Parachute-commandoes of II/KG200.

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Draco101
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Parachute-commandoes of II/KG200.

#1

Post by Draco101 » 17 Mar 2022, 20:52

Can anybody tell me more about this Luftwaffe special forces unit?
Wikipedia has very little to no info on this particular unit and does not even mention the unit's actual German name.
This unit took part in the Battle of Vercors in July 1944.
This was the only special forces unit that the Luftwaffe raised and I wanted to know more about this unit.

Thank you,
Draco101 :)

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FransN
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Re: Parachute-commandoes of II/KG200.

#2

Post by FransN » 18 Mar 2022, 13:05

Hi Draco101,
The Fallschirmjäger unit within II./Kampfgeschwader 200 was raised initially from military offenders around March 1944 as 3./II./KG200. The unit changed its name to 7./KG200 on 8 June 1944 and was then commanded by Oblt. Schäfer. The unit was also known by the commander's name. The unit was not parachuted on the Vercors plateau on 21 July 1944, but was brought in by glider planes. They were accompanied by members of the KdS Lyon, among them Asians who committed atrocities. After the successful fighting on Vercors was over, 7./KG200 was disbanded end of September.
Source: Geoffrey J. Thomas & Barry Ketley: "KG200, the Luftwaffe's most secret unit", Hikoki Publications, Crowborough UK, 2003, ISBN 1 902109 33 3.
Best regards,
Frans


sandeepmukherjee196
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Re: Parachute-commandoes of II/KG200.

#3

Post by sandeepmukherjee196 » 18 Mar 2022, 13:46

Would like to read more on this action. Any references please ?

Cheers
Sandeep

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FransN
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Re: Parachute-commandoes of II/KG200.

#4

Post by FransN » 18 Mar 2022, 15:39

Try also:
Peter Lieb: "Vercors 1944, resistance in the French Alps", Campaign series no. 249, Osprey Publishing, 2012, ISBN 978-1-84908-698-1.
Best regards,
Frans

sandeepmukherjee196
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Re: Parachute-commandoes of II/KG200.

#5

Post by sandeepmukherjee196 » 19 Mar 2022, 06:27

FransN wrote:
18 Mar 2022, 15:39
Try also:
Peter Lieb: "Vercors 1944, resistance in the French Alps", Campaign series no. 249, Osprey Publishing, 2012, ISBN 978-1-84908-698-1.
Best regards,
Frans
Thanks

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FransN
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Re: Parachute-commandoes of II/KG200.

#6

Post by FransN » 20 Mar 2022, 12:39

More interesting info on this unit can be found in:
Peter Lieb: "Konventioneller Krieg oder NS-Weltanschauungskrieg? Kriegsführung und Partisanenbekämpfung in Frankreich 1943/44", R. Oldenbourg Verlag, München, 2007, ISBN 978-3-486-57992-5.
This source states that two (!) companies of Fallschirmjäger of KG200 were brought in by gliders on 21 July. They were reinforced on 23 July by a company from an Ostbataillon (not further specified). The combined unit was responsible for the gruesome killings of civilians on the high-plateau, and Vassieux-en-Vercors in particular.
Best regards,
Frans

Larry D.
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Re: Parachute-commandoes of II/KG200.

#7

Post by Larry D. » 20 Mar 2022, 15:29

3.Staffel/KG 200 (renumbered 7.Staffel/KG 200 on or about 11 July 1944)
Formed 21 Feb 44 at Dedelstorf as a special operations commando unit with around 350 hand-picked paratroops (Fallschirmjäger). The men were subjected to a regimen of very hard training during spring 1944. Usually referred to as Kampfgruppe “Schäfer” from July 1944.
Jun 44: reinforced with around 100 men from 1.Staffel (above) under Oblt. Friedrich Schäfer and transferred to Lyon/France at the beginning of July as Kampfgruppe “Schäfer” to join Army ground units for a large air-landing and ground assault operation against French resistance forces concentrated on the Vercors Plateau around La Mure to the south of Grenoble.
21 Jul 44: transported into the target area this date aboard 22 DFS 230 gliders towed by Do 17s that belonged to I./LLG 1, the operation concluded on 27 July with a reported 639 partisans and 201 civilians killed. Kampfgruppe “Schäfer” lost 22 killed and around 44 wounded. The operation was rife with atrocities, most of which were committed by Vichy militia and SD from the Lyon Gestapo headquarters and so-called Osttruppen that belonged to the Army. However, Schäfer’s men did not escape the postwar accusations and this caused an unfortunate stain on the Luftwaffe’s usually clean wartime record.
Aug 44: transferred from Lyon to Nancy during the first few days of August and then to Meaux near Paris. The Kampfgruppe was heavily engaged during the withdrawal from France, and in early September it was the last German unit to leave Luxembourg.
[Sources: Kannapin-FpN; Dierich-VdL; Tessin-Tes; Günther W. Gellermann-Moskau ruft Heeresgruppe Mitte (Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe Verlag, 1988); P.W. Stahl-KG 200 – The True Story (London: Jane’s, 1981); G.Thomas and B.Ketley – KG 200: The Luftwaffe’s Most Secret Unit (Hikoki Pub. Ltd, 2003); M.Holm-website www.ww2.dk.

L. deZ.

Jan-Hendrik
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Re: Parachute-commandoes of II/KG200.

#8

Post by Jan-Hendrik » 21 Mar 2022, 10:34

Thank you for the information, gentlemen!

Jan-Hendrik

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Westphalia1812
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Re: Parachute-commandoes of II/KG200.

#9

Post by Westphalia1812 » 16 May 2022, 22:20

Larry D. wrote:
20 Mar 2022, 15:29
However, Schäfer’s men did not escape the postwar accusations and this caused an unfortunate stain on the Luftwaffe’s usually clean wartime record.
Well, the Luftwaffe already caused a stain on their 'clean' wartime record in Italy...The HG div ran wild there. 1.FjD., 2.FjD. and 4.FjD. were also involved in atrocities, especially during the Autumn of 1943 and Summer of 1944.

Carlo Gentile, Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Partisanenkrieg in Italien 1943-1945
I love myself way more than I love you

And I think about killing myself

So, best believe, I thought about killing you today

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