The 2nd Parachute Division (''2.

Fallschirmjäger The ''Fallschirmjäger'' () were the paratrooper branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. Throughout World War II, the commander ...

Division'') was an elite airborne division of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previou ...

(

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

) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Formation

The 2nd Parachute Division was raised in 1943, with the 2nd Parachute Regiment, recently detached from the 1st Parachute Division serving as its nucleus. In May, the division was sent to

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune ha ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, where it became part of the XI Flieger Corps along with the 1st Parachute Division. This Corps served as the reserve for the German 10th Army in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. When the Italian government started to crumble in September, the 2nd Parachute Division was dispatched to Italy. It carried out coastal defense duties near the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...

estuary. The men moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in the evening of September 8 and participated in a subsequent operation to capture the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

. The 1st Battalion of the 2nd Parachute Regiment participated in the capture of

Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flight f ...

Island in the

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited ...

. The island was then still occupied by Italian forces supplemented by British units following the surrender of Italy. By November 16, the island was retaken by German forces.

Operational history

In October 1943, the division was deployed to the Eastern Front in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and was subordinated to the 42nd Corps, west of

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

. On December 15, the division was airlifted south toward Kirovograd to contain a Soviet breakout. A German counter-attack then commenced against heavy opposition. By December 23, the attack faltered and the division returned to the defensive. In January 1944, the division remained on the Eastern Front, successfully opposing the Soviet offensive around Kirovograd. The Soviet advance resumed in March causing the division to retreat behind the

Bug River uk, Західний Буг be, Захо́дні Буг , name_etymology = , image = Wyszkow_Bug.jpg , image_size = 250 , image_caption = Bug River in the vicinity of Wyszków, Poland , map = Vi ...

. The division fought its last actions on the Eastern Front in May during a counterattack against a

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

bridgehead In military strategy, a bridgehead (or bridge-head) is the strategically important area of ground around the end of a bridge or other place of possible crossing over a body of water which at time of conflict is sought to be defended or taken ove ...

across the Dniestr river. At the end of May the weakened division was pulled from the line and returned to Germany for refit, during which time was supplied with more than 1000 FG-42's as part of a new program to equip the paratrooper divisions, although only the 2nd Parachute Division would have the weapon in large numbers. The division was sent to garrison the northern french area. During the Allied D-Day landings on June 6, 1944, the 6th Regiment was stationed in the

Carentan Carentan () is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France, with a population of about 6,000. It is a former commune in the Manche department. On 1 January 2016, it was me ...

area of the

Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...

, near the US

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operat ...

's drop zones. The regiment was heavily engaged in the subsequent battles, including at

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.

. On June 13 the remainder of the division was transferred to Brest in western France. In July, the surviving elements of the 6th Regiment were caught in the Falaise Pocket and destroyed during the Allied advance. By August 9 the remainder of the division was driven back and cut off in the city of Brest, where it surrendered on September 20. A new division was formed by December; it fought in the defense of Germany in January 1945 and ended the war in the Ruhr Pocket in April. Parts of the already depleted division managed to break out from the Ruhr Pocket and was absorbed by the

6th parachute division The 6. Fallschirmjäger-Division (6th Parachute Division) was a '' Fallschirmjäger'' (airborne) division of the German military during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The division was formed officially in France in June 1944, ...

in mid April.

War crimes

The division has been implicated in a number of war crimes in Italy between September and October 1943, as follows:See http://194.242.233.149/ortdb/Gentile-ItinerareLazio.pdf , pages 44–46

an

/ref> * Rome (16 and 23 September, 7 and 23 October) * Palidoro (23 September, shooting of Salvo D'Acquisto and 1 October, shooting of 3 civilians) * Tolfa (10 October, shooting of 12 civilians) * Mentana (27 October, shooting of 25 civilians and 4 british former POW) * Bieda di Vetralla (29 October, shooting of 14 civilians)

Commanders

References

;Citations ;Works consulted {{DEFAULTSORT:2nd Parachute Division (Germany) Fallschirmjäger divisions Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 War crimes of the Wehrmacht