Axis order of battle

10 May – 25 June 1940

Map showing dispositions of the opposing forces.

Organisation of forces

“The German Army in World War II consisted of a number of different arms, or what many would refer to now as branches or services.
During WWII, each separate branch was referred to as being an arm of the German military.
For example, the Luftwaffe (Air Force) was an arm of the large Wehrmacht (Army), as were the Heer (Land Force), the Waffen-SS (Armed Guard), and the Kriegsmarine (Navy).

https://www.feldgrau.com

The overall commander-in-chief of the German forces - Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) was Generaloberst Walter von Brauchitsch. Although initially, the Axis forces consisted only of German troops, they Italians joined the conflict on the German side on 10 June.

The total German ground forces in 1940 were as follows:

129 infantry divisions;
8 motorized infantry divisions (including 3 Waffen-SS);
10 Panzer divisions;
3 mountain divisions;
1 cavalry division;
2 airborne divisions;

Generaloberst Walter von Brauchitsch.

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-E00780 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

“In addition, the SS-Verfügungstruppe (from April 1940, known as the Waffen-SS) provided three motorized infantry divisions and a brigade. There were now over two-and-a-half million men under arms in the German Army, of which the Waffen-SS contributed about 100,000.”

www.ww2-weapons.com

Prior to the invasion of France, the German commanders had organised their forces into the following army groups:

Army Group A (von Rundstedt) with 45 1/2 divisions including 7 Panzer; Responsbile for the main thrust of the invasion through the Ardennes.
Army Group B (von Bock) with 29 1/2 divisions including 3 Panzer – undertaking a secondary assault through Belgium and the Netherlands, designed to draw the bulk of the French and allied forces away from von Rundstedt’s divisions.
Army Group C (von Leeb) with 19 divisions – placed in a defensive position facing the Maginot Line.

“An infantry division consisted of three infantry regiments (approx. 3,000 men each) and one artillery regiment, as well as supporting division units, such as the anti-tank, signal and reconnaissance Abteilung, as well as ambulance and supply services, the engineer battalion and a field replacement battalion.”

www.ww2-weapons.com

OKH Reserve

Second Army

Commanded by General of Cavalry Maximilian von Weichs

267th Infantry Division
294th Infantry Division
IX Corps - General der Infanterie Hermann Geyer
15th Infantry Division
205th Infantry Division
XXVI Corps - General der Artillerie Albert Wodrig
34th Infantry Division
45th Infantry Division
295th Infantry Division
VI Corps - General der Pioniere Otto-Wilhelm Förster
5th Infantry Division
293rd Infantry Division

German soldiers move through a devastated French village.

https://pictureshistory.blogspot.com/

OKH Reserves: Corps and division details.

www.ww2-weapons.com

“In contrast to the practice in most other armies, the engineer battalion and reconnaissance Abteilung were also combat units, often leading the attacks with flamethrowers and anti-tank guns.In the Wehrmacht, the Abteilung was a formation of varying strength, somewhere between a regiment, battery or squadron. It approximated to the British battalion, artillery regiment or tank regiment.”

www.ww2-weapons.com

Ninth Army

Commanded by Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz

211th Infantry Division
XXXXII Corps - General der Pioniere Walter Kuntze
50th Infantry Division
291st Infantry Division
XXXXIII Corps - Generalleutnant Hermann Ritter von Speck, from 31 May Generalleutnant Franz Böhme
88th Infantry Division
96th Infantry Division
292nd Infantry Division
XVIII Corps - General der Infanterie Eugen Beyer, from 5 June Generalleutnant Hermann Ritter von Speck
25th Infantry Division
81st Infantry Division
290th Infantry Division

“Another feature of the German army was the decentralization of heavy weapons within the division, so that each regiment had its own anti-tank and infantry gun companies.”

www.ww2-weapons.com

Reconnaissance squads head the German advance into Luxembourg, on May 10, 1940.

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/

German Army Group A

Commanded by Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt

Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt.

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S37772 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

Army Group A: Corps and division details.

www.ww2-weapons.com

Fourth Army

Commanded by Generaloberst Günther von Kluge (Chief of Staff: Generalmajor Kurt Brennecke).

II Corps - General of Infantry Adolf Strauß -> 30.5.1940 General of Infantry Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel
12th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach
32nd Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Franz Böhme
V Corps - General of Infantry Richard Ruoff
211th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Kurt Renner
251st Infantry Division - Generalmajor Hans Kratzert
263rd Infantry Division - Generalmajor Franz Karl
VIII Corps - General of Infantry Walter Heitz
8th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Rudolf Koch-Erpach
28th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Hans von Obstfelder -> 20.5.1940 Generalmajor Johann Sinnhuber
87th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Bogislav von Studnitz
267th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Ernst Fessmann
XV Corps - General of Infantry Hermann Hoth (dispositions north to south: Yvoir-Houx-Dinant)
5th Panzer Division - Generalleutnant Max von Hartlieb -> 22.5.1940 Generalleutnant Joachim Lemelsen -> 6.6.1940 Generalmajor Ludwig Cruwell
7th Panzer Division - Generalmajor Erwin Rommel
62nd Infantry Division - Generalmajor Walter Keiner

“A 1940 panzer division fielded 328 tanks of all types, with five mechanized infantry battalions plus engineer, antitank, and reconnaissance battalions.”

D-Day Encyclopedia, © 2014 by Barrett Tillman.

German soldiers on the march during the Invasion of France.

https://pictureshistory.blogspot.com/

Twelth Army

Commanded by Generaloberst Wilhelm List (Chief of Staff: Generalleutnant Eberhard von Mackensen).

III Corps - General of Artillery Curt Haase
3rd Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Walter Lichel
23rd Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Walter von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt
52nd Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Hans-Jurgen von Arnim
VI Corps - General of Engineers Otto-Wilhelm Förster
16th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Heinrich Krampf
24th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Justin von Obernitz -> 1.6.1940 Generalmajor Hans-Valentin Hube
XVIII Corps - General of Infantry Eugen Beyer -> 1.6. Generalleutnant Hermann Ritter von Speck
5th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Wilhelm Fahrmbacher
21st Infantry Division - Generalmajor Otto Sponheimer
25th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Erich Clößner
1st Mountain Division - Generalleutnant Ludwig Kübler

A formation of German Dornier Do 17Z light bombers, flying over France on June 21, 1940.

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/

Sixteenth Army

Commanded by General of Infantry Ernst Busch (Chief of Staff: Generalmajor Walter Model)

VII Corps - General of Infantry Eugen von Schobert
36th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Georg Lindemann
68th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Georg Braun
XIII Corps - Generalleutnant Heinrich von Vietinghoff
15th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Friedrich-Wilhelm von Chappuis
17th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Herbert Loch
10th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Konrad von Cochenhausen
XXIII Corps - Generalleutnant Albrecht Schubert
34th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Hans Behlendorff
58th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Iwan Heunert
76th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Maximilian de Angelis
26th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Sigismund von Förster
Panzer Group Kleist - General of Cavalry Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist (Chief of Staff: Generalmajor Kurt Zeitzler)
XIV Corps - General of Infantry Gustav Anton von Wietersheim
2nd Infantry Division (mot.) - Generalleutnant Paul Bader
13th Infantry Division (mot.) - Generalmajor Friedrich-Wilhelm von Rothkirch und Panthen
29th Infantry Division (mot.) - Generalmajor Willibald Freiherr von Langermann und Erlencamp
XXXXI Corps - Generalleutnant Georg-Hans Reinhardt (disposition of Panzer Corps north to south, Montherme)
6th Panzer Division - Generalmajor Werner Kempf
8th Panzer Division - Oberst Erich Brandenberger
XIX Corps - General of Cavalry Heinz Guderian [20] (dispositions east to west: Donchery to Sedan)
2nd Panzer Division - Generalleutnant Rudolf Veiel
1st Panzer Division - Generalleutnant Friedrich Kirchner
10th Panzer Division - Generalleutnant Ferdinand Schaal
Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland

“German tanks were technically superior to anything the United States or Britain fielded,”

D-Day Encyclopedia, © 2014 by Barrett Tillman.

German motorcyclists pass through a destroyed town in France in 1940.

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/

Reserves

XXXX Corps - Generalleutnant Georg Stumme
6th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Arnold Freiherr von Biegeleben
9th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Georg von Apell
4th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Erick-Oskar Hansen
27th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Friedrich Bergmann
71st Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Karl Weisenberger
73rd Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Bruno Bieler

German Army Group B

Commanded by Generaloberst Fedor von Bock (Chief of Staff: Generalleutnant Hans von Salmuth)

Generaloberst Fedor von Bock

Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1977-120-11 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

Army Group B: Corps and division details.

www.ww2-weapons.com

Sixth Army

Commanded by Generaloberst Walter von Reichenau (Chief of Staff: Generalmajor Friedrich Paulus)

XVI Corps - General of Cavalry Erich Hoepner
4th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Erick-Oskar Hansen
33rd Infantry Division - Generalmajor Rudolf Sintzenich
3rd Panzer Division - Generalmajor Horst Stumpff
4th Panzer Division - Generalmajor Ludwig Radlmeier -> 8.6.1940 Generalmajor Johann Joachim Stever
IV Corps - General of Infantry Viktor von Schwedler
15th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Ernst-Eberhard Hell
205th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Ernst Richter
XI Corps - Generalleutnant Joachim von Kortzfleisch
7th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Eccard Freiherr von Gablenz
211th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Kurt Renner
31st Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Rudolf Kaempfe
IX Corps - General of Infantry Hermann Geyer
XXVII Corps - General of Infantry Alfred Wäger
253th Infantry Division - Generalleutnant Fritz Kuhne
269th Infantry Division - Generalmajor Ernst-Eberhard Hell

Soldiers from the SS-VT Division (SS "Verfügungstruppe") during the Invasion of France.

http://www.2kompanie.org/

“…the numerical disadvantage faced by panzer units often was redressed by high-quality equipment and practiced skill.”

D-Day Encyclopedia, © 2014 by Barrett Tillman.

Eighteenth Army

Commanded by General of Artillery Georg von Küchler

1st Cavalry Division - Major General Kurt Feldt
X Corps - General Christian Hansen
SS "Adolf Hitler" Reinforced Regiment - Sepp Dietrich
227th Infantry Division
207th Infantry Division[3]
SS "Der Fuhrer" Reinforced Regiment (Detached from SS "Verfugungstruppe" Division)
XXVI Corps - General Albert Wodrig
256th Infantry Division
254th Infantry Division
SS "Verfügungstruppe" Division (Less one Regiment "Der Fuhrer") - ss-Gruppenfuhrer Paul Hausser
9th Panzer Division - Major General Alfred Ritter Von Hubicki
XXXIX Corps (Activated 13 May 1940) – Lieutenant General Rudolf Schmidt

A German motorized column streams through the “impenetrable” Ardennes Forest in the opening days of Hitler’s attack in the West, May 1940.

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com

“Germany’s small arms, especially automatic weapons, were world class and played a key role in battlefield success.”

D-Day Encyclopedia, © 2014 by Barrett Tillman.

Reserves

208th Infantry Division
225th Infantry Division
526th Infantry Division
Air Landing Corps (Under Luftwaffe control)
7th Air Division
22nd Air Landing Infantry Division

German Army Group C

Commanded by Generaloberst Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb.

Generaloberst Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb.

Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-L08126,_Wilhelm_Ritter_von

Army Group C: Corps and division details.

www.ww2-weapons.com

First Army

Commanded by Generaloberst Erwin von Witzleben

197th Infantry Division
Höh. Kom. z.b.V. XXXVII - Generalleutnant Alfred Böhm-Tettelbach
246th Infantry Division
215th Infantry Division
262nd Infantry Division
257th Infantry Division
XXIV Corps - General der Panzertruppe Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg
60th Infantry Division
252nd Infantry Division
168th Infantry Division
XII Corps - Generaloberst Gotthard Heinrici
75th Infantry Division
268th Infantry Division
198th Infantry Division
XXX Corps - General der Artillerie Otto Hartmann
258th Infantry Division
93rd Infantry Division
79th Infantry Division
Höh. Kom. z.b.V. XXXXV - General der Infanterie Kurt von Greiff
95th Infantry Division
167th Infantry Division

“One French tank may have been a match for a single German tank, but the Germans hunted in packs.”

Frank Baldwin

A German armoured tank crosses the Aisne River in France, on June 21, 1940, one day before the surrender of France.

https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/

Seventh Army

Commanded by Generaloberst Friedrich Dollmann

Höh. Kom. z.b.V. XXXIII - General der Kavallerie Georg Brandt
213th Infantry Division
554th Infantry Division
556th Infantry Division
239th Infantry Division
XXV Corps - General der Infanterie Karl Ritter von Prager
557th Infantry Division
555th Infantry Division
6th Mountain Division
218th Infantry Division
221st Infantry Division

Overview of German armoured strength, May 1940.

www.ww2-weapons.com

Luftwaffe support

The Luftwaffe was a sizeable, well-trained, and well-equipped arm of the Wehrmacht, with a number of its members having seen action in the Spanish Civil War. Army Group B was allocated almost 2000 combat aircraft to support its invasion of France, along with over 500 transport and glider aircraft. Over 3000 combat aircraft were allocated to support Army Groups A and C. In total, it was almost double the size of the Allied air force it would face.

It was to mainly provide close support to the land forces with dive-bombers such as the Ju87 Stuka (which effectively acted as flying artillery) and medium bombers such as the Dornier Do17 or Heinkel He111. However, it was flexible enough to carry out operational, tactical, and strategic bombing as required.

Dornier Do 17 bomber from Kampfgeschwader 76 in flight, France, summer 1940.

https://www.reddit.com/

Italian Army Group "West"

Commanded by by Prince General Umberto di Savoia.

Prince General Umberto di Savoia.

https://europeremembers.com

1st Army

4th Army

Commanded by General Pietro Pintor

II Army Corps - General Francesco Bettini
III Army Corps - General Mario Arisio
XV Army Corps - General Gastone Gambara

Commanded by General Alfredo Guzzoni

I Army Corps - General Carlo Vecchiarelli
IV Army Corps - General Camillo Mercalli
Alpine Army Corps - General Luigi Negri

The Italians committed around 312,000 troops to the campaign although they lacked artillery, transport and equipment designed for operating in Alpine environments.