The Volkssturm (or roughly translated to "People's Assault") was a paramilitary formation made up of elderly, young, and any other citizens the Reich had at its disposal, led by veterans, or officers from specific formations *cough* *cough*. They were often poorly equipped and poorly trained and often surrendered at the first sign of combat, given the chance. Different battalions had different levels of equipment with some resembling actual military formations including uniforms and effective weaponry, while others had no uniforms and some not even being supplied with weapons.

I have created a platoon that any of you readers may join, although the process is a bit tricky due to EA or Dice's lack of interest in keeping it functional.

First, you should open your preferred browser and look for the Battlefield Companion App website. You will have to log into your account, and then you can progress to the "Platoons" tab at the bottom. From there, you may see a magnifying glass icon in the top left which leads to a search bar. The platoon is detailed in the image below, but you should only need part of the name to find it.

Helmet: "Grenzschutz"
Shirt: "Architect" (specifically solid snow)
Pants: "Architect" (specifically solid sand)

Primary: Gewehr 1-5 (Highly suggested), Sturmgewehr 1-5, Gewehr 43, Selbstladler 1916
Secondary: P08, P38
Melee: Hatchet, Shovel, Pickaxe, K98 Bayonet
Grenade: Frag, Anti-Tank Bundle
Gadgets: Panzerfaust (Highly suggested), Pistol Flamethrower, Sticky Dynamite

The outfit is heavily inspired by the more poorly equipped members, while also embracing lightweight and slightly better armoured influences. The armaments are heavily based on historical reports, namely the VG 1-5 (Gewehr/Strumgewehr 1-5) which was almost exclusively used by Volkssturm units. The Panzerfaust (or "Panzer Fist") was also the only readily available anti-armour tool available at the time. The pistol flamethrower (or Einstossflammenwerfer 46) was also regularly issued to Volkssturm (and Fallschirmjäger) units, although still not a very common sight.

Hat: "Offizier"
Shirt: "Mirage" (specifically solid sand)
Pants: "Architect" (specifically solid sand)

Primary: MP28, MP34, EMP, MP40
Secondary: P08, P38, PPK
Melee: Hatchet, Shovel, Pickaxe, K98 Bayonet
Grenade: Frag, Smoke
Gadgets: Bandages (or inferior crate), AP mine

You could probably tell, but I based this class design off of NCOs for Volkssturm battalions, resulting in a more uniform appearance and officer's cap, as well as equipping him with an SMG (although that's all that's available anyways). This is also why a Walther PPK would make sense here, as some officers had this at the time, especially those from specific formations *cough* *cough*. The EMP was also used by some of those same officers due to it's novelty. I did not include the beloved smoke grenade rifle due to it being modeled off of the SMLE, which would not have been seen with any Volkssturm formation.

Hat: "Cap"
Shirt: "Ruvido"
Pants: "Architect" (specifically solid sand)

Primary: MG34, MG42, S2-200, M30 Drilling, Madsen MG
Secondary: P08, P38
Melee: Hatchet, Shovel, Pickaxe, K98 Bayonet
Grenade: Impact
Gadgets: Ammo Pouch (or inferior crate), AT Grenade Pistol, Kampfpistole, Shaped Charge, AP or AT mines

Inspired by lackluster appearance of many Volkssturm members as well as the common coats. The bandolier also adds to the look for the dedicated squad fire support. The S2-200 and M30 Drilling, while extremely uncommon, are German weapons, and the Solothurn S2-200 was originally made in Austria, proposed to the Weimar Republic, not accepted, and then found its way to Hungary where it became the standard issue squad fire support weapon. So while a stretch, it is possible for those die-hard S2 players. The grenade is of German origin, being the M39 "Eihandgranate."

Hat: "Grüner Teufel"
Shirt: "Wolf"
Pants: "Architect" (specifically solid sand)

Primary: Kar98k, Gewehr M95/30, P08 Carbine (Not suggested), Panzerbüchse 39 (Unlikely)
Secondary: P08, P38
Melee: Hatchet, Shovel, Pickaxe, K98 Bayonet
Grenade: Frag, Smoke
Gadgets: Flare gun, Doppel Schuss, Spotting Scope, AP Mine, Sniper Decoy, Spawn Beacon

Now you could outfit this class two ways; either as an actual sniper (imo lame), or as a standard rifleman. I typically use it as a rifleman. Either way, the outfit is the stereotypical Volkssturm look. The P08 Carbine and Panzerbüchse 39 are not recommended due to the unlikelihood of Volkssturm units receiving either, as well as them not being the most effective of weapons, especially the carbine.

Of course, there are the general tactics, those being stick together and work as a squad, don't be afraid to plan first, and support the team. On top of those though, it might be a smart idea to specialize the squad, if you can. For example, You could have an Offizier (medic) and a Machinengewehrschütze (support) and then either two Strummanner to be an Anti-tank squad/ Shock squad. You could also replace the Sturmmanner with Schützen to be a more range focused squad, or possibly even have three Schützen and the Offizier for the real Volkssturm experience!

• Avoid intense combat
  
• Retreat at early signs of combat if possible
  
• Surrender to equal or superior forces
  
• Garrison one building for the entire match
  
• Be overly cautious and anxious
  
• Purposefully aim and engage targets improperly
  
• Hide or retreat from any sort of armoured threat

If anyone has any suggestions or corrections, feel free to let me know. I'm also available to squad up with anyone if they'd like to actually try this out, just shoot me a DM.

If you enjoyed this guide of mine, I imagine you'll also enjoy this Fallschirmjager guide which I also made.