6th Parachute Division (Germany)
![]() | Some of this article's listed sources may not be reliable. (June 2016) |
German 6th Parachute Division | |
---|---|
Active | 1944–45 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Fallschirmjäger |
Role | Airborne forces |
Size | Division |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Rüdiger von Heyking Hermann Plocher |
The 6. Fallschirmjäger-Division (6th Parachute Division) was a Fallschirmjäger (airborne) division of the German military during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.
The division was formed officially in France in June 1944, commanded by Rüdiger von Heyking. It contained the:
- 16th (although the 16th had shipped out in May 1944 for Poland),
- 17th,
- 18th Fallschirmjäger Regiments,
- and the 6th Fallschirmjäger Artillery Regiment.
Many members of the division would be the final cadre to receive parachute training.[1]
The 16th Regiment was transferred to the Eastern Front before the division saw combat, and would later be redesignated as 3rd Fallschirm-Grenadier-Regiment and assigned to Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier Division 2 Hermann Göring. The remainder of the division was sent into combat in Normandy in Kampfgruppe strength only. By July the 17th and 18th regiments had taken heavy losses in both men and materials. The surviving members were withdrawn to the Netherlands to rebuild, and saw combat there later in the year, particularly during Operation Pheasant. In early 1945, it fought in the Battle of the Reichswald, and surrendered to Allied forces in May.[1]
Commanding officers[]
- Generalleutnant Rüdiger von Heyking, 1 May 1944 – 3 September 1944
- Oberst Harry Herrmann, 3 September 1944 – 1 October 1944
- Generalleutnant Hermann Plocher, 1 October 1944 – 8 May 1945
Notes[]
References[]
- "6. Fallschirmjäger-Division". Axis History Factbook. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-25.
- Fallschirmjäger divisions
- Military units and formations established in 1944
- Military units and formations disestablished in 1945