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The Luftwaffe Field Divisions (German: ''Luftwaffen-Feld-Divisionen'' or LwFD) were German military formations during World War II. ==History== The divisions were originally authorized in October 1942, following suggestions that the German Army, the ''Heer'', 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''. Goering 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. Impact Field Marshal von Manstein blamed the decline of the Wehrmacht in 1943 to the creation of these divisions. Von Manstein argued that they recruited some of the most able young men into these divisions who would have made adequate NCOs and replacements to the decimated Army divisions. in his memoirs he laters blames their lack of training and coordination to severable notable defeats. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Luftwaffe Field Division」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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