Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1 (also known as ''Sturmabteilung Koch'') was a German ''

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 ...

'' regiment in the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

which captured the Belgian

Fort 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 Belgium ...

during the Battle of Belgium, 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 ...

, and fought on the Eastern Front 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 ...

Operational history

The Battalion was formed in November 1939; it was named after its commander, Captain Walter Koch, as Assault Battalion ''Koch''. It was intended to open the way into central Belgium by capturing the formidable

defending the

Albert Canal The Albert Canal (, ) is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river. It also connects with the Dessel� ...

as well three bridges over the canal. The

DFS 230 The DFS 230 was a German transport glider operated by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It was developed in 1933 by the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") with Hans Jacobs as the he ...

gliders were to be used to allow the assault groups to silently land virtually on top of their objectives, surprising the defenders and preventing them from destroying the bridge. The airborne assault took place on 10 May 1940. The Belgian defenders were unable to muster any serious counterattacks against the paratroops. Two more battalions were formed during the fall of 1940 and the unit was redesignated as the 1st Air Landing Assault Regiment (german: Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment 1). A fourth battalion was raised during the winter of 1940/41. The regiment did not participate in the opening stages of the invasions of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, but was kept in reserve until it was needed for the

invasion 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 o ...

. The 1st battalion was landed by

gliders towed by Ju 52s of ''Luftlandegeschwader 1'', but the rest of the regiment was parachuted in the vicinity of

Maleme Maleme ( el, Μάλεμε) is a small village and military airport to the west of Chania, in north western Crete, Greece. It is located in Platanias municipality, in Chania regional unit. History Bronze Age A Late Minoan tholos tomb has been ...

airfield on 20 May 1941. They landed almost on top of the New Zealand 5th Infantry Brigade, part of the 2nd New Zealand Infantry Division and suffered severely at their hands. However, reinforced by several battalions of the 5th ''Gebirgs'' (Mountain) Division that landed the next day they were able to force the New Zealanders to retreat. This was the only time in the war that the regiment fought as a complete unit. Following the surrender of Crete, regiment forces were involved in murdering civilians in villages such as Kondomari, Alikianos and

Kandanos Kandanos or Kantanos ( el, Κάνδανος or Κάντανος), also Candanos, is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kantanos-Selino, ...

. After reforming and refitting, the regiment took part in the fighting in the Soviet Union prior to and during the Soviet winter counter-offensive. The 2nd Battalion was deployed in the

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...

sector. The 4th Battalion arrived to the Soviet Union in November to shore up German defenses near

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 ...

. The 1st Battalion was flown to

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 ...

on 6 December 1941 and then moved to the

Yukhnov Yukhnov (russian: Ю́хнов) is a town and the administrative center of Yukhnovsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Kunava River (Oka's basin) northwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: Histor ...

area, west of Kaluga, to bolster the German defenses there. It was transferred to France in May 1942. The regimental staff accompanied the 1st Battalion to the Soviet Union, but was used to control many of the Luftwaffe units forced into a ground-combat role by the Soviet winter counter-offensive. It was redesignated as ''Stab Luftwaffe''-Division Meindl in February 1942. Elements of the regiment also took part in the fighting in the Rzhev area starting on 3 January 1942, to reinforce defenses of the 9th Army. This unit was transferred to France on 10 April 1942

Commanders

* Walter Koch, 2 November 1939 – 31 August 1940 *

Eugen Meindl __NOTOC__ Eugen Meindl (16 July 1892 – 24 January 1951) was a German paratroop general in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Life and career Born in 18 ...

, 1 September 1940 – 21 May 1941 *

Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke (24 January 1889 – 4 July 1968) was a German general of paratroop forces during World War II. He led units in Crete, North Africa, Italy, the Soviet Union and France, and was captured by American forces at the concl ...

, 21 May-18 June 1941 *Eugen Meindl, 19 June 1941 – 26 February 1942

References

*Brehde, Dietrich. ''Der Blaue Komet: Geschichte des IV. Battalion des Luftlande-Sturmregiments 1940-1945''. 2. Auflage. München: Schild, 1988 *Busch, Erich. ''Die Fallschirmjäger Chronik 1935 - 1945''. Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 1983 *Gola, Karl-Heinz. ''Die deutsche Fallschirmtruppe 1936-41: Ihr Aufbau und ihr Einsatz in den ersten Feldzügen der Wehrmacht''. Hamburg: E. S. Mittler & Sohn, 2006 *Nasse, Jean-Yves. ''Green Devils!: German Paratroopers 1939 - 1945''. Paris: Histoire & Collections, 1997 *Pöppel, Martin. ''Heaven & Hell: The War Diary of a German Paratrooper''. Staplehurst, Kent, England: Spellmount, 1988 *Quarrie, Bruce. ''German Airborne Divisions: Blitzkrieg 1940-41''. Oxford, England: Osprey Publishing, 2004 *Schmitz, Peter, et al. ''Die deutschen Divisionen 1939-1945: Band 2, Die Divisionen 6-10''. Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio, 1994 *Stimpel, Hans-Martin. ''Die deutsche Fallschirmtruppe 1942-45: Einsätz auf Kriegsschauplätzen im Osten und Westen''. Hamburg: E. S. Mittler & Sohn, 2001

External links

Battle for Crete - Order of Battle : 4th Air Fleet, Airborne Assault Regiment
{{Authority control Airborne units and formations of Germany Regiments of the Luftwaffe Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1942