D-Day: German – Page 3 – Late War Live Launch Website

The Fallschirmjäger in Normandy

with Richard Chambers

D-Day: German gives contains Formations and Command Cards for representing the Fallschirmjäger forces present in Normandy during the Allied Invasion of France. This article covers the history of those key units so you have all the info you need to model your FJ force on one of these historical forces.

The best German infantry units based in France in 1944 were the regiments of the Fallschirmjägerdivisions or parachute divisions. Although they were actually Luftwaffe troops, these units were by this time in the war, tactically subordinated to Army command.

Towards the end of 1943, Hitler had approved a plan proposed by Göring to rapidly expand the size of the Fallschirmtruppen.

Up until this point in time the German Airborne forces consisted of 2 Parachute Divisions (1. and 2. Fallschirmjägerdivision) which had formed the XI Flieger Korps. Under Göring’s ambitious scheme, these two units would provide cadres to form two more airborne division, the 3. and 4. Fallschirmjägerdivisions.

The 1st and 4th Airborne Divisions would together become I. Fallschirm-Korps (I Parachute Corps) while the 2nd and 3rd Divisions would constitute II. Fallschirm-Korps (II Parachute Corps), two parachute armies with an anticipated strength of 100,000 first rate soldiers, equal in status to Himmler’s Waffen SS units in recruiting, weaponry and training. 5. Fallschirmjägerdivision was then formed in March 1944 and also joined II. Fallschirm-Korps.

II. Fallschirm-Korps, commanded by General Eugen Meindl, was allocated by the Commander of the Western Theatre, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, to the Seventh Army, commanded by General Friedrich Dollmann, in Brittany. It would in May 1944 be made up of the following units:

• 2. Fallschirmjägerdivision (refitting in Koln-Wahn, Germany after recently returning from the Eastern Front – soon to be headquartered in Brest, France);
• 3. Fallschirmjägerdivision (headquarters at Huelgoal, Brittany);
• 5. Fallschirmjägerdivision (headquarters at Rennes, Brittany); and
• 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment (formally a regiment of 2. Fallschirmjägerdivision, but attached to II. Fallschirm-Korpsand based in the Lessay-Monte Castre-Carentan area)

By D-Day, Göring’s grand plan to rival the Waffen-SS was far from reality. Some units of the II. Fallschirm-Korps such as the 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment and 3. Fallschirmjägerdivision were generally well equipped and had excellent personnel.

Together they could easily be considered the most competent infantry units at von Rundstedt’s disposal and they fought with distinction throughout the campaign.
2. Fallschirmjägerdivision and 5. Fallschirmjägerdivision were by comparison, poorly trained, undermanned and badly equipped. However, they too fought with the esprit-de-corps of all Fallschirmtruppen and helped forge a combat reputation respected by all Allied opponents.

6. Fallschirmjägerregiment
In October 1943, as part of the general expansion of the Fallschirmtruppen, 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment was transferred from 2. Fallschirmjägerdivision to 3. Fallschirmjägerdivision, where it was split into various cadres and deactivated.

In November 1943 the Regiment was activated again and began to reorganise in January 1944 with the goal of having the training and equipping of its troops completed within four months. As 2. Fallschirmjägerdivision was in action on the Eastern Front, 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment was subordinated directly to the Fallschirmjäger Armee.

The Regiment was organised along the same lines as a standard German Army Infantry Regiment, having three battalions, each of which was made up of three rifle companies and a heavy company. The 13th Company was a heavy mortar company, the 14th an anti-tank company and the 15th an engineer company. As of 6 June 1944
6. Fallschirmjägerregiment was arranged as follows:

6. Fallschirmjägerregiment
– Commander: Major von der Heydte
– Adjutant: Hauptmann Peiser

I. Bataillion
– Commander : Hauptmann Emil Priekschat
– Adj: Oberleutnant Reese
– 1. Kompanie (Rifle): Oberleutnant Billion
– 2. Kompanie (Rifle): Oberleutnant Schulz
– 3. Kompanie (Rifle): Hauptmann Bucher
– 4. Kompanie (Heavy): Leutnant Scherer

II. Bataillion
– Commander: Major Rolf Mager
– Adj: Hauptmann Schulte
– 5. Kompanie (Rifle): Hauptmann Herrmann
– 6. Kompanie (Rifle): Leutnant Bruunklaus
– 7. Kompanie (Rifle): Leutnant von Socha-Borzestowski
– 8. Kompanie (Heavy): Oberleutnant Graf Bethusy-Huc

III. Bataillion
– Commander: Hauptmann Horst Trebes
– Adj: Leutnant Treuherz
– 9. Kompanie (Rifle): Oberlautnant Wagner
– 10. Kompanie (Rifle): Oberleutnant Prive
– 11. Kompanie (Rifle): Oberleutnant Märk
– 12. Kompanie (Heavy): Oberleutnant Pöppel

– 13. Schwere GrW.Kompanie (Heavy Mortar): Oberleutnant Nahde

– 14. Panzerjägerkompanie (Anti-tank): Leutnant Geck

– 15. Pionerekompanie (Engineer): Hauptmann Hauch

The total fighting strength of 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment at this time was 3,457 officers and men. This was considerably larger than an equivalent Army unit and the rifle companies of the Regiment had twice as many light machine-guns as a standard Infantry Division’s companies. The men were also of a higher quality compared with many of the other more standard units at this time. At least a third of the officers and a good portion of the non-commissioned officers were veterans, having fought in Crete, North Africa and Russia. The remainder of the men were all volunteers, with the average age across the Regiment being 17 ½ years. Morale was excellent and interestingly enough the whole Regiment was jump trained, each man having made six day-time and three night-time jumps.

The main weakness of the 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment was the same as all of the regiments and divisions of von Rundstedt’s army – they simply lacked any real transport capability. Each company in the Regiment had an average of two trucks, and the seventy trucks across the whole unit were of fifty different makes – German, French, Italian and even British.

In May 1944 the Regiment was deployed to Normandy and spread out amongst the towns at the base of the Cotentin peninsula. These were Lessay, Periers, Raids, St Georges-de-Bohon, Meautis, Baupe and Monte Castre. It was assigned to LXXXIV Corps and for supply purposes attached to 91. Luftlandedivision, an air-landing division. Together they formed the strategic reserve for the Corps.

D-Day
From the first moments of the airborne invasion of France 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment was in action against American paratroopers from the US 101st Airborne Division. Scattered fire-fights continued throughout the night, until about 0600 on 6 June the Regiment was given orders to assemble and clear the region between Carentan and St. Mere-Eglise of enemy troops. It was no easy task to withdraw troops currently spread out, in action and with limited transport and get them to the assembly point so it took until early afternoon for the initial movement and reorganisation to be completed.

The troops then moved through Carentan which Major von der Heydte had already determined was not occupied by American troops. 3. Bataillion initially remained behind in the town with the 13th Company, protecting the Regiment’s rear areas, while the regimental command post was set up at St. Come du Mont. 1. Bataillion moved out towards St. Marie-du-Mont while 2. Bataillion advanced on St. Mere-Eglise.
At first the advances made good time, but by midnight both battalions were in heavy contact just short of their objectives. 1. Bataillion found the US paratroopers at St. Marie-du-Mont had linked up with the 4th Infantry Division moving inland from Utah beach. Earlier in the evening and again before dawn on 7 June waves of American gliders and paratroopers began to drop across the entire combat area, and the two battalions, found themselves low on ammunition and increasingly cut-off from the Regimental rear areas.

2. Bataillion successfully withdrew and attempted to link up with the now surrounded 1. Bataillion but was unable to move more than a few hundred yards east of St. Come du Mont. By now 1. Bataillion was trying to extricate itself to the south. While crossing through open fields and marshes north of the Douve River it came under fire from small groups of the 501st and 506th Parachute Infantry Regiments (PIR). The American troops were able to bluff the 1. Bataillion into believing they were facing overwhelming US strength and the majority of the battalion surrendered, with only 25 men escaping to Carentan.

Other elements of the 506th PIR, supported by 6 Sherman tanks of the 746th Tank Battalion and the guns of the 65th Armoured Field Artillery Battalion, advanced on St. Come du Mont which von der Heydte had now protected with 2 battalions of his own troops. While the US paratroopers made headway, they could not dig the Jäger out from their defences amongst the solid Norman hedgerows. The attack was called off so a much larger assault could be launched the following day.
On 8 June St. Come du Mont was defended by III. Bataillon, 1058. Regiment, 91. Luftlandedivisionand two companies from III. Bataillon, 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment. Against them the Americans launched the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 506th PIR, 3rd Battalion 501st PIR, 3rd Battalion, 327th Glider Infantry, 8 light tanks and the 65th Armoured Field Artillery Battalion.

The Glider Infantry and 501st PIR attempted to encircle the town and cut off the German’s retreat, while the units of the 506th PIR advanced directly into St. Come du Mont. An intense artillery barrage (2500 105mm rounds in the first 1 ½ hours) smashed into the defenders and as the 1058. Grenadiers started to show signs of cracking, von der Heydte decided that with no more reserves to commit, it was time to withdraw. His men were forced to fight their way past the 501st PIR, but the majority of the German forces were able to escape to the west and retreat back into Carentan.

Carentan
The Americans immediately began to prepare an assault on Carentan, readying four regiments (501st, 502nd and 506th PIR and 327th Glider Infantry) for the attack A two pronged attack down the main causeway in Carentan (502nd) and across the river flats to the east of the city (327th) was put into action. The causeway was a six to nine feet high embankment above the marshland with four bridges that crossed the Douve and its associated canals. The German defenders had destroyed one of the bridges.
In the mid afternoon of 10 June men from the 3rd Battalion, 502nd PIR advanced in single file down the causeway. They soon came under heavy machine-gun fire from the Fallschirmjäger in a farmhouse and bocage which took a heavy toll on the US paratroopers. The fourth bridge was also blocked by a Belgian Gate, which meant, just one man could squeeze through at a time. The Americans were held at this point until past midnight, when they were able to filter men past the barricade.

On the morning of 11 June, an intense artillery barrage was arranged to force the Jäger out of the farmhouse. This failed, and it wasn’t until the US Battalion Commander personally led a dramatic charge against the position that the German paratrooper’s rifle pits and machine-gun posts in front of the building and along the hedgerows were knocked out. Three American battalions had been used in the action thus far and this attack had finally exhausted 502nd PIR meaning the 506th PIR would have to take over the advance.

327th Glider Infantry had also slowly made headway and by the morning of 11 June they were just a few hundred yards from the eastern outskirts of Carentan, where they were finally stopped by German fire.

By now von der Heydte’s men were running seriously short of ammunition. Supplies had not been able to come forward due to the shortage of motor transport and the Allied air forces interdiction of the Normandy road network.

This had also held up any reinforcements that were trying to reach Carentan. The only resupply came during the night of 11/12 June when ammunition was air dropped to the Fallschirmjäger southwest of the city.

On the evening of 11 June 501st and 506th PIR were committed to the battle and throughout the night the US paratroopers watched as Carentan was subjected to near continual naval gun fire, artillery, mortar and tank destroyer bombardment. At 0200 hours on 12 June 506th attacked Hill 30 to south of the city and from there, at 0500 hours they assaulted the city. From the northeast 327th Glider Infantry also drove into Carentan, with the two units meeting up at 0730. 501st PIR circled the city, linking up with 506th PIR, closing the trap around German defenders. Remarkably, the German defenders seemed to offer little resistance.

Unbeknownst to the Americans, von der Heydte had recognised the danger and before dark on 11 June had withdrawn from Carentan and set up a new defensive line to the southwest of the city. This line held against the attacks by 501st and 506th PIR that resumed on the afternoon of 12 June.
On 12 June the reinforcements that were meant to assist 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment in holding Carentan finally arrived, the 17. ‘Gotz von Berlichingen’ SS-Panzergrenadierdivision. Annoyed that Fallschirmjäger had given up the city, Brigadeführer Ostendorff, the SS Commander, at first sought von der Heydte’s arrest for defeatism, but was eventually calmed down by his superiors. The Jäger were now subordinated to the SS Division and on 13 June, together they launched a counter attack to regain Carentan.

The attack, supported by assault guns from 17. SS-Panzerabteilung hit both 501st and 506th PIR at 0630 and drove them back towards the city. II. Bataillon, 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment managed to get into Carentan and took up positions near the railway station, however they were forced to retreat when 502nd PIR and a combat group made up of a battalion of tanks and a battalion of armoured infantry from 2nd Armoured Division and supported by the 14th Armoured Field Artillery Battalion were committed to the battle. By the early afternoon the initiative had swung back to the Americans and the attack was repulsed. This was the last time German forces attempted to retake Carentan.

The next few weeks saw less activity in this sector of the battlefield as the American units there passed over to the defensive while the main US operations shifted to the taking of Cherbourg. The Americans around Carentan sought to consolidate their gains and bring in reinforcements. The 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment remained active, patrolling and probing the US defences, whilst constantly preparing their own defences with bunkers, mines and barbed wire.

St. Germain-sur-Seves
Mid July found 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment entrenched around the village of St. Germain-sur-Seves on a small ‘island’ bordered by the Seves River, marshland and creeks. All of this area was heavy bocage country. Opposing them was the US 90th Infantry Division, a unit that had fought hard and suffered heavy casualties thus far in the campaign and who was now largely made up of green replacements. The 90th had been tasked with taking St. Germain-sur-Seves as a prelude to the main attack on St. Lo.
At 0630 hours on 22 July after a heavy artillery barrage 358th Regiment of 90th Infantry Division breached the forward lines of III. Bataillon, 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment penetrating more than a 800 yards inside German lines. But here there was little cover for the advancing American troops and they came under a steady crossfire. Around midday, von der Heydte ordered his 16. Kompanie, commanded by Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant) Alexander Uhlig to counterattack the Americans, re-establish the German main line of defence, and if possible capture a couple of prisoners.

Major von der Heydte had incorrectly assumed that the American attack was a small reconnaissance in force and that Uhlig’s company of 32 men would be enough to successfully complete the mission.

However, after a brief survey of the battlefield Uhlig realised his unit would be facing at least 300 US soldiers. Seemingly unconcerned by this disparity at 1800 he launched his attack into the right flank of the 358th 1st battalion and over the next three hours his men drove the Americans back 350 yards. Four Jäger were lost in the attack, but as Uhlig had been unable to take any prisoners he decided to continue.

As he listened to the US infantry digging in overnight, Uhlig decided that he would need to launch his next attack from the other flank to achieve surprise. He then went looking for reinforcements and was promised 2 MG42 heavy machine-guns and 16 men from 3. Bataillon. He also found a tank commander from the 2. ‘Das Reich’ SS-Panzerdivision who arranged for 3 panzers to support the attack the next morning.

Uhlig positioned the MG 42s to stop any reinforcements from reaching the American’s forward positions, and also to block the unit he would be attacking from retreating back to the US main lines. The machine-gunners were ordered not to fire in support of the initial assault, keeping their presence as a surprise.
The first assault began around 0700 on 23 July, and it took two more attacks to break the Americans. Down to just one panzer by this time, the third assault broke through to the 1st Battalion’s command post and the men of that unit began to fall back in panic or surrender. Many of those that retreated were cut down by the two emplaced MG 42s who now opened fire.

Uhlig’s company of 50 men and one panzer had captured over 200 American soldiers through the effective use of his limited resources, terrain, close armour support, well-positioned machine guns and their cumulative effect on a green battalion.

Immediately after the battle, the Jäger witnessed several US Army chaplins trying to help the wounded men in no-man’s land. Impressed by their bravery an impromptu ceasefire began, later formalised by von der Heydte into a three hour truce which also allowed an exchange of wounded prisoners.

On 24 October 1944 Alexander Uhlig was awarded the Knight’s Cross for his actions near St. Germain-sur-Seves in July. He would later be captured by members of the 90th Infantry Division and survive the war.
Cobra

6. Fallschirmjägerregiment was still operating with 2. ‘Das Reich’ SS-Panzerdivision when American forces launched Operation Cobra. The regiment, together with the SS troops were forced to break out of the Roncey Pocket in the final days of July 1944.

Days later 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment was again almost surrounded in the Villedieu pocket, but acting on his own initiative von der Heydte led his Regiment out of the trap.

On 31 July what remained of 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment was attached to 353. Infanteriedivision. Formed into a small kampfguruppe the Jäger made up the infantry division’s reserve and were moved to wherever the action was thickest or a penetration in the German main line of resistance most likely.

On 10 August the 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment was ordered to disengage and move to Nancy in Northeastern France for refitting.

The 6. Fallschirmjägerregiment suffered approximately 3000 casualties during the Normandy Campaign.

Chris Builds a D-Day: German Tournament List

with Chris Potter (Battlefront UK)

Normally when I put together a list, there is an aesthetic or historical reason behind it and I am able to give (at length) reasons why I have chosen that Army. Alas, and much to the relief of my wife, this time is a little different for the German D-Day book. I won’t be waxing lyrical about specific units or
historical formations. Instead I have actually approached the book from a gamer’s point of view, albeit with some restrictions.
I started as I always do with writing my ideal list, regardless of points, for the units I have seen in the book that I want in my army. This time, it was the turn of copious amounts of Panzer IV, Panthers, and troops to enter the fray and get my appetite whet. One thing to bear in mind with the German Book for D-Day is that there are a lot of options for units. The first thing a player will notice is, similar to Fortress Europe, you can take multiple tank formations of Tigers and the bigger tanks that the Germans employed in the later stages of 1944.
This poses an issue as to take lots of tanks, costs lots of points. Hence my decision to go with Panzer IV, that ubiquitous workhorse of the Heer, in quantity with some elite tanks attached. Hello Panthers! The tracks, the guns, the turrets… I knew I had to take some Panthers to show the American 76mm who was boss of the battlefield. Now with the German D-Day book there is another variant of the Panther – The Panther A.

The key difference between this and the Panther G, which most people will know, is the application of Zimmerit on the hull and turret. And the new plastic kit delivers in bucket loads.

Sculpted directly on the plastic is the Zimmerit and it looks seriously good. To round off my force, from a gaming perspective, I needed some troops.

So I add some Panzergrenadiers, sadly bereft of their Halftracks so as to squeeze them into the army at full stand sized companies. Plus by doing this I was able to keep the model count low.
Time is money and having already committed to building a 100pt army of US Paras, with their lovely high model count, for the UK Office Hobby League, I wanted as few stands and tanks to paint as possible. Then it was time to trim the list. First out were extra Panzers and Panthers to maintain an equilibrium in points so as to make sure any one formation wasn’t too high, but also so I could squeeze in a second formation of troops to hold and contest objectives, and be a pivot for my tanks to run off. I eventually managed to come up with this list:
Now to decide on a paint scheme!

Painting Tropical Fallschirmjäger

with Victor Pesch (Battlefront NZ)

I’m currently starting a new force from D-Day: German, the Fallschirmjäger StuG Assault Gun Company. Instead of having it themed for Normandy, I’m using it to represent Fallschirmjäger & StuGs in the Italian Campaign.

Here’s how I’m painting the new Late-War Plastic Fallschirmjäger figures for my Italy themed platoon in tropical uniforms.

Basecoat

First I primed the figures with a black rattle can. Then to speed things up I airbrushed the figures Khaki. This gave me a light base colour to work over rather than trying to paint beige / tan over the black primer. It also meant I could drybrush on the German Camo Beige for the smocks to create initial shading. Then I simply block painted all the items, trying to be as neat as possible.

Wash

This step is simple as I just cover the entire figure with Black Wash. This darkens everything quite a lot, but I like the way it defines all the elements. It also makes it easy to re highlight with the same base colours without having to find lighter shades.

Highlights

As mentioned above, I generally go back with the base colours and highlight the raised surfaces of everything. Then I sometimes do a second highlight with a different colour on some items.

See below for all the colours I used, but feel free to experiment with your own:

Quick Tip- Worn Leather

A simple way to achieve a worn leather look on straps and bags is to gently dab the edges with a lighter colour. It’s like an edge highlight but the dabbing action gives it a more irregular, worn look.

Now that I’ve figured out my colour choices, I’ve got a lot more figures to paint, and also all the StuGs! I think the platoon will look quite interesting with it’s mix of yellow and field grey pants, and the yellow un covered helmets.

Speaking of uncovered helmets, one last tip: Sponge on some German grey to show the yellow paint chipping off.

The Brand New PLASTIC Panther

with Kai Tun (Battlefront Malaysia)

Check out the Panther in the Online Store…

One of the most exciting kit releases coming with D-Day: German is the Panther A with Zimmerit in all plastic. Here, Kai (BF Malaysia) takes us through a brief overview of the Panther tank and the brand new Panther kit.

The Tank
The Panzer V ‘Panther’ Ausf. A was the second production type of the formidable German medium tank. Many of the reliability issues of the prior Ausf. D, such as engine and transmission problems, were rectified by the time the Panther A faced the Allied invasion in the villages of Normandy.
With a potent 7.5cm KwK 42 L/70 gun and 80mm of sloped frontal armour, it was superior to any individual tank the Americans and British could bring to bear. At the same time, the Panther had superior manoeuvrability compared with the Tiger tank. 2,200 Panther A tanks were built, making it the second-most numerous Panther variant after the Ausf. G. The Panther A saw service on the Eastern Front, as well as in Normandy and Italy, so you’ll
have plenty of opportunities to field – or face – this deadly steel beast.

View from the Factory
The plastic Panther A model has been a long time coming! Needless to say, several members of our Malaysian team were quite happy to be the first hobbyists in the world to build this model.

The new Panther A kit has been designed to use the same track sprue that goes with our older Panther G model. Some of the parts on the track sprue – like the exhaust pipes and the ball-mounted hull MG with Zimmerit – have just been waiting all these years to come together in an all- plastic kit.

Our early assembly tests at the factory helped to ensure that all parts from both old and new sprues fit perfectly. Do note that early Panther A tanks were equipped with a pair of vertical exhaust pipes at the rear of the tank, but later production tanks had a triple pipe coming out of the left side instead of the normal single left pipe, to help with cooling.

This could be a great way to distinguish some Panther A tanks in the Late-War period as newly-arrived replacements! The new hull and turret have been modelled with the Panther A’s Zimmerit anti-mine paste, giving it a very distinctive textured look compared with our Panther G model. Anticipating that Soviet infantry would begin using magnetic anti-tank mines, the Germans began applying the paste to new Panther A tanks in the factory in late 1943 – but ultimately abandoned the practice by September 1944.

Alex’s Luftwaffe Feld-Division

with Alexander Nebesky (Battlefront NZ)

My first Flames Of War army was German, my Fortress Europe army was German, and when Hobby League started up and everybody had gravitated to the other three forces it seemed like I was destined for Germans again. Luckily for me, with D-Day: German on the horizon I was able to take a deep dive into all the exciting German forces and pick a unique and colourful force to work on.

The key to embarking on any project, Flames Of War or otherwise, is to latch onto something you find interesting. For me, that meant the opportunity to either modify units in my force or paint a colour I haven’t painted before- because after two lots of grenadiers in Field Grey, I was frankly not that interested in doing it a third time around.

A tabletop approximation of 16. Feld-Division (L) in Normandy, 1944, offers me both of these chances— an opportunity to paint Luftwaffe blue, and an opportunity to modify a few grenadier uniforms to reflect the very swish LwFD camouflage smock.

Having spent an afternoon spitballing with Phil and Andrew, I came up with a list representing 16. Feld-Division (L) roughly as they were during Operation Goodwood, supported by bits of 21. Panzerdivision.

I’m working out of the very exciting D-Day: German, which isn’t out yet—but then again, what’s the point of hanging out at the Battlefront Studio if I can’t get a little early access. With this in mind, here are my first 50 points:As I’m sure you can see, my first 50 points give me a playable formation, but it is also all infantry, which is something of a mountain to climb in only a month—especially since I’m also hoping to pull off some figure modifications to make the miniatures

A Brief History of Luftwaffe Field Divisions
The Luftwaffe Field Divisions were raised from the ranks of regular old Luftwaffe ground crew. They weren’t the most exceptional troops on account of having never signed up for infantryman duties, and their inception as dedicated field divisions was more a response to suggestions that the German Army could do with a few hundred thousand more warm bodies than it was the establishment of a military unit full of guys who found their natural calling as foot-sloggers after making a brief detour into air force work (kind of like switching your major at university mid-degree because you found out anthropology was really more your thing than law). In any case, the LwFDs kept their organisation and remained under the leadership of Luftwaffe officers until late in 1943 when they were reorganised and transferred to the Heer.

Project Research
Up until their transfer, Luftwaffe Feld-Division boys were outfitted with the traditional feldblau Luftwaffe Uniform, making them a distinctive blue on the battlefield, quite obviously different to the feldgrau of the Heer. After being subsumed into the army structure, the LwFD boys were outfitted with regular feldgrau Heer uniforms as their original blues ran out. This will give me the opportunity to paint a mixture of Luftwaffe and Heer uniforms and equipment for my force, as by 1944, there would have been a good mix of kit and uniform. A great source for uniforms is this here 18th Luftwaffe Field Division https://18thluftwaffefielddivision.weebly.com/our-kit.html> reenactment group (who don’t appear to have any info on their ‘About Us’ page, so I can’t thank them), and there is a full list of kit I could apply to my LwFD (you can follow the link and see the list yourself) and there is also this handy tidbit on the subject of mixed Heer/Luftwaffe uniforms:

“Very frequently we can see, especially as the war progressed into 1944-45, the use of Heer uniforms and insignia within the ranks of the LwFD. Not only was supply of uniforms and equipment transitioned to Heer supply, but also the replacements of men. It is for these reasons that we find such variance in equipment and uniforms through to the end of the war.”

Smock and Roll
One of the key features of the Luftwaffe field boys was their iconically formless and ubiquitous camouflage smock. The picture at the top of the article shows a man of the Luftwaffe Field Divisions in one of these splinter-camo smocks. The plastic grenadier kit doesn’t happen to be wearing these smocks. If I were playing my LwFD as kitted fully in Heer or fully in Luftwaffe standard service uniforms this would be no problem, I would just paint then feldgrau of feldblau or a mixture of the two and be on my merry way. But no, I’m going to model a selection of my figures in this iconic smock—and that means Green Stuff.

The simple recipe is to trim off the bottom of the uniform jacket, slice off any pockets, and then with a rubber clay brush (as tiny as you can get it) start spreading the green stuff around the waist of the figure and down to just above his knees. The Luftwaffe camo smock did not have any breast pocket, so you could either shave those off the figures or very thinly green stuff around them to hide them, but in most cases there is enough webbing and extra bits of equipment already covering them. The smock did have a pocket on either thigh which you could model with two tiny squares of green stuff.

After priming, I painted the smock according to the instructions in Colours Of War, a mixture of German Camo Beige and Green Ochre, then highlighted with German Camo Beige. To separate my Luftwaffe camo pattern from the Heer I picked a slightly different colour combination, using Vallejo Panzer Aces Splinter Blotches I & II, which give a brighter colour palette and are a good colour choice for FJs too.

The guys in blue also benefited from Colours of War, as I followed the Luftwaffe Jaeger instruction in the book to get that bright blue I was so looking forward to painting.

The Rest of the Stuff in the List
My 50 points of modified Luftwaffe infantry is certainly a bit ambitious, but it’s comforting to know that the following months will see me painting only a handful of tanks, so it’s not the end of the world. The 10.5cm guns in the support are being modelled as captured Russian guns from the Eastern Front just to add another point of visual interest to the list- they are close enough in use and effectiveness that it’s not beyond the pale to use the 10.5cm Unit Card for those models.

The elements of 21. Panzer that backed up the Luftwaffe in Caen will be represented by a pair of Tiger tanks, a handful of three or four StuGs, and a captured Sherman Firefly. Instead of keeping the list strictly to 100 points, I’m actually painting up a few more points worth of things so I have the option to switch and swap the odd unit or two to give the force a lot more modularity.

Make sure you check back on the Hobby League page each week to see what the gang has been up to, and to see how you can get involved with the Hobby League in your local store or club.

Luftwaffe Field Divisions

with Phil Yates

With the release of D-Day: German comes a series of Command Cards used to represent various specific units from the German defence of Normandy. One such Command Card, Air Force Soldiers, gives players the chance to field 16. Luftwaffe Feld-Division. This card could equally be used to represent many of the Luftwaffe Field Divisions of the war, so we dug up an article from the archives outlining the history of the Luftwaffe Field Divisions- perhaps there’s one here for you to represent on the table with D-Day: German…

In the desperate winter of 1941, the Heer, the German Army, was on the defensive after its failed advance on Moscow. Every available unit was thrown into the battle, including the Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger (air force paratroops). One such unit was the Luftlandesturmregiment, Air-landing Assault Regiment, under Generalmajor Meindl. The regiment’s casualties were so severe that it was withdrawn early in 1942.

However, Generalmajor Meindl and his staff remained behind and formed Division Meindl from spare Luftwaffe ground crew. Under the veteran Fallschirmjäger commander the division fought well in the defence of Cholm.

By the spring of 1942, the Army’s need for troops to replace its casualties was so acute that they convinced Hitler to transfer surplus troops from the Luftwaffe to the Heer. Reichsmarshall Herman Göring, Commander In Chief of the Air Force, was furious. Not only would his personal empire be diminished, but also the reactionary Army, the very organisation responsible for the failures of the previous year, would corrupt his loyal National Socialist airmen.

Instead he offered 22 Luftwaffen Felddivisionen, 22 Air Force Field Divisions, that would remain under air force control, although under army command. The success of Meindl’s division swung the balance, and Göring got his way.

The first ten of these divisions were organized in September of 1942, and, still in their air force-blue uniforms, dispatched to the Eastern Front.

Unfortunately, despite their brand new equipment (the envy of army units still fighting with old, worn out gear from previous battles), they had very little infantry training and little heavy support. Unlike Meindl’s division, their officers were airmen with no knowledge of ground combat at all. As a result, the first Luftwaffe field divisions did not perform well when they entered combat. The remaining divisions formed in early 1943 were little better.

At least one half-formed division was overrun by the spearhead of a Soviet attack while marching to the front, still having conducted no training at all! In November 1943, all remaining Luftwaffe field divisions were converted to regular infantry divisions under full army control.

Luftwaffe field divisions were approximately half the size of their Heer counterparts.

A normal Infanteriedivision had three regiments each of three infantry battalions and an artillery regiment. A Luftwaffe Felddivision had only four Jäger (light infantry) battalions and a single battalion of artillery (often only equipped with out-dated mountain guns or heavy mortars). On top of this, whereas the Infanteriedivision had an anti-tank battalion, a reconnaissance battalion, and a pioneer battalion, the Felddivision often had only one company of each.

The best-equipped divisions had full battalions, but even then, the anti-tank battalion only had 15 anti-tank guns in three companies, one of nine 5cm PaK38, and two each of three 7.5cm PaK40, and no other anti-tank guns in the entire division! There were two positive features though. Firstly, each division had a full Luftwaffe anti-aircraft battalion with four powerful 8.8cm FlaK18 anti-aircraft guns. Secondly, the divisions were entirely equipped with trucks as gun transports and supply vehicles. They had no horses at all.

Divisional Histories

1. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalleutnant Gustav Wilke)
Relieved the Spanish 250. Infanterie Division, the famous Blue Division, in November 1942, taking up positions north of Lake Ilmen between Moscow and Leningrad.

This was supposed to be an easy sector, and remained quiet until January 1944 when the Red Army launched a massive attack through the division’s sector, wiping the division out in a matter of days.

The division’s artillery was initially only one battalion of 7.5cm GebK15 mountain guns. It was strengthened by two more battalions in 1943, although the battalions may have only had two batteries of four guns each!

2. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Oberst Hellmuth Pätzold)
Was formed at the same time as 1. Luftwaffe Felddivision and was similarly equipped. Additionally it had a company of six StuG D assault guns. The division occupied a sector of the Rzhev salient in November 1942. Unusually, its positions were facing west!

On 25 November the southern part of the division was overrun by a massive Red Army attack, although the northern flank held on until 9 December. The division was rescued by 19. Panzerdivision and Grossdeutschland and reoccupied its positions.

The division was attacked again in October 1943 in its new positions near Nevel, abandoning most of its heavy equipment and retreating rather hastily (as the German Army delighted in pointing out to the Luftwaffe). The division continued to fight on until disbanded in January 1944.

3. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalleutnant Robert Pistorius)
Formed at the same time as 1. & 2. Luftwaffen Felddivision, this division occupied positions south of Nevel (north of Vitebsk just west of the Rzhev salient). It had a fairly quiet time until Christmas Eve, 1943 when it was attacked by the 5th Tank Corps. The division was quickly cut off and overrun, being disbanded in January 1944.

4. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Oberst Hans-Georg Schreder)
Took up position south of 3. Luftwaffe Felddivision near Nevel. Initially it had one battalion of two batteries of 10.5cm NW40 heavy mortars for its artillery. It gained four more batteries in two more battalions during the summer of 1943. The division was heavily engaged in the battle around Vitebsk, and later absorbed the remnants of the 3. Luftwaffe Felddivision after its disbandment. 4. Luftwaffe Felddivision fought on until it was destroyed in the Vitebsk pocket in June 1944.

5. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Oberst Hans-Bruno Schulz-Heyn)
While the first four divisions fought in the north around Moscow, 5. Luftwaffe Felddivision was sent south to Army Group B in the Caucasus. It was posted to defend Krasnodar, near the Black Sea, with the Rumanian Cavalry Corps. On 11 January 1943 the Red Army launched Operation Mountain to push Army Group B from the Caucasus. The attack split 5. Luftwaffe Felddivision in two. Half remained with the Cavalry Corps, while the other half fought with 4. Gebirgsjägerdivision further north. The fighting continued until May, by which time the division was reunited in the Kuban bridgehead, the only remaining German toehold in the Caucasus. In late May, the division withdrew to Crimea to reorganise before moving to the front lines at Melitopol, just north of the Crimean Peninsula, in September where it absorbed 15. Luftwaffe Felddivision as replacements for previous losses. On 9 October 1943, the Red Army launched another major offensive that cut off the Crimean Peninsula. The division was retreated westward and fought on until disbanded in May 1944.

6. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalleutnant Rudolf Peschel)
After defending Velikiye Luki, north of the Rzhev salient, in heavy fighting in November and December 1942, 6. Luftwaffe Felddivision took up position between of 2. & 3. Luftwaffen Felddivisionen near Nevel in July 1943. There it received additional artillery batteries to form weak second and third artillery battalions.

It remained there until the attacks of January 1944.

It fought off heavy attacks with the help of the Hornisse tank-hunters of 519. Panzerjägerabteilung, winning the Knights Cross for the divisional commander and Obergefreiter Heinz Reichmann. It then absorbed the remnants of 2. Luftwaffe Felddivision to replace its losses. The division was destroyed in the Vitebsk pocket in June 1944.

7. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalmajor Wolf Freiherr Von Biedermann)
Was hastily rushed to the front to hold the line on the Chir River after the encirclement of Stalingrad. It was involved in continuous fighting until March, 1943 when it was disbanded and the survivors used to strengthen 15. Luftwaffe Felddivision. Oberleutnant Emil Eitel won the Knights Cross during this period.

The division’s artillery was a single battalion of 7.5cm GebK15 mountain guns. They were supported by a company of five StuG D assault guns.

8. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalleutnant Wilibald Spang)
Although 8. Luftwaffe Felddivision was supposed to be organised the same as 7. Luftwaffe Felddivision, it was slightly different due to the way it was formed. Kampfgruppe Statel (formed from rear-area Luftwaffe troops retreating from Stalingrad under Oberst Rainer Statel) was already in combat on the Chir River when the rest of the division, newly arrived from Germany, was assigned to a different sector.

While moving up to their assigned positions, the anti-tank battalion and leading battalions ran headlong into the Soviet spearhead and were annihilated. The survivors of the division fought on throughout the winter. In April 1943 what was left of the division was used to strengthen 15. Luftwaffe Felddivision.

9. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalmajor Ernst Michael)
The next series of Luftwaffe divisions had a little longer to organise and actually had two regiments of three infantry battalions. In the case of 9. Luftwaffe Felddivision they were 17. & 18. Luftwaffen Jägerregimenter (light infantry regiments). Although the division had no assault guns, it did have two weak battalions of artillery, and in theory, full battalions of anti-tank, pioneers, and infantry reconnaissance.

It joined the divisions guarding the Soviet troops trapped in the Orienbaum pocket on the coast just west of Leningrad in December 1942. It initially occupied an 11-mile front, but this was later increased to 23 miles. Far too long a stretch for such a weak division. One battalion briefly fought with 227. Infanteriedivision around Lake Ladoga, before returning to guard the pocket in March 1943.

The sector was quiet until 14 January 1944, when a massive Soviet attack by the 2nd Shock Army burst through the division. The attack by five infantry divisions and a tank brigade destroyed the Luftwaffe division in just four days.
10. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalmajor Walter Wadhehn)
Like 9. Luftwaffe Felddivision, 10. Luftwaffe Felddivision spent most of its life guarding the Orienbaum pocket. In January 1943 a Kampfgruppe or battlegroup from the division fought near Lake Ladoga, supported by four Tiger tanks from 502. schwere Panzerabteilung and Marder tank-hunters of 563 Panzerjägerabteilung.

The same attack that destroyed 9. Luftwaffe Felddivision rolled over the division, although Kampfgruppe Helling fought on until the division was officially disbanded in February 1944. The commander of 19. Luftwaffe Jägerregiment, Oberst Matussek, won the German Cross in Gold for his valiant defence.

Unlike the 9. Luftwaffe Felddivision, the division had three battalions of artillery. One with twelve 10.5cm NW40 heavy mortars, and two battalions of twelve 7.5cm GebK15 mountain guns.

11. Luftwaffe Felddivision
This division was formed in Greece for guard duties and did not see combat until late 1944 as it retreated through the Balkans.

12. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalleutnant Herbert Kettner)
One of the two really good Luftwaffe field divisions, 12. Luftwaffe Felddivision was part of Army Group North from February 1943 until the end of the war. It had 23. & 24. Luftwaffen Jägerregimenter, each of three battalions, and two battalions of artillery, each with twelve old 1897-model French 75mm guns. Its anti-tank battalion had twelve new 7.5cm PaK40 anti-tank guns, twelve 2cm FlaK38 anti-aircraft guns, and ten StuG assault guns with long 7.5cm guns.

In February 1943 they entered combat near Lake Ladoga north of 1. Luftwaffe Felddivision. They stopped a Soviet attack in their area winning two German Crosses in Gold in the process. They fought hard and well in the January 1944 fighting and in the subsequent retreats. They were finally cut off in the Courland pocket and ended the war fighting in East Prussia.

13. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalmajor Hans Korte)
Entered the line south of 12. Luftwaffe Felddivision in February 1943. It took part in the July 1943 battles, but was destroyed in the retreat in January 1944.

14. Luftwaffe Felddivision
This division spent the war performing garrison duties in Norway.

15. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalmajor Eduard Muhr)
This division was scratched together from local air force units around Rostov in November 1942. It absorbed the survivors of 7. & 8. Luftwaffen Felddivisionen in April 1943 and received its artillery regiment from France in May. Its first battles were in July 1943 near Taganarog on the Sea of Azov just west of Rostov. The division was surrounded, but broke out leaving most of its heavy weapons behind. Hauptmann Eitel won a posthumous Knights Cross leading 30. Luftwaffe Jägerregiment through enemy lines.

In October the remnants were at Melitopol on the Dnepr River when they were overrun again. The survivors were absorbed into 5. Luftwaffe Felddivision south of Zaphorye.

16. Luftwaffe Felddivision
Fought in France, 1944 and destroyed at Caen soon after D-Day.

17. Luftwaffe Felddivision
Destroyed defending the Seine crossings in France, 1944, during the breakout from Normandy.

18. Luftwaffe Felddivision
Destroyed in the Mons pocket in France, September 1944.

21. Luftwaffe Felddivision (Generalmajor Richard Schimpf)
21. Luftwaffe Felddivision was formed from Division Meindl, which had five regiments each of four infantry battalions, but little else. Division Meindl was formed as an overall command for the numerous air force security battalions and hastily formed defence battalions that suddenly found themselves in the front lines during the Soviet 1941 winter offensive. When it was formed in February 1942, the regiments were all attached to infantry divisions between Leningrad and Moscow.

1. Luftwaffe Feldregiment was with 218. Infanteriedivision in and around the Cholm pocket.
2. Luftwaffe Feldregiment was with 5. Jägerdivision near Staraya Russia.
3. Luftwaffe Feldregiment was with 12. Infanteriedivision in and around the Demyansk pocket.
4. Luftwaffe Feldregiment was with 18. Infanteriedivision (mot) around Lake Ilmen.
5. Luftwaffe Feldregiment was with 290. Infanteriedivision in and around the Demyansk pocket.

Between then and December 1942, when 21. Luftwaffe Felddivision was formed, the division was reunited and held the southern flank of the newly opened corridor to Demyansk and Cholm. The newly formed division only had four regiments, the fifth having been disbanded. It gained an artillery regiment with French guns in the summer of 1943, along with an assault gun battery of four long-barrelled StuG III assault guns (increased by a further six StuG IV in 1944) and ten 7.5cm PaK40 guns. Each regiment was also reported as having as many as ten 7.62cm PaK36(r) anti-tank guns. At this point it was easily the strongest Luftwaffe field division in existence.

The division was involved in heavy fighting from March 1944 until it surrendered in the Courland pocket at the end of the war.

22. Luftwaffe Felddivision
Disbanded before fully formed.

The D-Day: Beach Assault Mission Terrain Pack

If you want to cut to the chase and get to gaming D-Day, you can check out the Mission Terrain Pack in the Online Store…

Focussing on D-Day with the first wave of Late War releases has given us all a chance to get excited about the monumental D-Day landings and airborne assaults vividly brought to life by media like Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers.
However, one of the difficulties with D-Day games is the requirement for specific terrain, and while you can direct order that terrain (and landing craft) right here…, for many of us, D-Day games come round but once a year.

Our new Cardboard D-Day terrain set contains everything you would ever need for any number of Beach landing missions from the D-Day: American book- including landing craft, minefields, gun bunkers, and mortar pits. Your new D-Day: German Beach Defence force has everything they need to fight off the attacking Allies. To it all together, all the German defensive unit stats in the back of D-Day: American are provided as unit cards to match the pop-out and play cardboard defensive units.

On top of landing craft for beach missions like FUBAR, the Cardboard Terrain mission pack also gives you handy cardboard tokens and pieces for airborne missions. The Drop Zone Marker is used to determine the drift of parachute landing forces, while the Landing Zone Marker is used for troops landing in Gliders.You can check out our handy How-To videos on Airborne and Beach Landings below- everything you need to know to use the new Cardboard Terrain pack!

Wayne’s Big Four Germans

with Wayne Turner (Battlefront NZ)

The Big Four Of Late War is a four-man journey through Late War starting with an army box each and working through every Late War release of V4.
With everyone in the Big Four selecting one of the four major Flames Of War Late War forces, it fell to Wayne to work on a German force which you can check out here on the Big Four Website…

Be sure to regularly check out the Big Four website during the course of the Late War journey- as you can see from the quality of Wayne’s painting here, the Big Four put a lot of effort into presenting exceptional armies.

Follow the Big Four on Instagram here…

D-Day: German Reviews and Write Ups

You can read a collection of community content ranging from reviews to force overviews, battle reports to Command Card forces from the great Flames Of War community.