Sturmabteilung

"The Sturmabteilung? Oh no, it's back from history. But at least the Sturmabteilung couldn't get plunged by the Schutzstaffel, but instead, they could be befriended. That's how Fegelein would do to them at least..."

--Su Ji-Hoon, Night of the Short Knives

The Sturmabteilung (SA; German pronunciation: [ˈʃtʊɐ̯mʔapˌtaɪlʊŋ] (About this sound listen)), literally Storm Detachment, functioned as the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party (NSDAP). It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi rallies and assemblies, disrupting the meetings of opposing parties, fighting against the paramilitary units of the opposing parties, especially the Red Front Fighters League (Rotfrontkämpferbund) of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), and intimidating Slavs, Romanis, trade unionists, and, especially, Jews – for instance, during the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses.

The SA were also called the "Brownshirts" (Braunhemden) from the color of their uniform shirts, similar to Benito Mussolini's blackshirts. The SA developed pseudo-military titles for its members, with ranks that were later adopted by several other Nazi Party groups, chief amongst them the Schutzstaffel (SS), which originated as a branch of the SA before being separated. Brown shirts were chosen as the SA uniform because a large number of them were cheaply available after World War I, having originally been ordered during the war for colonial troops posted to Germany's former African colonies.

The SA became disempowered after Adolf Hitler ordered the "blood purge" of 1934. This event became known as the Night of the Long Knives (Die Nacht der Langen Messer). The SA continued to exist, but was effectively superseded by the SS, although it was not formally dissolved until after the Third Reich's final capitulation to the Allies in 1945.

In When the Cold Breeze Blows Away, they no longer fight against the paramilitary units of Coalition of the Red Star-aligned parties, and they no longer intimidate Slavs, Romanis, trade unionists, Jews, etc.