5th Paratrooper Division (Wehrmacht)
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5th Paratrooper Division |
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|---|---|
 Troop registration |
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| active | March 2, 1944 to April 1945 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire
|
| Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
| Armed forces | air force |
| Branch of service | Paratroopers |
| Type | Paratrooper Division |
| structure | structure |
| Installation site | Reims , France |
| Commanders | |
| list of | Commanders |
The 5th Fallschirmjäger Division was a major unit of the air force of the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War . The division was established on March 2, 1944 and was broken up in the Ruhr basin in April 1945.
history
The division was set up on March 2, 1944 in France in the Reims area from parts of the Parachute-Jäger-Training Battalion, the III./Fallschirm-Jäger-Regiment 3 and the III./Fallschirm-Jäger-Regiment 4 as well as new recruits. In May 1944 the division moved to the Rennes area in Brittany . After the Allies landed in Normandy , it was deployed at St. Lo and Aire at the front. In the heavy defensive battles, the division was largely destroyed by July 1944. The remains were locked in the so-called Falaise cauldron .
After the reorganization, the division was able to reach Martelange via Wiltz at the beginning of the German Ardennes offensive by December 24th. Later, due to strong Allied resistance, they withdrew to the area south of Bastogne. In January 1945 the division was in the Wiltz area and in February 1945 near Prüm in the Eifel. Remnants of the division came as far as the Laacher See and the Ruhr basin.
structure
- Parachute Hunter Regiment 13
- Parachute Hunter Regiment 14th
- Parachute Fighter Regiment 15th
- Parachute tank hunter division 5
- Parachute Artillery Regiment 5th
- Parachute anti-aircraft division 5
- Parachute Engineer Battalion 5th
- Parachute Grenade Launcher Battalion 5th
- Parachute Field Replacement Battalion 5
- Parachute Air News Section 5
- Parachute medical department 5
Commanders
- April 1, 1944 Lieutenant General Gustav Wilke
- October 15, 1944 Major General Ludwig Heilmann
- March 21, 1945 Kurt Gröschke
literature
- Werner Haupt : mountain troops, paratroopers and others. German special divisions 1935–1945. Dörfler, 2001, ISBN 3-89555-906-7 .
- Volkmar Kühn : German paratroopers in World War II. Verlagshaus Würzburg, 2006, ISBN 978-3-88189-635-1 , pp. 410-429.
