Its first commander was Colonel GeneralKurt Student, the Wehrmacht's airborne pioneer. During the Allied Operation Market Garden, Student's men delayed the Allied advance across the south of the Netherlands. The 30,000 soldiers were likely the only combat-ready reserve forces in Germany at the time.[1] However, few of the Army's units or personnel were paratroopers.
The Canadian First Army and Lieutenant-General William Hood Simpson’s U.S. Ninth Army compressed Schlemm’s forces into a small bridgehead on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Wesel. On 10 March 1945, the rearguard of the 1st Parachute Army evacuated their bridgehead, destroying the bridge behind them. Schlemm was wounded in an air attack on his command post at Haltern eleven days later and on 20 March 1945, command passed to General Günther Blumentritt.
Just before Operation Varsity, First Parachute Army had three corps stationed along the river;
Of these formations, II Parachute Corps and LXXXVI Corps had a shared boundary which ran through the proposed landing-zones for the Allied airborne divisions, meaning that the leading formation of each corps would face the airborne assault — these being 7th Parachute Division and 84th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht).[3] After their retreat to the Rhine both divisions were under-strength and did not number more than 4,000 men each, with 84th Infantry Division supported by only 50 or so medium artillery pieces.[3] In the final days of the war, command passed once more to Student (10 April) and finally to Erich Straube.
Commanding officersedit
No.
Portrait
Commander
Took office
Left office
Time in office
1
Student, KurtGeneraloberst Kurt Student (1890–1978)
1 March 1944
4 November 1944
248 days
2
Schlemm, AlfredGeneral der Fallschirmtruppe Alfred Schlemm (1894–1986)
parachute, army, wehrmacht, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, parachute, army, wehrmacht, news, newspa. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 1st Parachute Army Wehrmacht news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message The 1st Parachute Army German 1 Fallschirm Armee was formed in September 1944 comprising 30 000 men 1st Parachute ArmyGerman 1 Fallschirm ArmeeGeneral Kurt Student commanded the 1st Parachute Army during the Allied Operation Market GardenActiveSeptember 1944 5 May 1945Disbanded5 May 1945Country Nazi GermanyBranch LuftwaffeSize30 000 in September 1944EngagementsWorld War IICommandersNotablecommandersGeneraloberst Kurt Student Contents 1 History 2 Commanding officers 3 Subunits 4 ReferencesHistory editIts first commander was Colonel General Kurt Student the Wehrmacht s airborne pioneer During the Allied Operation Market Garden Student s men delayed the Allied advance across the south of the Netherlands The 30 000 soldiers were likely the only combat ready reserve forces in Germany at the time 1 However few of the Army s units or personnel were paratroopers Student was transferred to the Eastern Front and on 18 November 1944 command of the First Parachute Army passed to General der Fallschirmtruppe Alfred Schlemm who opposed the Canadian First Army during the Battle of the Reichswald The Canadian First Army and Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson s U S Ninth Army compressed Schlemm s forces into a small bridgehead on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Wesel On 10 March 1945 the rearguard of the 1st Parachute Army evacuated their bridgehead destroying the bridge behind them Schlemm was wounded in an air attack on his command post at Haltern eleven days later and on 20 March 1945 command passed to General Gunther Blumentritt Just before Operation Varsity First Parachute Army had three corps stationed along the river II Parachute Corps to the north LXXXVI Corps in the centre LXIII Corps in the south 2 Of these formations II Parachute Corps and LXXXVI Corps had a shared boundary which ran through the proposed landing zones for the Allied airborne divisions meaning that the leading formation of each corps would face the airborne assault these being 7th Parachute Division and 84th Infantry Division Wehrmacht 3 After their retreat to the Rhine both divisions were under strength and did not number more than 4 000 men each with 84th Infantry Division supported by only 50 or so medium artillery pieces 3 In the final days of the war command passed once more to Student 10 April and finally to Erich Straube Commanding officers editNo Portrait Commander Took office Left office Time in office1 nbsp Student Kurt GeneraloberstKurt Student 1890 1978 1 March 19444 November 1944248 days 2 nbsp Schlemm Alfred General der FallschirmtruppeAlfred Schlemm 1894 1986 4 November 194428 March 1945144 days 3 nbsp Blumentritt Gunther General der InfanterieGunther Blumentritt 1892 1967 28 March 194510 April 194513 days 1 nbsp Student Kurt GeneraloberstKurt Student 1890 1978 10 April 194528 April 194518 days 4 nbsp Straube Erich General der InfanterieErich Straube 1887 1971 28 April 19458 May 194510 daysSubunits editGerman 1st Parachute Corps German 2nd Parachute CorpsReferences edit Ryan Cornelius A Bridge Too Far 1974 p 49 Otway Lieutenant Colonel T B H 1990 The Second World War 1939 1945 Army Airborne Forces Imperial War Museum ISBN 0 901627 57 7 p 298 a b Otway p 299 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1st Parachute Army Wehrmacht amp oldid 1205308444, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
