Jäger is a German military term that originally referred to light infantry, but has come to have wider usage. While it may be literally translated as "hunter", in German-speaking states during the early modern era, the term Jäger was used to describe skirmishers, scouts, sharpshooters and runners. Jäger came to denote light infantrymen whose civilian occupations made them well-suited to patrolling and skirmishing, on an individual and independent basis, rather than as part of military unit. Jäger, in its original sense of light infantry, is usually translated into English as "Ranger".
The Germans fought World War II initially with light, mostly motorized reconnaissance battalions. Although no reconnaissance units were above the division echelon, when necessary, commanders of larger units detached the reconnaissance battalions and placed them directly under their own control. As the war progressed, the Germans gradually decreased the motorized component. Their scout units, replacing motorcycles with half-tracked armored personnel carriers, upgrading armored cars and using obsolete light tanks, then standard medium tanks in armored regimental and battalion reconnaissance platoons.
Germany began World War II with its first-line infantry divisions containing a hybrid horse-motorized reconnaissance battalion that had a squadron each of horses and motorcycles and a heavy support squadron containing an armored car platoon. From the start, a shortage of horse units meant that units formed later did not contain the cavalry squadron. Third-and fourth-wave divisions formed in August 1939 contained an extra motorcycle squadron instead of the cavalry one. Higher numbered waves formed in 1939 sometimes had only a single company-sized motorcycle squadron as the reconnaissance unit. By 1941, almost all divisions had replaced horses with motorcycles or with infantry on bicycles."
As the war continued, the need for a dedicated reconnaissance unit for the infantry became less compelling than the need for a mobile reserve force. With the pressing needs of the war, some newer divisions did not even field a reconnaissance unit. Given the overall defensive posture and equipment and personnel shortages, coupled with the perceived vulnerability of motorcycle troops, in late 1943, the German Army began replacing the reconnaissance battalions in its infantry divisions with a new type of unit, the fusilier battalion (Fusilier-Battalion). The fusilier battalion was organized like a typical 1944 German infantry battalion. At least on paper, the new unit, unlike its specialized predecessor, provided the division commander with a small semi mobile general-purpose reserve unit under his direct control. By design, the battalion contained one company mounted on bicycles and enough trucks to move the remaining companies, although in practice, this was usually not the case.
Even after the adoption of the fluffier battalion, the Germans did not have enough equipment and troops to maintain the new organization across the board. Many divisions, particularly those considered static units or those converted from static divisions, did not contain a fusilier battalion. During the 1944 Normandy campaign, of the 28 non-mechanized German divisions that participated in the campaign, 13 contained fusilier battalions, while an additional 3 divisions created fusilier battalions from regular infantry battalions. When new tables of organization were drawn up for lower grade infantry units called Volksgrenadier (VGA) divisions created in late 1944, they included only a single fusilier company mounted on bicycles, although most Volksgrenadier divisions already organized retained fusilier battalions with four companies.
As the Allies pressed the German Armed Forces from all sides, armored reconnaissance battalions were used in defensive operations as mobile reserves and flank protection. When the Germans launched their last great offensive in the same Ardennes terrain fought over in 1914 and 1940, in December 1944, panzer divisions spearheaded the attacks. As in 1940, the tight confines of the hilly and forested Ardennes forced the attackers to advance in narrow columns. In general, the German attackers reinforced these reconnaissance battalions with infantry, antitank, and armored assets and made them a separate column.
