The massive effort against the Soviet Union forced the German Army and Luftwaffe into tactical and logistical improvisations that would become permanent features of the war in the East. This study was prepared for the Historical Division, European Command, by a group of former German generals and general staff officers. The names of the contributors are not announced at this time. The reader is reminded that all publications in the German Report Series were written by Germans from the German point of view and that the procedures of the German Army differed considerably from those of the United States Army. Authorized German tables of organization and equipment, official German combat doctrine, or standard German staff methods form the basis for improvisations throughout this study. As prepared by the authors, this study consisted of a collection of 157 examples of improvisations which were screened by the editors for pertinence, clarity, and interest to the American reader. Moreover, an attempt was made to establish common denominators for the great variety of examples. Although the manuscript was completely reorganized during this editorial process, every effort was made to retain the point of view, the expressions, and even the prejudices of the authors.

"This pamphlet supersedes MS # T-21 "German Military Improvisations" which was given a limited disribution by the Office of the Chief of Military History, Special Staff, U.S. Army"--T.p.

Part I. Introduction / Part II. Tactical improvisations. The offensive -- The defensive -- Troop movements -- Combat arms / Part III. Improvisations in the fields of supply and transportation. Indispensable expedients -- Other expedients -- Supply by airlift and by aerial delivery containers -- Supply and transportation problems in the Arctic / Part IV. Technical improvisations. Clothing and equipment -- Shelter -- Weapons -- Technical training for Arctic conditions -- Improvised front-line propaganda / Part V. Organizational improvisations. The manpower problem -- The organization of special units -- Political measures introduced by the National Socialist Party / Part VI. Conclusions. Are improvisations inevitable? -- The relative value of improvisations.