German Orders of Battle at the armistice with France

German Orders of Battle from 25 June 1940 early, the day of the armistice with France.
Schematic layout of the Wehrmacht, divisions and equipment.

destroyed French villages
One of the many destroyed French villages during the Western campaign.

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

Schematic layout of the German Wehrmacht:

Army GroupArmyCorpsDivisions
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
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
Panzer Group Kleist (part of 4th Army)XXII Corpsmotorized Infantry Regiment 900
XV Corps 7, 5 Panzer, 2 motorized Infantry Division, 11 Fast Brigade
XIV Corps 9, 10 Panzer Division, SS-Verfügungs, SS-Totenkopf Division
18th Army (Reserves: 62, 255 Infantry Division) I Corps 1 Cavalry, 11, 1 Infantry Division
VIII Corps 8, 28, 19 Infantry Division
XXXX Corps 9, 44 and elements 94 Infantry Division"
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"
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
XXXXII Corps 291, 50 Infantry Division
XVI Panzer Corps 3, 4 Panzer, 13 motorized Infantry Division, Inf.Reg. Grossdeutschland, SS-Division 'Adolf Hitler'
2th Armee (Reserves: 294, 267 Infantry DivisionVI Corps 5, 293 Infantry Division
IX Corps 205, 15 Infantry Division
XXVI Corps 295, 34, 45 Infantry Division
12th Army (Reserves: 1. Mountain Division, XI Corps with 7, 253, 269 Infantry Division)III Corps 52, 3, 23, 298 Infantry Division
XIII Corps 260, 21, 17 Infantry Division
XXIII Corps 73, 82 (reinforced) Infantry Division"
XVII Corps 86, 10, 26 Infantry, Police Division
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
Panzer Group Guderian (XIX Corps) as part of 16th ArmyXXXIX Corps 1, 2 Panzer, 29 motorized Infantry Division
XXXXI Corps 6, 8 Panzer, 20 motorized Infantry Division
1st Army (Reserves: 197 Infantry Division)XXXXV Corps 167 and elements 95 Infantry Division
XXX Corps 258, 79 and elements 93 Infantry Division
XII Corps 268, 75, 198 Infantry Division
XXIV Corps 60, 252, 168 Infantry Division
XXXVII Corps 215, 246, 262, 257 Infantry Division
7th ArmyXXV Corps 6 Mountain, 555., 557 Infantry Division
XXVII Corps 218, 221 Infantry Division
XXXIII Corps 213, 239, 554, 556 Infantry Division
In the Homelands Gen. z.b.V. (Hannover) 228, 231, 311 Infantry Division
XXXIV Corps and XXXV Corps 209, 365, 372, 379, 393 Infantry Division
NorwayXXI Corps 2, 3 Mountain, 69, 214, 163, 181, 196 Infantry Division
OKH Reserves 22 Infantry Division
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:

Panzermot.Inf.Cav.Inf.MountainAirborneTotal
Army Group B44133--42
Army Group A22 1/3-32 2/31-38
Army Group C42-331-40
Norway---52-7
Homeland---8--8
Reserves and occupation forces in the West---9-211
Total108 1/31120 2/342146


Approximate organization strength of the major types of the German Army divisions in 1940:

Infantry Divisionmotorized Infantry Division (1939)Mountain DivisionPanzer Division (1939-40)Light Division
Units total874354
Officers500=?400400
Officials100=?100100
NCOs2,500=?2,0001,600
Privates13,400=?9,3008,700
Total men 16,500-17,200 (35 divisions of 1st wave 18,00016,50013,05611,80010,800
Infantry Regiments3 with 3,000 men each=2 with 3,000 men each2 with 3,000 men each1 or 2 with 2,000 or 3,000 men each
Machine guns MG34643 (116 heavy)=569220460
Anti-tank rifles90=-
Mortars142 (84 x 5cm, 58 x 8.1cm)=118 (60 x 8.1cm, 58 x 5cm)5060
Infantry guns 24 (6 x 15cm, 18 x 7.5cm) =4 (15cm)1010
Anti-tank guns75 (3.7cm Pak 36)=51 (45 x 3.7 cm, 6 x 4.7cm)5050
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=121212
Armored Cars330-100100
Tanks---32486
Trucks5001,700-1,4001,400
Cars4001,000-560600
Motorcycles4521,300-1,3001,100
Sidecars200600-700600
Horses5,375-?--
Horse-drawn carriages1,133-?--

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)


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