Who manned the atlantic wall? As far as I can recall there were nationalities from Eastern Europe to the Far East. How many units were made up of 'ear and stomach' battalions? How many just rebuilt? Even if in the beginning of 1944 no more units came from the East to be rebuilt, what about those that came earlier? Surely, it takes at least a few months for units to be rebuilt. Also, I do keep hearing about the 'few first-rate' German units, who were they and why were they first rate?
Well, I didn't say your point had no relation to reality, just that it was an invalid generalisation
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1. Most of the infantry divisions manning the atlantic wall were substandard formations.
2. However, by the autumn of 1944, the majority of these had been destroyed. The new divisions that replaced them were not of inferior quality compared to the new units deployed to the East.
3. Also, they were already in the summer of 1944 supplemented by a considerable number of very good formations - including, 1st, 2nd, 9th, 10th and 12th SS Panzer Divisions, 2nd, 9th, 11th, 21st, 116th and 130th ("Lehr") Panzer Divisions and 17th SS Panzer Grenadier Divisions. As you see from Michael's post, these had a tank strength comparable to all the Pz divisions in the East, despite the fact that the number of Pz divisions in the East was some 50% higher. Their overall standard of equipment, and above all the degree to which they were at or close to full strength, is probably unrivalled in the latter half of the war. You will be familiar with the combat record of most of these formations, so I see little need to go into details there.
4. The West had priority for more than half a year prior to the invasion - thus the considerably better state of the Panzer divisions in the West in June, all of whom were either new units or arrived from the East some months prior to D-Day in a very battered state, and then rebuilt in anticipation of the summer season, obviously receiving priority in personnell and equipment replacements.
5. Rebuilt point: Units did arrive from the East to be rebuilt in early 1944. But whereas earlier they were generally dispatched back East or to other active fronts as soon as they were ready, from the start of 1944 they were retained in France in anticipation of the invasion. After the Normandy campaign, there was of course no question of using WE as a resting and training ground, and from this time on the EF no longer contains the overwhelming part of German forces - just the majority of them.
All of them, most of the formations that began the war in 1941 were 'elite' in my view, they had plenty of war experience and the equipment to fight the coming war, by the end of 1943 there were none left. They had already been rebuilt in one way or another and had lost most of their veteran soldiers and officers. Plus, the constant changes in command on the higher level didn't go for the better either.
This is again too simplistic I think! Sorry, but I am always annoyed by this tendency to think that the soldiers who crossed the border in 1941 was somehow of an entirely incomparable callibre compared to those who joined the ranks later, and that the fighting quality of the WH can more or less be measured by how many of them were still on active duty. Codswallop in my opinion, though personnell quality certainly became an issue eventually (but hardly as early as this).
Anyway, most of the 1941 formations were still in existence at the end of 1943, without having been rebuilt. They had of course suffered casualties and absorbed replacements, but there's nothing unusual about that. And if they were experienced in 1941, they certainly were in 1943.
cheers