Thread: German orbats
German document can be very interesting, even if you don’t speak German.
Their visual OOBs are prob the best example of that, if you know what the symbols mean.
Yes, you can look those up online, but how about a crash course in several threads?
Modern publications typically use NATO symbols. Useful, but also boring.
(Examples from Zetterling’s ‘Normandy 1944’ and Zaloga’s ‘Cherbourg 1944’)
German OOB charts are great, and a little confusing
Regard them as a unit assembled on an inspection ground: that they're seen from the perspective of a commander looking at his troops. So left on paper is actually right and right is left: So 4-3-2-1. Applies to all subunits!
Let's continue examining Cross-Channel Attack's (CCA) take on the German troops. For 1950/1951 it was admirable, but as we have seen yesterday not all of it holds up.
Now look at this sentence. The German use of stomach units has become (in)famous, but CCA correctly states that was just one division: the 70ID
The existence of ear and stomach units is a popular story, but it is seldom explored for what it really was.
On D-Day the 70ID did not really exist yet...
In the bigger picture it was very much an emergency formation in the summer (crisis) of 1944.
Thread: German static divisions in Normandy supposedly had very poor personnel. While true to some extend but as always it's a bit more complicated. Cross-Channel Attack (1951) made a serious attempt for a balanced view. Arguably better than much what has been written since!
The book seems to be key in spreading the message that 'the average age of the 709ID was 36'. This is commonly presented as fact when in fact it was based on anecdotal evidence: An officer explaining the failure of his division.
His claim made it into German records as well 🙄
Fact: the maximum average age of the combat elements in static divisions was set at 36.
And yes, support elements could raise that to over 36. But that’s just theory…
Are there reasons to believe that actually happened in the 709ID? Not really. 🧐
The number of horses for the artillery as show here is actually too low because it included some batteries with just 3 guns, instead of the actual 4
For Normandy such 'standard' divisions included the 271ID, 272ID, 275ID, 276ID, 277ID, 331ID, 352ID, 353ID, 363ID. Of course these were not identical in strength for various reasons
There seem to be two options in talks about German MGs on the D-Day beaches: 1) All guns MG42s (especially at Omaha) 2) Just old and captured MGs
Neither are true. Let’s take a quick look at the available numbers for the 716ID and 352ID. [I’ll ignore the Osttruppen for now]
The 716ID was a static division, so poorly equipped with just old and captured MGs. Right? Not quite.
So why the confusion? For one people confuse organic and static weapons. Big no no.
On 1 Dec. 43 the division itself had:
349 x MG34
3 x 08/15
11 x 116(f)
13 x 08
It received 9 MG42 before D-Day.
You can expect the MG34 and MG42s in frontline units.