The divisions were originally authorized in October 1942, following suggestions that the German Army could be bolstered by transferring personnel from other services. The head of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring, formulated an alternative plan to raise his own infantry formations under the command of Luftwaffe officers; this was at least partly due to political differences with the Heer. Göring took great pride in the degree of political commitment and indoctrination of the air force men while the Army was considered too "conservative". , the commander of II. Luftwaffe Field Corps The plan was approved, and the divisions were raised from 200,000–250,000 Luftwaffe ground, support and other excess personnel. They were initially organized with two Jäger regiments of three battalions each, along with an artillery battalion and other support units, but were substantially smaller than equivalent Heer divisions, and by Göring's personal order were intended to be restricted to defensive duties in quieter sectors. Most of the units spent much of their existence on the Eastern Front: Luftwaffe Field Divisions were present at actions such as the "Little Stalingrad of the North", the attempt to relieve Velikiye Luki; the attempted defence of Vitebsk during Operation Bagration, and the fighting in the Courland Pocket, though they also fought in other theatres. The Luftwaffe Field Divisions initially remained under Luftwaffe command, but late in 1943 those that had not already been disbanded were handed over to the Heer and were reorganized as standard infantry divisions with three two-battalion rifle regiments and Army officers. Until taken over by the Heer these units were issued with standard Luftwaffefeldblau uniforms, and being so easily identifiable were said to often be singled out by opposite forces. Their reputation as combat troops was poor, despite the high standard of Luftwaffe recruits, at least in part from being required to perform roles for which they as airmen had little training. They were frequently used for rear echelon duties to free up front line troops.
2nd Luftwaffe Field Division - At the Battle of Nevel, the Soviet assault force struck and demolished the 2nd Luftwaffe Field Division. Like all the Luftwaffe "divisions" the 2nd was in fact the size of a brigade, with only four infantry battalions, and was especially weak in artillery with just eight 75mm mountain guns and a battery of Stug IIIs. It had been badly damaged in its first action south of Belyi during Operation Mars nearly a year earlier.
