The motorcycle became part of the arsenal of the German war machine. It was an important component in the tactics of blitzkrieg. France and later Russia suffered at the hands of the Germans in this type of war and motorcycles made a significant impact in these campaigns, at least in the early stages of the German offensive.
The German military perfected the use of the motorcycle and employed the largest number of bikes for their operations, the troops becoming known as the Kradschützen Truppen. They were motorized, lightly armed and highly mobile infantry units of the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and Luftwaffe.
The Kradschützen Truppen were used in a variety of roles including patrolling, intelligence gathering, and police duties in occupied Europe. Motorcyclists could be found in every unit of an infantry and panzer division, especially during the early part of the war. They were even incorporated into the divisional staffs, which included a motorcycle messenger platoon. Their versatility enabled them to survey enemy positions until they encountered enemy fire and then to return swiftly with important data and vital information relating to the location and strength of the enemy.
By 1938 some 200,000 motorcycles were made each year in Germany and its occupied territories. German industry produced an array of bikes for use by the army, principal makes including BMW, DKW, NSU, Triumph, Victoria, and Zündapp.
Additionally, sidecar combinations were often mounted with an MG34/42 machine gun for local defence and for use in battle. This made the bike a very effective weapon.
This book tells the story of the Kradschützen Truppen at war and how they became an important part of operations in all the theatres of war. It shows how they were moulded into a rapid mobile assault and reconnaissance force that played an integral part in the German Blitzkrieg successes of 1939–40. By 1943 however, the development of Kampfgruppen, panzer grenadier regiments and armoured halftracks, meant that large formations of lightly armed Kradschützen Truppen became obsolete, and the soldiers were transferred to other services. For the remainder of the war the motorcycles would be relegated to support roles such as despatch riders, messengers and light reconnaissance.