2nd Parachute Division ( Germany ) The German 2nd Parachute Division was an elite military parachute - landing Division that fought during World War II . In German , a division of paratrooper s was termed a " Fallschirmjäger " Division . History . The beginning . In January 1943 the " Oberkommando der Wehrmacht " ( OKW ) , or Supreme Command of the Armed Forces , decided to raise a second " élite " parachute division . The formation would include the veteran 2nd Parachute Regiment , recently detached from the 1st Parachute division . The division would also incorporate troops from the remnants of several other airborne units that had suffered heavy losses in recent battles . By May the division was still being raised when it was dispatched to Avignon in France . There it became part of the XI Flieger Corps along with the 1st Parachute Division . This Corps was to serve as the reserve for the German Tenth Army in Italy . When the Italian government started to crumble in September , the 2nd Parachute Division was dispatched to Italy . It carried out coast - guard duties near the Tiber estuary . The men moved to Rome in the evening of September 8 and participated in a subsequent operation to disarm the surrendering Italian army . Within two days the city was under control and the Division quickly quelled the burgeoning resistance . The 1st Battalion of the 2nd Parachute Regiment participated in the recapture of Leros Island in the Dodecanese . The island was then still occupied by Italian forces supplemented by British units following the surrender of Italy . By November 16 the battle was won and the island retaken by German forces . The Soviet Union . Meanwhile , in October , the 2nd Parachute Division was deployed to the eastern front in Russia . By November 27 the division came under the command of the German 42nd Corps , west of Kiev , and joined the effort to stem the tide of the Soviet advance . The division fought a succession of intense battles before the advance was finally halted . On December 15 the division was airlifted south toward Kirovograd to contain another Russian breakout . A German counter - attack then commenced against heavy opposition . By December 23 the attack had been stymied and the Division returned to the defensive . In January 1944 , the 2nd Parachute Division remained on the eastern front , fighting defensive actions against the Soviet offensive around Kirovograd . The Russian advance resumed in March and the Division was forced to withdraw by an armored flanking attack . By the end of the month the Division had withdrawn behind the Bug River . The Division fought its last actions on the eastern front in May during a counterattack against a Russian bridgehead across the Dniestr river . At the end of May the weakened division was pulled from the line and returned to Germany for some much - needed recuperation . France . During the allied D - Day landing on June 6 , 1944 , the 6th Regiment was stationed in the Carentan area of the Cotentin Peninsula , near the US 101st Airborne Division ' s drop zones . The regiment was heavily engaged in the subsequent battles , including defending Saint - Lô . On June 13 the remainder of the Division departed from the Cologne area for Brest in western France . It had not fully recovered its strength from the battles in the east , but the situation could not wait . They began to arrive in Brittany on June 19 , but did not complete their concentration before July . In July the surviving elements of the 6th regiment were caught in the Falaise pocket and destroyed during the allied advance . By August 9 the remainder of the 2nd Parachute division was driven back and cut off in the city of Brest . There they remained until they surrendered on September 20 . This ended the history of the original division . Only a few remnants survived to withdraw toward Germany . The last few months . A new division began forming in Amersfoort , the Netherlands by September , and by December it was combat ready . The new division consisted of the 2nd , 7th and 23rd Parachute Regiments . It fought in the defense of Germany in January 1945 and ended the war in the Ruhr pocket in April . Organization . May 1943 May 1944