Fallschirmjäger
Fallschirmjäger | |
---|---|
Air Force) | |
Type | Light infantry Airborne forces |
Engagements | World War II |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Kurt Student Richard Heidrich Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke |
The Fallschirmjäger (German:
Between the wars
During the interwar years the rapid development of aircraft and aviation technology drew the attention of imaginative military planners. The idea of aerially inserting a large body of troops inside enemy territory was first proposed during
Among the first to recognize the potential of airborne forces were
The Soviets were the first to demonstrate the military possibilities of airborne infantry in the 1930s with a series of maneuvers held in 1935 and 1936.[2] Though somewhat crude (the Soviet paratroopers had to exit their slow-moving Tupolev TB-3 transporters through a hatch in the roof and then, crawling along the wire, position themselves along the wings and top of the fuselage, and jump together when ordered), the exercise managed to land 1,000 troops through air-drops followed by another 2,500 soldiers with heavy equipment delivered via airlandings. The gathered forces proceeded to carry out conventional light infantry attacks with the support of heavy machine guns and light artillery.[3] Among the foreign observers present was Hermann Göring.[3]
Impressed, Göring became personally committed to the creation of Germany's airborne arm in the 1930s.
In March–April 1935, Göring transformed the Landespolizei General Göring into Germany's first dedicated airborne regiment, giving it the military designation Regiment General Göring (RGG) on 1 April 1935 (after
Formation
The 7th Air Division, later called the
The
The
The
The
World War II
During the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Fallschirmjäger were sent to occupy several airfields between the Vistula and Bug rivers.[15]
The first opposed airborne attacks occurred during the
On 10 May 1940, the Fallschirmjäger performed a
During the
During the Greece campaign, the German airborne forces would perform their last strategic parachute and glider performances of the war.[23] The airborne troops captured a critical bridge that crossed the canal in the Isthmus of Corinth so German forces could pursue Allied forces further in the Greek mainland.[24] The operation did not go smoothly due in part to heavy enemy ground fire.[24] Demolition charges were also accidentally detonated, due to carelessness, leading to damage to the bridge and heavy casualties.[24] One group of paratroopers was accidentally dropped into the sea where they all drowned.[24] The airborne forces did manage to capture British anti-aircraft positions, which forced the surrender of the local town.[24] 12,000 Commonwealth and Greek troops were also captured.[25] The German airborne forces suffered 63 killed and 174 wounded.[24]
The final major offensive German action of the Greece campaign was the German invasion of Crete, in May 1941. The Fallschirmjäger would suffer further heavy losses during the Battle of Crete especially during Operation Merkur which would be the end of large scale airborne and glider operations for the Fallschirmjäger.[26] The Battle for Crete would see the Germans lose approx. 3,800 dead and 2,600 wounded. The Allies' losses were approximately 1,700 dead and 15,000 captured.
During the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 1st Parachute Regiment and the 2nd Battalion of the Luftlande-Sturmregiment (Airlanding Assault Regiment) were assigned to the Army Group North's 18th Army where they would conduct operations in the Leningrad area.[27] The Fallschirmjäger were specifically deployed to the east of Leningrad on the River Neva to confront a Red Army effort to relieve the city.[27] In October 1941, the German paratroopers were involved in heavy fighting against the Soviets and were successful in holding off Soviet attacks.[27]
From late October 1941 until 4 July 1942, the 22nd Air Landing Division participated in the
In July 1942, the Ramcke Parachute Brigade was deployed to North Africa to assist the Axis war effort there.[29] In late October the Brigade participated in the 2nd Battle of El Alamein.[30] The Brigade successfully captured a British supply column which provided it with some trucks and much needed supplies for the retreat westwards.[30]
Between November and December 1942, the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 5th Parachute Regiment were flown into Tunisia to protect its airfields and take up defensive positions around the city of Koch during the Allied Operation Torch.[31] It was followed closely by the 11th Parachute Pioneer Battalion under the command of Major Rudolf Witzig. It had the strength of 716 men. It took up defensive positions west of Tunis where it had a series of battles with the advance guard of the Allied spearhead.[32] Parts of the unit had received special training in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.[32] This intelligence led to the last parachute drop in North Africa.[32] The operation ended up a major failure due to mostly inexperienced and poorly trained pilots.[32] The Fallschirmjäger were dropped too far from their targets. The paras never made it to their targets because many were captured by British patrols as they landed.[33]
On 26 December 1942, the men of Parachute Company of the Brandenburg Regiment were transported by gliders in an operation to destroy bridges and supply routes used by the British.[33] It too was a disaster.[33] Some of the gliders were shot down while flying over enemy lines while others were destroyed while approaching their targets.[33] Most of the paras were killed in the operation.[33]
The 2nd Parachute Regiment, an Assault Regiment Battalion, and Antitank and Machine Gun Battalions were sent to conduct operations in Ukraine.[34] They would be assigned to Army Group South. This force would be known as Kampfgruppe Sturm commanded by Oberst Alfred Sturm.[34] The Fallschirmjäger suffered heavy casualties while defending a sector along the River Mius around the town of Charzysk during the winter of 1941 and into early 1942.[34]
In March 1943, the Fallschirmjäger of the 3rd Battalion of the 4th Regiment, 7th Airborne Division defended a hill at Lushi on the Eastern Front.[35] They were reinforced by paras from 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment. Between 20 and 27 March these two battalions held off two complete Soviet divisions.[35] In May 1943, what was left of Fallschirmjäger units in North Africa had been captured by Allied forces.[36] The Fallschirmjäger commanders were flown out of North Africa and managed to escape captivity.[36]
On 12 September 1943, the Fallschirmjäger conducted a successful rescue mission of Italian Prime minister
During 26 September 1943 to 16 November 1943, the Fallschirmjäger participated in the
On 15 December 1943, the 2nd Parachute Division was airlifted to
During 17 January – 18 May 1944, the Fallschirmjäger participated in the Battle of Monte Cassino. Allied Forces' aim was a breakthrough to Rome. At the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans holding the Rapido-Gari, Liri and Garigliano valleys and some of the surrounding peaks and ridges. Together, these features formed the Gustav Line. Monte Cassino, a historic hilltop abbey founded in AD 529 by Benedict of Nursia, dominated the nearby town of Cassino and the entrances to the Liri and Rapido valleys. Lying in a protected historic zone, it had been left unoccupied by the Germans. They had defended some positions set into the steep slopes below the abbey's walls.
Repeated pinpoint artillery attacks on Allied assault troops caused their leaders to conclude the abbey was being used by the Germans as an observation post, at the least. Fears escalated along with casualties and in spite of a lack of clear evidence, it was marked for destruction. On 15 February American bombers dropped 1,400 tons of high explosives, creating widespread damage.[44] The raid failed to achieve its objective, as the Fallschirmjäger occupied the rubble and established excellent defensive positions amid the ruins.
Between 17 January and 18 May, Monte Cassino and the Gustav defenses were assaulted four times by Allied troops, the last involving twenty divisions attacking along a twenty-mile front. The German defenders were finally driven from their positions, but at a high cost.[45] The capture of Monte Cassino resulted in 55,000 Allied casualties, with German losses being far fewer, estimated at around 20,000 killed and wounded.[46]
In early January 1944, the Red Army conducted a new offensive against the 2nd Parachute Division.[43] The Fallschirmjäger suffered heavy casualties. The 2nd Battalion of the 5th Regiment was destroyed.[43] By 6 January 1944 the 7th, 5th, and 2nd Regiments had been forced to retreat from Novgorodka due to the efforts of the Red Army.[43] The Paras dug in around Kirovograd. In March the Red Army once again resumed operations against the 2nd Parachute Division.[43] By the last week of the month the Red Army had forced the paras across the Southern Bug River where they would establish defensive positions on the opposite bank.[43] By May the Red Army forced the Fallschirmjäger back to the river of Dniester.[43] The Fallschirmjäger had been decimated by the fighting and by the end of the month the division was transferred back to Germany for refitting.[47]
On 3 July 1944 the 2nd Parachute Corps battled the U.S. 1st Army at Coutances-Marigny-St. Lo. The Fallschirmjäger utilized the terrain of the so-called Bocage and the hedgerows to their advantage to negate American superiority in both firepower and quantity of troops.[48] The Fallschirmjäger inflicted heavy casualties on American forces due mostly to tactical superiority and the terrain preventing the Americans from utilizing their armored forces.[49]
On 11 July 1944 the 1st Battalion, 9th Parachute Regiment executed a successful attack on the U.S. 1st Battalion, 115th Infantry Regiment.[50] Initially, the Americans would suffer the loss of their outposts mostly due to German artillery and mortar fire.[50] The Americans held due to their artillery and air support, and the paras eventually were forced to retreat.[50]
On 11 July 1944 the 3rd Parachute Division suffered heavy casualties while attempting to prevent American forces from capturing the city of St. Lo.[51] The German 12th Parachute Gun Brigade, 3rd Parachute Reconnaissance Company, and 3rd Engineer Battalion all suffered heavy casualties mostly due to outstanding American artillery fire.[52] The Paras would hold out until 27 July due to their great effort. German forces managed to inflict 11,000 casualties on its American opponents.[53]
On 25 July 1944, the 21st Parachute Pioneer Battalion was positioned on the road between Dunaburg and Kovno in Lithuania.[47] The Red Army attacked the Battalion the following day.[47] The Battalion would be encircled and eventually destroyed.[47] The unit would be disbanded and sent to other Fallschirmjäger units.[47]
On 25 July 1944, the 2nd Parachute Division was involved in the defense of Brest against the American 7th Corps. American forces suffered 4,000 casualties in its effort to invest the port.[54] Other elements of the 2nd Parachute Division were destroyed by American armored forces while on their way to assist the 5th Parachute Division at St. Malo.[54] American forces captured Brest on 20 September 1944.[54] What was left of the 2nd Parachute Corps was sent to Cologne after Falaise for rest and refitting.[54] Heydte's 6th Parachute Regiment went to Guestrow-Mecklenburg to form the foundation of a new regiment.[54]
In September 1944, the 1st Parachute Corps fought in the Allied Offensive in Italy known as Operation Olive.[55]
In September 1944, the 4th Parachute Division was defending positions at the Futa and 2 Giogo Passes when the U.S. 91st and 85th divisions mounted an attack.[56] This was followed by six days of intense fighting.[56] American forces succeeded in capturing the 2nd Giogo Pass, Monticelli Ridge, and Monte Altuzzo, in Italy, mostly due to the overwhelming firepower of American forces.[56]
On 21 September 1944, British and Canadian forces were successful in overcoming defensive positions occupied by the 1st Parachute Corps to capture Rimini.[57]
On 13 October 1944, Axis forces which included the 4th Parachute Division manage to halt an Allied 2nd Corps' advance south of Bologna, Italy.[58]
On December 17, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge a kampfgruppe commanded by Oberstleutnant Freiherr von der Heydte made the last fallschirmjäger parachute operation of the war, Operation Stösser. The plan was to capture a strategic crossroads in advance of the 12th SS Panzer Divisions breakthrough. However, the rushed training and inexperience of both the paratroopers and the luftwaffe aircrews made the operation a fiasco; a significant proportion of the force were dropped 80km from the drop zone and others were just returned to their airfields. Only about 300 Fallschirmjäger gathered but the panzers failed to break through. As they were only equipped for a 24 hour operation, the survivors tried to return to German lines but the majority either became casualties or, including the commander, were captured.
In April 1945, the 9th Parachute Division would be destroyed while trying to contain a Russian bridgehead on the west bank of the River Oder.[59] What remained of the unit would be destroyed while trying to defend Berlin from the Red Army.[59]
In April 1945, the 10th Parachute Division would be destroyed by the Red Army in Austria.[59] The division's artillery battalion was destroyed in Feldbach by the Red Army.[59] What remained of the unit would be destroyed north of Bruenn.[59]
On 15 April 1945, 760 Allied bombers pounded the positions of 1st Parachute Corps and other Axis units in the Argenta Gap, Italy.[56] The paratroopers continued to fight but by 18 April, the Axis forces wavered to the massive Allied ground and aerial onslaught.[56]
In May 1945, the remaining paratroopers of the 1st and 4th Parachute Divisions surrendered in Italy along with the remaining Axis Forces.[60] The Allied Forces had succeeded in driving Axis forces into the open where massive air support inflicted heavy casualties and material losses.[60] The Axis campaign in Italy had ended in defeat.
Casualties
According to the
- 21,309 enlisted men and 732 officers killed
- 56,388 enlisted men and 1,206 officers wounded
- 43,896 enlisted men and 889 officers missing
Total: 121,593 enlisted men and 2,827 officers.
List of units
After mid-1944, Fallschirmjäger were no longer trained as paratroops due to Nazi Germany's deteriorating strategic situation and fought as infantrymen. Near the end of the war, the series of new Fallschirmjäger divisions extended to thirteen on paper; the last three divisions to be created (11th, 20th and 21st) were never fully formed and saw no combat.
- Army
- 1st Parachute Army
- Corps
- I Parachute Corps
- II Parachute Corps
- Fallschirmjäger Divisions
- 1st Parachute Division
- 2nd Parachute Division
- 3rd Parachute Division
- 185thparachute divisions
- 5th Parachute Division – last division to receive near full Fallschirmjäger training
- 6th Parachute Division
- 7th Parachute Division – previously Group Erdmann, an ad hoc collection of Luftwaffe assets on the Western Front
- Infantry divisions with fallschirmjäger in title only
- 8th Parachute Division
- 9th Parachute Division
- 10th Parachute Division
- 11th Parachute Division – partially formed
- 20th Parachute Division – partially formed, did not see combat
- 21st Parachute Division – partially formed, did not see combat
- Independent Regiments and brigades
- Ramcke Parachute Brigade
- Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment
- 8. Fallschirmjäger Division.
- Other parachute units
- Waffen-SS
- 500th SS Parachute Battalion
- 600th SS Parachute Battalion
- SS-Jagdverbände
- Army
- Brandenburger Regiment
- Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon Brandenburg
- 22nd Air Landing Division
- 91st Air Landing Division
War crimes
During the
See also
- Rapid Forces Division
- Teishin Shudan
- Giretsu Kuteitai
- Japanese marine paratroopers of World War II
- Paratrooper
- Airborne forces
- List of paratrooper forces
- Commando
- Maquis du Vercors
- Fallschirmjägergewehr 42
References
- ^ a b Ailsby, Christopher: Hitler's Sky Warriors: German Paratroopers in Action, 1939–1945, p. 12. Spellmount Limited, 2000.[ISBN missing]
- ^ a b c d Ailsby, p. 16
- ^ a b Ailsby, p. 18
- ^ a b Ailsby, p. 21
- ^ a b c d Ailsby, p. 22
- ^ Ailsby, p. 23
- ^ a b Ailsby, p. 26
- ^ a b Mitcham 2007, pp. 281–282.
- ^ Mitcham 2007, pp. 291–293.
- ^ Mitcham 2007, pp. 282–285.
- ^ Mitcham 2007, pp. 285–288.
- ^ Mitcham 2007, pp. 288–289.
- ^ Mitcham 2007, pp. 290–294.
- ^ Mitcham 2007, pp. 295–296.
- ^ McNab p. 39
- ^ Bjørn Jervaas: The Fallschirmjäger Battle at Dombaas (in English)
- ^ a b c d e McNab p. 4
- ^ McNab p. 49
- ^ a b McNab p. 50
- ^ a b McNab p. 52
- ^ McNab p. 54
- ^ a b McNab p. 55
- ^ McNab p. 57
- ^ a b c d e f McNab p. 59
- ^ Sutherland & Canwell p. 8
- ^ McNab p. 72
- ^ a b c Ailsby p. 66
- ^ Forzcyk 2008, pp. 58–59
- ^ Ailsby p. 84
- ^ a b Ailsby p. 87
- ^ Ailsby pp. 88, 89
- ^ a b c d Ailsby p. 90
- ^ a b c d e Ailsby p. 91
- ^ a b c Ailsby p. 67
- ^ a b Sutherland & Canwell p. 128
- ^ a b Ailsby p. 93
- ^ Lopez p. 24
- ^ Lopez p. 20
- ^ a b c Lopez p. 6
- ^ Lopez p. 7
- ^ Lopez pp. 51, 54
- ^ a b c d e f Ailsby p. 74
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ailsby p. 75
- ISBN 0316547700.
- ^ Jordan, D, (2004), Atlas of World War II. Barnes & Noble Books, p. 92.
- ^ Axelrod 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Ailsby p. 78
- ^ Ailsby p. 141
- ^ Ailsby p. 142
- ^ a b c Ailsby p. 143
- ^ Ailsby p. 144
- ^ Ailsby pp. 144, 145
- ^ Ailsby p. 145
- ^ a b c d e Ailsby p. 146
- ^ Ailsby p. 123
- ^ a b c d e Ailsby p. 128
- ^ Ailsby p. 126
- ^ Ailsby p. 127
- ^ a b c d e Ailsby p. 79
- ^ a b Ailsby p. 129
- ISBN 3-7637-5830-5
Sources
- Ailsby, Christopher (2000). Hitler's Sky Warriors: German Paratroopers in Action, 1939–1945. Staplehurst, UK: Spellmount Limited. ISBN 1-86227-109-7.
- ISBN 978-1-4027-4090-9.
- Forczyk, Robert (2008). Sevastopol 1942: Von Manstein's Triumph. ISBN 978-1-84603-221-9.
- Hodgin, John, E.German Paratroops in North Africa.
- Lopez, Oscar Gonzalez. Fallschirmjager at the Gran Sasso: The Liberation of Mussolini by the German parachutist on 12 September 1943.
- ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0.
- McNab, Chris. The Fall of Eben Emael Belgium 1940.
- McNab, Chris. German Paratroopers.
- Sutherland, Jon & Canwell, Diane. Fallschirmjager: Elite German Paratroops in World War Two. ISBN 978-1-84468-889-0.