List of German divisions in World War II

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This article lists divisions of the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) and Waffen-SS active during World War II, including divisions of the Heer (army), Luftwaffe (air force), and the Kriegsmarine (navy).

Upgrades and reorganizations are shown only to identify the variant names for what is notionally a single unit; other upgrades and reorganizations are deferred to the individual articles. Due to the scope of this list, pre-war changes are not shown. Most of these divisions trained in Berlin, which is also where new military technology was kept and tested.

These designations are normally not translated and used in the German form in the unit name or description.^[1]

The designation "Light" (leichte in German) had various meanings in the German Army of World War II. There were a series of 5 Light divisions; the first four were pre-war mechanized formations organized for use as mechanized cavalry, and the fifth was an ad hoc collection of mechanized elements rushed to Africa to help the Italians and organized into a division once there. All five were eventually converted to ordinary Panzer divisions.^[3]

Various other divisions were dubbed "Light" for other reasons, and are listed among the Infantry Series Divisions (see below ↓).

The backbone of the Heer was the infantry division. Of the 154 divisions deployed against the Soviet Union in 1941, including reserves, there were 100 infantry, 19 panzer, 11 motorized, 9 security, 5 Waffen-SS, 4 "light", 4 mountain, 1 SS-police, and 1 cavalry. A typical infantry division in June 1941 had 17,734 men organized into the following sub-units:^[4]

• three infantry regiments with staff and communications units
  • three battalions with:
    • three infantry companies
    • one heavy weapons company
  • one anti-tank company (mot.)
  • one artillery company
  • one reconnaissance unit
• one tank destroyer battalion with:
  • three companies (each with twelve 3.7 cm guns)
• one artillery regiment
  • three battalions
    • three batteries
• one pioneer battalion
• one communications unit
• one field replacement battalion
• Supply, medical, veterinary, mail, and police

Infantry divisions were raised in waves (Aufstellungswelle), sets of divisions with a standardized table of organization and equipment. In general the later waves (i.e., the higher-numbered divisions) were of lower quality than the earlier ones.

Divisions are listed by number and reflect their lineage where names or designations were changed over time.^[5]

• 1st Ski Division (previously 1st Ski Brigade)

According to Davies, the Cavalry divisions were mounted infantry and the Cossack divisions were "true cavalry", modelled on the Russian cavalry divisions.

In 1945 the Reichsarbeitsdienst (Reich Labour Service) transferred personnel to the army to form new divisions as part of the 35th Aufstellungswelle, the last of the war.

The Hermann Göring formations grew from a single police detachment to an entire armored corps over the course of the war. The later epithet Fallschirm ("parachute") was purely honorific.

To keep its existence secret, the first German airborne division was named as if a Flieger ("flier") division in the series of Luftwaffe divisions that controlled air assets rather than ground troops-named 7th Flieger Division (often translated 7th Air Division - which see: 1st Parachute Division (Germany)) The division was later reorganized to start a series of nominally airborne divisions. Though named Fallschirmjäger ("paratrooper") divisions, only some of them participated in airdrops in the early part of the war. Whilst the first five divisions received full paratrooper training, the remaining divisions did not and in practice operated as ordinary infantry throughout their existence. The lower-numbered ones earned and maintained an elite status, but quality generally declined among the higher-numbered divisions.

Luftwaffe Field Divisions were ordinary infantry divisions organized from Luftwaffe personnel made available after mid-war due to problems with manpower. They were originally Luftwaffe units but were later handed over to the Heer, retaining their numbering but with Luftwaffe attached to distinguish them from similarly numbered divisions already existing in the Heer.^[12]

These were headquarters for controlling aggregates of flak ("anti-aircraft artillery") assets rather than ordinary combined arms divisions organized for ground combat.

All divisions in the Waffen-SS were ordered in a single series up to 38th, regardless of type. Those tagged with nationalities were at least nominally recruited from those nationalities. Many of the higher-numbered units were small battle groups (Kampfgruppen), i.e. divisions in name only.

Also Panzer Division Kempf, a temporary unit of mixed Heer and Waffen-SS components.

• List of World War II military units of Germany
• List of German army groups in World War II
• List of German corps in World War II
• List of German brigades in World War II

Bibliography