The German Infantry Division

Outwardly the 1939 infantry division had changed little from the assault divisions of 1918. Most of its transport was still horse drawn. The infantry used basically the same rifle but its machine guns and mortars were far superior. The artillery had changed little except that the 105mm howitzer had replaced the 77mm as the basic gun. Communication was vastly superior – besides telephone equipment there were hundreds of radios, numbers of which increased as the war progressed.

Basic infantry tactics had barely changed – ie. ‘follow the path of least resistance’ which was still as successful as it had been. What had changed was the use of ‘combined arms’ where the artillery, air force, infantry and armour would work together to such devastating effect in the blitzkrieg or ‘lightning war’.

The 1939 infantry division remained the pattern for all German infantry divisions until the end of the war.

The following figures and statistics are only a general guide as they do vary depending on the source used!

The Infantry division in 1939-41 averaged 16,860 men. This was made up of the following:

However, only about 64% of these were actually combat troops – the rest were support elements that the division could not function without. On the ‘march’ the division took up 40 kilometres of road space. As the war turned in the Allies’ favour and German losses rose the number of men in a division was reduced.

Combat elements (men that would normally close with the enemy):

Three infantry regiments comprising of:

  (Also included in this were staff and intelligence units)

Between the front and rear lines:

Rear or logistical support elements:

The above included the rations platoon, baker company, butcher platoon, Military Police and Feldpost platoon

*This consisted of 2 Medical Companies, 1 Field Hospital and 2 medical transport platoons.

Weapons:

Below is a table showing various weapons (apart from rifles, submachine guns etc) that equipped a 1939 infantry division.

Sources:

Dunnigan J.F. (Editor),   The Russian Front - Germany’s War in the East, AAP,1978

Kershaw R. J.   War without Garlands – Operation Barbarossa 1941/42,