1. Willy Martin Ernst Rohr was a German Army officer who was a major contributor to the development of infantry tactics in World War I, particularly for the system of Storm Battalions.
15 Facts About Willy Rohr
1. 2.
Willy Rohr attended a military school in Bensberg and Karlsruhe before he transferred to the Prussian Hauptkadettenanstalt in Lichterfelde, Berlin.
3.
Willy Rohr joined the 3rd Magdeburg Infantry Regiment No 66 as a second lieutenant in 1896.
4.
From 1899 to 1903, Rohr was assigned to NCO School in Potsdam and became a battalion adjutant and later a regimental adjutant.
5.
In 1915, Willy Rohr was transferred to the Major C w detachment and formed the Loretto Front with two pioneer companies.
6.
Willy Rohr introduced the steel helmet, already used by the enemy, to his Storm Battalion or Shock Troop.
7.
Willy Rohr's newly developed tactics were based on his experience at the front and made a great contribution to the development of assault team tactics.
8.
Willy Rohr neglected the tactical training of the army up to the Battle of Verdun.
9.
The Sturmabteilung Willy Rohr was committed to the re-conquest of the Hartmannsweiler Kopf in December 1915.
10.
Captain Willy Rohr spoke at the command post of General-Commando 3 in Nouillon-Pont on 13 March 1916, before General von Lochow, the Chief of Staff, Colonel Wetzell and Ia Major von Stulpnagel.
11.
Willy Rohr was then given the task of training the divisions of the army in "modern close combat".
12.
Willy Rohr made a report directly to the emperor on the storming of the Souville Gorge on 3 September 1916.
13.
In January 1918, Willy Rohr was assigned command of the first deutsche Sturm-Panzer-Kraftwagen-Abteilung, a tank unit.
14.
Willy Rohr went on 11 March 1918 to AOK 18, the 18th Army headquarters, in Leschelle to make preparations for a major attack, Operation Michael.
15.
Willy Rohr found a new home in Lubeck, where he died while a director of the Lubecker Getreidebank.