How were FJ units organised during the early part of the war, and in whose organisation were they? What would a typical OOB for a large FJ unit be? I know that FJ divisions didn't come around until 1943, which is far too late for my purposes.
Hi Andreas--according to the book: Storming Eagle, by Lucas at the atart they were in Battalion and Regiment sized formations. Don't forget that the Heer did have its Fallschirm Division and before 1945. It was the 22nd Luftlande Division, or something like that. Its been too long since I even thought of that unit or looked at anything to do with it. Their Fallschirm badge here in the USA can fetch $1,200 to about $1,400 in todays market.
Cool... do you know by any chance how many companies there were to a bn and how many bns to a regt? Did FJ units have any generic light artillery or support weapons in the "early days"?
According to Lucas book, there were 4 companies to a battalion. Three were assault companies and the fourth was a support or heavier weapons company. His lists had three battalions to a Regiment. These did have all kinds of attached units like: A signals unit--a pioneer unit, an artillery unit, a medical detachment, a transportation unit, etc. Some had one or more or even all of these, while others had only one or two of these and in some cases, had none of these attached units.
