Luftwaffe Field Division

The divisions were originally authorized in October 1942, following suggestions that the  German Army could be bolstered by transferring personnel from other services. The head of the  Luftwaffe ,  Hermann Göring , formulated an alternative plan to raise his own  infantry  formations under the command of  Luftwaffe  officers; this was at least partly due to political differences with the  Heer . Göring took great pride in the degree of political commitment and indoctrination of the air force men (he went as far as to describe the air-force paratroopers as "political soldiers") while the Army was considered (by Nazi standards) too "conservative" (linked to traditions and ideals harking back to the Imperial days of the Kaiser

The plan was approved, and the divisions were raised from 200,000–250,000  Luftwaffe  ground, support and other excess personnel. They were initially organized with two  Jäger  regiments of three battalions each, along with an artillery battalion and other support units, but were substantially smaller than equivalent  Heer  divisions, and by Göring's personal order were intended to be restricted to defensive duties in quieter sectors. Most of the units spent much of their existence on the  Eastern Front : Luftwaffe Field Divisions were present at actions such as the "Little Stalingrad of the North",  the attempt to relieve Velikiye Luki ; the attempted defence of  Vitebsk  during  Operation Bagration , and the fighting in the  Courland Pocket , though they also fought in other theatres.

The Luftwaffe Field Divisions initially remained under  Luftwaffe  command, but late in 1943 those that had not already been disbanded were handed over to the  Heer  and were reorganized as standard infantry divisions with three two-battalion rifle regiments (retaining their numbering, but with  Luftwaffe attached to distinguish them from similarly numbered divisions already existing in the  Heer ) and Army officers.

Until taken over by the  Heer  (and in many cases for some time afterwards) these units were issued with standard  Luftwaffe   feldblau  uniforms, and being so easily identifiable were said to often be singled out by opposite forces. Their reputation as combat troops was poor, despite the high standard of  Luftwaffe  recruits, at least in part from being required to perform roles (ground warfare) for which they as airmen had little training. They were frequently used for rear echelon duties to free up front line troops.