Ramcke Brigade (also known as Fallschirmjäger-Brigade Afrika) is a German airborne unit that was active from 1942-1943. The brigade took its unofficial name, that is Ramcke Brigade, from the surname of its commander - Hermann Ramcke. The brigade was formed in 1942 and fought in North Africa from the very beginning, taking part in the 1st Battle of El-Alamein. In its course, the unit was surrounded, but its soldiers, despite heavy losses, managed to break through to their own lines in a daring way. In the period October-November 1942, the unit fought in the Second Battle of El-Alamein, suffering further losses, and after the defeat of the Axis states in this battle, it retreated through Tripolitania to Tunisia, where it fought in the last battles in North Africa. The capitulation of the unit takes place in May 1943. In full time, Ramcke Brigade had three parachute infantry battalions, a training battalion, an artillery battalion, an anti-tank and engineering company, as well as communications and sanitary units.
Fallschirmjäger is the collective term for German airborne units from the interwar period and World War II. The first parachute unit was organized in Nazi Germany in 1936 - perhaps as a result of observations made during the Soviet maneuvers of the previous year. The first paratroopers squad was created on the initiative of Herman Göring and was assigned to the Luftwaffe. A year later (1937), the first unit of this type was subordinated to the Wehrmacht, and more precisely to the land forces. In 1938, these units were combined and expanded to form the 7th Aviation Division under the command of General Kurt Student. It consisted of parachute infantry, troops trained to transport gliders and infantry transported to the battlefield by airplanes. In the course of World War II, more Fallschirmjäger units were created, incl. in 1943, on the basis of the 7th Aviation Division, the 1st and 2nd Parachute Divisions were established. In the period 1939-1941, the German Fallschirmjäger was used for its intended purpose (e.g. during the fighting in Western Europe in 1940), but after the heavy losses suffered in the course of the fighting in Crete in 1941, the German parachute troops began to be used primarily as elite infantry units, in which role they proved to be very successful, earning the nickname "Green Devils" among the Allies.
