| Original caption: “German Infantry Division – Chart.” This poster appeared in the September 6, 1943, issue of Newsmap, prepared and distributed by the United States Army Orientation Course, Special Service Division, Army Service Forces, War Department, Washington, District of Columbia. It was distributed by the Educational Services Section, Bureau of Personnel, Navy Department; and the Publications Division, Headquarters Air Adjutant General, Army Air Forces. From the United States Army Handbook on German Military Forces, March 1945: “Despite the important role which specialized branches of the German Army have played, the infantry has been and remains today the foundation for most German operations.” “The ‘old type’ of the Infanteriedivision [was] three regiments of three battalions each. Contrary to the American conception of a completely motorized infantry division, the German infantry divisions mostly relied on horse-drawn vehicles for transportation. In recent reorganizations, the proportion of motorization in these divisions has decreased even more. Except for the restructuring of the infantry platoon from three to four squads after the Polish campaign in 1939, and the temporary increase in the number of horses in the divisions employed in Russia from 1941 to 1943, the German three-regiment, nine-battalion division remained unchanged for all practical purposes until the fall of 1943. This type of division probably will not be encountered anymore; however, it has been the basic type of German infantry division for about four years.” “In October 1943, the Germans radically reorganized their infantry divisions by reducing the infantry regiments from three to two battalions, and the other divisional components were revised accordingly. In the remaining six infantry battalions, the number of squads per rifle platoon was reduced from four to three, but without having much effect on the firepower of the division since the caliber of the mortars and antitank guns had been increased, and the number of machine guns was kept unchanged. This division type was called Infanteriedivision (‘Infantry Division, New Type’). This type of infantry division will not be discussed further here, as it soon was assigned the Infanteriedivision Kriegestat 44 (‘Infantry Division, 1944 Type’). This redesignation occurred in May 1944, after the following additional economies were implemented. The squad’s strength was reduced from ten to nine, the number of light machine guns per rifle company from sixteen to thirteen, and the strength of the trains on all levels was reduced sharply. Figures 9 and 10 show the Infantry Division, 1944 Type, but the newest regulations point towards a further reduction of the components of that type of division by approximately ten percent and the redesignation of the thus reorganized division as Infanteriedivisions 45 (‘Infantry Division, Type 1945’). It has just been learned that all German infantry divisions are to be reorganized based on the Infantry Division, Type 45, and that the organization and strength of that division are almost identical with those of the Volksgrenadier Division.” “Independent of the various stages of organization of the three regiment infantry divisions, the Nazi Germans have formed, since the spring of 1941, several two-regiment, six-battalion, infantry divisions with weaker components and overall reduced strength and firepower. The number of this type of division has recently been reduced by reorganizing several into three-regiment divisions. We refer to this type of division as Infantry Division, Two-Regiment Type.” “In September 1944, after Heinrich Himmler (October 7, 1900 – May 23, 1945), the Chief of the Schutzstaffel SS, the Police, and the Minister of the Interior had also become the Chief of Army Equipment and Commander of the Replacement Training Army, a new type of infantry division, the ‘People’s Infantry Division’ (Volksgrenadier Division) was created. The political significance of this type of division lies in designating it: ‘the Peoples,’ thus stressing the Fatherland’s emergency. As the members of the Volks Grenadier Division are reported to be interchangeable with the members of the SS divisions, it is believed that through their creation, the influence of the SS on the Army has been strengthened. To increase the Esprit de Corps of its members, supporting General Headquarters units have also been designated Volks Artillery Corps, Volks Engineer Brigades, and Volks Rocket Projector Brigades.” “From the organization’s point of view, the significance of the Volks Grenadier Division lies in its decrease in personnel and increase in small automatic weapons, particularly submachine guns. Also, company and battalion trains have been merged into battalion supply platoons, thus freeing the company commander from all duties other than operational and facilitating a more even distribution of all types of supplies with fewer personnel. Bazookas replace all antitank guns in the infantry regiments; the artillery regiment is organized in batteries of six guns instead of four, with one battalion of eighteen seventy-five millimeter (three-inch) guns replacing a regular battalion of twelve 105 millimeter (4.1 inch) gun/howitzers. An additional new feature is the formation of a divisional supply regiment, which combines all the divisional services except the military police detachment, which has been assigned to the division headquarters.” “The great majority of German infantry divisions are army infantry divisions. However, there are also several SS-Grenadierdivisionen (‘SS Infantry Divisions’) which have been formed by the armed Schutzstaffel SS (Waffen-SS). This type of division is organized similarly to the Infantry Division, 1944 Type, but it has slightly stronger components and includes an organic anti-aircraft battalion.” “The Gebirgsdivision (‘Army Mountain Division’) [has] two mountain infantry regiments of three battalions each. German Army Mountain divisions are organized and specially equipped for mountain warfare and warfare in rugged terrain. Their means of transportation, therefore, will vary from a large number of pack horses and mules in higher mountains to a fair proportion of motorization in flat country. The principle of decentralizing heavy weapons is particularly adapted to the relatively independent mountain infantry battalions, which are as administratively and tactically self-sufficient as possible. The German army mountain division consists of two mountain infantry regiments with six battalions, and a mountain artillery regiment, with seventy-five mountain howitzers, 105 millimeter gun/howitzers, and 150 millimeter (5.9 inch) howitzers. Its reconnaissance battalion usually uses bicycles for transportation and is therefore highly mobile.” “The German Air Force Parachute Division is believed to be the strongest of the various infantry divisions. While in the course of this war small German parachute units have been employed successfully as airborne troops in multiple campaigns, in the West, in the Balkans, in Crete and Sicily, one generally may consider the present Air Force Parachute divisions as especially carefully selected, well trained, and equipped crack infantry divisions, with only a small percentage of their personnel having received training as parachutists in the American sense of the word. The significant organizational difference between the parachute division and the army infantry division is that the three parachute rifle regiments have three battalions and a larger allotment of machine guns than the corresponding army units. The parachute artillery regiment has only three battalions (two light and one medium), but the division includes a parachute antiaircraft battalion and a parachute 120 millimeter (4.7 inch) mortar battalion.” “The Air Force Field Divisions were formed in the latter part of 1942 from surplus personnel of the anti-aircraft artillery, the air signal troops, the ground crews of the flying troops, administrative units, and a certain number of recruits and foreigners. Most of these divisions were sent to the Russian front in the winter of 1942-1943, but some were also encountered on the Italian front and in France. The organization of this type of division varied. Still, it is believed that the basic pattern was originally a two-regiment, three-battalion division, with customary supporting units and an additional antiaircraft battalion. In the fall of 1943, the Army absorbed the Air Force Field divisions. Many of them had suffered heavy losses and were disbanded in 1943 and 1944, and the remaining few were reorganized along the lines of the Infantry Division, 1944 Type.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii0905.jpg |
| Image Size | 4.81 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 6856 x 5062 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | September 6, 1943 |
| Location | |
| City | Washington |
| State or Province | District of Columbia |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-44-PA-857 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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