Doing some reading this afternoon about 5th Fallschirmjager Div in the Ardennes, and it shows how badly the attritional battles in Italy and Normandy depleted this once elite arm of the Wehrmacht.

The commander of 5 FJ in December 1944 was General Ludwig Heilmann, a long-serving infantry officer who transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1940 bec. he was impressed with the elan of FJ he had observed.

Only a captain when joining the Luftwaffe, he advanced quickly, distinguishing himself in the battle for Catania on Crete in 1941 and again in the fighting at Leningrad. He would command 3 FJ Reg in Italy, earning more plaudits for his leadership at Cassino.

When Heilmann took command of 5 FJ Div in September 1944, the division was a shell of its former self, having been destroyed in Normandy. By the eve of the Ardennes counteroffensive 5 FJ Div had been reconstituted with levies from Luftwaffe ground elements and staff.

Although Heilmann could boast 20,000 men under his command, 4,000 were still under training and the remainder gave him fits. Unlike Volksgrenadier divisions formed in the war’s last year from Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine levies, 5 FJ Div was short experienced cadre.

Many of his officers, including one regimental commander, were staff officers with no line experience, and another regimental CO had been a technical advisor with the Air Ministry before taking command.

Some veteran officers and NCOs were put out by the rawness of their new charges,many of whom had never fired a weapon in battle, and few had range experience. Heilmann later claimed that many of the older NCOs and some officers transferred from ground units exhibited poor morale.

Only Heilmann’s 15th FJ Reg was considered “veteran.” Its CO, Col. Kurt Groschke, had led the unit in battle, and his cadre of battle wise NCOs had quickly got a grip on their enthusiastic but very green young soldiers.

The division’s pioneer battalion was also considered in outstanding shape, as was the 11th Air Assault Gun Bde, whose StuG IIIs were Heilmann’s mobile artillery.

Even with its many shortages in equipment and concerns about training and morale, the division fought well.

With apologies to @BuddNicholas for treading on his turf—he is chronicling this flank of the battle in detail—I will spare the reader the details of the fighting. This rabbit hole was inspired by Leo Barron’s excellent book on Third Army in the Bulge, and notated well.