1st Marine Infantry Division
|
1st Marine Infantry Division |
|
|---|---|
| active | February to May 1945 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire
|
| Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
| Armed forces | Navy |
| Branch of service | infantry |
| Type | Infantry Division |
| structure | structure |
| Installation site | Angermünde |
| Commanders | |
| list of | Commanders |
The 1st Marine Infantry Division was a major military unit of the German Wehrmacht .
Division history
Lineup
The 1st Marine Division was established in Angermünde at the beginning of February 1945 by renaming it to Varel / Oldb in October 1944 . "Marine-Schützen-Brigade Nord" established to protect the North Sea coast. The Marine Rifle Regiments 1, 2 and 4 were used for this, as the 3rd regiment was in action in the Vistula - Nogat area . The development into a combat division based on the model of a Volksgrenadier division of the army took place at the instigation of Himmler as commander in chief of the Vistula Army Group , in close cooperation with Grand Admiral Dönitz , the Commander in Chief of the Navy . It was a process that dragged on over the first two phases of deployment in February and March. Even during the first operational phase of the Oder between Schwedt and Zehden the Marine Rifle Battalion 307 for was Marine pioneer - Battalion 1 reorganized and renamed the Naval Rifle Battalion 308 for naval fusilier -Bataillon 1, and the Division was subordinated to a medical company . Rear Admiral Hans Hartmann , who spoke out against the reshuffle of the division, was replaced by Major General Bleckwenn , an army officer with experience in the Eastern Front. From the end of February onwards, all regimental and battalion commanders from the ranks of the Navy were replaced by army officers. In early March began the installation of a tank destroyer - department , a field replacement battalion, an artillery regiment , a news department and a supply regiment. Only in the course of the second operational phase in the Oder bridgehead Greifenhagen - Altdamm did the division receive the official designation "Marine Infantry Division" on Hitler's orders . The unofficial designation "Marine-Schützen-Division" remained in the troops for a long time and was also used by higher staff. After heavy losses, the troops were refreshed and reorganized from mid-March on the western bank of the Oder south of Stettin . Only now have the three Marine Rifle Regiments been renamed into Marine Infantry Regiments 1, 2 and 4, each with an I and II battalion and a 13th and 14th company.
commitment
The division was initially the Or - Army Corps assumed that directly under the command of Army Group Vistula stood; in March initially to the deputy. General Command II. Army Corps , then the XXXIX. Panzer Corps and finally the III. (German) SS Panzer Corps . During the first operational phase in February, the division remained in defensive positions on the west bank of the Oder and in a bridgehead near Niederwutzen . Strong company outposts of Regiments 1 and 2 on the east bank in Raduhn , Peetzig and Bellinchen had to be quickly evacuated after attacks by superior Soviet troops. Regiment 4 successfully defended local bases in Altcüstrinchen and Niederwutzen , supported by assault guns of the assault artillery - Brigade 210. This part of the mission was documented by a short film by the naval war reporter Gerhard Garms .
At the beginning of March the division was moved to the southeast of Stettin by regiment in order to close gaps in the crumbling front of the 3rd Panzer Army and to take over the southern section of the Oder bridgehead Greifenhagen - Altdamm . Reinforced Regiment 1 defended the entrances to Buchheide south of the Stettiner Autobahn with five battalions for six days , with one battalion in the Sinzlow - Kortenhagen area , with a reinforced battalion near Sobieradz | Woltersdorf and with a reinforced battalion in the Neuhaus - Garden (Gardno) area . Battalion 304 and parts of battalion 314 were deployed in a rear position between Garden and Binow . By March 8th most of it was worn out; Remnants of Regiment 1 fought their way back towards the Autobahn via Klebow .
Regiment 2 fended off numerous Soviet attacks against the Oder Bridge in Greifenhagen for a week with parts of three battalions . Battalion 303 south of this district town was completely wiped out, the other two battalions suffered heavy losses. Soon after the Oder bridge was blown up, the remaining remnants, including the division staff, escaped enclosure at the last moment by moving north and forcing a break through to their own lines. Parts of Regiment 2 and remnants of Regiment 1 were then in the event of ultimately unsuccessful counter-attacks by XXXIX. Panzer Corps used infantry and further weakened. From the 4th regiment, only the 310 battalion was briefly deployed.
On March 17, the division was pulled out of the bridgehead front and relocated to the west bank of the Oder. The division began to be reorganized in the refreshment room southwest of Stettin.
At the beginning of April it was moved to the south wing of the 3rd Panzer Army southwest of Schwedt to Oderberg and the XXXXVI. Subordinated to Panzer Corps. The personnel losses were only gradually replaced, but only partially and largely by young, inexperienced officers and officer cadets. When the major Soviet offensive against Berlin began in mid-April, defensive battles with heavy losses occurred in the southern wing battalion at the interface with the 9th Army in the Hohensaaten area .
After the breakthrough of the 1st Belorussian Front on the Seelow Heights and the successful transition of the 2nd Belorussian Front over the lower Oder, the shift of the division to the north was ordered on April 22nd, in order to fill a gap in the front with the 1st Regiment Kampfgruppe Wellmann “ to close between Tantow and Gartz and to prepare themselves with the remaining parts behind them. The project failed completely. Due to the lack of transport space and because of the enemy air threat, the relocation of troops dragged on for a long time. Reinforced Regiment 1 only arrived in the area of operations in specks, and the operation itself was completely uncoordinated, with companies and battalions lining up without the support of heavy weapons, their lines being broken, encircled and smashed. It was possible to hold the Kasekow corner pillar for a day and a half, but a planned relief attack by three battalions had to be broken off during the deployment. The still fighting parts settled behind the Randow in the Wotanstellung and in a bridgehead position on the highway. Under the superior attack pressure of the enemy, regiments 2 and 4 had to vacate their positions between Lützlow , Wollin and Schmölln on the evening of April 26th . Later, the interception position behind it was also lost, and the remnants of several battalions moved to the west on the Uecker line. While a Soviet tank unit was advancing on Prenzlau around midnight , units of the marine division and the Waffen SS tried again to put up an orderly resistance at Seehausen . The enemy managed to break through the Uecker line on both sides of Prenzlau, and a disorderly retreat began. The dissolving XXXXVI. Panzer Corps was ordered to a containment position between the Feldberg lakes.
In the meantime, some naval alarm units had arrived in the area between Neustrelitz and the “Feldberg position”, the last contingent of Grand Admiral Dönitz. Essentially consisting of a Fleet Flak Regiment, a Marine Tank Hunting Brigade, two Marine Rifle Battalions as well as the Marine Infantry Replacement and Training Battalion 1 and the Marine Replacement and Training Battalion 3, they enlarged ultimately just the chaos of the retreat in Mecklenburg and increased the number of senseless sacrificed marines.
After the commander was on 2/3 The 1st Marine Infantry Division quietly and informally disbanded on May 25th near Schwerin .
Commanders
| period of service | Rank | Surname |
|---|---|---|
| January 31 to February 28, 1945 | Rear admiral | Hans Hartmann |
| February 28 to May 4, 1945 | Major general | Wilhelm Bleckwenn (Army) |
structure
| On February 1, 1945: | |
| Marine Rifle Regiment 1 | Marine Rifle Battalions 301, 302, 303, 304; Kdr .: Sea captain Axel von Bleßingh |
| Marine Rifle Regiment 2 | Navy Rifle Battalions 305, 306, 307, 308; Kdr .: Sea captain Fritz Nötzold |
| 3rd Marine Rifle Regiment | Navy Rifle Battalions 309, 311, 312, 315; Kdr .: Sea captain Wilhelm Herwegh |
| Marine Rifle Regiment 4 | Navy Rifle Battalions 310, 313, 314, 316; Kdr .: Sea captain Gert Hasse |
| From March 22, 1945: | |
| 1st Marine Infantry Regiment | 2 marine infantry battalions , 13th / 14th company; Kdr .: Major NN |
| Marine Infantry Regiment 2nd | 2 marine infantry battalions, 13th / 14th company; Kdr .: Lieutenant Colonel Diethelm Mannschatz |
| 4th Marine Infantry Regiment | 2 marine infantry battalions, 13th / 14th company; Kdr .: Major Christian Weiß |
| Marine Fusilier Battalion 1st | from mid-February 1945; 4 companies |
| Marine Field Replacement Battalion 1 | 6 companies} |
| Marine tank destroyer division 1 | 3 companies |
| Navy Engineer Battalion 1st | from mid-February 1945; 4 companies |
| Navy News Division 1 | from March 1945; 4 companies |
| Marine Supply Regiment 1 | from March 1945 |
literature
- Bernd Bölscher : On the banks of the Oder - the genesis of the end of the war. The 1st Marine Infantry Division and the last contingent of Grand Admiral Dönitz at the end of the Second World War. BoD - Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2014, ISBN 978-3-7357-4146-2 .
- A. Stephan Hamilton: The Oder Front 1945. Helion & Company Ltd., Solihull 2011, ISBN 978-1-9060-3387-3 .
- EA Lübbermann: Chronicle of the crew / 45. The last officer cadets in the Navy. Self-published by Crew 45, 2001.
- Werner Rahn, Gerhard Schreiber: War Diary of the Naval War Command 1939 - 1945. Part A. Vol. 62 - 68. Facsimile Edition, on behalf of the Military History Research Office. ES Mittler and Son, Berlin - Bonn - Hamburg. 1996-1997. ISBN 978-3-8132-0662-3 (and others).
- Rolf Klodt: At sea and on land. On the history, missions and uniforms of the German marines, marines, the naval security force and the naval protection forces. Report Verlag, Bonn 2008, ISBN 978-3-932385-28-5 .
- Hans H. Hildebrand: The organizational development of the navy together with staffing 1848 to 1945. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 2000, ISBN 3-7648-2541-3 .
- Veit Scherzer (Ed.): German troops in World War II. Scherzers Militär-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-08-0 .
Web links
- 1st Marine Infantry Division. on: deutsches-marinearchiv.de
