An interesting feature of the German military in World War II was the evolution of the "elite" guard units of the Army, SS, and Luftwaffe from regiments to panzer corps. Unlike the SS "Leibstandarte Adolph Hitler" and the Army "Grossdeutsch land" which fought predominantly on the major fronts, the Luftwaffe's Goering formations fought on almost all fronts and in almost all campaigns covered by the Europa series.
The Goering units were descended from a special Prussian police unit formed by order of the then Prussian Minister of the Interior, Herman Goering, on 23 February 1933. By 1938, this unit had grown to a reinforced flak regiment, the Regiment General Goering, stationed in Berlin, and had provided two jaeger (light infantry) battalions to the 1st Fallschirmjaeger Regiment. The General Goering Regiment participated in the annexations of Austria and the Sudentenland, and the occupation of Prague. 1
On the eve of hostilities, 31 August 1939, the regiment included the following units:
Only the 1 (light) escort flak battery took part in the Polish campaign of September 1939. The rest of the regiment remained in garrison in Berlin.
[1]
In the spring of 1940, a special battalion-sized motorized unit was formed under Major Waldemar Kluge. This unit consisted of one of the guard companies, one self-propelled light flak battery, and a newly-formed motorcycle company. "Detachment Kluge" took part in the occupation of Denmark and then transferred to Norway for the duration of that campaign. The unit returned to Berlin during June 1940. [2]
Meanwhile, several units of the RGG had been waiting on the western front since late October 1939. The I (heavy) and IV (light) flak battalions, in Flak Regiment 101, and the III searchlight battalion, in Flak Regiment 103, were deployed on the Dutch frontier and in the Rhineland. During the campaign of 1940, the Goering units fought in eastern Belgium, helping to break the Dyle Line and capture Brussels. The I (heavy) flak battalion assisted in the defeat of French armor in the Mormal Forest.
Following the conclusion of the French campaign, the RGG saw antiaircraft duty on the Channel coast. In mid-summer 1940, these units were transferred to Paris, then home to Berlin in the autumn ' [1,2,3]
Contrary to some reports, the RGG units in the French campaign did not include 8.8 cm anti-tank guns. These were in fact assigned to three army motorized anti-tank battalions, Panzer Jagd Abteilungen 525, 560, and 605 (towed), and one battery, Panzer Jagd Company 1/8 (self propelled). [3] The 88's used by the I (heavy) flak battalion/RGG appear to have been the standard 8.8 cm Flak 18.
In March 1941, a large mobile contingent of the Regiment General Goering was ordered to Rumania. This consisted of a flak regiment of two battalions (each with five batteries instead of the usual three) and a reinforced motorized infantry battalion. They were kept in the Ploesti area on flak and security duties during the Balkans campaign despite being assigned to the XXXXI Army Corps (mot) with SS Division "Das Reich" and motorized Infantry Regiment "Grossdeutschland.' [3]
The Goering units moved from Ploesti to the Soviet border in June 1941 to participate in the opening stages of Barbarossa. After seeing action near Kiev and Bryansk, they returned to Germany at the end of 1941.
A new 1 Schutzen Battalion/ RGG served in Russia with Army Group South from January to September 1942. The bulk of RGG, now in France, was ordered in March of 1942 to expand to a brigade. The name of the unit was changed to Brigade "Herman Goering" (HG) on 15 July 1942. However, before the reorganization could be completed, the brigade was ordered enlarged to a panzer division.
To bring it up to strength quickly, the division received 5,000 Luftwaffe volunteers and Fallschirmjaeger Regiment 5, an ad hoc formation of the eastern front survivors of the I/Fallschirmjaeger Regiment 5 and II and III/Luftlande Sturm Regiment 1 (Koch) of Flieger Division 7. This regiment consisted of only two battalions, I and III. The II battalion was formed later as the nucleus of a new Fallschirmjaeger Regiment.
[5]
The proposed order of battle of the HG is shown in Table 1. At this time the division was largely incomplete, with some units forming and others scheduled to be available by 1 April 1943. During this same period the Wach Battalion HG in Berlin was expanded to form Wach Regiment HG. The Wach Regiment and IV Flak Abteilung HG (redesignated Fuehrer Flak Abteilung) were assigned to protect Hitler's headquarters.
Following the Torch landings, the division was committed peacemeal to the Tunisian battles. The first units to see action were the two battalions of Fallschirmjaeger Regiment 5 which were sent to Tunisia in early November 1942. For a time they were attached to the 10th Panzer Division.
In December 1942, the Flak Regiment HG and Grenadier Regiment 1 HG were transferred to Naples, Italy, to protect the harbor and prepare to stage to Africa. Kampfguppe Schmid was established in January 1943 to control the advance units of the division in Africa. Because of the incomplete establishment of the divisions, its peacemeal deployment, and the war situation, the kampfgruppe's composition was extremely flexible. Units known to have served with the kampfgruppe are shown in Table 2.1,2 Between midFebruary and mid-March 1943, most of the combat ready units of the division transferred to Africa, including two battalions of each of Flak Regiment HG and Grenadier Regiment 1 HG. By early April these had been joined by the first battalion of the Panzer Regiment HG and half of the reconnaissance (aufklarungs) battalion. In late April the II/ Grenadier Regiment 1 HG, II/Grenadier Regiment 2 FIG, and a third of the panzer pionier battalion arrived. These were destined to be the last major reinforcement
Kampfgruppe Schmid would receive before surrendering on 12 May 1943. A variety of nonHG units also served under Kampfgruppe Schmid; these units are included in Table 2.
The division was quickly reformed in France and Italy, transferring to Sicily in mid-June 1943.
[6] The establishment of the division was slightly altered:
b. each of the two grenadier regiments were reduced to two battalions, plus a field replacement battalion (feldersatz);
c. the sturmgeschutz (assault gun) battalion was assigned to the panzer regiment instead of the artillery regiment;
d. the artillery regiment had three field battalions, one heavy battalion, and one rocket battery. In Sicily, Panzer Division HG was deployed in support of the beach defenses in the southeastern part of the island. The division unsuccessfully counterattacked the American beachhead at Gela on the first day of the invasion, 10 July 1943; the division was supported by elements of the 15th Panzergrenadier Division and the Italian 4th Infantry Division "Livorno". A regiment-sized detachment, "Gruppe Schmalz", attempted to contain the British at Augusta. After a month of defensive fighting, the division completed its withdrawal into Italy the night of 1617 August 1943. [5]
During the Battle of Gela, Tiger I tanks were attached to the division. These belonged to an army heavy tank unit, 2 Company/s. Panzer Abteilung 504, whose first company had been destroyed in Africa.
[7]
The division reassembled near Naples. Following the invasion of Italy, the division fought at Salerno and, with the 15th Panzergrenadier Division, covered the German withdrawal from the Volturno-Termoli Line to the Gustav Line in October 1943. The division was held in reserve near Rome for the next several months. During this time it was reinforced with an additional artillery battalion and another flak battalion.
On 20 January 1944, the division vvas ordered to reinforce the Cassino front. However, before this move could be completed, the division was redeployed to the Anzio beachhead. Among the first German reinforcements to arrive at the Anzio front was the division's reserve: 1 and 2 Feldersatz Battalions HG, and the division's kampfschule. In February during the Anzio battle the division's designation was changed to Fallschirm-Panzer Division HG, although at this time the division included no paratroops.
When the Anzio front vvas stabilized in March, the division was ordered to France to reform and prepare for the expected Allied invasion of France. Field Marshall Kesselring was able to delay its departure from Italy and held the division in reserve in Livorno. At this time the feldersatz battalions and kampfschule were incorporated into the main body of the division as the III/ FalIschirmpanzergrenadier Regiment 1 HG, III/FalIschirmpanzergrenadier Regiment 2 HG, and Sturm company HG.
In late May 1944, the division was taken out of action in Italy and transferred by rail to the eastern front to seal the hole in the German line caused by the Soviet June offensive. August and September saw the division in action north and east of Warsaw. The division was ordered on 1 October 1944 to expand to a panzer corps of two panzer divisions. Because of the shortage of tanks, the second division was reduced to panzergrenadier.
A number of Luftwaffe support units, Fallschirmjaeger Regiment 16, and an army medium artillery battalion were incorporated to make up the corps. Several of the planned corpslevel formations were never formed the Tiger battalion and the recon battalion. The division took heavy casualties in defensive fighting in Poland and East Prussia during October and November. This delayed the expansion so that the corps was not considered ready for action until January 1945. The organization of
Fallschirm-Panzer Corps HG is shown in Table 3.
[1]
In late January, most of the corps was encircled in the "Heiligenbeil Pocket" in East Prussia. Panzer Division HG and I/Flak Regiment HG had been separated from the corps and were engaged on the main front.
In late March the corps was evacuated from East Prussia by sea. The survivors returned to Berlin to reform, finally rejoining the panzer division near Dresden in late April. The corps was still fighting north of Dresden on 8 May when ordered to surrender.
Besides those units in the corps, several small HG units saw action on the western front in 1944 and the eastern front in 1945. The Herman Goering formations maintained several training establishments. The largest of these, Ersatz Regiment HG (three battalions) was located at Utrecht, Holland. This unit, under the designation of Sturm Regiment z.b.v. HG, was drawn into the defensive battles on the western front in September 1944.
In late January 1945 two HG training regiments in the Fallschirm-Panzer-Ersatz and Ausbildungs Brigade HG were assigned to the defense of "Festung Graundenzin Poland. This brigade was destroyed in March 1945. A second brigade was formed in mid-March from two other HG training regiments near Berlin. This unit, Fallschirm-Panzer-Ersatz and Ausbilclungs Brigade 2 HG was assigned to the Oder River front. [4]
The Berlin garrison, Fuehrer Flak Abteilung
HG and Begleit Regiment HG (the renamed
Wach Regiment HG) were incorporated into the
Fuehrer Begleit formation with a variety of army
and SS units. This unit fought as a brigade in the
Ardennes offensive and later, on the eastern front,
as a division with panzer corps
Grossdeutschland. A single battalion of Begleit
Regiment HG remained in garrison in Berlin with
some small flak units. The battalion was renamed
Begleit Battalion Reichsmarchall.
[4]
Europa Games
Goering formations appear in most of the games of the Europa series. Table 4 lists the combat capable Goering units, their Europa strengths, appearance and withdrawal dates, and theaters of operations. These units can be incorporated into the existing Europa games as follows:
Case White: the 1 (light) escort Flak Battery/RGG is too small to be represented on Europa scale.
Narvik: the "Kluge Detachment"/RGG is correctly depicted in the 1980 edition of the game.
Fall of France: at the time of writing, this game was not available.
Marita-Merkur: the General Goering units in this campaign were in reserve around Ploesti and were not available for combat. They were therefore omitted from the game.
DNO/UNT: both General Goering and Hermann Goering units for this campaign are listed on Table 4 under Russia. Breakdown and divisionsgruppe strengths are shown in Table 5.
[1] R.J. Bender and G.A. Petersen. "Herman Goering": From Regiment to Fallschirmpanzerkorps. Bender, San Jose, California, 1975.
More Goering Formations
I (heavy) Flak Battalion
II (light) Flak Battalion
III Searchlight Battalion
IV (light) Flak Battalion
Reserve Searchlight Battalion
Wach (guard) Battalion
3 guard companies
1 cavalry squadron
1 (heavy) railroad Flak Battery
1 (light) escort Flak Batterya. no jaeger regiment;
References
[2] B. Quarrie. Fallschirmpanzer Division "Hermann Goering" Squadron/ Signal, 1978.
[3] B. Mueller-Hillebrand. Das Heer
1933-1945 (Band 11, Die Blitzfeldzuge 1939-1941). Miller und Sohn, Frankfurt, 1956.
[4] G. Tessin. Verbande und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (Vol. 1). Biblio Verlag, Osnabruck, 1977,
[5] M. Blumenson. Sicily: Whose Victory?. Ballantine, New York, 1969.
[6] J. Steward. "The Defense of Sicily by the 16. Pz. Gren. Div." (Part 11). AFV-G2. 3:6, 1972.
[7] W.F. Murphy, Jr. "Tiger Formations". AFV-News. 14:3, May 1979.
Goering Formations of WWII
Table 1: Division Hermann Goering 1942
Table 2: Hermann Goering Units in Tunisia
Table 3: Fallschirm Panzer Corps Hermann Goering 1945
Table 4 and 5: Hermann Goering Units in Europa
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