German Orders of Battle for the campaign in the West, May 1940

German Orders of Battle for the campaign in the West, 10 May 1940.
Deployment, army groups, armies, corps, divisions, organization and equipment, tanks.

A Panzer I leads Panzer 38(t)
A Panzer I leads Panzer 38(t) into Northern France.

By May 1940, the number of divisions in the German army was as follows:

  • 129 infantry divisions;
  • 8 motorized infantry divisions (including 3 Waffen-SS);
  • 10 Panzer divisions;
  • 3 mountain divisions;
  • 1 cavalry division;
  • 2 airborne divisions;

In addition, the SS-Verfügungstruppe (from April 1940, known as the Waffen-SS) provided three motorized infantry divisions and a brigade. There were now over two-and-a-half million men under arms in the German Army, of which the Waffen-SS contributed about 100,000.

For the invasion of France the German Army was organized into three army groups:

  • Army Group A (von Rundstedt) with 45 1/2 divisions including 7 Panzer;
  • Army Group B (von Bock) with 29 1/2 divisions including 3 Panzer, and
  • Army Group C (von Leeb) with 19 divisions.

Army Group C held a defensive position against the Maginot Line while the main offensive was launched by Rundstedt’s Army Group A in the Ardennes with a subsidiary invasion of Holland and Belgium undertaken by Army Group B.


Deployment Western Front
Deployment Western Front in May 1940.

Schematic layout of the German Wehrmacht in the West from May 10th, 1940

Schematic layout:

Army GroupArmyCorpsDivisions
Army Group A opposite Belgium and Luxembourg (Ardennes) (Reserves: 4, 87, 211, 263, 267 Infantry division)4th ArmyV Corps 251, 267, 32, 31 Infantry divisions
VIII Corps 8, 28 Infantry divisions
XV Panzer Corps 5, 7 Panzer, 62 Infantry division
II Panzer Corps 12, 32 Infantry division
12th Army (Reserves: 9, 27 Infantry division)III Corps 3, 23. Infantry division
VI Corps 16, 24 Infantry division
XVIII Corps 5, 21, 25 Infantry, 1 Mountain division
Panzer Group Kleist (12th Army)XI Panzer Corps 1, 2, 10 Panzer division, mot. Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland
XLI Panzer Corps 6, 8 Panzer, 2 motorized Infantry division
XIV mot. Corps 13, 29 motorized Infantry division
16th Army (Reserves: 6, 15, 26, 33, 52, 71, 73 Infantry division)VII Corps 36, 68 Infantry division
XIII Corps 17, 34 Infantry division
XXIII Corps 58, 76 Infantry division
Army Group B located opposite to Holland (Reserves: 7, 211, 253, 267, 269 Infantry division) 18th Army (Reserves: XXIX Corps with 208, 225 Infantry, 9. Panzer division)X Corps 207, 227 Infantry division, 1 Cavalry division, mot.SS division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, mot.SS division ?
XXVI Corps 207, 254, 256 Infantry division, mot. SS-Division ?
IX Corps 294, 295 Infantry division
6th Army (Reserves: I Corps with 1, 11, 61, 216, 223, 255 Infantry division)IV Corps 18, 35 Infantry division
IX Corps 19, 30, 56 Infantry division
XI Corps 7, 14, 31 Infantry division
XXVII Corps 253, 269 Infantry division
XVI Panzer Corps 3, 4 Panzer, 20 motorized Infantry division
Air Landing Corps 7 Paratroopers, 22 Air Landing division
Army Group C in the Saar and Rhine front in Southwest Germany (Reserves: 197, 213, 215, 246, 262, 554, 555 Infantry division)1st ArmyXII Corps 75, 198, 268 Infantry division
XXIV Corps 60, 168, 252 Infantry division
XXX Corps 79, 93, 258 Infantry division
XXXVII Corps257 Infantry division
XLV Corps 95, 167 Infantry division
7th ArmyXXV Corps557 Infantry division
XXVII Corps 218, 221 Infantry division
XXXIII Corps 239, 556 Infantry division
OKH Reserves in the West9th Army XVII, XXXXVIII, XL, XLII, XLIII, XLIV, XXXVI, XLV Corps 10, 44, 45, 46, 50, 57, 60, 72, 78, 81, 82, 83, 86, 88, 96, 161, 162, 164, 167, 168, 169, 170, 183, 197, 205, 206, 212, 213, 217, 218, 221, 260, 290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299 Infantry divisions, 1 SS-Brigade (motorized), SS-Police division, 1 Police division (?)


Overview of fully established and operational divisions of the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and Luftwaffe in the West on 10 May, 1940

Overview:

Panzermot.Inf.Cav.Inf.MountainAirborneTotal
Army Group A7 3.33-361-47.33
Army Group B34130-240
Army Group C---24--24
Reserves- 1.33-43-- 44.33
TOTAL10 8.66 113312 155.66


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 Organization 1939-41.


Known quantities of tanks in May 1940:

Armored fighting vehiclesInventory
PzKpfw 35(t) (witn 6th Panzer division in France)c. 200
PzKpfw 38(t) Ausf. A-C (15 A in Norway, 7th and 8th Panzer division in France)c. 350
PzKpfw III (E-G) mit 3.7cm KwK L/46.5 348
PzKpfw IV (A-D) short 7.5cm KwK L/24280
Assault gun StuG IIIA with short 7.5cm L/24c. 24
other serviceable Armored fighting vehicles in Panzer Divisions c. 1,372
TOTAL serviceable Armoured fighting vehicles in Panzer Divisions 2,574


Oval@3x 2

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6 thoughts on “German Orders of Battle for the campaign in the West, May 1940”

    1. All other existing types of armored vehicles at this time, eg Pz I, Pz II, … Have just the figures for the mentioned types, the missing vehicles must be filled up from the other ones.

  1. I don’t think a 1940-type panzer division had 324 tanks and I’m pretty sure that the light mechanised divisions were phased out after the Polish Campaign.

    1. May 1940: 9. P.D. had as few as 150+; The 3., 4. & 5. had as many as 340+; but the remaining 6 Div.s had 210+ to 265+. The ave. was about 225+ per. The 4 Leichte Pz. Div.s became Pz. Div.s 6, 7, 8 & 9 respectively. Pz.Rgt. 5 of 3. P.D. was sent to Africa w/Rommel as the 5. lePz.Div., to become 21. Pz.Div. of the Afrika Korps.

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