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The
Volksgrenadier Füsilier Kompanie
By
Eric
Tobey, revised by Jonathan Bocek
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The
following was taken from the Die Neue Feldpost newsletter
& was done so with permission of the publisher.
We would like to thank him for his generosity as well
as thank all those who have contributed to this
article. It is with their efforts, we are able
to share this valuable research with the rest of you.
Almost all
of the various Soldbuchs and Wehrpasses that we have
featured on this website belonged to members of the
272nd Füsilier Kompanie: click
here. To better understand them, we
should examine the structure of their outfit at the
company-level.
The Füsilier
Company was added to the Volksgrenadier Divisions to
act as a recon element and divisional fire brigade.
Rather than having "Grenadiers" or "Obergrenadiers"
in its ranks, the men were called "Füsiliers",
and "Oberfüsiliers". There were six
main sub-units in the company:
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Stab
(HQ section):
This was the nerve center of the
unit. In it would have been, among
other things, the Spieß, the field kitchen,
2 or 3 supply wagons, one motorcycle, and a
total of 11 horses. Personnel: 1
officer (who was the company commander), 8
NCOs, and 18 enlisted men.
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Erste
Zug - MP (First Platoon, Submachine Gun):
This first platoon was armed with MP44s.
Personnel should have been 1 officer, 3
NCOs, and 31 enlisted men. There would
have been three Gruppen (squads) in
this platoon.
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Zweite
Zug (Second Platoon, Rifle):
Although by the German regulations this
platoon should also have been armed with
MPs, it does not appear to have received
them. Personnel: 4 NCOs (one would
have been the Platoon commander), and 31
enlisted men, organized into 3 squads.
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Dritte
Zug (Third Platoon, Rifle):
Organized exactly like the second
platoon.
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Schwere
Zug (Heavy Weapons Platoon):
The primary weapons of this group were
two 81mm mortars and two heavy machine guns.
The MGs would have been MG 42s equipped with
tripods. Personnel: 1 officer, 5 NCOs,
and 34 enlisted men.
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Infanteriegeschutz
Gruppe (Infantry Howitzer Section):
In order to operate as a tiny
combined-arms combat team, the Füs.Kp. had
its own artillery! This section had
one light MG for security and two 75mm light
artillery howitzers. Personnel: 4 NCOs
and 24 enlisted men. This unit became
home to many of the Luftwaffe and Navy
transferees who were considered
under-trained for infantry employment. |
Total
strength was 3 officers, 28 NCOs, and 169 enlisted
men. This made for a ratio of one officer for
every 9 NCOs or 56 enlisted men, and one NCO for every
6 enlisted men.
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