SS Fallschirmjaeger Battalion 500/600 A brief outline of the Battalion. The battalion was formed from prisoners from the SS and Polizei penal camp in Danzig Matzkau. Prisoners made up about 70% of its complement, the unit was called SS Fallschirmjäger Battalion 500. There are three distinct periods in the battalion's history 1. From its formation in 1943 up to the completion operation Rosselsprung shows the battalion is at its strongest. 2. As the Lithuania fire brigade the unit was at its weakest. The ORBAT for this period it’s a bit subjective. While it reflects its combat strength of the unit there is no information to say if it kept its four company structure or it combined them into one or two companies. Personally if a player or scenario designer wants to combine battalion into two companies that is equally valid. 3. In the last phase the battalion received Wehrmacht replacements, the prisoner complement drops to about 30% and the battalion is renamed SS Fallschirmjäger Battalion 600. The battalion became part of Otto Skorzeny’s SS- Jagdverbande group. The first company participated in the Ardennes Offensive and based on the number US vehicles it captured it may have had the option to mount a company in captured vehicles. After the Ardennes the battalion and the SS-Jagdverbande group were transferred back to the Eastern Front and spent the remainer of the war there. Between April 26 1945 and May 2nd 1945 the battalion managed to cover 200km to cross over into the American zone and surrender to the Americans. I would consider this unit to be of Veteran status. References; Michaelis Rolf SS-Fallschirmjager Battalion 500/600 A Shiffer military history book. Baker James Fallschirmjager ORBAT Fire and Fury Games. Online sources; http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-15705.html http://www.feldgrau.com/ http://w1.183.telia.com/~u18313395/normandy/ - German forces in Normandy SS Fallschirmjäger Battalion 500 Oct 1943-June1944 BATTLE GROUP-1.43 Fallschirmjäger Battalion HEADQUARTERS ELEMENT Command HQ x1 Commander GE-46 MANOEUVRE ELEMENTS x3 Fallschirmjäger Company ME-1.43 x1 Heavy Weapons Company ME-2.43 ATTACHMENTS Forward Air Controller (a) (a) The Forward air controller is available for operation Rosselsprung –the attack on Drvar to capture Tito MANOEUVRE ELEMENT-1.43 MANOEUVRE ELEMENT-2.43 Fallschirmjäger Company Heavy Weapons Company (b) Command Command HQ x1 Commander GE-46 HQ x1 Commander GE-46 x9 Fallschirmjäger GE-67 x3 Light Machine Gun GE-49 (x3 panzerfaust) Pioniere Zug x3 Light Machine Gun GE-49 x3 Pioniere GE-47 Organic Fire Support (1 Flamethrower) x1 80mm Mortar GE-52 Heavy Machinegun Zug x 4 Heavy Machine Guns GE-50 Organic fire support x2 80mm Mortar GE-52 x2 75mm Recoilless Gun DAK-39 x2 light trucks GE-35 (c) (b) Elements from the Heavy weapons company maybe attached to any company or the battalion commander. (c) Light Trucks are not available in parachute drop situations. SS Fallschirmjäger Battalion 500 July 1944-October1944 Lithuanian Fire Brigade BATTLE GROUP-1.44 SS Fallschirmjaeger Battalion 500 HEADQUARTERS ELEMENT Command HQ x1 Commander GE-46 MANOEUVRE ELEMENTS x3 Fallschirmjaeger Company ME-1.44 x1 Heavy Weapons Company ME-2.44 MANOEUVRE ELEMENT-1.44 MANOEUVRE ELEMENT-2.44 Fallschirmjaeger Company Heavy Weapons Company (a) Command Command HQ x1 Commander GE-46 HQ x1 Commander GE-46 x3 Light Machine Gun GE-49 x2 Fallschirmjäger GE-67 Pioniere Zug (2 panzerfaust) x1 Pioniere GE-47 x 3 Light Machine Gun GE-49 (1 Flamethrower) Heavy Machinegun Zug x 4 Heavy Machine Guns GE-50 x3 Panzerschreck GE-51 Organic fire support x2 80mm Mortar GE-52 x2 75mm Recoilless Gun DAK-39 x2 light trucks GE-35 (b) (a) Elements from the Heavy weapons company maybe attached to any company or the battalion commander (b) May substitute any captured allied light truck as a tow vehicle. SS Fallschirmjäger Battalion 600 November 1944 to May 1945 BATTLE GROUP-1.45 Fallschirmjäger Battalion HEADQUARTERS ELEMENT Command HQ x1 Commander GE-46 MANOEUVRE ELEMENTS x3 Fallschirmjaeger Company ME-1.45 x1 Heavy Weapons Company ME-2.45 ATTACHMENTS FROM FEB 1945 x1 75mm Pak40 AT Gun GE-41 x1 Sdkfz 11 Medium Prime Mover GE-30 X1 Stug IIIG GE-13 Organic fire support x1 Heavy SS Infanterie-Geschutze kp ME-3 MANOEUVRE ELEMENT-1.45 MANOEUVRE ELEMENT-3 Fallschirmjaeger Company (b) (a) Heavy SS Infanterie-Geschutze kp Command Command x1 Commander GE-46 HQ x1 Commander GE-46 HQ Organic Fire Support (b) x5 Fallschirmjäger GE-67 x3 150mm SiG Infantry Gun GE-39 (x3 panzerfaust) x3 Light Machine Gun GE-49 x3 Sdkfz 11 Medium Prime Mover GE-30 (a) The guns may also operate as separate unit MANOEUVRE ELEMENT-2.45 attachments. Heavy Weapons Company (a) (b) When operating as attachment to the Battalion, use as Command direct support HQ x1 Commander GE-46 x3 Light Machine Gun GE-49 Pioniere Zug x3 Pioniere GE-47 (1 Flamethrower) Heavy Machinegun Zug x 4 Heavy Machine Gun GE-50 x4 Panzerschreck GE-51 Organic fire support x2 80mm Mortar GE-52 x2 75mm Recoilless Gun DAK-39 (c) x2 light trucks GE-35 (d) (a) Elements from the Heavy weapons company maybe attached to any company or the battalion commander (b) From December 1945 can mount one coy in captured US vehicles 1x M3 H/T US-08, 1x M3a1 white scout car US-37 and 2x Jeeps (no MG) US-13 (c) May upgrade one 75mm recoilless to a 105mm recoilless GE-66. (d) May substitute any captured allied light truck as a tow vehicle..