 The 1st Battalion was flown to Smolensk on 6 December 1941 and then moved to the Yukhnow area, west of Kaluga, to bolster the German defenses there.It was transferred to France in May 1942.The regimental staff accompanied the 1st Battalion to the Soviet Union, but was used to control many of the Luftwaffe units forced into a ground-combat role by the Soviet winter counter-offensive.