Deployment of German armed forces (divisions, infantry, vehicles, artillery, air force, navy) by theaters of war in the summer of 1942.
Deployment German ground forces
Table of Contents
The German distribution of ground forces by theaters of war in the summer (June-July) 1942 after TOE (tables of organization and equipment).
The actual average strength in the army, however, was only 88%. The units of the Army Group South in Southern Russia were largely completely refreshed at the cost of the others.
Army: divisions
| Theaters of War | Infantry, Mountain and Airborne | motorized Infantry | Armoured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russian Front, Army Gr South | 49 1/3 | 8 | 12 |
| Russian Front, Army Gr Center | 49 | 4 | 8 |
| Russian Front, Army Gr North | 35 1/3 | 4 | 3 1/3 |
| 20th Army, Finland | 6 1/3 | - | - |
| Army Norway | 10 1/3 | - | 1 |
| Denmark | 1 | - | - |
| 15th Army (Calais), Holland | 11 | - | 1 |
| 7th Army (Normandy) | 8 1/3 | - | 1 1/2 |
| 1st Army (Southwest France) | 4 | - | 1 |
| 12th Army (Serbia, Greece) | 4 1/3 | - | - |
| Fortress Crete | 1 | - | - |
| DAK, Western Desert | - | 1 | 2 |
| Reserve Army, Germany | 1 | - | - |
| TOTAL | 181 | 17 | 29.83 |
Infantry (TOE)
| Theaters of War | infantrymen | automatic rifles | sub-machine guns | machine guns | mortars | light anti-tank weapons |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russian Front, Army Gr South | 564,000 | ? | ? | 30,747 | 7,207 | ? |
| Russian Front, Army Gr Center | 525,000 | ? | ? | 28,260 | 7,820 | ? |
| Russian Front, Army Gr North | 366,000 | ? | ? | 19,467 | 5,674 | ? |
| 20th Army, Finland | 46,000 | ? | ? | 2,139 | 703 | ? |
| Army Norway | 96,000 | ? | ? | 5,107 | 1,446 | ? |
| Denmark | 9,000 | ? | ? | 500 | 140 | ? |
| 15th Army (Calais), Holland | 105,000 | ? | ? | 5,720 | 1,590 | ? |
| 7th Army (Normandy) | 81,000 | ? | ? | 4,827 | 1,190 | ? |
| 1st Army (Southwest France) | 42,000 | ? | ? | 2,220 | 610 | ? |
| 12th Army (Serbia, Greece) | 39,000 | ? | ? | 2,167 | 607 | ? |
| Fortress Crete | 9,000 | ? | ? | 500 | 140 | ? |
| DAK, Western Desert | 18,000 | ? | ? | 773 | 193 | ? |
| Reserve Army, Germany | 6,000 | ? | ? | 220 | 90 | ? |
| TOTAL | 1,906,000 | ? | ? | 102,647 | 27,410 | ? |
Vehicles and artillery
| Theaters of War | Tanks | Assault guns, AFVs | APCs | Trucks | Field guns | AT guns | AA guns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russian Front, Army Gr South | 2,130 | 568 | ? | 63,867 | 4,683 | 4,646 | 832 |
| Russian Front, Army Gr Center | 1,420 | 284 | ? | 46,900 | 4,157 | 4,311 | 732 |
| Russian Front, Army Gr North | 592 | 284 | ? | 31,866 | 2,970 | 3,036 | 512 |
| 20th Army, Finland | - | - | ? | 1,333 | 364 | 376 | 76 |
| Army Norway | 177 | - | ? | 6,067 | 773 | 790 | 136 |
| Denmark | - | - | ? | 500 | 73 | 75 | 12 |
| 15th Army (Calais), Holland | 177 | - | ? | 6,900 | 849 | 867 | 144 |
| 7th Army (Normandy) | 266 | - | ? | 4,900 | 641 | 652 | 118 |
| 1st Army (Southwest France) | 177 | - | ? | 3,400 | 338 | 342 | 60 |
| 12th Army (Serbia, Greece) | - | - | ? | 2,167 | 316 | 325 | 52 |
| Fortress Crete | - | - | ? | 500 | 73 | 75 | 12 |
| DAK, Western Desert | 355 | - | ? | 4,667 | 141 | 134 | 36 |
| Reserve Army, Germany | - | - | ? | - | 46 | 48 | 12 |
| TOTAL | 5,294 | 1,136 | ? | 173,067 | 15,424 | 15,677 | 2,734 |
Deployment German air force
For the German Luftwaffe, only figures for September 1942 are available, but these are accurate by aircraft.
Strength Luftwaffe:
| Theaters of War | Fighter, night fighter | Fighter bombers | light bombers and Stukas | medium and heavy bombers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russian Front, Army Gr South | 322 | - | 162 | 277 |
| Russian Front, Army Gr Center and North | 612 | - | 202 | 926 |
| Finland and Norway | 100 | - | 59 | 49 |
| Denmark | - | - | - | - |
| In the West (France, Low countries) | 521 | - | - | 222 |
| Balkans, Crete, Western Desert | 111 | - | - | 41 |
| Germany | 327 | - | - | - |
| TOTAL | 1,933 | - | 423 | 1,515 |
Deployment German Navy
The figures for the German Kriegsmarine refer to the summer of 1942, but are partial estimates.
Strength German Navy:
| Theaters of War | Battleships (BB,BC) | heavy cruisers (CA) | light cruiser (LCA) | Destroyers (DD) | Torpedo boats | MTBs | Subs | Transport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 2 | 3 | - | 6+ | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| France | - | - | - | 6 (?) | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| Baltic, North sea | 1 (damaged) | 2+ | 1+ | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| TOTAL | 3 (2 BC) | 6 (including 2 Pocket-battleships, 2 old BB) | 4 | c.12 | c.12 | c.35 | 315 | c.615 (c.1.12m t available at start of war) |
References and literature
Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht, Band 1-8 (Percy E. Schramm)
World War II – A Statistical Survey (John Ellis)
The Armed Forces of World War II (Andrew Mollo)
Der Grosse Atlas zum II. Weltkrieg (Peter Young)
The Desert War (Andrew Kershaw, Ian Close)
Rommels Afrika Korps, Tobruk bis El Alamein (Pier Paolo Battistelli, Dr. Duncan Anderson)
The Unknown Alamein – Crucial Battles of World War 2 (Charles Messenger)
Krieg der Panzer (Piekalkiewicz)
Luftkrieg (Piekalkiewicz)
