Previously disguised as the "civil" air ministry of the German government, the Luftwaffe sprang into existence in March 1935. Under the command of Hermann Goring, the Luftwaffe unveiled its previously secret aircraft and began its expansion. Goring, ever an empire builder, demanded control of antiaircraft defense, and all existing Army AA battalions were transferred to the Luftwaffe.

Also transferring police units under his control to the Luftwaffe, he laid the foundation for Regiment General Goring, a formation that would continue to grow until it ended the war as Parachute-Panzer Corps Hermann Goring.

The Luftwaffe used a Luftgau (air district) system for administration, similar to the Army's Wehrkreis system. In keeping with the Luftwaffe's separate character, Luftgau boundaries often did not coincide with WK borders.

For operations, the Luftwaffe divided Germany into four air fleets (Luftflotten). Each held operational control over all Luftwaffe elements in their areas. In wartime, the air fleets would extend their zones to encompass neighboring countries where active operations were occurring. In 1939, Air Fleets 1 and 4, bordering Poland, were responsible for air operations over Poland.

The flying division (flieger Division) was the next step below the air fleet. These divisions were HQs controlling Luftwaffe air units. In September 1939, there were seven flying divisions, numbered 1-7.

The first six controlled combat air units such as fighters and bombers. (In November, the first five were redesignated flying corps (flieger Korps), numbered I-V, but retained their previous functions, while the sixth was converted to 11 Antiaircraft Corps (Flakkorps) and used to control Luftwaffe AA units.)

The 7th Flieger Division controlled the parachute (Fallschirmjager) troops and their transports. The 7th was still a Luftwaffe controlling headquarters-it wasn't yet a "division" in the sense of an army ground division with a set number of regiments, battalions, and supporting arms.

At the outbreak of the war, the 7th Flying Division controlled all the forces gathered for possible airborne operations against Poland: paratroopers, air landing forces, and air transports. Of the paratroopers, only three battalions were operational and assigned to the 7th. If used, these battalions would have seized airfields in Poland and then been reinforced by the air landing troops.

The air landing troops constituted a diverse collection of ground units: the 16th Regiment of the 22nd Air Landing Division, the Grossdeutschland Regiment, the Feldherrnhalle Regiment of the SA, and one battalion of the Infantry Lehr Regiment. In the event, the Germans did not use the 7th Flying Division against Poland, thereby keeping the size and ability of their airborne arm as a secret weapon to use against the British and French.

Under the flying divisions, air units were organized in wings (Geschwadem), groups (Gruppen), and squadrons. These units contained 3,750 combat aircraft:

1,270 bombers
335 dive bombers
1,125 single-engine fighters
196 twin-engine fighters
620 observation and recon aircraft
205 coastal aircraft

These aircraft were among the finest in the world. For example, the Me 109 at this time was rivalled only by the British Spitfire. (See Table 4, on the facing page, for descriptions of German aircraft.)

The Germans also had the services of a sizable air transport arm- about 590 transports, mostly Ju 52s. Of these, about 250 were part of the Luftwaffe's operational units, while the rest could be drawn from the Lufthansa (civil airline company) and operational schools as needed.

The Luftwaffe had large schools for training air crews and readying new aircraft. The schools contained about 2,500-3,000 basic trainers and about 500 operational trainers. Most training aircraft were worthless for combat operations, but the advanced bomber schools used several hundred Ju 52s, which could be called. up for active operations as needed. These aircraft were indeed called up for the Polish campaign, for potential air transport operations, but were stood down again soon enough so as to not affect the Luftwaffe's training duties.

The Luftwaffe controlled various ground forces. The showpiece formation was Regiment General Goring. When the Luftwaffe was formed, Hermann Goring had transferred several police units under his control to the new service, forming the regiment. By 1939, RGG contained five battalions: one heavy AA, two light AA, one searchlight, and one motorized guard. The guard battalion is shown separately in the OB, with the rest of the regiment shown as a light AA regiment.

Parachute

The parachute troops had come into existence in 1935/37: one former police battalion of Regiment General Goring converted to parachute, and the Army formed a parachute battalion. In 1938/39, the Army battalion transferred to the Luftwaffe, which grouped both battalions into the 1st Parachute Regiment.

In 1939, the third battalion of the 1st Regiment was formed, followed by the headquarters and first battalion of the 2nd Parachute Regiment. Units of the 2nd Regiment were not jump-capable in 1939 and thus are not shown in the OB.

The Luftwaffe controlled extensive antiaircraft assets. Motorized field forces, excluding RGG, consisted of approximately 70 AA battalions, of "mixed" battalions (with three heavy 8.8cm batteries and two light 2cm batteries) and light battalions (with three 2cm batteries).

Regimental headquarters in theory controlled the mixed battalions (each regiment supposedly had two mixed battalions and one searchlight battalion).

All battalions in effect were independent, with the regiments used as temporary holding units as needed. The OB shows the light battalions independently and groups the mixed battalions into regiments. (The Lehr Regiment is an exception, consisting of the heavy I/Lehr Battalion and the light II/Lehr.)

The Luftwaffe also had approximately 90 battalions of reserve AA units, assigned to static air defense. In the OB, the intrinsic AA strength accounts for most of these reserve units, with the position AA unit accounting for the rest.

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