The German experience of World War I clearly showed the great role of artillery on the battlefield and often the decisive influence that artillery had on infantry. At the same time, however, the limitations of the Versailles Treaty of 1919 hindered the development of this type of weapon in Germany in the 1920s, and in particular - the introduction of heavy artillery into line units. This state of affairs changed after the Nazis took power in 1933, when the process of virtually unrestrained armaments began. Many of the gun models developed earlier went into wide production. At that time (after 1933), several new types of guns were put into service on a really large scale, including: 10.5 cm leFH 18 or 15 cm SIG 33, i.e. the basic light and heavy howitzer of the German infantry during World War II. It is worth adding that the German army attached great importance to the role of artillery (especially heavy artillery) on the battlefield. For example, at the outbreak of World War II, the German infantry division had 20 75mm light infantry guns, 6 150mm heavy guns, 36 105mm light howitzers and 12 150mm heavy howitzers in stock. It is worth noting that the German tactic of using artillery put emphasis primarily on the accuracy of firing, which in turn had a negative impact on the speed of entering the action.
The first paramilitary unit to have the abbreviation SS (German: Schutz Staffel) in its name was the personal protection of the dictator of the Third Reich called Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, which was officially formed in 1933. From 1934, the SS was an independent formation headed by Heinrich Himmler. With time, further SS units were formed, including the SS-Totenkopfverbände and the SS-Verfügungstruppe. It is worth adding that the latter was trained similarly to regular Wehrmacht infantry units. On a relatively small scale, SS units were used in combat during the fighting in Poland in 1939 and in the French campaign in 1940. The first units intended from the beginning to fight at the front were created in mid-1940, giving them the name of the Waffen SS. Initially, they were recruited on a voluntary basis, also among non-German people, but over time, compulsory recruitment began to apply. Within the Waffen-SS, many divisions of different combat value were formed. Nevertheless, a few of them (e.g. the 1st SS LAH Panzer Division, the 2nd SS Das Reich Panzer Division or the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Panzer Division) can be considered elite units, with very high combat value and often equipped with the best available equipment. They demonstrated their considerable advantages not only on the Eastern Front (1941-1945), especially during the battles near Kharkiv in 1943, but also during the battles in France in 1944. Another thing is that the quality of the commanding staff of these units was in many cases debatable, and many Waffen-SS soldiers committed war crimes during World War II.