Indeed, two-wheeled pedal vehicles were built in great numbers — first as a way to overcome the shortage of motorised vehicles, and later as a remedy for the increasingly restrictive scarcity of fuel.
Thus, all infantry units and even cavalry and motorised divisions included bicycles in their regular equipment. At the start of the war, it was standard practice for the first battalion of each infantry regiment to be made up of cyclists, performing not only general transport duties but also communication and postal functions. As the war progressed, this tendency increased as motorised resources dwindled due to combat attrition, fuel shortages, and the bombing of factories in the rear.
In 1943 alone, bicycle production exceeded 1,200,000 units, mostly manufactured by companies such as Adler Werke, Urania Cottbus, WKC Solingen, and Assman, which produced the A M42 Truppenfahrrad model for the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS.
Most shared the same features: a satin black paint finish, a dynamo-powered headlamp, a rear luggage rack, and mounts for items as varied as tent cloths, a Mauser Kar 98K rifle, or Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons. Later, colours became more varied depending on availability and practicality, with bicycles appearing in green, grey, sand, or even camouflage finishes.
By the end of the war, the use of bicycles had become increasingly widespread, with auxiliary units of the Volkssturm and the Hitler Youth relying almost exclusively on these two-wheeled vehicles for their operational movements.
Produced in their millions, many military bicycles survived the conflict, continuing to serve vital transport functions in the difficult post-war years — this time in civilian hands.