M.40 Luftwaffe tan and brown splotch painted camo. ET64 5185. I believe this to be a KIA helmet. There are dried blood stains inside the rim of the liner, between the leather and the outer band. There is period bullet or shrapnel ding on the inside of the skirt which caused a slight bulge on the outside of the skirt. It is named with the Luft. FPN number visible. Cannot decipher the name, but the FPN is L63416:
29.3.1944 13. Kompanie Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 14.
Verwendungszeit: 29.3.1944 bis 21.5.1945
(Translated: 29.3.1944 13 Company Parachute Regiment 14.
Use time: 29.3.1944 to 21.5.1945)
13. Kompanie Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 14 of the 5th Fallschirmhager Div.:
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Fallschirmjagerregimenter/FJR14.htm
The division was formed in the vicinity of Reims (France) on March 2, 1944 from troops of the Fallschirmjäger-Lehr-Bataillon, III./Fallschirmjäger regiment 3, III./Fallschirmjäger regiment 4 and new recruits. In May 1944 the division was sent to the vicinity of Rennes in Bretagne (France). After the Allied landings in Normandy the division still in its build-up phase was sent to the frontline in the region of St. Lô and Aire on the Vire river. After almost 2 months of combat in Normandy the remnants of the division were encircled in the Falaise pocket and very few escaped.
Survivors of the division formed into a “Kampfgruppe” and retreated towards Trier in the German Eifel area. Here in September 1944 it participated in a short battle for the Wallendorf bridgehead, reinforced by the Polizei Bataillon “Laon”, where together with the 2nd Panzer and Panzer Lehr division successfully drove the Americans back on the Luxembourg side of the Our river.
In October and November 1944 the division was rebuilt in Holland in the area of Den Haag to almost full strength. It was ordered to participate in the Ardennes offensive which was scheduled for 16 December 1944. The division was ordered to breakthrough in the region between Stolzembourg and Vianden/Bettel in Luxembourg. After the artillery preparation on the early morning of December 16, 1944 the Fallschirm Pionier Bataillon 5 prepared bridges over the Our river near Vianden and Roth a.d. Our, where the 15th and 13th Fallschirmjäger regiment crossed the river successfully. The town of Vianden itself was taken in the early morning of the 16th by the 4th company of the 5. Fallschirm Pionier Bataillon under the command of Leutnant Hans Prigge, who later fell near Livarchamps/Belgien. To the north of Vianden near Stolzembourg elements of the 14th Fallschirmjäger regiment crossed the Our river by footbridges and boats. The division was the only one in the Ardennes offensive which achieved their objective: a defensive line south of the town of Bastogne. By the end of December 1944 the US third army under the command of Patton broke through the lines of the division and by January 1945 the division was on a retreat through Luxembourg, where it reached the village of Dasburg on the German side of the border by the end of the month.
In early February 1945 the division was send to an resting area in the vicinity of Schwirzheim / Duppach / Lissendorf, just behind the town of Prüm in the Eifel. With the US VIII corps advancing on Prüm fast in early February 1945 elements of the division were send to an defensive line between the towns of Gondenbrett and Olzheim just short before Prüm. On February 8th the US 4th infantry division broke through the lines of the 5th Fallschirmjäger division and they were thrown back behind the Prüm river on the 12th of February 1945. The division (only 1000 men strong at this time) stayed here until early March 1945 when a new American offensive started (Operation Lumberjack).
A large part which was left of the division, together with its commander Generalmajor Ludwig Heilmann was captured near Nürnburgring on mid-March 1945. Some elements, for the most part consisting of the Fallschirmjäger regiment 15 and the 5th Fallschirm pionier bataillon managed to retreat to the Harz area of mid-Germany, where finally the division ceased to exist.
Credit to: http://www.historicalwarmilitariaforum.com/topic/8-gliederung-5-fallschirmjäger-division/
29.3.1944 13. Kompanie Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 14.
Verwendungszeit: 29.3.1944 bis 21.5.1945
(Translated: 29.3.1944 13 Company Parachute Regiment 14.
Use time: 29.3.1944 to 21.5.1945)
13. Kompanie Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 14 of the 5th Fallschirmhager Div.:
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Fallschirmjagerregimenter/FJR14.htm
The division was formed in the vicinity of Reims (France) on March 2, 1944 from troops of the Fallschirmjäger-Lehr-Bataillon, III./Fallschirmjäger regiment 3, III./Fallschirmjäger regiment 4 and new recruits. In May 1944 the division was sent to the vicinity of Rennes in Bretagne (France). After the Allied landings in Normandy the division still in its build-up phase was sent to the frontline in the region of St. Lô and Aire on the Vire river. After almost 2 months of combat in Normandy the remnants of the division were encircled in the Falaise pocket and very few escaped.
Survivors of the division formed into a “Kampfgruppe” and retreated towards Trier in the German Eifel area. Here in September 1944 it participated in a short battle for the Wallendorf bridgehead, reinforced by the Polizei Bataillon “Laon”, where together with the 2nd Panzer and Panzer Lehr division successfully drove the Americans back on the Luxembourg side of the Our river.
In October and November 1944 the division was rebuilt in Holland in the area of Den Haag to almost full strength. It was ordered to participate in the Ardennes offensive which was scheduled for 16 December 1944. The division was ordered to breakthrough in the region between Stolzembourg and Vianden/Bettel in Luxembourg. After the artillery preparation on the early morning of December 16, 1944 the Fallschirm Pionier Bataillon 5 prepared bridges over the Our river near Vianden and Roth a.d. Our, where the 15th and 13th Fallschirmjäger regiment crossed the river successfully. The town of Vianden itself was taken in the early morning of the 16th by the 4th company of the 5. Fallschirm Pionier Bataillon under the command of Leutnant Hans Prigge, who later fell near Livarchamps/Belgien. To the north of Vianden near Stolzembourg elements of the 14th Fallschirmjäger regiment crossed the Our river by footbridges and boats. The division was the only one in the Ardennes offensive which achieved their objective: a defensive line south of the town of Bastogne. By the end of December 1944 the US third army under the command of Patton broke through the lines of the division and by January 1945 the division was on a retreat through Luxembourg, where it reached the village of Dasburg on the German side of the border by the end of the month.
In early February 1945 the division was send to an resting area in the vicinity of Schwirzheim / Duppach / Lissendorf, just behind the town of Prüm in the Eifel. With the US VIII corps advancing on Prüm fast in early February 1945 elements of the division were send to an defensive line between the towns of Gondenbrett and Olzheim just short before Prüm. On February 8th the US 4th infantry division broke through the lines of the 5th Fallschirmjäger division and they were thrown back behind the Prüm river on the 12th of February 1945. The division (only 1000 men strong at this time) stayed here until early March 1945 when a new American offensive started (Operation Lumberjack).
A large part which was left of the division, together with its commander Generalmajor Ludwig Heilmann was captured near Nürnburgring on mid-March 1945. Some elements, for the most part consisting of the Fallschirmjäger regiment 15 and the 5th Fallschirm pionier bataillon managed to retreat to the Harz area of mid-Germany, where finally the division ceased to exist.
Credit to: http://www.historicalwarmilitariaforum.com/topic/8-gliederung-5-fallschirmjäger-division/
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