The Luftwaffe Infantry of World War II,As World War II dragged on and the war began to turn against

The Luftwaffe Infantry of World War II,As World War II dragged on and the war began to turn against Germany, the Luftwaffe (air force) found itself with the problem that it had less and less aircraft available at its command.  The led to a further problem were the Luftwaffe had more excess personnel, mostly ground crew and support personnel, who had nothing to do.  In 1942 it was decided that these surplus men would better serve the war effort if they were transferred to the Heer (army) as infantrymen.  This resulted in the creation of 21 Luftwaffe “Field Divisions” consisting of a total of 200,000 to 250,000 men.  At first these divisions were under the direct command of the Luftwaffe, however in 1944 they were fully transferred and incorporated into the German Army.For the most part the Luftwaffe Field Divisions saw little combat.  Instead they were mainly utilized as rear echelon troops, tasked with guard duties, protecting supply trains, and performing other tasks behind the front lines. However, whenever the Field Divisions were pressed into combat they tended to perform poorly.  First, at the insistence of Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering, the Field Divisions still wore their feldblau (field blue) Luftwaffe uniforms.  These blue uniforms often made the men stand out on the battle, making them easier targets.  Later they were issued camouflage uniforms, but these were still often worn with a blue cap and pants.  While the blue uniforms put the Field Divisions at a disadvantage, the biggest problem was the simple fact that they were airmen, not combat soldiers, and had little training or experience in infantry combat.  -- source link

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