Number of FJ's in North Africa

[Jean-Loup]

Was the Ramcke brigade the only paratrooper unit in North Africa, or did other units go down to, towards the end of the african campagne. If so, what were these other units? About how much would the total number FJ's and their helmets that whent to Africa be?
JL

[John Hodgin]

Hi Jean-Loup,

Not only Ramcke, but also Rgt. 5 in Tunisia.

Best,
John

[Óscar G]

Hi Jean-Loup:
In November 1943, FJR5 was flown to Tunisia. This was a unit formed from the Luftlande-Sturm- Regiment, being commanded by Oberstleutnant Koch. it was formed by I/FJR5 (Hauptmann Jungwirth) and III/FJR5 (Hauptmann Knoche).
The assault pioneers of Witzig´s Pioniere-Bataillon 21 (1./ 2./ 3./ and 4./ companies) were also sent to Tunisia. These units were involved in the fighting at Mateur, Medjez-el-Bab and Tebourba. The men of the 3rd Company, Fallschirm-Pioneer Battalion under the command of Oberleutnant Friedrich were chosen for an operation behind the allied lines. The date for the operation was set for December 30th. The objectives would be airfields and bridges in the Tebessa and St.Arnaud areas, in Eastern Algeria. The lack of the pilots´experience turned the operation into a disaster, dropping the men and gliders miles from their objectives.
A third unit ("ad hoc" unit) operated with these ones: "Barenthin-Regiment", formed from drafts of paras from several units.
All these units stayed in Tunisia until the final surrender on 12 May 1943.
JYN in "Green Devils" gives an accurate description about their tasks and structure.
Hope this helps.
Óscar

[Jean-Loup]

OK, thanks guys. So how many men does that make. I know there were 5000 Ramke guys in Alamein. How many were there in the replacements that came, and in Rgt.5?

JL

[Óscar G]

As far as I know, The Brigade´s strengh was originally 4000 men. After El Alamein it was dwindled to 600.

In November 1942 FJR5 was flown to Tunisia in a group of 70 Junkers. So, I guess around 900 Fjs were sent there, but I can´t make sure it...

Before giving the strengh of Witzig´s men, I have to make a correction: FallschirmPionier-Bataillon 11 was the unit commanded by Witzig in Africa, deploying by that time 1st, 3rd and 4th companies. The 2nd one had been sent before, as one of the units belonging to Ramcke Brigade. After having fought in Tunisia, 11th Bataillon was reformed (in Moulins, France) and expanded to become the Fallschirm-Pioniere-Bataillon 21.

As for the numbers of this unit, some sources suggest that there were over 716 men.

Hope this helped. All the best.
Óscar

[Jean-Loup]

So do you mean less than 10000 german paras set foot in Afrika between 1941 and 1943? That realy isnt many...

JL

[Óscar G]

It seems so. We have to bear in mind that they were (all except Ramcke Brigade) a small part of the reinforcements (being themselves a relatively small amount...) sent between November and the end of December 1942.
They work in order to make a five-month deadlock after the "Torch" operation, protecting Tunis airfields and taking up defensive positions to the west and south of the city (FJR5). Witzig´s unit was used to bolster the defences to the west of Tunis, directly in front of the Allied approach route.
But the unavoidable - defeat and surrender - was a matter of time...
Regards. Óscar.

[Ardennes]

I would agree Jean-Loup, that wouldn't be that many, but the DAK wasn't an overly large force anyway, was it?

[Willi Z.]

I would agree that a total of somewhere in the area of 5000 served on North Africa.

Willi