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Fallshirmjager unit with KG Peiper


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15 hours ago, DougPhresh said:

Not trying to derail, but at what point would you say that most FJs did not have jump training and most Gebirgsjäger were not skilled climbers?

I found a quite vague reference in Wikipedia, saying that “not all newly formed FJ Divisions did receive a jump training after 1942“.

As for the Gebirgsjäger, I don‘t think they were all „skilled climbers“. I would assume they were generally „skilled mountain men“. It takes a lot, before you need to „climb“. It’s difficult enough to move in the mountains with heavy equipment anyway. That‘s not to say, that they did not know how to use their ropes...

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No problem with derailment.

And thanks to @rocketman, I was aware of that unit as a potential option but not the name of the CO.

Just read it was primarily the 2nd battalion of the 9th regiment, page 75 The Devil's Adjutant.

I'm building a KG Peiper campaign, working title Rollbahn D, but wanted to start at Lanzerath on the 16th, with the Fallschirmjager.

From reading they were quite the mixed bag in terms of quality?

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  • 2 months later...

In many respects, "mountain" and "airborne" divisions/regiments described the organization and equipment as much as the specialized training.  For example, they had fewer vehicles and smaller attached artillery.  Airborne were issued more ammo and and fewer mobile kitchens.

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  • 2 months later...

According to Duel In The Mist Volume 1 footnotes on Page 28, the Fallshirmjager that were with Peiper in Stoumont weren't from the 3rd Fallshirmjager Division that provided the KG support from Lanzerath to Honsfeld. 

From PoW records, those Fallshirmjager who were captured in the Stoumont area were "almost certainly" 12./FSJ Rgt z.b.V, from Skorzeny's Panzer Brigade 150.

So for my campaign I'm going to use 2x separate groups of Fallshirmjager. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

By late 44, FJ units were basically the same as all German infantry units. Most had been destroyed over the summer and rebuilt with surplus Lutfwaffe ground personnel, surplus Kriegsmarine sailor and whatever teenage or older conscripts the replacement army could cobble together. Usually only the combat leaders were veterans.

The 5th FJ division which fought in the Seventh Army sector was rated as equivalent to a "Reserve" infantry unit before the offensive. However, they did fight competently during the initial offensive and then during the defensive phase against Patton's Third Army South of Bastogne.

Edited by Sgt Joch
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