2:52 - Although I believe the Obergefreiter was technically junior enlisted (Mannschaften), for TO&E purposes they were in the same personnel category as lower NCOs who led squads (Oberjäger and Unterfeldwebel in the Fallschirmjäger's case) so that could also be a contributing factor to the confusion. Although I haven't seen anything definitive to suggest Jäger and Gefreiter were unused ranks in reality either. Patrons got this video a few days early (partially because it was demonetized and I had to appeal): www.patreon.com/battleorder
On the "exotic" weapon side, I suppose the Fallschirmjagers would receive higher allocation of G43 and StG44, since being motorized infantries they were often used as mobile reserve or fire brigades and generally expected to see more fiercer combat. Perhaps just as they generally followed the Heer Panzergrenadier formation when the Fallschirmjagers started having trucks, on the StG44 side they might even utilize the Sturmgruppe organization from Heer Volksgrenadiers, with squads armed entirely with StG44 plus MG. Also, were their higher-level units also Luftwaffe units? Like the Flak units or Panzerjagers units
Interesting to note that all three Platoon Leaders were commissioned officers in the Fallschirmjägers. This is unlike the run-of-the-mill Heer Schützen-Kompanie, where only one out of the three was a Leutnant, the other two being senior NCOs.
Yes, although looking at some of the officer rosters from 1945 there are a lot of Feldwebel and Oberfeldwebel platoon leaders in practice gliederungundstellenbesetzung.blogspot.com/search?q=1945
Most platoons were supposed to be led by junior officers until around 41-42 according to the KStN. So in this case it would be the FJ holding on to the old standard for everyone rather than elevating it.
@@fridrekr7510 So after that KStN it wasn't the case? The Fallschirmjäger only had two officers, one Hauptmann and one Leutnant, per company? Strange, considering that, for a while, US Paratroopers had two commissioned officers per platoon, one platoon leader and one alternate, in '44.
@@SirCheezersIII Most FJ KStN seem to indicate that they stuck with the early war structure with a Hauptmann as Kompanieführer and a Leutnant/Oberleutnant as Zugführer in each of the three platoons. So the FJ didn't really do anything special, they just didn't change two of their platoon leaders to senior NCOs when most other units did around mid war. There's usually the same amount or less of senior NCOs (Stellengruppe O) as there are officers (Stellengruppe Z and K) in a company. One wonders what they did with all their senior NCOs, especially before they began being alloted as platoon leaders. In general, there's a bit of rank inflation going on in the American TOEs. In the German companies, even the secondary platoon and company leaders (Zugtruppführer and Kompanietruppführer) are of the same rank group as the squad leaders (whereas many ignorants think those positions would be occupied by senior NCOs like in the Anglo armies).
3:14 were the Fallschirmjäger all volunteer in 1944 or did they rely on conscripts? If so the inflated ranks may have been an incentive, like jump pay in the US.
Throughout the entire war it was a volunteer only unit yes the quality of the men probably decreased but they where volunteers none the less and from what I read they weren't payed more than regular soldiers
I doubt they would promote unqualified soldiers to NCOs simply for better pay. The German system is very strict and formal, even troughout the war all the training and service time requirements were generally adhered to (although war experience shortened some of the peace time requirements). They wouldn’t simply promote a Oberleutnant to Hauptmann for being an acting company leader, instead the junior rank fulfills the position above his formal level until he is qualified for the higher rank. I also want to contest that the table literally meant all the regular soldiers had to be OJäg. (Uffz.) at minimum. The Stellengruppe given is “G” (Gruppenführer) which also includes OGefr. (which is a senior enlisted rank, not a junior NCO rank like Uffz.). It’s therefore possible that it simply meant everyone had to be an experienced enlisted man, not that everyone had to have leadership skills and formal NCO schooling.
My understanding is that Unteroffizier was the equivalent to Corporal as the most junior NCO rank with Ober- more akin to the PFC rsnk, so Oberjaeger reflects both better training/responsibility and higher pay as I am not aware of them using jump pay. I believe the FJ had a SGT (Unterfeldwebel) and Corporal (Unteroffizier) leading the squads, at least pre- and early war in contrast to the regular infantry squad with only the Corporal. It was my undrrstanding the bicycle may have in fact been employed by the Armorer to allow him to move between squads to fulfil his duties. But it makes sense that a messenger would make good use of it. I would also think the PL might use it in "garrison" or in static defense to move among his squads. As others have said, the AT unit at Company should have Panzerschreck, the Panzerfaust issued as ammunition as needed or wanted. But all this is not set in stone but rather some guesswork from the sources. Hopefully it gives more to the discussion rather than settle it!
Oberjäger is the equivalent of Unteroffizier in the Jägertruppen (Jäger, Gebirgsjäger, and Fallschirmjäger). The confusion stems from the fact that Jäger was the first enlisted rank in the Jägertruppen, and thus people expect that Oberjäger would be the second enlisted rank, like how the infantry had Schütze as the first and Oberschütze as the second enlisted ranks. In the Heer this was solved by also using Oberschütze in the Jäger and Gebirgsjäger units, while the Luftwaffe didn't have this rank in the first place, so a Fallschirmjäger would always go straight from Jäger to Gefreiter (whereas a Schütze in the Heer could either be promoted to Oberschütze or Gefreiter depending on performance). Unteroffizier is the most junior NCO (Unteroffiziere) rank and would typically be a squad leader, so roughly equivalent to a British Corporal or an American Sergeant. Unterfeldwebel has the same responsibilities as an Unteroffizier and is just a promotion given for seniority.
On the NCOs, Oberjäger was the first NCO rank in the Fallschirmjäger rank structure, equivalent to an Unteroffizier in the Army. They didn't have an equivalent to the Army's PFC-like Ober- ranks, just the LCpl-like Gefreiter grades On the AT, that would've been my first assumption, but generally in the KStNs (German equivalent of TO&Es) the Panzershreck would be explicitly listed as 8,8 cm Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 because it was an actual weapon. Panzerfausts wouldn't be listed since they were a munition and no specific anti-tank weapon is listed in this Fallschirmjäger KStN. So one would need an additional source to figure out exactly what they were equipped with. In retrospect anti-tank grenades would also have probably been a good guess
This is awsome! I generally use alot of your media as a foundation for my arma missions among other things! I would love to see more company/platoon level organizations and down, from any country really! Specific to this video, perhaps some more information, if you can find it, about the organisation of the units, as they went on airborne operations. Or for example, one of you're previous videos, detailing Soviet or russian Air assault units. Which detailed their standard, riding in their respective vehicles. But I've had great difficulty trying to figure out, what organization and equipment they would be using, during an air assault via helicopter. Perhaps, as seen at Hostomel airport. Thank you for your great content, Jakob
I guess the "tank destroyer team" is armed with 2 PzSchrecks. Reasons: I havent seen any "Panzerfaust KstN" at all. PzFaust was a "munition" type like a hand grenade. It doesnt make sense to have a 4-men-team that is just dedicated to "munition usage". Furhtermore, when my memory is correct, in Italy the concept of "Panzervernichtungszüge" - tank killer squads - was tested and established with "Ofenrohre" and "Puppchen" ending in a standardise usage of "Ofenrohre" aka PzSchreck. This theory is based on the books "battle of monte cassino 1944" by Katriel Ben Arie and the market garden books "Kampfgruppe Walther and Panzerbrigade 107/Autumn Gale".
RPzB do show up on KStN though. That's why one could assume that the AT team is just using the Panzerfaust. Remember that the concept of infantry using hand held AT weapons to defeat tanks in close combat (typically called Panzerzerstörer instead of Panzerabwehr/Panzerjäger) preceeds the RPzB and the Panzerfaust, so it's more of a doctrine than a specifically equipped type of unit. You see a ton of differently labelled units that are just composed of riflemen with Kar98k, but the point is that their role and training is different to each other.
That would've been my first assumption, but generally in the KStNs (German equivalent of TO&Es) the Panzershreck would be explicitly listed as 8,8 cm Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 because it was an actual weapon. Panzerfausts wouldn't be listed since they were a munition and no specific anti-tank weapon is listed in this Fallschirmjäger KStN so I'd need an additional source to say exactly what they were equipped with. In retrospect anti-tank grenades would have also been a good guess
ghöring once bragt " jeder Fallschirmjäger würde ein Unteroffier in jeder anderen Truppengattung sein" ( please dont ask me to dig up that quote ) "every Fallschirnjäger would be an NCO in every other part of the Army " , given that they where Elite Forces they would have had there pic on Personal . It would make sense if they took in only the People that would qualify as NCO otherwise/everywhere else and as a Esprit de Chor gave them an NCO Title .
It is a shame that no more KStNs exist of the Luftwaffe FJ units. The earlier one is from before the beginning of the war, and it is not very detailed on the actual platoon organisation. It can probably be inferred from the later KStN that there were 3 squads with 12 men in the earlier one, with 2 MP-38/40s, 2 MG-34s, and that the extra 2 men were ammo carriers. Even so, it would be interesting to know if changes were made before and after 1940 and 1941.
@@DD-qw4fz Kriegstärkenachweisung. What the British Army calls War Establishments, and the US Army calls Tables of Organisations and Equipment (TO&Es).
could the reason for the NCO inflation be something akin to flight sergeants in the Army AF, the idea being if they became POWs they would recieve better treatment?
I'm sort of leaning on the camp that it was either an error or not implemented but I don't actually know. It definitely wasn't a thing in 1942. Some people post old unit rosters online and the few I've seen with non-officers have tons of Jaegers and Gefreiters gliederungundstellenbesetzung.blogspot.com/2012/12/1fallschirmjager-regiment-3-lehr.html
@@BattleOrder2 Did you consider the Stellengruppen? The TOE given by wwiidaybyday don’t specificy ranks, only Stellengruppe (and only EM, NCO, CO in case of FJs). There’s no way to tell whether a specific position would be occupied by a Jg or Gefr, or whether it’s an OGefr, StGefr, OJg, or UFw. Even on the regular PzGren TOE the deputy squad leader is listed in the same category as the squad leader (Stellengruppe “G” and green for NCOs) even though we know the SL would usually be Uffz or UFw, while the 2IC would be an OGefr. So if we assume it wasn’t just a mistake, I strongly speculate that the riflemen in the late TOE would be OGefr not OJg (Uffz).
@@fridrekr7510 The Stellengruppen are why I depicted ranks as a range generally, except for the squad leader being OJg because that was generally common in the rosters I had seen. But I had forgotten that Obergefreitere were in the "G" Group rather than "M" so maybe that contributes to why it was the way it was. Although I haven't read anything other than this KStN to suggest Jäger and Gefreiter were unused ranks either
On ww2tv I heard Woody mention in passing that the Fallschirmjäger in Normandy were part of an anti-paratrooper force. Have you ever heard of this? I remember thinking at the time it made sense when you're on the defensive but it's actually quite stupid. You don't fight light immobile infantry with light immobile infantry. You fight light immobile infantry with mobile armor. Fair fights are for suckers.
Neither Allied Paratroopers nor Fallschirmjagers are particularly "immobile." The former were initially employed as shock troops and saboteurs tasked with capturing enemy held positions while preventing them from receiving reinforcements; mobility was absolutely essential to reaching their objectives at all. While armor was faster than foot soldiers, trucks were faster still and far cheaper to maintain and operate over long distances. This made them theoretically more useful for reinforcing defensive positions at risk of falling or reacting to immediate security threats, more so than the comparatively more valuable Panzer units already tied up in the East.
The allied airborne were immobile (after landing), at least without augmentation, but the Fallschirmjaeger of this time period were motorized infantry so were capable of more rapid redeployment in-theater.
@@Kingfisher_2376 "Mobile" in military parlance means more than "can move". It means the entire division, including all it's support weapons, ammunition and supplies are able to operate, and be combat effective, outside their immediate geographical location. It means they have at least some assets to maintain their mobility and combat effectiveness like logistics and repair assets, basic engineering capability and longer ranged recon and scouts. Para's and gliders are "deployable". Once they're deployed they're combat effective only in that geographical area. (unless augmented, like our host says above) As we're talking about Normandy, the Germans had Static Infantry Divisions stationed along the Atlantic Wall. These were also "Immobile" in the same sense. The only logistics assets they had were to transport munitions to the front. If you're like me and ever wondered what the difference between Paratrooper and Airmobile divisions is, or if the Airmobiles are just para's with helicopters instead of parachutes, this should also answer that question 😀.
After the invasion of Crete, there were no more airdrops for F-Jägers. They acted like Luftwaffe infantry (the best of the Luftwaffe infantry). If there was a detachment of 88 Flaks, there would be L-Waffe infantry units to protect them. It would be rare to see them on the frontline or in any type of forward operations. And TOE's are just theoretical/on paper. MG-42's didn't automagically appear in a unit because it was 1942.... The MG-42 was deployed as heavy MG's (on lafettes) in set positions (around the 88's I mentioned). They didn't run around with these weapons. They were setup to protect HQ's etc. Tables of Equipment don't mean didly squat. Some of the fantasies people have...
2:52 - Although I believe the Obergefreiter was technically junior enlisted (Mannschaften), for TO&E purposes they were in the same personnel category as lower NCOs who led squads (Oberjäger and Unterfeldwebel in the Fallschirmjäger's case) so that could also be a contributing factor to the confusion. Although I haven't seen anything definitive to suggest Jäger and Gefreiter were unused ranks in reality either.
Patrons got this video a few days early (partially because it was demonetized and I had to appeal): www.patreon.com/battleorder
Panzerfaust cant be found in the TOE because its not Equipment but ammunition.
I think I learned that from MHV.
@@shaider1982same
My grandpa was Fallschirmjäger in 1944 and 1945 and his entire company was mounted, like the cavalry of old.
On the "exotic" weapon side, I suppose the Fallschirmjagers would receive higher allocation of G43 and StG44, since being motorized infantries they were often used as mobile reserve or fire brigades and generally expected to see more fiercer combat. Perhaps just as they generally followed the Heer Panzergrenadier formation when the Fallschirmjagers started having trucks, on the StG44 side they might even utilize the Sturmgruppe organization from Heer Volksgrenadiers, with squads armed entirely with StG44 plus MG.
Also, were their higher-level units also Luftwaffe units? Like the Flak units or Panzerjagers units
Herman Goring Panzer Division 1 and 2. Also their was Korp level commands. But these were mostly luftwaffe in name only I believe.
Interesting to note that all three Platoon Leaders were commissioned officers in the Fallschirmjägers. This is unlike the run-of-the-mill Heer Schützen-Kompanie, where only one out of the three was a Leutnant, the other two being senior NCOs.
Yes, although looking at some of the officer rosters from 1945 there are a lot of Feldwebel and Oberfeldwebel platoon leaders in practice gliederungundstellenbesetzung.blogspot.com/search?q=1945
@BattleOrder2 Would not surprise me, that's just part of the WW2 infantry experience, Axis or Allies.
Also *box daddy responded to me!* 😍
Most platoons were supposed to be led by junior officers until around 41-42 according to the KStN. So in this case it would be the FJ holding on to the old standard for everyone rather than elevating it.
@@fridrekr7510 So after that KStN it wasn't the case? The Fallschirmjäger only had two officers, one Hauptmann and one Leutnant, per company?
Strange, considering that, for a while, US Paratroopers had two commissioned officers per platoon, one platoon leader and one alternate, in '44.
@@SirCheezersIII Most FJ KStN seem to indicate that they stuck with the early war structure with a Hauptmann as Kompanieführer and a Leutnant/Oberleutnant as Zugführer in each of the three platoons. So the FJ didn't really do anything special, they just didn't change two of their platoon leaders to senior NCOs when most other units did around mid war. There's usually the same amount or less of senior NCOs (Stellengruppe O) as there are officers (Stellengruppe Z and K) in a company. One wonders what they did with all their senior NCOs, especially before they began being alloted as platoon leaders. In general, there's a bit of rank inflation going on in the American TOEs. In the German companies, even the secondary platoon and company leaders (Zugtruppführer and Kompanietruppführer) are of the same rank group as the squad leaders (whereas many ignorants think those positions would be occupied by senior NCOs like in the Anglo armies).
I would like you to make a video of the German airborne today, the structure of its platoons, squadrons and teams and how they are equipped
3:14 were the Fallschirmjäger all volunteer in 1944 or did they rely on conscripts? If so the inflated ranks may have been an incentive, like jump pay in the US.
Throughout the entire war it was a volunteer only unit yes the quality of the men probably decreased but they where volunteers none the less and from what I read they weren't payed more than regular soldiers
I doubt they would promote unqualified soldiers to NCOs simply for better pay. The German system is very strict and formal, even troughout the war all the training and service time requirements were generally adhered to (although war experience shortened some of the peace time requirements). They wouldn’t simply promote a Oberleutnant to Hauptmann for being an acting company leader, instead the junior rank fulfills the position above his formal level until he is qualified for the higher rank. I also want to contest that the table literally meant all the regular soldiers had to be OJäg. (Uffz.) at minimum. The Stellengruppe given is “G” (Gruppenführer) which also includes OGefr. (which is a senior enlisted rank, not a junior NCO rank like Uffz.). It’s therefore possible that it simply meant everyone had to be an experienced enlisted man, not that everyone had to have leadership skills and formal NCO schooling.
My understanding is that Unteroffizier was the equivalent to Corporal as the most junior NCO rank with Ober- more akin to the PFC rsnk, so Oberjaeger reflects both better training/responsibility and higher pay as I am not aware of them using jump pay. I believe the FJ had a SGT (Unterfeldwebel) and Corporal (Unteroffizier) leading the squads, at least pre- and early war in contrast to the regular infantry squad with only the Corporal.
It was my undrrstanding the bicycle may have in fact been employed by the Armorer to allow him to move between squads to fulfil his duties. But it makes sense that a messenger would make good use of it. I would also think the PL might use it in "garrison" or in static defense to move among his squads.
As others have said, the AT unit at Company should have Panzerschreck, the Panzerfaust issued as ammunition as needed or wanted.
But all this is not set in stone but rather some guesswork from the sources. Hopefully it gives more to the discussion rather than settle it!
Oberjäger is the equivalent of Unteroffizier in the Jägertruppen (Jäger, Gebirgsjäger, and Fallschirmjäger). The confusion stems from the fact that Jäger was the first enlisted rank in the Jägertruppen, and thus people expect that Oberjäger would be the second enlisted rank, like how the infantry had Schütze as the first and Oberschütze as the second enlisted ranks. In the Heer this was solved by also using Oberschütze in the Jäger and Gebirgsjäger units, while the Luftwaffe didn't have this rank in the first place, so a Fallschirmjäger would always go straight from Jäger to Gefreiter (whereas a Schütze in the Heer could either be promoted to Oberschütze or Gefreiter depending on performance). Unteroffizier is the most junior NCO (Unteroffiziere) rank and would typically be a squad leader, so roughly equivalent to a British Corporal or an American Sergeant. Unterfeldwebel has the same responsibilities as an Unteroffizier and is just a promotion given for seniority.
On the NCOs, Oberjäger was the first NCO rank in the Fallschirmjäger rank structure, equivalent to an Unteroffizier in the Army. They didn't have an equivalent to the Army's PFC-like Ober- ranks, just the LCpl-like Gefreiter grades
On the AT, that would've been my first assumption, but generally in the KStNs (German equivalent of TO&Es) the Panzershreck would be explicitly listed as 8,8 cm Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 because it was an actual weapon. Panzerfausts wouldn't be listed since they were a munition and no specific anti-tank weapon is listed in this Fallschirmjäger KStN. So one would need an additional source to figure out exactly what they were equipped with. In retrospect anti-tank grenades would also have probably been a good guess
This is awsome! I generally use alot of your media as a foundation for my arma missions among other things! I would love to see more company/platoon level organizations and down, from any country really! Specific to this video, perhaps some more information, if you can find it, about the organisation of the units, as they went on airborne operations.
Or for example, one of you're previous videos, detailing Soviet or russian Air assault units. Which detailed their standard, riding in their respective vehicles. But I've had great difficulty trying to figure out, what organization and equipment they would be using, during an air assault via helicopter. Perhaps, as seen at Hostomel airport.
Thank you for your great content,
Jakob
WW2 content, nice!
I guess the "tank destroyer team" is armed with 2 PzSchrecks. Reasons: I havent seen any "Panzerfaust KstN" at all. PzFaust was a "munition" type like a hand grenade. It doesnt make sense to have a 4-men-team that is just dedicated to "munition usage". Furhtermore, when my memory is correct, in Italy the concept of "Panzervernichtungszüge" - tank killer squads - was tested and established with "Ofenrohre" and "Puppchen" ending in a standardise usage of "Ofenrohre" aka PzSchreck. This theory is based on the books "battle of monte cassino 1944" by Katriel Ben Arie and the market garden books "Kampfgruppe Walther and Panzerbrigade 107/Autumn Gale".
RPzB do show up on KStN though. That's why one could assume that the AT team is just using the Panzerfaust. Remember that the concept of infantry using hand held AT weapons to defeat tanks in close combat (typically called Panzerzerstörer instead of Panzerabwehr/Panzerjäger) preceeds the RPzB and the Panzerfaust, so it's more of a doctrine than a specifically equipped type of unit. You see a ton of differently labelled units that are just composed of riflemen with Kar98k, but the point is that their role and training is different to each other.
Nah, close range AT troop should have Panzerschrecks in two man teams. Panzerfaust was ammunition, as such was given to anybody on need basis.
That would've been my first assumption, but generally in the KStNs (German equivalent of TO&Es) the Panzershreck would be explicitly listed as 8,8 cm Raketenpanzerbüchse 54 because it was an actual weapon. Panzerfausts wouldn't be listed since they were a munition and no specific anti-tank weapon is listed in this Fallschirmjäger KStN so I'd need an additional source to say exactly what they were equipped with. In retrospect anti-tank grenades would have also been a good guess
@@BattleOrder2 Were anti-tank rifles still in circulation amongst combat units by 1944?
@@HydraHolden in some parts for Germany. But not generally.
ghöring once bragt
" jeder Fallschirmjäger würde ein Unteroffier in jeder anderen Truppengattung sein" ( please dont ask me to dig up that quote )
"every Fallschirnjäger would be an NCO in every other part of the Army " ,
given that they where Elite Forces they would have had there pic on Personal . It would make sense if they took in only the People that would qualify as NCO otherwise/everywhere else and as a Esprit de Chor gave them an NCO Title .
Nice ^^
Perhaps the old font and graphic style would have been nicer though?
I second this notion.
nice video bro
When you are in a most pompous naming competition and your opponent is WWII Germans:
🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️ Was ist eine space bar ???
It is a shame that no more KStNs exist of the Luftwaffe FJ units. The earlier one is from before the beginning of the war, and it is not very detailed on the actual platoon organisation. It can probably be inferred from the later KStN that there were 3 squads with 12 men in the earlier one, with 2 MP-38/40s, 2 MG-34s, and that the extra 2 men were ammo carriers. Even so, it would be interesting to know if changes were made before and after 1940 and 1941.
Whats KStNs
@@DD-qw4fz Kriegstärkenachweisung. What the British Army calls War Establishments, and the US Army calls Tables of Organisations and Equipment (TO&Es).
How was the 82nd airborne organized in the early 1980s to the late 90s??
could the reason for the NCO inflation be something akin to flight sergeants in the Army AF, the idea being if they became POWs they would recieve better treatment?
I'm sort of leaning on the camp that it was either an error or not implemented but I don't actually know. It definitely wasn't a thing in 1942. Some people post old unit rosters online and the few I've seen with non-officers have tons of Jaegers and Gefreiters gliederungundstellenbesetzung.blogspot.com/2012/12/1fallschirmjager-regiment-3-lehr.html
@@BattleOrder2 Did you consider the Stellengruppen? The TOE given by wwiidaybyday don’t specificy ranks, only Stellengruppe (and only EM, NCO, CO in case of FJs). There’s no way to tell whether a specific position would be occupied by a Jg or Gefr, or whether it’s an OGefr, StGefr, OJg, or UFw. Even on the regular PzGren TOE the deputy squad leader is listed in the same category as the squad leader (Stellengruppe “G” and green for NCOs) even though we know the SL would usually be Uffz or UFw, while the 2IC would be an OGefr. So if we assume it wasn’t just a mistake, I strongly speculate that the riflemen in the late TOE would be OGefr not OJg (Uffz).
@@fridrekr7510 The Stellengruppen are why I depicted ranks as a range generally, except for the squad leader being OJg because that was generally common in the rosters I had seen. But I had forgotten that Obergefreitere were in the "G" Group rather than "M" so maybe that contributes to why it was the way it was. Although I haven't read anything other than this KStN to suggest Jäger and Gefreiter were unused ranks either
I believe they stopped acting as paratroopers, or at least conducting major jumps after the invasion of Crete due to high losses in men and machines.
So is main channel just going to be Cold War-Modern now?
Ah yes WW2, back when you can get away with having so many men in one infantry company
Is that a Medal of Honor game title soundtrack ?
Yes
I jast love the paras
So they were like a chicken of birds?
Later in the war
PINO: Parachutist In Name Only.
@@Korporaal1 thats pretty funny
Are you gonna ever look at Finnish brigade or regiment compositions?
USA H-Series Infantry.
Please do a video on the U.S. Paratrooper squads in 1944
On ww2tv I heard Woody mention in passing that the Fallschirmjäger in Normandy were part of an anti-paratrooper force. Have you ever heard of this?
I remember thinking at the time it made sense when you're on the defensive but it's actually quite stupid. You don't fight light immobile infantry with light immobile infantry. You fight light immobile infantry with mobile armor. Fair fights are for suckers.
Neither Allied Paratroopers nor Fallschirmjagers are particularly "immobile." The former were initially employed as shock troops and saboteurs tasked with capturing enemy held positions while preventing them from receiving reinforcements; mobility was absolutely essential to reaching their objectives at all. While armor was faster than foot soldiers, trucks were faster still and far cheaper to maintain and operate over long distances. This made them theoretically more useful for reinforcing defensive positions at risk of falling or reacting to immediate security threats, more so than the comparatively more valuable Panzer units already tied up in the East.
The allied airborne were immobile (after landing), at least without augmentation, but the Fallschirmjaeger of this time period were motorized infantry so were capable of more rapid redeployment in-theater.
@@Kingfisher_2376 "Mobile" in military parlance means more than "can move".
It means the entire division, including all it's support weapons, ammunition and supplies are able to operate, and be combat effective, outside their immediate geographical location. It means they have at least some assets to maintain their mobility and combat effectiveness like logistics and repair assets, basic engineering capability and longer ranged recon and scouts.
Para's and gliders are "deployable". Once they're deployed they're combat effective only in that geographical area. (unless augmented, like our host says above)
As we're talking about Normandy, the Germans had Static Infantry Divisions stationed along the Atlantic Wall. These were also "Immobile" in the same sense. The only logistics assets they had were to transport munitions to the front.
If you're like me and ever wondered what the difference between Paratrooper and Airmobile divisions is, or if the Airmobiles are just para's with helicopters instead of parachutes, this should also answer that question 😀.
After the invasion of Crete, there were no more airdrops for F-Jägers.
They acted like Luftwaffe infantry (the best of the Luftwaffe infantry). If there was a detachment of 88 Flaks, there would be L-Waffe infantry units to protect them.
It would be rare to see them on the frontline or in any type of forward operations.
And TOE's are just theoretical/on paper. MG-42's didn't automagically appear in a unit because it was 1942....
The MG-42 was deployed as heavy MG's (on lafettes) in set positions (around the 88's I mentioned).
They didn't run around with these weapons. They were setup to protect HQ's etc.
Tables of Equipment don't mean didly squat.
Some of the fantasies people have...
pubg orbat
Similar to Ukrainian Air assault troops. They also only have it in the name 😂
Or the Russians for that matter. Those are basically mechanized high-readiness forces. This YT channel has a video on both of them.
Finest Army in history. Took the world to beat them. Same for their Airborne.
Delusional Wehraboo
Ridiculous 😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@damirblazevic4823 absolutely