2./Fallschirmjäger.Rgt.5 EKM (Norm/NL/Arden)

Very nice Fallschirmjäger dogtag in good condition that belonged to a soldier that served in 2.Kompanie Fallschirmjäger Regiment 5. This regiment was formed in May 1942. In the summer the regiment (except the II.Abteilung) moved to Reims to train for Operation Hercules, but in November the rest of the regiment also moved to Tunisia (Afrika) to join Brigade Ramcke. In Februari 1943 Regiment 5 was used to form Jager Regiment Hermann Goring. This regiment was destroyed in May of that year.
A New entirly new Fallschirmjäger Regiment 5 was formed (part of the 3.Fallschirmjäger-Division) in Januari 1944 in Reims and later moved to Brest. It got almost completely detroyed during the Normandy campaign. The division and her units were, together with the II.Fallschirmkorps trapped in the Falaise Pocket, large parts managed to escape and they pulled back. Early September the division was trapped again in Mons (Belgium) and large parts were captured. Some groups managed to escape and pulled back via Maastricht to Aken to regroup. But on the 17th of September, during the start of Operation Market Garden, they were quikly transported to the South-East of Nijmegen as Kampfgruppe 3 Fallschirm-Divison. Early November the Kampfgruppe was reorganisized in Holland (Oldenzaal) with Luftwaffe ground personel of different regiments. In early December it saw combat in the Hurtgenwald area and by mid December it moved to the Eifel area only to participate in the Ardennes Offensive without any pause on the 16th. The division fell under the command of the I.SS-Panzerkorps and crossed the border between Losheimer Graben en Manderfeld. By the end of December the division reached the road to Malmedy-St.Vith but was stopped. They pulled back to Schoppen where it fought hard against the Americans. Between 8 and 10 March large parts of the division where captured, but the small groups that managed to escape crossed the river Rhine near Remagen and dug in in the Siebengebirge. They surrendered on the 15th of April 1945.