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
But to come back to an earlier moment, in mid 1943 the German Army (Heer) had a personnel strength of 4,29 million men. Transportation included 1,2 mil. horses and 230.000 motor vehicles. Numbers were a bit different for the navy and Luftwaffe though
Having horses to replace motor vehicles also puts a strain on manpower. To move 3 tons with a truck for 80km you only need 2 men, to accomplish the same with horses you need 24 men
Of course horses come in many different sizes and shapes. That's why the German military distinguished riding horses, light, heavy and super heavy draught horses in its TO/Es. In addition they used small and tough 'Panjepferden' from eastern Europe
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Since people have already brought up bicycles and motorization, here are the numbers for those aspects and some other topics as well. (Again this is the standard authorized strength for a Type 44 division)
and especially for @militaryhistori, a Heeresgruppe B document with some of the number he used in S&S. It shows the numbers of both human and equine 'personnel'. Of interest are the horses with the navy, Luftwaffe and SS/Police in the Netherlands
Thread:
The 2 Dutch gunboats H.N.M.S Soemba and Flores participated in Operation Neptune. Armed with 3 15cm (5.9") guns they earned the nickname 'Terrible Twins' for their operation in the Mediterranean.
Getting the Soemba ready for D-Day required a peculiar series of messages...
One of her guns was out of order. Knowing that replacing it in those busy times would get little priority, A.D. Nicoll decided to make the request as a poem to help move things along.
Yes, a poem.
(image above is of the Flores, used because it shows the guns very well (NIHM))
"A report has come in from the Soemba,
That their salvoes go off like a Rhumba,
Two guns, they sound fine,
But the third five point nine,
He am bust and refuse to go boomba."
A.D. Nicholl,
Director of Operations Division (Foreign)
Although I typically post about German forces, I'm actually just as interested in the allies.
When studying the fighting on the Cotentin peninsula it quickly becomes clear how costly the campaign was for both sides. Here is a casualty list of the infantry regiments of the US 4ID
The total number of casualties in the division in June 44 was 5.414. When we subtract that slightly wounded/injured the number is still 4.712
So how quickly were these losses replaced? Well, not as quickly as you might expect.
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!