Mountain Troops

Germany had three mountain divisions (1-3) at the start of the war. The 1st contained three mountain infantry regiments and rates as 9-8.

The 2nd and 3rd were formed in 1938 from mountain troops of the former Austrian Army; each had only two mountain infantry regiments and rates 7-8. Although lightly equipped when compared to an infantry division, the mountain divisions had excellent soldiers, who were specially selected and extensively trained.

Infantry

For all the fame of the panzer divisions, the great majority of the Army's divisions were infantry. Most infantry divisions were raised on the wave (Welle) system. In wartime, whenever the high command decided it needed more infantry divisions, it would draw up a table of organization and equipment (TOE) for the divisions and then raise a series, or wave, of divisions. The wave would be raised at the same time throughout Germany, per the wave's TOE. Before the outbreak of war, the wave system worked similar to the above, except that the divisions were often raised at different times, rather than simultaneously.

The first wave consisted of the 35 active infantry divisions (1, 312, 14-19, 21-28, 30-36, 44-46). Except for the last three divisions, the first-wave divisions traced their origins to the seven infantry divisions of the 100,000- man Army Germany maintained under the Versailles Treaty. (The 44th and 45th were formed in 1938 from elements of the former Austrian Army, while the 46th was also formed that year, from the Sudeten Germans following the incorporation of the Sudetenland into Germany.)

The first wave divisions were powerful, with the highest proportion of active personnel and lavished with more and better weapons than the other waves.

For example, due to shortages of heavy weapons, only the first wave had 5cm mortars, 8cm mortars, and 15cm infantry guns at the start of the war. The first wave would retain its edge over the other waves until mid- war, when the weight of heavy losses in the Soviet Union ironed out most differences between the waves. Until that time, however, first-wave divisions were given the toughest missions and were the preferred choice when converting infantry divisions to motorized or panzer divisions.

The Army's rapid expansion, however, had not left the first wave untouched. Rather than drawing all its manpower from active soldiers, 22% of personnel came from the reserves, with the result that 31 infantry and 5 artillery battalions had to be formed from reservists on mobilization to bring the divisions to full strength.

In the OB, the rating base for the first wave is 7-6. Five divisions, however, are downgraded to 6-6: the 44th and 45th were each short an artillery battalion and otherwise below establishment. Each of the 12th, 27th, and 46th had to form three or four battalions from reservists on mobilization, which meant they were less efficient than the other divisions. All five divisions go to 7-6 in October 1939, as they equip up and shake down.

Although the Luftwaffe had gained control of the paratroopers (absorbing the Army's parachute battalion), the Army did retain its air- landing troops. One first-wave division, the 22nd Air Landing (Luftlande), had had its infantry regiments trained for air- landing operations. (The division otherwise remained on first wave standards.

For example, it had a standard artillery regiment, which was useful when the division was in the field but had to be left behind if the infantry was airlifted anywhere.) At the outbreak of the war, one regiment of the division was detached to 7th Flying Division (Flieger), for possible air transport into Poland.

All four of the motorized infantry divisions (2, 13, 20, 29) had originally been first-wave divisions. They had been motorized, with a few changes from the TOE of the first wave, in order to provide the panzer divisions with mobile infantry support. The rating base for the division is 7-10, with the 29th reduced to 5-10 since it had one regiment and one artillery battalion detached to the 10th Panzer Division.

When the panzer troops began their major reorganization in the autumn of 1939, the motorized infantry divisions were also affected. Due to an overall lack of motorized infantry in the Army, the divisions were raided to supply other formations, each losing one of its three infantry regiments. (The divisions did receive a motorcycle battalion in partial compensation.)

Factoring in equipment upgrades along with the experience the divisions gained in the Polish campaign, this reorganization gives them a 6-10 rating. (Had they not been robbed of a regiment, they would have gone to 8- 10 in the autumn.) Most of these reorganizations occur in early 1940 and hence are ignored by the OB.

The second wave contained 16 divisions (52, 56-58, 61, 62, 68, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 78, 79, 86, 87). The bulk of their personnel came from Class I reservists-men who had recently received modern military training as active soldiers in the Wehrmacht. Their rating base is 6-6. Of these divisions, the 79th was still being formed in WK XII in September 1939, joining the field army about a month later.

Twenty divisions (206-209, 211218, 221, 223, 225, 227, 228, 231, 239, 246) comprised the third wave. The vast majority of their manpower consisted of Landwehr (older men with WWI training) and Class II reservists (younger men with little military training), with a small cadre of young, trained Class I reservists. Older weapons constituted much of their equipment, particularly the artillery. Their rating base is 5-6.

One third wave division, the 214th, although officially part of the field army at the start of the war, is shown as being "in formation" in the OB. On 1 September 1939, it was being issued new machine guns and other equipment at the Baumholder Maneuver Area.

It started to test fire its new weapons on 3 September 1939 and was not effectively operational until it finished the tests. Thus, the OB has it forming until Sep II 39.

The fourth wave, the last of the pre-war waves, had 14 divisions (251- 258, 260, 262, 263, 267-269). These divisions formed for the first time upon mobilization. In peacetime, they did not exist. Instead, each infantry and artillery regiment of the first wave contained one or two "reinforcement" battalions. On mobilization, these battalions left the first-wave regiments and assembled into the fourth-wave divisions.

The rating base for this wave is 6-6. However, each division is reduced a point to 5-6 to reflect its lack of unit cohesioneach battalion in a division had little or no experience in coordinating with the other battalions of the division.

On 8 September 1939, the Army began forming the fifth wave--the first of many wartime waves. Due to a lack of German equipment, the five divisions of this wave (93, 94, 95, 96, 98) were equipped with material seized from the Czechoslovakian Army. (Fortunately for this wave, Czech weapons were first class.) The divisions were supposed to be combat capable around 1 November, but their training lagged to mid- November. The rating base for these divisions is 6-6.

Two further waves (the sixth, four more divisions with Czech equipment, and the seventh with 13 divisions) began forming in 1939. These waves were not combat capable until 1940 and thus are ignored in the OB.

Non-Wave Divisions

The Germans also had several non-wave divisions:

• The 14th Landwehr Division (4- 5-5) was the only Landwehr Division not converted to a third wave division by the start of the war. It had four Landwehr infantry regiments but only a single battalion of artillery. (it converted to a regular infantry TOE in January 1940, becoming the 205th Infantry Division.)
• The 50th Infantry Division was formed from Fortress Division Kustrin. There is some confusion among German sources as to whether this redesignation happened before or after the outbreak of war. If before, then the redesignation was nominal, with the division retaining its original organization. In October 1939, it converted to the TOE of a second wave division.

  A month later, it converted to the first-wave TOE, minus an artillery battalion. For convenience, the OB shows this formation as Fortress Division Kustrin (4-6-4) until it converts to second wave in October, at that point becoming the 50th Infantry Division (6-6). Since it lacks a battalion and its troops may not be fully up to first-wave standards, its conversion to first-wave TOE (7-6) is skipped in the OB. (it will convert to first wave in a later OB.)

• The 60th Infantry Division (6-6) was formed in October 1939 from the two Danzig police regiments of Brigade Eberhardt, plus the demotorized 92nd Infantry Regiment from the 2nd Motorized Infantry Division. - The 60th was a good division and later became an excellent motorized and panzergrenadier division.
• The 72nd Infantry Division (6-6) was formed in September 1939 from Fortress Division Trier. It was stiffened by swapping an infantry regiment with the first wave 34th Infantry Division.

The field army also contained several non-divisional infantry formations

• Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland had been formed from the earlier Guard Regiment Berlin. Grossdeutschland was tagged to become a showcase unit of the field army (in effect, a rival to the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler of the SS), but this had not proceeded far by September 1939. It was attached to the 7th Flieger Division for possible air landing operations in Poland, but it was not used in this role.

  In October, it underwent the first of many wartime transformations, absorbing elements of the 2nd Motorized Infantry Division and Lehr Infantry Regiment and becoming a strong, fully motorized infantry regiment.

• Brigade Eberhardt consisted of Danzig's police and SS. Danzig had been detached from Germany at the end of World War I. It was a "free city" under the League of Nations, with its port handling imports and exports for Poland. Danzig was populated almost exclusively by Germans, which is why it wasn't simply given to Poland. Danzig's inhabitants resented their situation and followed (and copied) developments in Germany.

  Thus, by 1939 Danzig was under the control of its own Nazi Party, which closely linked to the Nazi Party of Germany.

  Danzig had its own militarized forces: the Danzig SS and militarized police regiments organized similarly to German Landespolizei regiments. Brigade Eberhardt was an ad hoc headquarters that controlled the Danzig forces in the Polish campaign. In the OB, the Danzig SS contingent is shown independently, so the brigade consists of the two Danzig police regiments, plus an artillery battalion, border battalion, and work group.

  Danzig was reincorporated into Germany during the Polish campaign, and the German SS and Army absorbed the Danzig forces. . Group Netze is mentioned in some accounts of Army Group North during the Polish campaign. Netze was a scratch unit formed from various elements of the border forces, and thus its units are all accounted for by the border regiments in the game. After the campaign, Netze temporarily was redesignated the 301st Infantry Division, but its assets were soon dispersed or disbanded.

• Like Netze, the Baumgarter and Goldap brigades in East Prussia were temporary formations of existing border units and hence aren't shown in the OB.
• Group Brand was a field formation of Landwehr and regional defense (Landesschutzen) units, guarding the East Prussian frontier near the junction of the Polish and Lithuanian borders. After the Polish campaign, units from Brand joined units from Brigade Lotzen to form the basis of the 31 1th Division.
• The Fuhrer Begleit Battalion was a crack Army unit charged with guarding Hitler. (This unit eventually expanded to become a brigade and then a division; it is best known to Americans for its participation in the Battle of the Bulge.)

  It accompanied Hitler into Poland in September 1939 when he toured Wehrmacht forces there. It is not included in the OB with the forces that invaded Poland, since it would have entered combat only in the unlikely circumstances of Polish forces breaking through in the area Hitler was visiting.

• The "zbV" Assault Engineer Battalion is technically an infantry (not engineer) formation. Since it was trained and equipped for the assault of fortifications, its abilities are best represented by showing it as assault engineer, not infantry. In 1939, it was deployed against Poland. After the campaign, it was officially designated the 100th Infantry Battalion, and became famous for breaking the Belgian fortifications in 1940.

MG and AA

Army machine gun and (light) antiaircraft units belonged to the infantry branch. The Germans had two separate series of machine gun battalions. The first, with 14 battalions (1-11, 13-15) were army troops providing MG and antitank support (each battalion had three MG companies and one antitank company). They were motorized and were able to be used as motorized infantry-in fact, in 1940-41 several became motorcycle or motorized infantry battalions for the panzer troops.

The second series of machine gun battalions were actually antiaircraft units, with "machine gun" a deception title-to deceive the Luftwaffe, not the enemy! When the Luftwaffe was formed, it became responsible for most AA defense, and the Army was forced to hand over its own AA units to the rival service. The Luftwaffe in return was supposed to provide the Army with AA defense, but this received a very low priority.

The Army, concerned that it might have to go to war without AA defense, formed a series of 2cm AA units, disguised as machine gun battalions. There were eight of these battalions, each with six companies on mobilization. The companies were parcelled out, one to each first-wave infantry division, panzer division, light division, motorized infantry division, and cavalry brigade. For game purposes, the OB assumes that the companies are parcelled out only to the panzer, light, and motorized infantry divisions, thus giving each enough for one point of intrinsic AA.

After the Polish campaign, the pretense that these units were machine gun battalions was dropped, and they were redesignated AA battalions. They continued to be parcelled out by company to divisions. In addition, the first of an eventual 20 independent motorized light AA battalions (the 600-series) was formed.

Inside Europa First to Fight Designer's Notes Part II, Section B Germany [Europa 24]

German Army Divisions and Panzer Troops
Mountain Troops and Infantry
Cavalry, Artillery, and Engineer/Construction Troops
Security Troops
The Replacement Army
Luftwaffe
Kriegsmarine
Brandenburgers
SS and SA
Table 1: 1939 German Tanks
Table 2: 1939 German Divisions: Authorized Organizations
Table 3: German Divisions: Authorized Strengths
Table 4: German Aircraft

Inside Europa First to Fight Designer's Notes Part II, Section A Germany [Europa 23]

Introduction
Army Re-armament and Manpower
Strategic Situation
Germany-Allies Strength Comparison
German High Command and the Government
Volksdeutsch Resettlement 1939-1942
The Wehrkreis System
Frontier Defenses and Border Regt Commands