APPENDIX A
GERMAN INFANTRY REGIMENT IN WORLD WAR II (Organization and Equipment) 1940
A) REGIMENTAL UNITS
1) Regimental commander, regimental staff, ordinance officer, communication officer, staff captain. Also staff platoon, including office personal, messengers, and drivers.
2) Regimental supply unit (Tross)
Regimental medical officer (M.D.), two veterinarians, weapon repair platoon, kitchen, food supply units (Tross), food supply officer, paymaster, and luggage unit.
3) Communications platoon (Nachrichten Zug)
Communications sergeant, four telegraph units (Range: 9.3 miles), and four telephone units (Range: 2.5 miles).
4) Cavalry platoon (Reiterzug)
Three units, one wagon, one blacksmith, and one kitchen.
5) Engineering unit with six engineering platoons, six light machine guns, and three tool wagons.
B) THREE INFANTRY BATTALIONS
1) Each with battalion commander, adjutant, ordinance officer, battalion medical officer, veterinarian, and battalion staff.
2) First battalion:
Infantry companies 1, 2, and 3, each with twelve light machineguns and three 50-mm mortars; plus one machinegun company (Company 4) with twelve heavy machineguns and six 80-mm mortars, and a supply unit.
3) Second battalion:
Infantry companies 5, 6, and 7, plus one machinegun company (Company 8) (Armament the same as in first battalion).
4) Third battalion:
Infantry companies 9, 10, and 11 plus one machine company (Company 12) (Armament is the same as in first battalion).
C) ONE HEAVY WEAPONS COMPANY (Company 13)
1) One company commander, four weapons platoons, communication platoon, and supply units.
Armament:
Platoons 1, 2, and 3 with two 75-mm light howitzers each (Range: 5,630 yards or 3.2 miles).
Platoon 4 with two 150-mm heavy howitzers (Range: 5,140 yards or 2.9 miles).
In 1942, a platoon with three 105-mm mortars was added.
D) ONE ANTITANK COMPANY (Company 14)
1) One company commander and four weapon platoons.
Armament:
Each platoon with three 37-mm anti-tank guns, one light machinegun, and supply units.
In 1941, two 37-mm guns were replaced with two 50-mm guns.
E) Each Company had its own master sergeant, responsible for supply units, weapon repair sergeant, and field kitchen as well as medical person.
Sergeants usually command company platoons.
F) TOTAL REGIMENTAL ARMAMENT:
|
118 |
Light machineguns |
|
|
36 |
Heavy machineguns |
|
|
27 |
50-mm mortars |
|
|
18 |
80-mm mortars |
|
|
6 |
75-mm light howitzers (In 1942, three add’l 105-mm mortars) |
|
|
2 |
150-mm heavy howitzers |
|
|
12 |
37-mm anti-tank guns (In 1941, two 50-mm) |
APPENDIX B
REFERENCE OF PLACE NAMES
This book uses the names of population centers and geographic locations as they were known at the time. Following is a list of how are known today.
Historic Name – Contemporary Usage
Dudergof – Mozhaiskii
Düna River – Daugava River
Dünaburg – Daugavpils
Elbing – Elblag
Fischhausen – Primorsk
Frisches Haff – Vistula Isthmus
Frische Nehrung – Vistula Isthmus
Gdingen – Gdynia
Gulf of Danzig – Gulf of Gdansk
Heiligenbeil – Mamonovo
Hela – Hel
Heyderkrug – Silute
Königsburg – Kaliningrad
Krasnogvardeisk—Gatcina
Kurisches Haff – Curonian Bay
Kurische Nehrung – Curonian Isthmus
Labiau – Polessk
Lake Peipus – Lake Chudskoye
Leningrad – St. Petersburg
Libau – Liepaja
Memel – Klaipeda
Oranienbaum – Lomonosov
Pillau – Baltiysk
Reval – Tallinn
Stutthof – Sztutowo
Tilsit – Sovetsk
Weichsel River Estuary – Vistula River Estuary
APPENDIX C
TABLE OF EQUIVALENT RANKS
This is a list of German ranks and the approximate English equivalents as indicated in the book. Please note that this list does not include all ranks and that some of the ranks are translated differently in other sources.
Oberst – colonel
Oberstleutnant – lieutenant colonel
Major – major
Hauptmann – captain
Rittmeister – cavalry captain
Oberleutnant – first lieutenant
Leutnant – second lieutenant
Oberfähnrich – senior officer candidate
Fähnrich – junior officer candidate
Hauptfeldwebel – senior sergeant
Oberfeldwebel – staff sergeant
Feldwebel – sergeant
Unteroffizier – corporal
Obergefreiter – lance corporal
Gefreiter – private first class
Schütze – private
ENDNOTE
The 154th Infantry Regiment, in which I served from 1939 to 1945, suffered total casualties as follows: 300 officers of which 73 were killed; 2,241 non-commissioned officers of which 485 where killed; and 10,810 other enlisted personnel of which 1,824 were killed. Of its total of 13,351 casualties, 2,382 were killed, 10,021 were wounded, and 948 soldiers were listed as missing. Among the divisions in Army Group North, the 58th Infantry Division received the second highest number of decorations.2
REFERENCES
1. Federal Textbook on Citizenship Training (US Government Printing Office, 1931), Lesson 61.
2. Von Zydowitz, Kurt. Die Geschichte der 58. Infanterie-Division 1939–1945 (Podzun: Kiel, 1952).