Warmatrix

Stormtroopers are infantry trained and equipped for strong attacks. They use 'infiltration tactics', aiming to punch through enemy defenses and rapidly exploit openings.
Stromtroop-like shock troops have been used by armies throughout history, for example the viking berserkers, pike-formation-breaking Landsknechte and grenadiers. The first modern stormtroopers date back to the second half of World War I. Germany was the first country to make serious use of them, creating "stoßtruppen", 'stormtroops'.
Stormtroopers work in small units, the size of a battalion, company or even a platoon. Instead of trying to shoot the enemy to pieces, stormtroopers use speed, shock effect and tactical flexibility to exploit weak spots, infiltrating enemy lines. They use the combined arms principle, employing teams of carabiniers and grenadiers, supported by light machine guns, flamethrowers and light mortars. After World War I they were issued with submachine guns and assault rifles too. The weapons are supplemented by wire cutters, explosives and other equipment to quickly overcome defensive constructions and other obstacles. Often stormtroopers have units of engineers to disable defenses and construct passageways.
Stormtroopers tend to be recruited from young men, able to deal with the high physical demands of fast assaults and often selected for aggressiveness. They are intensively trained to keep fit and become familiar with the assault style of combat. All this gives the stormtroopers something of an elite status. Contrary to the image that they project, stormtroopers have relatively little firepower, because in order to be able to attack swiftly they do not carry heavy equipment.
Stormtroopers played an important part in the final attacks by the German army in World War I in 1918 CE. The Germans used artillery to suppress defenders instead of trying to blast them to smithereens, then quickly followed up with attacks by stormtroopers. After the Great War, other armies adopted stormtroopers too. They were partially superseded by mechanized shock forces like tanks, but still dominate in rugged terrain where the latter are of little use. In modern times, the role of stormtroopers is often fulfilled by special forces, who take infiltration tactics to their maximum level, relying on stealth and speed as much as shock tactics.