capture of the Belgian Army fortress at Eben–Emael and the Battle of the Netherlands in May 1940. They also took part in the invasion of Crete in May 1941. More than 4,000 Fallschirmjäger were killed during the Crete operation. Consequently, these forces were only used for smaller-scale operations, such as the successful rescue of Benito Mussolini, the then-deposed dictator of Italy, in 1943. Fallschirmjäger formations were used as standard infantry in all theaters of the war. Armored Paratroop Division As the Prussian Minister of the Interior, Göring formed an elite police force in early 1933. It consisted of 400 men with its headquarters in Berlin. After several name changes within the following six months, it was named the Landespolizeigruppe General Göring. During the next two years, it grew to become the Regiment General Göring. After the formation of the Luftwaffe was announced, Göring transferred this unit to the German air arm. At that time, it consisted of the following units: Regimentstab (Headquarters Staff) Musikkorps (Military Band) I Jäger- II Jäger- 13. Kradschützen-Kompanie 15. Pionier-Kompanie Reiterzug Nachrichtenzug In late 1937, volunteers for the Paratroop Corps were combined in the I.Jäger–Battalion. This along with the 15. Pionier-Kompanie formed the IV. Fallschirmschützen-Battalion. They still remained part of the Regiment Hermann Göring until March 1938. In March they were renamed I./FallschirmJäger-Regiment 1. In late 1939, the regiment had expanded even further and consisted of the following units: Regimentstab Musikkorps Stabsbatterie I. (Schwere) Flak-Abteilung (Heavy Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion) II. (Leichte) Flak-Abteilung (Light Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion) III.Scheinwerfer-Abteilung (Searchlight Battalion) IV.(Leichte) Flak-Abteilung Wach- Reiterschwadron (Mounted Squadron) 9.Wach-Kompanie 10.Wach-Kompanie 11.Wach-Kompanie Reserve Scheinwerfer-Abteilung Ersatz-Abteilung (Schwere) Eisenbahn Flak-Batterie (Heavy Rail mounted Flak Battery) (Leichte) Flak-Batterie (Light Flak Battery) On 1 October 1944, the division was expanded to become the FallschirmPanzerkorps Hermann Göring. In order to achieve this, another division called Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier Division 2 Hermann Göring was formed. This was staffed by fresh recruits from both the army and the Luftwaffe. Field Division In early 1942, in the east, the Luftwaffe formed seven Feldregimenter der Luftwaffe ("Luftwaffe Field Regiments"). These were predominantly formed from volunteer or surplus Luftwaffe personnel. Their goal was to maintain airfield security against Soviet Partisan activity. Each regiment consisted of four battalions. Each battalion consisted of three light companies and one heavy company. They also had a headquarters company and one signals platoon. The heavy company operated twelve 20 mm cannon and four 88 mm dual-purpose guns.