In July 1942, General Kurt Student received orders from Oberkommando der Wehrmacht to put together from existing formations under his command a Fallschirmjager (parachute) brigade for service with the Afrika Korps. The military situation dictated that this formation be assembled and sent to Africa as quickly as possible.

To command this formation, Student chose Major General Hermann Bernard Ramcke. Ramcke's current assignment was as an advisor with the Italian parachute division Folgore. A veteran parachute commander, Ramcke had already seen action in an airborne role in Holland, Greece and Crete. He was decorated with the Knights Cross for his exploits during the air assault on Crete in May 1941.

Rather than raising the new formation from scratch, veteran units were drawn from Student's command in order to save time. The following units were assembled into what was officially known as Luftwaffen-Jager-Brigade 1.

Kampfgruppe Burckhardt, commanded by Major Burckhardt, consisting of veterans who had served in Africa and had returned to Germany in April 1942; then reinforced by a Fallschirmjager Lehr battalion from XI Flieger Korps.

Kampfgruppe Kroh, commanded by Oberleutnant Hans Kroh, consisting of the lst Battalion of Fallschirmjager Regiment 2, which had returned to Germany after fighting on the Eastern Front.

Kampfgruppe von der Heydte, commanded by Major Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, consisting of the 1st Battalion of Fallschirmjager Regiment 3 amalgamated with a Fallschirmjager Lehr battalion from the Berlin-Doberitz training area.

Kampfgruppe Hubner, commanded by Major Hdbner, consisting of the 2nd Battalion of Fallschirmjager Regiment 5 which had been stationed at the Gross-Born training area since May 1942.

2nd Battalion of Fallschirmartillerie Regiment 7, commanded by Major Fenske.

2nd Company Fallschirmpanzerjager Abteilung 7, commanded by Oberleutnant Cord Tietjen.

Also drawn from XI Flieger Korps was a parachute medical company and a parachute signal company.

Once the units received their orders they were flown to Tobruk, via Greece and Crete. By July 15, Ramcke, his staff, and some elements of the brigade had arrived at Tobruk. The rest of the brigade arrived in the following order:

Kampfgruppe Kroh August 4
Kampfgruppe von der Heydte August 10
Kampfgruppe Hillmer August 17

Once on the ground in Africa, the brigade found itself in the unenviable position of having to depend on other units for transportation and supply. Flak Regiment 135 was temporarily assigned the task of transporting Ramcke's men to the front and keeping them in supply.

The front at this time in the campaign was at El Alamein. Ramcke's men were positioned on the right wing of the Afrika Korps, just northeast of the Qattara Depression. The brigade was divided roughly in half between the Italian X and XXI Corps. The last attempt to break through the British lines was on August 30. The attack failed, and with it all hope of ever reaching Alexandria, Cairo and the Suez Canal. For the next two months Ramcke's men had only to repulse minor probing attacks by the British. During this period, more casualties were caused by the bleak desert conditions than enemy action.

Like other Axis forces at El Alamein the paratroopers were ordered to dig in. Defensive preparations included digging trenches, constructing bunkers and sowing mines. Under the direction of Colonel Hecker, Rommel's chief engineer, over 500,000 mines were sown in the "Devil's Gardens."

On October 23 at 2140 hours the British unleashed a 1,200 gun barrage, indicating the start of "Operation Lightfoot." The sounds of the guns could be heard in Alexandria, sixty-six miles away. Much of what the Axis had labored to build was destroyed in minutes. Blockhouses and trenches collapsed, and thousands of mines exploded, detonated by the concussion of the incoming British shells.

By the morning of the 24th, the British had broken through the Axis lines on the coast road. The 164th leichte Afrika Division, to which half of Ramcke's brigade was attached, had lost more than half of its combat effectives. By the 27th Rommel ordered counterattacks which regained little ground, but incurred heavy losses in men and material.

On November 2, at 0100 hours, the British launched "Operation Supercharge." The attack opened with a three hundred and sixty gun barrage. Despite fierce defensive fighting by Axis troops, the tide irreversibly turned in favor of the British. Retreat, however, was out of the question. On November 3rd Hitler had issued a "No Retreat" order and Rommel obeyed. Nonetheless, by November 4th, the British had blasted a hole in the Axis lines fifteen miles wide.

With the Italian infantry's ability to resist crumbling, it appeared that the paratroopers would soon be cut off from supply, communications and retreat. Ramcke, however, took measures to help make good the brigade's escape. An emergency Kampfgruppe commanded by Hauptmann Straeler- Pohl was assembled from the unit's available artillery. This Kampfgruppe then fought a rearguard action which allowed what was left of the brigade to escape.

Meanwhile, Hitler had changed his mind, withdrawing the hold-at-all-costs order as of November 5. Rommel immediately ordered a retreat to Fuka, about 60 miles to the west. Ramcke's command and what was left of five non- motorized Italian infantry divisions were stranded. When battlefield reports indicated that the Italian X Corps had been eliminated, Rommel assumed that Ramcke's paratroopers had been killed or captured with the Italians.

In actuality, Ramcke's men had managed to disentangle themselves from the disintegrating Italian formations and the advancing British. The paratroopers began to move west toward Fuka on foot. However, the motorized and armored element of the Afrika Korps--what was left of it--continued to retreat rather than stopping as originally planned.

What Ramcke did find on November 6 just outside of Fuka was a British motorized supply column bivouacked for the night. The column, possibly "A" Echelon Transport, 22nd Brigade, was stunned when the paratroopers rushed their encampment. Without firing a shot, Ramcke's men made off with the entire column. To the delight of the paratroopers, the trucks were loaded with fuel, food and precious cigarettes.

On November 7th, the survivors of the retreat made contact with the bulk of the Afrika Korps. From now on the paratroopers and their comrades in arms would retreat steadily west, reaching El Agheila on November 30. Ramcke's men took part in defensive fighting near Sirte December 20, and at Buerat January 16, 1943, reaching the Mareth Line by January 22. By the time the brigade reached Tunisia the approximate strength was six hundred. Ramcke was transferred out of Africa during this period to command the 2nd Fallschirmjager Division, which was still forming. There is a possibility that Ramcke's men were then transferred to other parachute formations in Africa, notably the Parachute Engineer Battalion commanded by Major Rudolf Witzig.

The 13th of May spelled the end of the North African campaign and the Afrika Korps. Some Axis troops escaped the debacle in small boats, sailing all the way to Sicily. A number of Ramcke's men were reportedly among them.

Despite the relatively short time this formation existed, the Ramcke Brigade must be considered an elite unit. It contained jump-qualified, battle-hardened personnel, and was led by courageous, highly-decorated officers.

Ramcke, Kroh and von der Heydte had been decorated with the Knights Cross for their deeds during the airborne assault on Crete. Tietjen had been decorated with the Knights Cross for his actions during the air assault on Holland. He was captured by the British on November 5, 1942. Straeler-Pohl, who led Kampfgruppe Pohl at El Alamein, received the Knights Cross for his inspired leadership. Pohl was captured by the Americans in Tunisia on May 8, 1943. Ramcke got the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross for leading the brigade back to friendly fines.

In 1944, he was decorated with the Swords, and later the Diamonds to the Knights Cross for commanding "Fortress Brest." Kroh later received the Oak Leaves and Swords to the Knights Cross for his actions on the Eastern Front and in Northwest Europe. Von der Heydte received the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross while commanding the 6th Fallschirmjager Regiment in Normandy in 1944. After the war, von der Heydte, Kroh and Straeler-Pohl served in the Bundeswehr.

Final Comments

I have several final comments and observations to make about the Raincke Brigade. I read in at least one source that the brigade was originally intended for the canceled invasion of Malta. No German sources state this, however. Ramcke was an advisor to Folgore, which could have been used on Malta, so perhaps this is where the idea came from. It is also rumored that Rommel downplayed Ramcke's escape from El Alamein, and indeed even attempted to block the presentation of the Oak Leaves to Ramcke.

In Western Desert and War in the Desert, the Ramcke Brigade appears Aug II 42 as a 4-6 Parachute brigade. In Torch, it appears in the replacement pool on the Jan I 43 turn. WitD optional Rule 33B lists several special attributes of the brigade. In the Collectors Series revision of War in the Desert, I would like to see the Green Devils of the Ramcke Brigade given a 1-point cadre to better portray their historical unit cohesiveness. In Torch, this cadre would appear Jan I 43.

Sources Consulted

The Marshal Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of World War II, Volume 9, The Grand Alliance/End in Africa; Eddy Bauer; New York: Marshal Cavendish Corporation
Die Fallschirmjager Chronik 1935-1945; Erich Busch; W. Germany: Podzun Pallas Verlag 1983
Uniforms, Organization and History of the Afrika Korps; Roger Bender and Richard Law; San Jose: Bender Publishing 1973
World War II - The War in the Desert; Frank Collier; Virginia: Time-Life Books 1977
Panzer in Nord Afrika 1941-1943; Ralf Munich; W. Germany: Podzun Pallas Verlag 1977
Fallschirmjager Regiment 3, Vol. I from Storm Battalion to Regiment; Klaus J. Peters; San Jose: Bender Publishing 1992
Die Deutschen Lastensegler-Verbande 1937-1945; Georg Schlaug; W. Germany: Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart 1985
Die Ritterkreuztrdger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939-1945, Teil 11 Fallschirmjdger; Franz Thomas and Gunter Wegmann; W. Germany: Biblio Verlag 1986
The Desert Rats - The History of the 7th Armoured Division 1939 - 1945 ; G. L. Verney; London: Greenhill 1990