German Luftwaffe Field Regiment, 1942
A Luftwaffe infantry platoon of three sections, and an attached heavy machine gun team, commanded by a senior NCO. The miniatures are a mixture of Platoon 20 Germans and Russian auxiliaries, and they are based for the popular Crossfire game system. The German army experienced a severe manpower shortage after the costly 1941 invasion of Russia. Replacements were sought, and the large pool of non-specialist Luftwaffe personnel looked like a good source. In order to prevent the pending drain of precious manpower, the Luftwaffe raised infantry regiments of its own which served alongside regular army formations. The field regiments were not normally brigaded together, but several battalions of FR 2, 3, 4, 5, and 21 were eventually drawn into the defense of the town of Kholm where they came under the command of Division Meindl, which was renamed 21. Luftwaffenfelddivision in early 1943, following the establishment of Luftwaffe Field Divisions in December of 1942.
Feldregiment der Luftwaffe, 1942
- Stab (HQ)
- Stabskompanie (HQ Company)
- I. Bataillon
- 1. Kompanie (Jäger)
- Kompanietrupp (company HQ section)
- 1. Zug (Jäger platoon)
- 2. Zug (Jäger platoon)
- 3. Zug (Jäger platoon)
- 2. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 3. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 4. Kompanie (FlaK)
- 2 cm FlaK 38 (12)
- 8,8 cm FlaK 36 (4)
- 1. Kompanie (Jäger)
- II. Bataillon
- 5. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 6. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 7. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 8. Kompanie (FlaK)
- III. Bataillon
- 9. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 10. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 11. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 12. Kompanie (FlaK)
- IV. Bataillon
- 13. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 14. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 15. Kompanie (Jäger)
- 16. Kompanie (FlaK)
Luftwaffe field regiments were raised for ground service, using available non-specialist troops of the Luftwaffe. The units were built around a cadre of Luftwaffe and Fallschirmjäger personnel with previous ground combat experience. The Luftwaffe field regiment is of particular interest to wargamers, because of the unusual mixture of light infantry, light and heavy flak at battalion level.