German Orders of Battle October 1943

The German Orders of Battle from October 4, 1943, after the surrender and occupation of Italy.

heavily loaded German infantry unit
A heavily loaded German infantry unit marching into a new position on the Eastern Front in 1943.

The German Orders of Battle and distribution of the divisions of the Wehrmacht and subordinated units of allies after the capitulation of Italy, 8 September 1943, and the following disarmament of the Italian troops and take over of their positions by German units.

German scorched earth tactics
Scorched earth tactics: Requisitions and burning of villages before the retreat of German troops in Russia.
The Orders of Battle includes also shattered divisions (marked as remnant) as well as divisions under preparation.
Fortress divisions are officially designated ‘not mobile’ divisions, designated for the defense of coastal sections in the west.
Luftwaffe field divisions were raised from surplus ground crews and anti-aircraft soldiers of the Air Force to reinforce the army, but they were of little combat value because it’s soldiers and officers had little experience in ground warfare.
Security divisions were used for the guarding and defense of bridges, railway lines and other important objects against partisans. Jaeger divisions were light and mobile units for difficult terrain and were especially active in the fight against partisans.

It is noteworthy that many divisions at the southern and central sector of the Eastern Front have fallen far below their organization strength since the Battle of Kursk (July 1943), because nearly all German reserves were needed for the disarmament of the Italian army and the take-over of the Italian occupation zones, and to fight against the Anglo-Americans in Southern Italy. During this period, the headquarters of the German Wehrmacht expected also a further invasion at the Balkans, mainly in Greece. A successful Allied landing there would have probably resulted in the surrender of also Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria and their change into the camp of the Western allies.


Schematic layout of the German Wehrmacht from October 4, 1943

Army Group A:

ArmyCorpsDivisions
located on the Crimea and Kuban bridgehead (Caucasus)
17 Army (Reserves: 9 Romanian Cavalry Div)Commander of the Crimea 153 Training (bulk), 1 Slovak Infantry (bulk) divs
Romanian Mountain Corps 1 Romanian Mountain, 2 Romanian Mountain divs"
V Corps 3 Romanian Mountain, 6 Romanian Cavalry, 10 Romanian Infantry divs
XXXXIX Mountain Corps 4 Mountain, 19 Romanian Infantry, 98 Infantry, 370 Infantry, 50 Infantry, 97 Jaeger divs
6 Army (Reserves: 73 Infantry Div)XXXXIV Corps 4 Romanian Mountain, 24 Romanian Infantry, 336 Infantry, 111 Infantry, 14 Luftwaffen Field (elements) divs, Cavalry Regiment South
XXIX Corps 79 Infantry, 17 Infantry, 15 Luftwaffen Field (elements), 5 Luftwaffen Field (elements), 9 Infantry, 13 Panzer (bulk) divs
IV Corps 3 Mountain, 302 Infantry (elements), 17 Panzer, 5 Luftwaffen Field (elements), 101 Jaeger, 258 Infantry (remains), 302 Infantry (bulk) divs

Army Group South:

ArmyCorpsDivisions
located in south RussiaReserves:24 Romanian Infantry div
1 Panzer ArmyXVII Corps (subordinated to XXXX. Panzer Corps) 335 Infantry, 333 Infantry, 123 Infantry, 125 Infantry, 304 Infantry, 294 Infantry (remains) divs
XXXX Panzer Corps16 Panzer Grenadier div
XXX Corps 257 Infantry, 387 Infantry, 46 Infantry, 15 Infantry divs
LII Corps (subordinated to LVII Panzer Corps) 262 Infantry, 355 Infantry, 38 Infantry (remains), 328 Infantry, 161 Infantry (remains), 293 Infantry (remains) divs"
LVII Panzer Corps 306 Infantry (remains), Grossdeutschland, 23 Panzer, SS Cavalry, 9 Panzer (remains) divs"
8 ArmyXI Corps 106 Infantry (remains), 39 Infantry (remains), SS Panzer Totenkopf, 282 Infantry (remains), 198 Infantry (remains) divs
XXXXVII Panzer Corps 320 Infantry (remains), 389 Infantry, 6 Panzer (remains), 167 Infantry (remains) divs"
III Panzer Corps 11 Panzer (remains), 57 Infantry, SS Panzer Wiking, 3 Panzer (remains), 168 Panzer (remains), 223 Infantry divs"
XXXXVIII Panzer Corps 112 Infantry (remains), 255 Infantry (remains), 20 Panzer Grenadier, 372 Infantry (bulk), 19 Panzer divs
XXIV Panzer Corps 10 Panzer Grenadier, SS Pz Das Reich, 34 Infantry divs
4 Panzer Army (Reserves: 332 Infantry (remains), 7 Panzer divs)VII Corps 88 Infantry, 75 Infantry, 68 Infantry, 213 Security divs
XIII Corps 82 Infantry, 32 Infantry (remains), 208 Infantry (remains), 340 Infantry (remains), 82 Infantry (elements) divs
LIX Corps 183 Infantry, 217 Infantry, 339 Infantry, 291 Infantry, 8 Panzer (remains), 2 Panzer (remains) divs
XXXXII Corps 454 Security div
Commander of the Army Group South444 Security div

Army Group Center:

ArmyCorpsDivisions
located in ByelorussiaReserves: 390 Training, 391 Training divs
2 Army (Reserves: 72 Infantry (elements) div)LVI Panzer Corps 2 Panzer (remains), 12 Panzer (remains), 5 Panzer, 86 Infantry (remains), 4 Panzer (remains) divs
XXXXVI Panzer Corps 251 Infantry (remains), 7 Infantry (remains), 221 Security, 137 Infantry (remains) divs
XX Corps 102 Infantry (remains), 31 Infantry (remains), 6 Infantry (remains)"
XXXV Corps 45 Infantry, 299 Infantry, 292 Infantry, 216 Infantry divs
9 Army (Reserves: 707 Infantry, 129 Infantry (bulk) div) XXIII Corps 253 Infantry, 134 Infantry, 20 Panzer (remains), 296 Infantry, 383 Infantry divs
LV Corps 110 Infantry, 211 Infantry, 321 Infantry (bulk), 268 Infantry (remains), 36 Infantry (remains) divs"
XXXXI Panzer Corps 267 Infantry, 260 Infantry, 131 Infantry divs
4 Army (Reserves: 18 Panzer (remains), one cavalry regiment)XII Corps 56 Infantry (remains), 26 Infantry, 262 Infantry (remains) divs
IX Corps 35 Infantry, 330 Infantry (remains), 78 Infantry, 342 Infantry, 252 Infantry divs
XXXIX Panzer Corps 95 Infantry, 337 Infantry, 25 Panzer Grenadier, 1 SS Brigade
XXVII Corps 18 Panzer Grenadier, 197 Infantry, 52 Infantry (remains), 113 Infantry (remains) divs
3 Panzer ArmyVI Corps 256 Infantry, 246 Infantry (remains), 206 Infantry, 14 Infantry, 87 Infantry divs
II Luftwaffen Field Corps 4 Luftwaffen Field, 6 Luftwaffen Field, 3 Luftwaffen Field, 2 Luftwaffen Field divs
IX Corps 342 Infantry, 252 Infantry, 35 Infantry divs
XXXIX Panzer Corps 337 Infantry, 95 Infantry, 129 Infantry divs
XXVII Corps 246 Infantry, 197 Infantry, 256 Infantry, 52 Infantry divs
Commander of the Army Group Center Hungarian VIII Army Corps 1 Hungarian Infantry, 5 Hungarian Infantry, 9 Hungarian Infantry, 12 Hungarian Infantry, 23 Hungarian Infantry, 18 Hungarian Infantry divs"
Commander of the Army Group Center 286 Security, 201 Security (bulk), 203 Security, 2 Slovak Infantry divs

Army Group North:

ArmyCorpsDivisions
in north RussiaReserves:388 Training div
16 Army (Reserves: 58 Infantry div)XXXXIII Corps 263 Infantry, 83 Infantry, 201 Security (elements), 205 Infantry divs
II Corps 331 Infantry, 12 Infantry, 218 Infantry, 93 Infantry divs
VIII Corps 21 Luftwaffen Field, 32 Infantry, 5 Jaeger, 207 Security (elements) divs
XXXVIII Corps 8 Jaeger, 30 Infantry, 122 Infantry, 329 Infantry divs
18 Army (Reserves: 28 Jaeger div) XXVIII Corps 96 Infantry, 132 Infantry, 81 Infantry, 12 Luftwaffen Field, 1 Infantry, 121 Infantry divs
XXVI Corps 212 Infantry, 5 Mountain, 254 Infantry, 269 Infantry, 290 Infantry, 61 Infantry, 227 Infantry, 215 Infantry
LIV Corps 225 Infantry, 24 Infantry, SS Police, 11 Infantry divs
L Corps 250 (Spanish) Infantry, 170 Infantry, 126 Infantry divs
III Luftwaffen Field Corps 9 Luftwaffen Field, 10 Luftwaffen Field
Commander of the Army Group North 207 Security (bulk), 281 Security, 285 Security divs

Subordinated to OKW (Headquarter of the Wehrmacht):

ArmyCorpsDivisions
located in Norway, Lapland and Finland
20 Mountain ArmyXVIII Mountain Corps SS Mountain North, 7 Mountain divs
XXXVI Mountain Corps 169 Infantry, 163 Infantry divs
XIX Mountain Corps 2 Mountain, 6 Mountain, 210 Infantry divs + 4 inf regiments
AOK (Army Headquarter) Norway (Reserves: 196 Infantry, 214 Infantry, 280 Infantry, Panzer Regiment Norway)LXXI Corps 230 Infantry, 270 Infantry, 199 Infantry divs
XXXIII Corps 14 Luftwaffen Field, 702 Infantry, 295 Infantry (in preparation) divs
LXX Corps 269 Infantry, 274 Fortress, 710 Infantry divs


Army Group D, Commander of the West:

ArmyCorpsDivisions
in France, Belgium and Netherlands Reserves: 325 Security, 148 Reserve, 189 Reserve, 159 Reserve, 157 Reserve, 165 Reserve, 155 Reserve Panzer, 179 Reserve Panzer divs, 2 bycicle regiments - in preparation: 25 Panzer, 182 Reserve, 9 SS Panzer Hohenstaufen, 10 SS Panzer Karl der Grosse, 12 SS Panzer Hitlerjugend, 13 Croatian SS Mountain, 14 Panzer, 21 Panzer, 244 Fortress, 245 Fortress divs
Army Commander Netherlands (Reserves: 376 Infantry div)LXXXVIII Corps 347 Fortress, 16 Luftwaffen Fortress, 719 Fortress divs
15 Army (at Pas de Calais; Reserves: 384 Infantry div)LXXXIX Corps 19 Luftwaffen Fortress, 712 Fortress, 171 Reserve, 264 Fortress (in preparation) divs
LXXXII Corps 18 Luftwaffen Fortress, 156 Reserve, 191 Reserve divs"
LXXXI Corps 348 Fortress, 17 Luftwaffen Fortress, 711 Fortress divs
7 Army (in Normandy and Brittany; Reserves: 371 Infantry div)LXXXIV Corps 716 Fortress, 709 Fortress, 319 Fortress divs
LXXXVII Corps 346 Fortress, 266 Fortress divs
XXV Corps 343 Fortress, 265 Fortress, 243 Fortress divs
1 Army (in southwest France; Reserves: 374 Infantry (in preparation) div)LXXX Corps 158 Reserve, 708 Fortress divs
LXXXVI Corps 344 Fortress div
19 Army (in Southern France; Reserves: 242 Fortress div)IV Luftwaffen Field Corps 326 Fortress, 388 Fortress div
Group General Faulenbach 356 Infantry div, 2 security inf regiments
Group General Kniess 715 Infantry, Panzer Grenadier Feldherrnhalle (in preparation) div

Army Group B:

ArmyCorpsDivisions
in north ItalyReserves:Brigade Reichsfuehrer SS
LXXXVII Corps 76 Infantry, 94 Infantry divs
II SS Panzer Corps SS Panzer Leibstandarte, 162 (Turkmen) Infantry, 71 Infantry divs
LI Mountain Corps 65 Infantry, 305 Infantry, 24 Panzer, 90 Panzer Grenadier divs

Supreme Commander South:

ArmyCorpsDivisions
in Southern ItalyReserves: 3 Panzer Grenadier, 2 Airborne divs
10 Army (Reserves: 15 Panzer (bulk) div)XIV Panzer Corps 15 Panzer Grenadier (elements), Panzer Hermann Goering divs
LXXVI Panzer Corps 16 Panzer, 29 Panzer Grenadier, 26 Panzer, 1 Airborne divs

Army Group F, Commander South East:

ArmyCorpsDivisions
in the northern BalkansReserves: 22 Bulgarian Infantry, 24 Bulgarian Infantry, 25 Bulgarian Infantry, 27 Bulgarian Infantry divs
2 Panzer Army (Reserves: elements Brandenburg div)III SS Panzer Corps 11 SS Panzer Grenadier Nordland (in preparation), SS Police Regiment 14
XV Mountain Corps 373 (Croatian) Infantry, 369 (Croatian) Infantry, 114 Jaeger, SS Mountain Prinz Eugen, 1 motorised Grenadier regiment
XXI Mountain Corps 118 Jaeger, 297 Infantry (in preparation), 100 Jaeger, 181 Infantry div
LXIX Reserve Corps 173 Reserve, 187 Reserve, 1 Russian Cossack Division

Army Group E (subordinated to Army Group F):

ArmyCorpsDivisions
in Greece and the Aegean islandsReserves: Assault div Rhodos (in preparation), 11 Luftwaffen Field div, SS Police Regiment 18, bulk Brandenburg div, two motorised SS Police regiments
XXII Mountain Corps 1 Mountain, 104 Jaeger div
LXVIII Corps 1 Panzer, 117 Jaeger div"
Commander of Salonika 7 Bulgarian Infantry div
Commander of the fortress Crete 22 Infantry div, Fortress brigade Crete

Reserve Army and Commander of the army armament:

ArmyCorpsDivisions
Commander of the German troops in Denmark 416 Infantry, 233 Reserve Panzer, 20 Luftwaffen Field (in preparation) divs
154 Reserve, 174 Reserve Infantry divs
divisions under preparation (units total): 7 infantry, 5 Panzer Grenadier, 2 Panzer, 1 SS mountain divs


Overview of fully established and operational divisions of the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS, Luftwaffe, Reserve Army and allied units:

PzPzGrInfJagMtSecResLwAx
HrGr A2-11221/31210
HrGr South87 43,5--3---
HrGr Center6 2,542--5247
HrGr North--33313161
Norway Finnl. 0,5-11 2/3-4 1/3--1-
OB West1123--1124-
OB South East1- 3,8 52-218
OB South3 5,56----31
Denmark--1---11-
Reserve Army------33--
Total 29,516175109 1/312 1/3522227

Sum 353 divisions (326 without allies, 274 without reserve divisions)

Pz = Panzer (tank); PzGr = Panzer-Grenadier (motorized infantry); Inf = infantry; Jag = Jaeger (light infantry); Mt = Gebirgsjäger (Mountain troops); Sec = Security; Res = Training, Reserves or Replacement divisions; Lw = Luftwaffe-Feld- and Airborne divisions; Ax = allied Axis units under operational control.

See also: Germany Army Unit Organization 1942-45.


References and literature

Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht, Band 1-8 (Percy E. Schramm)
Der Grosse Atlas zum II. Weltkrieg (Peter Young)
World War II – A Statistical Survey (John Ellis)


Oval@3x 2

Don’t miss the newest posts on Sunday!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

for sharing:

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll to Top