5. Fallschirm Jäger Division

It was formed in March 1944 and sent to Brittany in May.¹ The theoretical organization of the division was²:

The division reported a ration strength of 12 836 men on 22 May 1944. However most of these men must have been poorly trained and equipped. The division had an authorized strength of 17 455, but only 12 253 of these positions were manned. Also many units were seriously short of equipment. The Pi.Btl. was supposed to have 738 rifles, but it only had 38. The Fallsch.Pz.Jäg.Abt. 5 was authorized 36 7,5 cm Pak, but it had only three. Fallsch.Jäg.Rgt. 14 was to have 2 961 rifles but had 1 162.³

The Flak battalion had its twelve 8,8 cm Flak gun it was supposed to have.

These circumstances also made training more difficult. The net effect was low combat value of the division. The verdict of von der Heydte was harsh⁴:

The 5. Fallsch.Div. was of little combat value. Less than 10 % of the men had jump trained, at most 20 % of the officers had infantry training and combat experience. Armament and equipment incomplete; only 50 % of authorized number of machine guns; one regiment without helmets, no heavy anti tank weapons; unmotorized.

A weakness the division suffered from was shortage of artillery. It seems that it had the I. Abt. available when it departed for Normandy. According to the commander of the division it travelled together with the Fs.Jäg.Rgt. 15.⁵ On 21 July the I./Fs.Art.Rgt. 5 was with the division and had three batteries, each with six 10,5 cm le.FH.⁶ Possibly the battalion lost its equipment during operation Cobra because on 1 August it was in Luneville to receive twelve new 10,5 cm howitzers.⁷ One week later the battalion was reported to be in Normandy.⁸ The II. and III. Abt. of the regiment did not participate in the battles in Normandy.⁹

The mortar battalion with its three companies is only mentioned by Tessin.¹⁰ It is not mentioned at all by the commander of the division.¹¹ It has not been found in any documents concerning Normandy. Possibly the forming of this unit was never completed.

In May 1944 the division only had 60 % of authorized manpower, only 25 % of light weapons, 23 % of heavy weapons and 9 % of motor vehicles.¹²

The unreadiness of the division is also reflected in the piecemeal commitment of the division in Normandy. The first unit to move to Normandy was the Fallsch.Jäg.Rgt. 15. On 25 June the I. Btl. had reached the vicinity of St. Lô, while the II. Btl. was located 5 km north-east of Percy. The III. Btl. Lagged behind and had only reached a point ten km south-east of Avranches.

On 9 July it was reported that the 13. Fs.Jäg.Rgt. was located in the Villedieu - Avranches area, while the 14. Fs.Jäg.Rgt. was still in the Lamballe - Dinan area.¹³ The II./Fs.Jäg.Rgt. 13 remained in St. Malo until 14 July, when it departed for Normandy after being relieved by the 1222. Sich.Btl.¹⁴

When operation Cobra was launched the 5. Fallsch.Jäg.Div. was not deployed as a single formation. The Fs.Jäg.Rgt. 14 was subordinated to the Pz.Lehr¹⁵, while the Fs.Jäg.Rgt. 15 had been sent to II. Fallsch.Korps.¹⁶ This left the commander of the division with the Fallsch.Jäg.Rgt. 14, the engineer battalion and probably also the artillery battalion.

The division continued to be employed splintered like this. Thus it is almost impossible to assess its casualties. According to OKH estimates, which have been showed to be overly pessimistic, the division had about 4 000 men on 1 September 1944.¹⁷

Possibly the division lost about 8 000 men during the actions in Normandy, but this is just a guess.

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Notes:

1	G. Tessin, Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS (Mittler & Sohn, Frankfurt am Main and Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1966-1975).
2	Ibid.
3	Gliederung 5. Fs.Div. 22.5.44. BA-MA RH 20-7/136.
4	Von der Heydte, Das Fallschirmjägerregiment 6 in der Normandie, MS # B-839, p. 50.
5	G. Wilke, Bericht über 5. Fallsch.J.Div. in der Normandie v. 6. Juni - 24. Juli 44, MS # B-820, p. 2.
6	Gen.Kdo. LXXXIV A.K. Ia Nr. 035/44g.Kdos 22.7.44, Taktische Gliederung der Artillerie, Stand 21.7.44, T314, R1604, F001388.
7	KTB des höheres Artilleriekommandeur der Fallschirmtruppe, KTB Nr. 1, BA-MA RL 33/3.
8	Übersicht über den Stand der Art. Einh., Anlage 33 zum KTB des höheren Artilleriekommandeurs der Fallschirmtruppe, KTN Nr. 1, BA-MA RL 33/3.
9	See KTB des höheres Artilleriekommandeur der Fallschirmtruppe, KTB Nr. 1, BA-MA RL 33/3 and Übersicht über den Stand der Art. Einh., Anlage 33 zum KTB des höheren Artilleriekommandeurs der Fallschirmtruppe, KTN Nr. 1, BA-MA RL 33/3.
10	Tessin, op. cit.
11	See G. Wilke, Bericht über 5. Fallsch.J.Div. in der Normandie v. 6. Juni - 24. Juli 44, MS # B-820.
12	OB West Ia Anlagen, Anruf OKW/WFst Gen.Major Frhr.v.Buttlar bei OB West vom 22.5.44, T311, R24, F7028756.
13	OB West Ia Nr. 5443/44 g.Kdos, vom 9.7.44, T311, R28, F7034330.
14	KTB AOK 7 Ia, entry 14.7.44, T312, R1569, F000158.
15	F. Bayerlein, Pz.Lehr Division 15 - 25 juli 44, MS # A-903, p. 6.
16	Wilke, op. cit. p. 6. Note that the author often writes June when he obviously must have meant July.
17	OKH Org.Abt. I Nr. I/19995/44 g.Kdos. 16.10.1944, T78, R432, F6403685ff.