Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment
Encyclopedia
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
Fallschirmjäger
Fallschirmjäger
are German paratroopers. Together with the Gebirgsjäger they are perceived as the elite infantry units of the German Army....
Regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
which captured the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Fort Eben-Emael
Fort Eben-Emael
Fort Eben-Emael is an inactive Belgian fortress located between Liège and Maastricht, on the Belgian-Dutch border, near the Albert Canal, and designed to defend Belgium from a German attack across the narrow belt of Dutch territory in the region. Constructed in 1931–1935, it was reputed to be...
during the Battle of Belgium
Battle of Belgium
The Battle of Belgium or Belgian Campaign formed part of the greater Battle of France, an offensive campaign by Germany during the Second World War...
, assaulted Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
, and fought on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
History
Research Battalion Friedrichshafen was formed at HildesheimHildesheim
Hildesheim is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste river, which is a small tributary of the Leine river...
on 2 November 1939 from elements of the 1st Company of I./Fallschirmjäger Regiment 1 and the Engineer Platoon of II./Fallschirmjäger Regiment 1, but was soon renamed after its commander, Hauptman
Hauptman
Hauptman is the surname of:* Bruno Hauptmann , perpetrator of the Lindbergh kidnapping* Herbert A. Hauptman , mathematician and winner of the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry* Judith Hauptman , feminist Jewish Talmudic scholar...
Walter Koch
Walter Koch (Fallschirmjäger)
Walter Koch was a member of the Fallschirmjäger during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions during the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
, as Assault Battalion Koch. It was intended to open the way into Central Belgium by capturing the formidable modern Fort Eben-Emael
Fort Eben-Emael
Fort Eben-Emael is an inactive Belgian fortress located between Liège and Maastricht, on the Belgian-Dutch border, near the Albert Canal, and designed to defend Belgium from a German attack across the narrow belt of Dutch territory in the region. Constructed in 1931–1935, it was reputed to be...
defending the Albert Canal
Albert Canal
The Albert Canal is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, named after King Albert I of Belgium. It connects the major cities Antwerp and Liège and the Meuse and Scheldt rivers. It has a depth of , a free height of and a total length of...
as well three bridges over the Canal. The DFS 230
DFS 230
|-See also:-External links:* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/dfs230.html* http://www.luftarchiv.de/flugzeuge/dfs/dfs230.htm...
gliders of 17./KGr z.b.V. 5 were to be used to allow the assault groups to silently land virtually on top of their objectives, hopefully surprising the defenders and preventing them from either destroying the bridge or interfering with the German attack.
The battalion was divided into four Assault Groups for the invasion of Belgium on 10 May 1940. The four assault groups were named after the primary construction material of their assigned objectives. The bridge at Vroenhoven was primarily built out of concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
, iron was the material used in building the bridge at Canne and steel for the bridge at Veldwezelt. Sturmgruppe Beton (Concrete), with 96 men landing in 11 gliders, captured the bridge at Vroenhoven, suffering 7 dead and 24 wounded in the process. Sturmgruppe Eisen (Iron) consisted of 90 men in 10 gliders that captured the bridge at Canne, losing 22 dead, 26 wounded, not least due to one glider being shot down by anti-aircraft fire with only 6 survivors. Sturmgruppe Stahl (Steel) had 91 men crammed into only 9 gliders to assault the bridge at Veldwezelt. It succeeded at the cost of 8 dead, 16 heavily and 16 lightly wounded. Sturmgruppe Granit (Granite) landed on top of the fort with 83 men in 11 gliders and neutralized the fort at the cost of 6 dead and 20 wounded. The Belgians were unable to muster any serious counterattacks against the paras before they were relieved on 11 May. They played no further part in the Battle of France, but were withdrawn back to Germany to recuperate.
Two more battalions were formed during the fall of 1940 and the unit was redesignated as Air Landing Assault Regiment . A fourth battalion was raised during the winter of 1940/41, although it was organized similarly to a regular infantry regiment's heavy weapons battalion with companies of single-barreled 150 mm Do-Gerät 38 rocket launchers, 37 mm Pak 36
PaK 36
The Pak 36 was a German anti-tank gun that fired a 3.7 cm calibre shell. It was the main anti-tank weapon of Wehrmacht infantry units until 1942...
anti-tank guns and 20 mm Gebirgsflak 38
2 cm FlaK 30
The Flak 30 and improved Flak 38 were 20 mm anti-aircraft guns used by various German forces throughout the Second World War. It was not only the primary German light anti-aircraft gun, but by far the most numerously produced German artillery piece throughout the war...
mountain anti-aircraft guns as well as an engineer company. Details are unclear, but at least some of the anti-tank guns had been distributed among the fourth company of each line parachute battalion by the time of Operation Merkur.
The regiment didn't participate in the opening stages of the invasions of Greece and Yugoslavia, but was kept in reserve until it was needed for the invasion of Crete. Its 1st battalion landed by DFS 230
DFS 230
|-See also:-External links:* http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/dfs230.html* http://www.luftarchiv.de/flugzeuge/dfs/dfs230.htm...
gliders towed by Ju 52s
Junkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...
of LLG 1, but the rest of the regiment was parachuted in the vicinity of Maleme
Maleme
Maleme is a town and airport to the west of Chania, in North Western Crete, Greece. It is located in Platanias municipality, in Chania prefecture....
airfield on 20 May 1941. They landed almost on top of the New Zealand 5th Infantry Brigade, part of the 2nd New Zealand Infantry Division and suffered severely at their hands. However, reinforced by several battalions of the 5th Gebirgs (Mountain) Division
German 5th Mountain Division
The German 5th Mountain Division was established in the Austrian Tirol in October 1940, out of regiments taken from the 1. Gebirgs-Division and the 10. Infanterie Division. Its first action was in the 1941 Balkans Campaign, when it took part in Operations Marita and Merkur ; in the latter it was...
that landed the next day they were able to force the New Zealanders to retreat. This would be the regiment's only time to see action as a cohesive regiment during the war.
The regiment required months to replace all of its casualties and it wasn't until 27 September 1941 that the II. Battalion was flown to Russia as a substitute for the missing II./Fallschirmjäger Regiment 1 when the 7th Flieger Division was called to reinforce the German defenses southeast of Leningrad against heavy Soviet attacks. There it would remain until the 1st Fallschirmjäger Regiment was withdrawn in mid-December 1941. In May 1942, it was redesignated as the II. Battalion of the new Fallschirmjäger Regiment (FJR) 5.
Next to be summoned east in the regiment's new role as elite 'firemen' was the IV. Battalion which would substitute for 2nd Fallschirmjäger Regiment's missing third battalion. It left Germany in mid-November to shore up German defenses near Stalino. There it remained until the regiment was transferred to the Novgorod area beginning 17 March 1942. The regiment finally began to return to Germany on 6 July 1942. IV. was transferred to the training area of Mourmelon le Grand in France in October 1942 where it was temporarily designated as Lehrbatallion der Erdkampfschule der Luftwaffe. It served as the school troops for the Luftwaffes junior officer and NCO leadership schools there. In early 1943, it was redesignated as II./FJR 6 and assigned to the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division.
I. Battalion was flown to Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
on 6 December 1941 and then moved to the Juchnow area, west of Kaluga
Kaluga
Kaluga is a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: It is served by Grabtsevo Airport.-History:...
, to bolster the German defenses there. It was transferred to France in May 1942. It was eventually redesignated as I./FJR 12 in January 1944.
The regimental Stab (Headquarters) accompanied I. Battalion to Russia, but was used to control many of the Luftwaffe units forced into a ground-combat role by the Soviet winter counter-offensive. It was redesignated as Stab Luftwaffe-Division Meindl in February 1942.
Sources are unclear on III. Battalion's activities during this period, but it is known that its 10. Company was sent to the Rzhev
Rzhev
Rzhev is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population:...
area on 3 January 1942, under the command of the Fallschirmjäger-MG-Bataillon (Parachute Machine-gun Battalion), to reinforce 9th Army's defenses. It was transferred to France on 10 April 1942. It was redesignated as III./Fallschirmjäger Regiment 5 in May 1942.
Commanders
- Walter KochWalter Koch (Fallschirmjäger)Walter Koch was a member of the Fallschirmjäger during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions during the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
, 2 November 1939-31 August 1940 - Eugen MeindlEugen MeindlEugen Meindl was a highly decorated German Fallschirmjäger and general during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
, 1 September 1940-21 May 1941 - Hermann-Bernhard RamckeHermann-Bernhard RamckeHermann-Bernhard "Gerhard" Ramcke was a German general. He was a recipient of the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Swords, Oak Leaves, and Diamonds, one of only 27 people in the German military so decorated...
, 21 May-18 June 1941 - Eugen Meindl, 19 June 1941-26 February 1942