German Orders of Battle from 25 June 1940 early, the day of the armistice with France.
Schematic layout of the Wehrmacht, divisions and equipment.
By 10 June the Germans had crossed the Seine, and Mussolini took advantage of the situation by declaring war on France. Italian troops moved in and encountered stiff resistance, but overall French morale and confidence were at a low ebb. The government removed to Bordeaux and rejected Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s offer of a union between Britain and France. By 16 June, Premier Reynaud was resigning in favor of Marshal Henri Pétain, who announced the next day that France was seeking an armistice.
After the signing of a separate Italian-French armistice, officially ceasefire in France was on June 25, 1940 from 01:35 o’clock. The losses of the German Wehrmacht in this stunning triumph amounted 27,074 dead, 18,384 missing (which must be attributed to the kills) and 111,034 wounded. In additional, 534 planes were lost.
At the time of the ceasefire, the German Order of Battle was as following.
Schematic layout of the German Wehrmacht from 25th June 1940 early
Table of Contents
Schematic layout of the German Wehrmacht:
Army Group | Army | Corps | Divisions |
|---|---|---|---|
Military commander of Belgium and Northern France in Brussels | III Corps (Lille) | 208, 254, 358, 225, 351 Infantry Division |
|
Army Group B located in Normandy, Brittany and Western France (Reserves: XXVIII Corps with 18, 14 Infantry Division) | Military commander of Paris | 87, 217, 30, 56 Infantry Division |
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4th Army (Reserves: X Corps with 61, 251, 216, 57, 256 Infantry Division, Brigade Stenger) | II Corps | 32, 12, 31 Infantry Division |
|
XXXVIII Corps | 6, 46, 27 Infantry Division |
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Panzer Group Kleist (part of 4th Army) | XXII Corps | motorized Infantry Regiment 900 |
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XV Corps | 7, 5 Panzer, 2 motorized Infantry Division, 11 Fast Brigade |
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XIV Corps | |||
18th Army (Reserves: 62, 255 Infantry Division) | I Corps | 1 Cavalry, 11, 1 Infantry Division |
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VIII Corps | 8, 28, 19 Infantry Division |
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XXXX Corps | 9, 44 and elements 94 Infantry Division" |
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6th Army (Reserves: V Corps with 35 and elements of 98 Infantry Division) | IV Corps | 33, 4 Infantry Division |
|
XXXXIV Corps | 263, 72 and elements of 83 Infantry Division" |
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Army Group A in Central France | 9th Army (Reserves: 211 Infantry Division) | XVIII Corps | 25, 298 and elements of 81 Infantry Division |
XXXXIII Corps | 292 and elements of 88 and 96 Infantry Division |
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XXXXII Corps | 291, 50 Infantry Division |
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XVI Panzer Corps | 3, 4 Panzer, 13 motorized Infantry Division, Inf.Reg. Grossdeutschland, SS-Division 'Adolf Hitler' |
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2th Armee (Reserves: 294, 267 Infantry Division | VI Corps | 5, 293 Infantry Division |
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IX Corps | 205, 15 Infantry Division |
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XXVI Corps | 295, 34, 45 Infantry Division |
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12th Army (Reserves: 1. Mountain Division, XI Corps with 7, 253, 269 Infantry Division) | III Corps | 52, 3, 23, 298 Infantry Division |
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XIII Corps | 260, 21, 17 Infantry Division |
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XXIII Corps | 73, 82 (reinforced) Infantry Division" |
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XVII Corps | 86, 10, 26 Infantry, Police Division |
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Army Group C in Lorraine | 16th Army (Reserves: 169 Infantry Division) | VII Corps | 16, 68, 24, 36 Infantry Division |
XXXVI Corps | 71, 76, 212, 299, 58 Infantry Division |
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Panzer Group Guderian (XIX Corps) as part of 16th Army | XXXIX Corps | 1, 2 Panzer, 29 motorized Infantry Division |
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XXXXI Corps | 6, 8 Panzer, 20 motorized Infantry Division |
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1st Army (Reserves: 197 Infantry Division) | XXXXV Corps | 167 and elements 95 Infantry Division |
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XXX Corps | 258, 79 and elements 93 Infantry Division |
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XII Corps | 268, 75, 198 Infantry Division |
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XXIV Corps | 60, 252, 168 Infantry Division |
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XXXVII Corps | 215, 246, 262, 257 Infantry Division |
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7th Army | XXV Corps | 6 Mountain, 555., 557 Infantry Division |
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XXVII Corps | 218, 221 Infantry Division |
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XXXIII Corps | 213, 239, 554, 556 Infantry Division |
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In the Homelands | Gen. z.b.V. (Hannover) | 228, 231, 311 Infantry Division |
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XXXIV Corps and XXXV Corps | 209, 365, 372, 379, 393 Infantry Division |
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XXI Corps | 2, 3 Mountain, 69, 214, 163, 181, 196 Infantry Division |
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OKH Reserves | 22 Infantry Division |
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Reserve Army and Commander of the Army Armament | 386, 395, 399 Infantry Division |
Overview of fully established and operational divisions of the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and Luftwaffe on June 25, 1940
Overview:
| Panzer | mot.Inf. | Cav. | Inf. | Mountain | Airborne | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Army Group B | 4 | 4 | 1 | 33 | - | - | 42 |
| Army Group A | 2 | 2 1/3 | - | 32 2/3 | 1 | - | 38 |
| Army Group C | 4 | 2 | - | 33 | 1 | - | 40 |
| Norway | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | - | 7 |
| Homeland | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | 8 |
| Reserves and occupation forces in the West | - | - | - | 9 | - | 2 | 11 |
| Total | 10 | 8 1/3 | 1 | 120 2/3 | 4 | 2 | 146 |
Approximate organization strength of the major types of the German Army divisions in 1940:
| Infantry Division | motorized Infantry Division (1939) | Mountain Division | Panzer Division (1939-40) | Light Division | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Units total | 87 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Officers | 500 | = | ? | 400 | 400 |
| Officials | 100 | = | ? | 100 | 100 |
| NCOs | 2,500 | = | ? | 2,000 | 1,600 |
| Privates | 13,400 | = | ? | 9,300 | 8,700 |
| Total men | 16,500-17,200 (35 divisions of 1st wave 18,000 | 16,500 | 13,056 | 11,800 | 10,800 |
| Infantry Regiments | 3 with 3,000 men each | = | 2 with 3,000 men each | 2 with 3,000 men each | 1 or 2 with 2,000 or 3,000 men each |
| Machine guns MG34 | 643 (116 heavy) | = | 569 | 220 | 460 |
| Anti-tank rifles | 90 | = | - | ||
| Mortars | 142 (84 x 5cm, 58 x 8.1cm) | = | 118 (60 x 8.1cm, 58 x 5cm) | 50 | 60 |
| Infantry guns | 24 (6 x 15cm, 18 x 7.5cm) | = | 4 (15cm) | 10 | 10 |
| Anti-tank guns | 75 (3.7cm Pak 36) | = | 51 (45 x 3.7 cm, 6 x 4.7cm) | 50 | 50 |
| Howitzers and guns | 48 (8 x 15cm, 36 x 10.5cm leFH, 4 x 10.5cm guns) | = | 36 (8 x 15cm, 12 x 10.5cm, 16 x 7.5cm) | 28 | 24 (10.5cm leFH) |
| Anti-aircraft guns (2cm) | 11 | = | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Armored Cars | 3 | 30 | - | 100 | 100 |
| Tanks | - | - | - | 324 | 86 |
| Trucks | 500 | 1,700 | - | 1,400 | 1,400 |
| Cars | 400 | 1,000 | - | 560 | 600 |
| Motorcycles | 452 | 1,300 | - | 1,300 | 1,100 |
| Sidecars | 200 | 600 | - | 700 | 600 |
| Horses | 5,375 | - | ? | - | - |
| Horse-drawn carriages | 1,133 | - | ? | - | - |
See also: Germany Army Unit Organisation 1939-41.
References and literature
The Armed Forces of World War II (Andrew Mollo)
Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht, Band 1-8 (Percy E. Schramm)
