and stopping power compared to rifles and machine guns. These effects became more evident during WWII. Infantry combat was fast paced, mobile, and heavily focused in closer ranges compared to wars in the past. In light of this, some military analysts have realized their soldiers were not armed with the optimal fighting weapon.

During WWI, soldiers saw these limitations in small arms capabilities. The Germans were the first to address this. The 7.92x57mm Mauser cartridges used by the Gewehr 98 rifle and the MG 08 machine gun were excessive in terms of range and power when most combat ranges proved to be no more than 800 meters. Some soldiers claimed a smaller version of the 7.92 Mauser round would be better suited. This would reduce the weight of the ammunition, which would allow soldiers to carry more. Furthermore, it would also tame the heavy recoil of the Mauser cartridge making rapid follow up shots faster and more accurate.

However, the German Army high command had no interest in these reports and felt that the new MP 18 submachine guns were more than adequate. However, these issues would come up again during WWII, especially in the Eastern Front. With combat being fought at shorter ranges, and within confined spaces like in armored vehicles and urban centers, a long bolt-action rifle just was not suitable. And while submachine guns had the portability, their lackluster accuracy and range also proved them inadequate. The emphasis on a firearm with the combination of medium range, hard hitting power, high rate of fire and easy maneuverability was clear.

The Germans embraced this concept even more when they faced heavy opposition from the Soviets armed en masse with semi-automatic SVT-40 rifles and PPSh-41 submachine guns while they were still mostly armed with the bolt-action Kar 98k. By 1941, German designers went to work on solving these battlefield issues. They understood that a redesign in the ammunition was necessary. While several prototype designs have been around since before the war, the seemingly simple solution of cutting down the 7.92x57mm Mauser round became the answer. While the caliber would remain 7.92mm, the cartridge length was shortened down to 33mm to form the 7.92x33mm Kurz. This shortened, intermediate round would be instrumental in solving the infantry small arms question.

The rifle design chambering the new caliber would become the responsibility of German weapon designer Hugo Schmeisser. Schmeisser was well known for previous work on the Bergmann MP 18 and its successor the MP 28 submachine guns during WWI and the post war years. Throughout the development of the new rifle he headed design groups of two weapon manufacturers Haenel Waffen und Fahrradfabrik and Walther Waffenfabrik AG. These manufacturers would create the first prototypes known as the Maschinenkarabiner 1942 (“machine carbine”), often shortened as Mkb 42. This design operated as a gas operated, closed bolt, selective-fire design.

Unfortunately, the Third Reich’s leadership would intervene as Adolf Hitler shut down the development of all new rifles. The Führer believed investing in a new rifle and cartridge to be counterproductive and favored more submachine guns instead. Schmeisser and his team decided that they could reclassify their Mkb design as just another submachine gun so they renamed and resubmitted it as the Maschinenpistole 43 (“machine pistol”) or the MP 43. This new rifle heavily utilized stamped and pressed sheet steel instead of heavy machining. As a result it was highly efficient in cost, material, and time to produce.

The rifle began being issued to troops on the Eastern Front by October of 1943 especially to Waffen-SS units. By 1944, after some minor updates the rifle was once again renamed to the MP 44. Although Hitler allowed trials and limited production to continue, his view on the design was largely unfavorable. This all changed when he received positive feedback from Army leadership in July of 1944. When given a live fire demonstration, he was finally impressed. The revolutionary nature of the MP 44 and an opportunity for propaganda prompted Hitler to rename the rifle to Sturmgewehr 44 (StG 44), which translates to “assault rifle.”

With the StG 44, German troops finally had a weapon that bridged the gaps between a rifle, light machine gun and submachine gun. It was light and accurate like a rifle. It could suppress targets at range like a light machine gun. It was maneuverable and had tame recoil like a submachine gun. In the past, German troops often found themselves utterly outgunned by waves of Soviet troops all armed with submachine guns. The Germans themselves had the MP 40 submachine gun but they were issued on a limited basis.

The StG 44 was able to offset these limitations as it boasted considerable range, accuracy and firepower compared to the Soviet submachine guns and would (ideally) be issued to all frontline troops. Its low cyclic fire rate of 540 rpm and relatively inline recoil configuration design (influenced by the earlier FG 42 automatic rifle) gave the soldier a relatively high degree of accuracy with automatic fire. The muzzle velocity of its 7.92x33mm Kurz round out of its 16.5 inch barrel was around 2,247 feet per second (685 meters per second). This increase in firepower created some dramatic updates to the German Army’s infantry tactics. The StG 44 armed riflemen could now provide ample suppressing fire for the MG 42 machine gun team when it advanced or conducted reload/barrel swaps in ways the Kar 98k riflemen could not.

However, despite the full automatic fire capability, troops were trained to fire mostly on semi-auto to save ammunition and provide more accurate fire. Automatic fire mode was strictly reserved for emergencies only and even then they were to limit it to burst firing. The StG 44 did have some limitations. Its smaller cartridge didn’t have enough power to launch rifle grenades. It also lacked the accuracy at longer ranges compared to the Kar 98k. And the shorter overall length meant that it was less effective for bayonet fighting. But these issues quickly became a nonfactor. The Kar 98k would fill the gap of sniping and launching rifle grenades. And bayonet fighting was a rare phenomenon.

The ground-breaking aspect of the StG 44 didn’t stop at the rifle itself. With the increase in combat engagements in urban settings and during nighttime, German engineers came up with devices to cater the rifle for these conditions. The two most prolific designs were the Krummlauf and the Zielgerät 1229 Infra-red Aiming Device, more commonly known as the Vampir (vampire). The Krummlauf was an unusual device that resembled a bent barrel with a periscope that was fixed to the muzzle of the StG 44. The idea behind this device was to allow the shooter to engage targets while remaining behind cover. Four variants were produced. The difference between each being the barrel curvature: 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°.

For infantry use, the 30° Krummlauf was utilized the most. While this device was surprisingly accurate when used properly, it was limited with a very short lifespan – it would quickly wear out after just 300 rounds. In contrast to the unorthodox Krummlauf, the Vampir was very cutting edge in design and paved the way for future use of nighttime optics in combat. It essentially mounted an infrared spotlight on top of a scope that can detect the infrared signatures a naked human eye cannot. It was cumbersome; the soldier had to carry a transformer battery pack along with a slew of wires that connected to the scope/light combo. But it was capable of seeing out to 200 meters in total darkness giving the soldier a distinct advantage both in offense and defense.

By late WWII, German leaders had fully recognized that the StG 44 marked the beginning of a new era in combat rifles. But it wasn’t perfect. The rifle’s biggest downside played in conjunction to Germany’s overall wartime weakness: production and supply. With millions of Kar 98k rifles already in service by late 1944, German industry would not be able to produce the quantities needed to replace all of them. The StG 44 was advantageous over the Kar 98k in terms of less material cost and time per unit for manufacture. But it required investing in new and more sophisticated machinery and tooling. In contrast, the Kar 98k production line has been firmly established for many years prior. In addition, with shortages of workers, this meant that both the rifles and its ammunition were unable to be produced in quantities the German war machine had hoped for. In total 425,977 StG 44s were produced by the end of the war. This was far less than the 1.5 million ordered and the 4 million that were planned. Around 822 million rounds of 7.92x33mm Kurz were produced from 1942 to 1945.

The StG 44s that managed to make it to the frontlines were loved by its troops. It saw the most action on the Eastern Front where the 1^st Infantry Division of Army Group South and the 32^nd Infantry Division of Army Group North were refitted with the rifles. The Waffen SS and the Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) units also made use of the StG 44. On the Western Front, the Volksgrenadier Divisions were well known for their heavy use the StG 44 alongside their MG 42s and Panzerfaust 60s. Troops praised the rifle for its reliability particularly in extreme cold temperatures that were prevalent throughout the Eastern Front and during the Ardennes Offensive in the west. As the war in Europe neared its end, the StG 44 concept spawned another variant. A cheap, last ditch design to arm the poorly trained Volkssturm militia units: the Volkssturmgewehr. This crude rifle utilized the same cartridge and magazine as the StG. They saw limited service alongside the StG 44 itself in the final days of the war when the Third Reich was defeated.

The StG 44 was undeniably the most important small arms design of WWII. Its design legacy and the combat doctrines it influenced continues on to this day and will continue for the foreseeable future. Immediately after the war, militaries around the world began to realize the days of long, heavy battle rifles were obsolete. This was especially true in the Soviet Union. The Soviets embraced the assault rifle concept and dedicated the entirety of the Cold War spreading this design all around the world in the name of spreading their communist influence. The US and the west were slower to pick up on the design. They retained the use of full power battle rifles for years after WWII, most notably the American M14, the Belgian FAL, and the West German G3. These rifles however did include some features of the StG 44 such as the detachable magazine and select fire capabilities. However, in time, the West also realized the Germans and Soviets had it right with the use of the intermediate cartridge. In the United States, the M16 was adopted into service.

The rise of the assault rifle and the intermediate cartridge truly marked the beginning of a new era. Infantry doctrines all over the world dropped the long range, accurate fire mentality in favor of medium range suppressive fire that tuned well with fire and maneuver. It combined the advantages of the bolt-action rifle, machine gun, and the submachine gun into a single portable package while simultaneously mitigating each of their weaknesses. And today, there are hundreds of firearms designs all over the world that owes its existence to the StG 44. The Sturmgewehr 44 will forever go down in history as one of the most important military firearms design of all time.

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