| 1st Parachute Division 7th Air Division | |
|---|---|
| German:1. Fallschirmjäger-Division 7. Flieger-Division | |
 Unit insignia | |
| Active | 7th Air Div.: 1938–43 1st Parachute Div.: 1943–45 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  Luftwaffe |
| Type | Fallschirmjäger |
| Role | Airborne forces |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Karl-Lothar Schulz Kurt Student |
The1st Parachute Division (German:1. Fallschirmjäger-Division) was an elite military parachute-landingdivision of the GermanLuftwaffe. For reasons of secrecy, it was originally raised as the7th Air Division (German:7. Flieger-Division), before being renamed and reorganized as the 1st Parachute Division in 1943.
The division was formed in October 1938 under the command ofMajor-GeneralKurt Student. At the start of World War II, the division contained two parachute regiments; it was brought up to full strength in 1941. In April 1940, the division took part in the invasion of Denmark and Norway duringOperation Weserübung, successfully seizing several airfields.
The German plan for the invasion ofBelgium and theNetherlands in May 1940 called for the use of the 7th Fliegerdivision to aid in the advance through the capture of key bridges and the fortress ofEben Emael.Theinvasion of the Netherlands included the majority of the 7th Fliegerdivision in cooperation with the22nd Air Landing Division. This force was grouped as the 11th Fliegerkorps, and commanded by Kurt Student. The attack on The Hague was a failure: the high loss of transport planes grew to quite dramatic proportions. Many paratroopers and air landing troops were captured, hundreds were killed or wounded and 1,536 prisoners of both divisions were transported to England.[1] (TheRotterdam Blitz on 14 May 1940 led to Rotterdam's surrender.) The Eben Emael assault was a complete success with both the fort itself and 1,000+ enemy captured.
The division took part in theBattle of Crete. The Allied forces on the island put up a stubborn defense and the troops of the 7th Fliegerdivision took heavy losses. With the aid of the follow-on reinforcements, and the capture of theMaleme airfield allowing resupply however, the Allies were forced to evacuate the island by 29 May.
In September 1941, the division was transferred to theEastern Front, fighting in the vicinity ofLeningrad,Stalino and later taking part in anti-partisan warfare nearSmolensk. In the summer of 1942, the division was transferred toFrance where it trained for theplanned capture of Malta. After this operation was cancelled, elements of the division saw combat inNorth Africa.[2]
The division took part in the July 1943 fight against theAllied invasion of Sicily. For the remainder of the war, the division fought in theItalian Campaign. From 14–27 December 1943, the division, under General-LieutenantRichard Heidrich, saw action against the1st Canadian Division in theBattle of Ortona. Later the division was concentrated in the defense of theWinter Line south ofRome, defending against the advance of theBritish Eighth Army, commanded by Lieutenant-GeneralOliver Leese. In February to May 1944, the 1st Parachute Division took part in theBattle of Monte Cassino, and in late May and June it fought against the AlliedOperation Diadem later retreating to the north of Rome. They formed part of theGerman I Parachute Corps, along with the German4th Parachute Division.
By January 1945, the German I Parachute Corps was deployed to theAdriatic coast behind the Senio Rivier. TheAllied advance resumed on 8 April, and the 1st Parachute Division was forced into a steady withdrawal toward thePo River by the British Eighth Army. Elements of the Polish II Corps captured the 1st Parachute Division’s battle flag, and on the morning of April 21, the3rd Carpathian Rifle Division entered Bologna ahead of the American 34th Division. By 25 April, the division had completed the river crossing. They immediately set off on a final march toward theAlpine Mountains. Finally, the German surrender in Italy came on 2 May 1945, and included the men of the 1st Parachute Division. Theunconditional surrender of Germany followed a week later.
Members of various units of the division committed war crimes in Italy between 1943 and 1945. A massacre by members of the 1. Fallschirmjäger Regiment occurred on November 21, 1943, inPietransieri, afrazione ofRoccaraso inAbruzzo. A total of 128 unarmed civilians, mostly women and children, were slaughtered in theMassacre of Pietransieri [it]. After they refused to leave the village, civilians were rounded up and executed by gunfire and explosives and their farms were set on fire and demolished.[4][5] According to a project funded by the German federal government and led by a commission of historiansAtlante delle Stragi Naziste e Fasciste in Italia (Atlas of the Nazi and Fascist Massacres in Italy), nearly 400 Italian civilians were murdered by members of the 1st Parachute Division by the end of the war.[6]
| Date | Commander |
|---|---|
| September 9, 1938 | GeneralleutnantKurt Student |
| May 16, 1940 | GeneralleutnantRichard Putzier |
| October 1, 1940 | GeneralleutnantWilhelm Süssmann |
| May 20, 1941 | GeneralmajorAlfred Sturm |
| October 1, 1941 | GeneralleutnantErich Petersen |
| August 1, 1942 | General der FallschirmtruppeRichard Heidrich |
| January 4, 1944 | GeneralmajorHans Korte |
| February 21, 1944 | General der FallschirmtruppeRichard Heidrich |
| November 18, 1944 | GeneralmajorKarl-Lothar Schulz |
