'Hermann Göring' in the Tunisia.

In November 1942, in retaliation for the French garrison's failure to put up sustained resistance to the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria, Germany moved into the hitherto unoccupied areas of southern France. The bulk of the new division was located in the area around Mont-de-Mar-san, where it continued its training and working up. Those sub-units nearest to being fully formed were gradually moved down into Italy while the remainder stayed in the south of France.

Meanwhile, in November 1942, the paratroopers who were in the process of transferring from Fallschimjäger-Regiment5 were moved directly to North Africa and assigned to support 10. Panzer-Division in Tunisia. The bulk of the 'HG' Division, still not fully organised, was despatched piecemeal to Tunisia in February/March 1943 under command of Oberst Schmid, who was promoted to Generalmajor shortly thereafter. It 'was under the title Kampfgruppe Schmid that these elements, finally totalling something between 7,000 and 11,000 men, fought the British, US and French forces, with considerable elan; they quickly earned a reputation for aggression in the attack and reliability under fire, despite often being committed to battle dispersed and attached to various Army units. It was under the title of Division 'Hermann Göring' that, in April 1943, they were commended in official Wehrmacht communiques for their 'exemplary fighting spirit and intrepid valour'. Some 400 'Hermann Göring' soldiers were killed in the Tunisian battles; and when the German forces in North Africa were finally forced to surrender on 12 May, almost all of the remainder of the battle group, including its most experienced veterans, went into captivity.