Niels Henkemans Profile picture
Jul 6, 2021 10 tweets 4 min read Read on X
By 1944 a standard German infantry division had about 4.000 horses. Yes, you read that correctly: 4.000
#WW2 #SWW #History Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
If you like to see more of these threads, feel free to support me on ko-fi.com/niels_1944
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) Image
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 Image

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More from @Niels_1944

May 25
Thread #dday80
When talking about the German preparations for the Allied Invasion (AKA D-Day), a lot of attention goes to the (in)famous Panzer Reserve. With 10 Panzer Divisions and 1 Pz.Gren.Div., this force sounds formidable. But it is often overlooked what it actually was... Image
The level to which these divisions were operational varied wildly on D-Day Many had serious manpower problems (too few officers & NCOs), mobility issues, lack of (formation) training and shortage of weaponry/armor. So let's take a closer look at them...
Some divisions were good, like the Pz.Lehr. On 1 May it was assessed as Kampfwert I (Combat rating I), the highest possible. This meant it was deemed ready for all offensive operations. Mobility of its combat vehicles was at 90% and those of the support troops was 50%. Image
Read 37 tweets
May 15
Thread (on going)
With #DDay80 approaching fast, I'll try to address some myths. Let's begin with Omaha Beach, or more precisely the 352.I.D.
It's been called everything from elite to poor, but usually such extremes are not based on actual records. This list is.😎 Image
When it came to armament, the division was pretty much up to authorised strength, all of it modern and German. This is very clear for its heavy weapons but the number of mortars and MGs are also impressive.
Outdated coastal (static) weapons merely augmented its firepower
Oh, and for what it's worth, the 353.I.D. (a sister formation to the 352.I.D.). Had an authorised strength of 723 MGs on 1 June, only 10 of which were not MG-42. The same can be expected for the 352.I.D., which meant the division was pretty much up to strength.
Read 8 tweets
Nov 30, 2021
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)
Read 18 tweets
Nov 29, 2021
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.
Read 11 tweets
Sep 15, 2021
@OberstWKlink suggested I shared this with my followers and he is of course right...
... Good allied intel documents are available on all these unit symbols, so if you want to move ahead and educate yourself you can use these links...
1) 1943 version: archive.org/details/German…
2) 1944 version:
archive.org/details/German…

Don't worry if this all seems a bit overwhelming, I'll continue my crash course later ;-)
Read 4 tweets
Sep 14, 2021
Thread: German orbats #3 Let’s continue our crash course of German OOBs. We’ll stay with this one Image
Let’s look at an artillery regiment
Staff, HQ battery, 4 battalions (each with a staff, HQ battery and 3 batteries) Image
Read 14 tweets

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