Sturmmann is a German phrase translating as “Stormtrooper”. The word originated during World War I when Sturmmann was a position held by soldiers in German pioneer assault companies, also known as "Shock troops". Following the defeat of Germany in 1918, Sturmmann became a paramilitary rank of the Freikorps, violent groups of military veterans who opposed Germany’s loss of World War I and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles.