The Infantry Regiment GrossDeutschland during the french campaign

10th May to 20th June, 1940


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    The Infantry Regiment GrossDeutschland was probably the most powerful motorized unit in the entire German Army. The IRGD was greated in 1939 from elements of Berlin's Wacht Guard Regiment, infantry instruction regiment and 92nd Infantry regiment. The selection of its personnel as well as its equipment made it the Wehrmacht's elite. Its combat record during the western campaign would ensure its reputation as a first class fighting unit.

The aim of this study is to provide information for a SP:WaW campaign.

IRGD OOB, 10th May 1940

Special Operation NIWI, 10th May 1940

The battle for Etalle, 10th May 1940

The battle for Villers, 10th May 1940

Lost in the forest,11-13th May 1940

IRGD's role in the Sedan Crossing, 13th May

The French counterattack, 14th May

STONNE: Das Verdun von 1940, 14th-17th May

IRGD in the Dunkirk battle, 20th-29th May

Breaking through the Weygand Line, 6th June

Sources:
    - L'Arme Blindée Française: Mai-juin 1940 ! Les blindés français dans la tourmente, Gérard Saint-Martin, Economica
    - Mai 1940 - La ruée des Panzers: des Ardennes à la mer, Jean-Robert Gorce, Editions Heimdal
    - Le Désastre de 1940 (vol. 3): La Guerre Eclair, Claude Paillat, Robert Laffont
    - Gaume, mai 1940: Guderian face à la cavalerie française, Jean-Claude Delhez, Lenclos
    - La défense des Ardennes en 1940, Emile Wanty, article in Revue d'Histoire de la deuxième Guerre mondiale n°42
    - L'opération NIWI, Ronald McNair, article in 39-45 magazine n°83
    - Les relations militaires franco-belges Mars 1936 - 10 Mai 1940, CNRS
    - Blitzkrieg-Legende: Der Westfeldzug 1940, Karl-Heinz Frieser, R. Oldenbourg Verlag
    - Blitzkrieg in the west, Then and Now, Jean-Paul Pallud, After the Battle
    - Panzer Grenadier Division GrossDeutschland, Horst Scheibert, Squadron-Signal Publications
    - Guderian's XIXth Panzer Corps and the battle of France - Breakthrough in the Ardennes, May 1940, Florian K. Rothbrust, Praeger
    - The Breaking point - Sedan and the Fall of France, 1940, Robert A. Doughty, Archon
    - German order of battle WWII (vol. 1): Panzer, Panzer Grenadier, Light and Cavalry Divisions, George F. Nafziger
    - German WWII organizational series (vol 2/II): Mechanized GHQ units and Waffen-SS Divisions (10th May 1940), Leo W.G. Niehorster


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