On a Bicycle Built For....War

[Tiwaz]

I served my time in 1999 in Jäger brigade and didn't use bicycle ever. If we didn't march there we used trucks.

[Reichsadler]

Some Volkssturm members were equipped with bicycles. They carried two Panzerfaust, one on each side.

[Tapani K.]

Harri, I understand that if you were in the Air Force, you would not be very familiar with bicycles but Tiwaz, I was shocked. Lorries? I just knew it, the army is not was it used to be in the good old days. Oh well...

Still, if memory serves me right, the Continuation War Jäger battalions were named as such sometime during the Interim Peace of 1940-41. Before that they were called Bicycle battalions (Polkupyöräpataljoona, PPP). Shows quite nicely how the un-motorized Finnish army relied heavily on bicycles providing mobility for crack light infantry.

regards,
Tapani K.

[Harri]

Harri, I understand that if you were in the Air Force, you would not be very familiar with bicycles but Tiwaz, I was shocked. Lorries? I just knew it, the army is not was it used to be in the good old days. Oh well...

Well, we were called "Flying Guerrillas" [lentosissi] by our commander although officially it was just a Staff Company! (To those who don't know I have to tell that basic military training in Finland is the same for all regardless of the arm you service. So a pilot, seaman and jäger all have the same basic training.) Although I was in FAF I have a training of Rifle Squad Leader, Sensory Air Surveillance Squad Leader and Weather NCO (both in FAF and in field artillery).

Still, if memory serves me right, the Continuation War Jäger battalions were named as such sometime during the Interim Peace of 1940-41. Before that they were called Bicycle battalions (Polkupyöräpataljoona, PPP). Shows quite nicely how the un-motorized Finnish army relied heavily on bicycles providing mobility for crack light infantry.

No, Jäger battalions 1, 2, 3 and 4 were renamed already before the war, in 1936 (IIRC). Jäger Battalion 1 belonged to Cavalry Brigade and the others were independent units. During the Winter War there were also independent Bicycle Battalions and Kompanies, most of them being under the command of Naval Forces Staff (but not all, at least one battalion for example was in Suomussalmi region [in Group Susi] and one in Karelian Isthmus).

In 1939 Light Detachments [Kevyt osasto] within each divisions had one Cavalry Squadron and one Bicycle (or Jäger) Company. In winter 1940 some of them were equipped with skiis. In 1941 Light Detachments consisted of three Jäger Companies (officially) or one Jäger Company and one Motorized Infantry Company but they all were suspended during spring and summer 1942.

In 1943 also Cavalry Brigade became a jäger unit although its former cavalry regiments retained their original names: Häme Mounted Regiment and Uusimaa Dragoon Regiment. They were actually reinforced battalions, not regiments in size. In 1944 the other units in Cav.Brig. were Jäger Battalion 1 and 6 while those in Jäger Brigade were Jäger Battalions 2, 3, 4 and 5. None of them were independent battalions during the Continuation War.

[Timo]

The Leibstandarte and Das Reich both entered the Ardennes with several platoons on bicycles per order from OKH with the intention to save fuel. Also Muncheberg had a complete Panzergrenadier-Regiment on bicycles

Hitler ordered on 02.11.1944 that a Division with six Panzergrenadierbataillonen should have two complete Batallionen on bicycles. A KstN was made following this order.

(BA-MA WF 03-4693, Tätigkeitsbericht des Gen.d.Pz.Tr. West, Anlage 145)

[Tapani K.]

Harri, you were right, it was in 1936 that they changed the naming convention. To direct attention away from this mistake I made I thought I might post a couple of photos of JP2 (Jäger Battalion 2) troops with bicycles. They are from a PPP2/JP2/UudJp history printed in 1971. I apologize for the quality of the pictures, but I think they would be of interest since they show quite clearly the value placed on bicycle troops in an area like Eastern Karelia where there are not many roads and the existing roads are usually quite poor.

The first picture shows Finnish troops advancing in Aunus. The Jägers are the spearhead of the advance although there are tanks with them this time.

The second picture shows the parade in Äänislinna (Petroskoi/Petrozavodsk) after the Finnish troops had captured the town.


Regards,
Tapani K.

[Tapani K.]

Sorry I seemed to do something wrong, the second picture was missing. It should be here:

[Caldric]

I wonder how much more ground they could make in a day compared to regular marching infantry.

[KW]

Hey.
I served also ín Jäger batalion in 1987-88 and we made full use of bicycles..so not too many motors marches.
longest bicycle march in one day was 110 kilometers during my service in Finnish army..and that was in winter time with skis attached to main frame of bike...(mean of transportation..not another genius finnish winter war application).

[Harri]

I wonder how much more ground they could make in a day compared to regular marching infantry.

I would say that if infantry marches about 50 km a day maximum cyclists can easily ride about 100 to 150 km a day in good conditions (gravel road) or even more if no fights. Very bad roads and swerves to forest routes (paths for example), when bikes are even carried, drop day's journey to the level of a marching infantry. So cyclists can be at least two to three times faster than infantry.

[Harri]

[sylvieK4]

I saw this photo posted in another thread.

[sylvieK4]

A few more cycles in service:

From:http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... =753151661


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... =753151750


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... =753151554

[ruma]

Harri, I understand that if you were in the Air Force, you would not be very familiar with bicycles but Tiwaz, I was shocked. Lorries? I just knew it, the army is not was it used to be in the good old days. Oh well...

Last summer when I was in RUK in Hamina we had A LOT of bicycle marches. And I would say that you could do 150km/day easily if you didn't fight along the way.

Of course when I went back to my jägerbattallion we didn't march with bikes once, always with something that had engine

[Demosthenes]

someone wrote: (can't find the post in the scroll, and I'm too lazy to backtrack

HERE ARE A FEW. RAD BIKERS

is that Reich Arbeits Dienst bikers or bicycle bikers? (german word "rad" is often used as short for "fahrrad" which means bicycle.) I'm getting confused by the capitals.