35024 GERMAN SOLDIER & SCOUT

The development of German armored weapons, including armored cars and armored vehicles, was clearly regulated and hampered by the limitations of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. This state of affairs changed radically after the Nazis took power in 1933 and the launch of a virtually unlimited arms program. As a result, in 1935, the first successful four-wheeled armored vehicles Sd.Kfz.221 / 222/223 began to enter the line, and shortly afterwards the vehicles from the Sd.Kfz.231 family on an eight-wheeled chassis. At the same time, efforts were made to withdraw from the line and the production of vehicles also designated as Sd.Kfz.231, but on a six-wheeled chassis, was limited. All these vehicles turned out to be very useful already in the first campaigns of World War II, especially in reconnaissance activities, but also as radio communication or command vehicles in their specialized versions. In the course of World War II, of course, the German army introduced new armored cars to the line, of which the Sd.Kfz.234 deserves special attention. It is worth adding that German armored cars were used primarily in armored divisions, and from 1943 also in armored grenadier divisions, but also in infantry divisions in their reconnaissance divisions.The decisive influence on the shaping of the organization and tactics of the German infantry before the outbreak of World War II was, on the one hand, the experience of the previous World War, but also theoretical works created in the 1920s and 1930s, which often emphasized the need to perceive the German infantry as a tool waging an offensive war. This affected both the equipment and the organization of the German infantry division, which during the September campaign of 1939 consisted of 3 infantry regiments, each of which was divided into 3 infantry battalions, an artillery company and an anti-tank company. In addition, there were numerous support units, including: an artillery regiment with 4 artillery squadrons (including one heavy), an anti-tank battalion, a sapper battalion and a communications battalion. In total, the so-called infantry division In the first mobilization wave, there were approximately 17,700 people and had a significant artillery component, but also was abundantly equipped with machine guns. It also had modern and efficient - for those times - means of communication and command. In the course of the war, infantry divisions underwent transformation - in 1943 some of them were transformed into armored grenadier divisions. However, from 1943, the standard division of the "traditional" infantry consisted of approx. 12,500 men (and not approx. 17,700 as in 1939), and its artillery component - especially heavy artillery - was also reduced in it, while its anti-tank defense was significantly improved. It is assumed that during the entire Second World War, about 350 infantry divisions served in the Wehrmacht.