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The 1st Parachute Division (german: 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division) was an elite
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
military parachute-landing
division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
that fought during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. A division of
paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...
s was termed a ''
Fallschirmjäger The ''Fallschirmjäger'' () were the paratrooper branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. Throughout World War II, the commander ...
'' Division. For reasons of secrecy, it was originally raised as the 7th Air Division, or ''Flieger-Division'', before being renamed and reorganized as the 1st Parachute Division in 1943.


Operational history

The division was formed in October 1938 under the command of Major-General
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 '' Fallsch ...
. At the start of World War II, the division contained two parachute regiments; it was brought up to full strength in 1941. In April 1940, the division took part in the invasion of Denmark and Norway during
Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung (german: Unternehmen Weserübung , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 Ap ...
, successfully seizing several airfields. The German plan for the invasion of
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in May 1940 called for the use of the 7th Fliegerdivision to aid in the advance through the capture of key bridges and the fortress of
Eben Emael Fort Eben-Emael (french: Fort d'Ében-Émael, ) is an inactive Belgian fortress located between Liège and Maastricht, on the Belgian-Dutch border, near the Albert Canal, outside the village of Ében-Émael. It was designed to defend Belgi ...
. The invasion of the Netherlands included the majority of the 7th Fliegerdivision in cooperation with the 22nd Air Landing Division. This force was grouped as the 11th Fliegerkorps, and commanded by Kurt Student. The attack on The Hague was a failure: the high loss of transport planes grew to quite dramatic proportions. Many paratroopers and air landing troops were captured, hundreds were killed or wounded and 1,536 prisoners of both divisions were transported to England. (The
Rotterdam Blitz Rotterdam was subjected to heavy aerial bombardment by the ''Luftwaffe'' during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the ...
on 14 May 1940 led to Rotterdam's surrender.) The Eben Emael assault was a complete success with both the fort itself and 1,000+ enemy captured. The division took part in the
Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...
. The Allied forces on the island put up a stubborn defense and the troops of the 7th Fliegerdivision took heavy losses. With the aid of the follow-on reinforcements, however, the Allies were forced to evacuate the island by 29 May. In September 1941, the division was transferred to the Eastern Front, fighting in the vicinity of
Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Stalino Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine lo ...
and later taking part in anti-partisan warfare near
Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...
. In the summer of 1942, the division was transferred to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
where it trained for the planned capture of Malta. After this operation was cancelled, elements of the division saw combat in
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
. The division took part in the July 1943 fight against the
Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It b ...
. For the remainder of the war, the division fought in the Italian Campaign. From 14–27 December 1943, the division, under General-Lieutenant
Richard Heidrich __NOTOC__ Richard Heidrich (27 July 1896 – 22 December 1947) was a German paratroop general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Heidrich was taken prison ...
, saw action against the
1st Canadian Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very shor ...
in the Battle of Ortona. Later the division was concentrated in the defense of the
Winter Line The Winter Line was a series of German and Italian military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt and commanded by Albert Kesselring. The series of three lines was designed to defend a western section ...
south of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, defending against the advance of the
British Eighth Army The Eighth Army was an Allied field army formation of the British Army during the Second World War, fighting in the North African and Italian campaigns. Units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Free French Forces ...
, commanded by Lieutenant-General
Oliver Leese Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver William Hargreaves Leese, 3rd Baronet, (27 October 1894 – 22 January 1978) was a senior British Army officer who saw distinguished active service during both the world wars. He is probably most notable during the ...
. In February to May 1944, the 1st Parachute Division took part in the Battle of Monte Cassino, and in late May and June it fought against the Allied Operation Diadem later retreating to the north of Rome. They formed part of the German I Parachute Corps, along with the German 4th Parachute Division. By January 1945, the German I Parachute Corps was deployed to the Adriatic coast behind the Senio Rivier. The Allied advance resumed on 8 April, and the 1st Parachute Division was forced into a steady withdrawal toward the Po River by the British Eighth Army. Elements of the Polish II Corps captured the 1st Parachute Division’s battle flag, and on the morning of April 21, the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division entered Bologna ahead of the American 34th Division. By 25 April, the division had completed the river crossing. They immediately set off on a final march toward the Alpine Mountains. Finally, the German surrender in Italy came on 2 May 1945, and included the men of the 1st Parachute Division. The
unconditional surrender An unconditional surrender is a surrender in which no guarantees are given to the surrendering party. It is often demanded with the threat of complete destruction, extermination or annihilation. In modern times, unconditional surrenders most ofte ...
of Germany followed a week later.


Order of battle

*HQ Staff **1. Panzerjäger Battalion **1. Pioneer Battalion **1. Flak Battalion **1. Medical Battalion **13.
Nebelwerfer The Nebelwerfer (smoke mortar) was a World War II German series of weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht's "smoke troops" (''Nebeltruppen''). Initially, two different mortars were fielded before they were replace ...
Company **14.
Panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' ( German "armour-hunters" or "tank-hunters", abbreviated to ''Pz.Jg.'' in German) was a branch of service of the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. It was an anti-tank arm-of-service that operated self-propelled ...
Company *1. Fallschirmjäger Regiment *3. Fallschirmjäger Regiment *4. Fallschirmjäger Regiment *1. Artillery Regiment *Supply Troops


War crimes

Members of various units of the division committed war crimes in Italy between 1943 and 1945. A massacre by members of the 1. Fallschirmjäger Regiment occurred on November 21, 1943 in
Pietransieri , nickname = , settlement_type = Frazione , motto = , image_skyline = Pietransieri1.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption ...
, a
frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...
of
Roccaraso Roccaraso is a town and ''comune'' in central Italy, in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region. History Founding The town of Roccaraso dates back to around 975 AD, and is located near the Rasinus stream, from which some believe it ...
in Abruzzo. A total of 128 unarmed civilians, mostly women and children, were slaughtered in the
Massacre of Pietransieri A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...
. After they refused to leave the village, civilians were rounded up and executed by gunfire and explosives and their farms were set on fire and demolished. According to a project funded by the German federal government and led by a commission of historians ''Atlante delle Stragi Naziste e Fasciste in Italia'' (Atlas of the Nazi and Fascist Massacres in Italy), nearly 400 Italian civilians were murdered by members of the 1st Parachute Division by the end of the war.


Commanders


References

* Bohmler, Rudolf. Monte Cassino: a German View. Cassell, 1964. ASIN: B000MMKAYM {{DEFAULTSORT:1st Parachute Division (Germany) Fallschirmjäger divisions Military units and formations established in 1938 Battle of Crete Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 War crimes of the Wehrmacht