The German 1st Parachute Army (1. ''Fallschirm-Armee'') was formed in September, 1944, comprising 30,000 men.

History

Its first commander was

Colonel General Colonel general is a three- or four-star military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, and was a ra ...

Kurt Student Kurt Arthur Benno Student (12 May 1890 – 1 July 1978) was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. An early pioneer of airborne forces, Student was in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the ''Fallschi ...

, the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

''s airborne pioneer. During the Allied

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...

, Student's men delayed the Allied advance across the south of the Netherlands. The 30,000 soldiers were likely the only combat-ready reserve forces in Germany at the time. However, few of the Army's units or personnel were paratroopers. Student was transferred to the Eastern Front, and on 18 November 1944, command of the First Parachute Army passed to

General der Fallschirmtruppe ''General der Fallschirmtruppe'' (en: ''General of the parachute corps'') was a General of the branch rank of the Deutsche Luftwaffe (en: German Air Force) in Nazi Germany. Until the end of World War II in 1945, this particular general officer ra ...

Alfred Schlemm Alfred Schlemm (18 December 1894 – 24 January 1986) was a German ''General der Fallschirmtruppe'' in the Wehrmacht. His last command in World War II opposed the advance of the First Canadian Army through the Reichswald in February 1945. Early ...

, who opposed the

Canadian First Army The First Canadian Army (french: 1reArmée canadienne) was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 ...

during the

Battle of the Reichswald A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. The Canadian First Army and Lieutenant-General

William Hood Simpson General William Hood Simpson (May 18, 1888 – August 15, 1980) was a senior United States Army officer who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. He is best known for being the Commanding General of the Ninth United Stat ...

’s U.S. Ninth Army compressed Schlemm’s forces into a small bridgehead on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Wesel. On 10 March 1945, the rearguard of the 1st Parachute Army evacuated their bridgehead, destroying the bridge behind them. Schlemm was wounded in an air attack on his command post at Haltern eleven days later and on 20 March 1945, command passed to General

Günther Blumentritt Günther Blumentritt (10 February 1892 – 12 October 1967) was an officer in World War I, who became a Staff Officer under the Weimar Republic and went on to serve as a general for Nazi Germany during World War II. He served throughout the war, ...

. Just before

Operation Varsity Operation Varsity (24 March 1945) was a successful airborne forces operation launched by Allied troops that took place toward the end of World War II. Involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft, it was the largest air ...

, First Parachute Army had three

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

stationed along the river; * II Parachute Corps to the north, * LXXXVI Corps in the centre, * LXIII Corps in the south.Otway, Lieutenant-Colonel T.B.H (1990). The Second World War 1939-1945 Army - Airborne Forces. Imperial War Museum. , p. 298 Of these formations, II Parachute Corps and LXXXVI Corps had a shared boundary which ran through the proposed landing-zones for the Allied airborne divisions, meaning that the leading formation of each corps would face the airborne assault — these being 7th Parachute Division and

84th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) The 84th Infantry Division (german: 84. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. Operational history The 84th Infantry Division was raised as part of the 25th deployment wave, along with the 77th, ...

.Otway, p. 299 After their retreat to the Rhine both divisions were under-strength and did not number more than 4,000 men each, with 84th Infantry Division supported by only 50 or so medium artillery pieces. In the final days of the war, command passed once more to Student (10 April) and finally to

Erich Straube __NOTOC__ Erich Straube (11 December 1887 – 31 March 1971) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who held several corps level commands. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germ ...

Commanding officers

Subunits

* German 1st Parachute Corps * German 2nd Parachute Corps

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1st Parachute Army (Wehrmacht) Parachute Army 01 Parachute Army 01 Germany 01 Parachute Army 01 Parachute Army (Wehrmacht) Parachute Army (Wehrmacht)