The ''Luftwaffe'' field divisions (German: ''Luftwaffen-Feld-Divisionen'') were the ground forces of the German ''

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

'' during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

History

The

divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

were originally authorized in October 1942, following suggestions that the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

(''Heer'') could be bolstered by transferring personnel from other services. The head of the ''Luftwaffe'',

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

, formulated an alternative plan to raise his own

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

formations under the command of ''Luftwaffe'' officers; this was at least partly due to political differences with the Army. Göring took great pride in the degree of political commitment and indoctrination of ''Luftwaffe'' personnel; he described paratroopers of the ''Luftwaffe'' as "political soldiers". The Army was considered by

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

standards too "conservative" – linked to

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

or monarchical traditions and ideals harking back to the Imperial days of the ''

Kaiser Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...

''. The plan was approved, and the divisions were raised from 200,000–250,000 ''Luftwaffe'' ground, support, and other excess personnel. They were initially organized with two '' Jäger'' (

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

) regiments of three

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

s each, along with an

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

battalion and other support units, but were substantially smaller than equivalent Army divisions, and by Göring's personal order were intended to be restricted to defensive duties in quieter sectors. Most of the units spent much of their existence on the Eastern Front. ''Luftwaffe'' Field Divisions were present at actions such as the "Little Stalingrad of the North", the attempt to relieve Velikiye Luki in November 1942–January 1943; the attempted defence of

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

during

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

in June 1944, and the fighting in the

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket was a Pocket (military), pocket located on the Courland Peninsula in Latvia on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 9 October 1944 to 10 May 1945. Army Group North of the ''Wehrmacht'' were ...

from July 1944 to May 1945, though they also fought in other

theatres Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communica ...

. The ''Luftwaffe'' Field Divisions initially remained under ''Luftwaffe'' command, but late in 1943 those that had not already been disbanded were handed over to the Army and were reorganized as standard infantry divisions with three two-battalion rifle regiments. They retained their numbering, but with ''Luftwaffe'' attached to distinguish them from similarly numbered divisions already existing in the Army and had Army officers. Until taken over by the Army, and in many cases for some time afterwards, these units were issued with standard ''Luftwaffe'' ''feldblau'' ("field blue") uniforms, and being so easily identifiable were said to often be singled out by opposing forces. Their reputation as combat troops was poor, despite the high standard of ''Luftwaffe'' recruits, at least in part because they were required to perform roles for which they as airmen usually had little training. An exception to the poor combat performance of ''Luftwaffe'' ground troops were ''

Fallschirmjäger The () were the airborne forces branch of the Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. They were commanded by Kurt Student, the Luftwaffe's second-in-comman ...

'' (paratrooper) units, whose performance was generally good, due to higher motivation, better training and higher entrance standards when compared to the ''Luftwaffe'' Field Divisions. Early ''Fallschirmjäger'' troops were also transferred directly from the Army to the ''Luftwaffe''. ''Luftwaffe'' Field Division airmen were frequently used for rear-echelon duties to free up front-line troops.

List of ''Luftwaffe'' Field Divisions

''Luftwaffe'' Field Corps

* I ''Luftwaffe'' Field Corps, planned during the winter of 1942–1943 on the basis of the 13th Air Corps (), but never really established. * II ''Luftwaffe'' Field Corps, October 1942–1 November 1943:

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

, 3rd, 4th, and 6th ''Luftwaffe'' Field Divisions ( Alfred Schlemm) * III ''Luftwaffe'' Field Corps, January 1943–November 1943: 9th and 10th ''Luftwaffe'' Field Division ( Job Odebrecht) * IV ''Luftwaffe'' Field Corps, January 1943–19 November 1944: 189th and 198th Infantry Divisions (Army) and 716th Static Infantry Division (Army) ( Erich Petersen)Lexikon der Wehrmacht
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References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *

External links

''Luftwaffe Field Divisions 1941–45'' By Kevin Conley Ruffner
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Luftwaffe'' Field Divisions Hermann Göring 1942 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Field Division