Fallschirmjager ever used on Russian front?

Howdy ya'll I'm new in these here parts, been signed up a little while just havn't posted much.

To get on with my question though, were any Fallschirmjager units used on the Russian front throughout the war at anytime? I know after the disaster at Crete (even though they won) Hitler hesitated to use them again (in my opinion one of his largest blunders) and that they were mostly only ground troops after that seeing action in italy, the normandy campaign, and the Ardennes offensive. But were they ever either dropped or used on foot in Barbarosa or any other operation during the war in Russia?

Thanks much, Matthew

P.s, i've been looking for a site like this forever, truly awesome

 

Matthew,


The answer to your question is yes they did fight in Russia with the XXXIX panzer corps I believe but double check.

 

http://www.eagle19.freeserve.co.uk/russia.htm

From the site:

http://herbertholeman.com/para/units/german.php

 

good links kai!!

 

hey how did u gus het a pic were your signature is???

 

Thanks for the info guys very helpful!

and Sloniksp, it's in your profile options, theres also a thread that explains it in the first forum.

 

Thanks

 

I thought the FJ fought on every German front? (and with a remarkably clean/honourable record).
Cheers,
Adam

 

Well, there are some stories about less than honourable actions by the FSJ in Holland 1944/1945...Their ability to fight and tenacity is never in doubt, but I have read about the killing of Allied PoWs in Holland, not to mention Dutch civilians...Not on a grand scale, but still...

 

No matter what German division fought on the Easter Front and no matter how gallaint of a fight they showed, war crimes were always commited. Remember the Germans considered the Russians a step above the Jews and treated them like cattle. Massive executions were more then common.

 

Agreed chaps, I had meant to say 'relatively' and typed 'remarkably'.

Apologies.
Adam.

 

Any good books on this subject any of you might recommend?

Thanks

 

Thankyou.

 

war crimes have been committed. Remember that the Germans regarded the Russians a step above the Jews and treat them like cattle. Mass executions were common.

 

War crimes happened at every single front, at every single theatre, by every single nation! Nothing new on it. But if you will point in the FJ´s direction, yes they did some action against Partisans, which are not covered by the Geneva Convention. And the Partisans didn´t give a damn on the Convention too!

 

The FJ on Crete after the Commonwealth withdrawal spent three weeks or so "evening the score" after the Cretan civilian resistance during the airborne invasion, with incidents like the Kondomari massacre. For these and leter punishment massacres Bruno Brauer was executed in Athens after the war - tho' the Cretans themselves regarded him as one of the more lenient garrison commanders on the island during the Occupation!

 

Only one of the links up the thread is now working and it doesn't mention airborne ops in Russia.

However, I've copies of Volkmar Kuhn's "German paratroopers in World War II" and James Lucas' "Storming Eagles"....

There was a company-sized parachute drop to secure the bridges over the Dvina in the early days of BArbarossa; by men of the brandeberg Regiment. Two Ju52s approahced the bridges at only 55 mtres altitude at 3 in the afternoon of the 25th of June, and the first aircraft was shot down, but the FJ exited early...

....lucky they did, the bridge turned out to be defended by 14 T-34s!

The second Ju52 circled and trid to drop on the origonal landing zone, and its complement jumped into a hail o fire! The survivors found the original stick in a fiere firefight with the T-34s and Soviet infantry. The leader Lieutenant Lex and 16 others were killed, but the 14 survivors secured the bridge and held it until relieved by a German armoured column 24 hours later.

The only other airborne op mounted on the Eastern Front was four years later, in the spring of 1945, but this was to reinforce the defenders of Breslau.

 

There is nothing to excuse this slaughter, and also not the gruel tales the Brits told the farmers to the germans to activate them as "Partisans" for their use.

 

I'm not sayying anything excuses war crimes - quite the reverse...but the point about Brauer is that even the Cretans didn't think he shoud have been executed after the war, there were other commandants who had behaved far worse than him.

I can't work out exactly what you mean in that sentence...