What was the role of the German motorcycle battalion during WW2?

Answer 1

reconnaisance mainly

Answer 2

I was reading on the BMW motorcycle website, in their company history, about how some of the bikes were used for communications (carrying messages during battles) and others were outfitted with machine guns. I am sure than more than a few of them also carried ammunition. Even military police. They played various roles.

On the American side the bikes were used in much the same way. There was a military police unit that road Harley-Davidson's called Patton's Constabulary.

I had also read an article once that compared the Harley Davidson and the German BMW from that time. This may sound like sacrilege to the Harley rider, but the BMW was the superior bike, in handling, comfort and power to weight ratio. Because of how the engine was designed, a flat twin cylinder. Also if a BMW tipped over, because of the engine design the rider would not be trapped.

Answer 3

During World War II, BMW motorcycles performed exceptionally well in the harsh environment of the North African deserts. At the beginning of the war, the German army needed as many vehicles as it could get of all types. Although motorcycles of every style performed acceptably well in Europe, in the desert the protruding cylinders of the flat-twin engine and BMW's shaft drive performed better than vertical and V-twin engines, which overheated in the hot air, and chain-drives, which were damaged by desert sand.

Also during World War II, the U.S. Army asked Harley-Davidson to produce a motorcycle as good as BMW's side-valve R71. So Harley copied the BMW engine and transmission — simply converting metric measurements to inches — and produced the shaft-drive 750cc 1942 Harley-Davidson XA.

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Motorcycle History



History of the 1938 R-71/75 BMW, Ural and Chinese Army Chang Jiang Motorcycle with Side Car
The history of the 1938 BMW R-71 and R-75 and the World War II Ural motorcycles begins with the pre-WW II planning of Joseph Stalin. Knowing that Russia would soon be at war with the Hitler's Germany.

Germany's Sidecar Weapon
The Special Forces had thousands of BMW sidecars that the German army loved for their maneuverability, reliability, economy, and ease of maintenance.

Carrying a machine gun and solider with supplies, the sidecar "weapon" was so feared by the otherwise "fixed" Russian ground troops, that the side car motorcycle soon became a legend.

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With WWII raging on, there was little new development in motorcycling at BMW. In fact, development would slow considerably until as late as 1952. BMW, like most German industrial companies, was focused on outfitting the Wehrmacht (German army) in the early part of the decade. And after Germany's ultimate defeat, BMW was faced with bombed out facilities and near-dismantlement by the Allied powers.


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Answer 4

As other posters have pointed out the motorcycle was used for communications and couriers. In addition, motorcycle unit was incorporated into the recon battalions of panzer and panzergenadier divisions. It was in this situation where you would find a complete unit operating under unified command.