111th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
|
111th Infantry Division |
|
|---|---|
 Troop registration number of the 111th Infantry Division |
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| active | November 1940 to 1944 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire
|
| Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
| Armed forces | army |
| Branch of service | infantry |
| Type | Infantry division |
| structure | structure |
| Installation site | Fallingbostel |
| Commanders | |
| list of | Commanders |
The 111th Infantry Division was a major unit of the army of the German Wehrmacht during World War II .
Division history
Areas of application :
- Germany : November 1940 to June 1941
- Eastern Front , Southern Section: June 1941 to May 1944
The 111th Infantry Division was established in November 1940 as part of the 12th wave of deployment in Fallingbostel in military district XI .
During the attack on the Soviet Union , the 111th Infantry Division was subordinate to Army Group South and Army Group A.
During the summer offensive of 1942 , the 111th Infantry Division collided with the LII in August. Army corps under General of Infantry Eugen Ott in the direction of the Caucasus . On September 1, 1942, it was able to form a bridgehead with the 370th Infantry Division near Mosdok on the Terek . Captain Lyhme from the 70th Infantry Regiment managed to secure the bridgehead over the mountain river. There was not enough power for another offensive. It was not until September 25, 1942 that the III. Panzer Corps together with the 23rd Panzer Division and 111th Infantry Division under General of the Cavalry Eberhard von Mackensen launched an attack on Ordzhonikidze, which, however, failed. From December 31, 1942, the 111th Infantry Division withdrew from the Terek River in the Caucasus towards Don / Ukraine . Major Friedrich Musculus, commander of Panzerjäger -teilung 111, together with grenadiers and pioneers, defended a locking position on the Kuma River in order to prevent the advancing Soviet units from destroying the 1st Panzer Army . In a swamp area on the neighboring Solka River, there was a battle between the Soviet cavalry and German defenders. A combat group of the 111th Infantry Division was included, but was later able to free itself again in close combat. The retreat of the army until February 1943 was successfully covered by the delay battles.
In August 1943 it was XXIX. Army Corps with the 111th Infantry Division, 17th Infantry Division and 13th Panzer Division on the Sea of Azov temporarily enclosed, the 111th Infantry Division under the command of Lieutenant General Hermann Recknagel broke out towards Mariupol - Melitopol with great losses ; Werner von Bülow , who had only taken over the division on August 15, but had been missing since August 30, 1943 , also fell during these battles ; Recknagel took over the leadership again until November 1943. The 51st Soviet Army gave the order to take Recknagel prisoner, but this failed.
The fighting between the Sea of Azov and Zaporozhye on the lower reaches of the Dnieper continued until Melitopol fell on October 23, 1943 and the way to seal off Crimea was clear for the Red Army. In the defense of the Crimea, the 111th Infantry Division formed the army reserve since March 1944 and had to face the large Soviet attack on the Crimea on April 7, 1944 on the "Tatar Wall" on the northern front.
On April 16, 1944, the fighting for Sevastopol in the Crimea began, and on April 27, 1944, the front line of the 111th Infantry Division collapsed, with losses rising to 5,000 until the evening hours. The division was completely destroyed on May 12, 1944 in Sevastopol. Only parts of the 117 Grenadier Regiment could be evacuated by ship; the rest of the division perished on the steep bank. From April 8 to May 13, 1944, the Wehrmacht in the Crimea suffered 57,500 losses (25,800 Romanians and 31,700 Germans). The division was dissolved, the division staff later used for the 226th Infantry Division .
people
| period of service | Rank | Surname |
|---|---|---|
| November 5, 1940 to January 1, 1942 | General of the Infantry | Otto Stapf |
| January 1, 1942 to August 15, 1943 | General of the Infantry | Hermann Recknagel |
| 15.-30. August 1943 | Major general | Werner von Bülow |
| August 30 to November 1, 1943 | General of the Infantry | Hermann Recknagel |
| November 1, 1943 to May 12, 1944 | Major general | Erich Gruner |
| period of service | Rank | Surname |
|---|---|---|
| November 1940 to May 1, 1942 | Colonel | Hans Stoch |
| May 1, 1942 to January 1943 | Colonel | Alfred Philippi |
| July to November 1943 | major | Hasso Freiherr von Puttkamer |
| November 1943 to May 12, 1944 | Lieutenant colonel | Alexander Franz |
- Other
- Otto Herfurth (born January 22, 1893 in Hasserode ; † September 29, 1944 in Berlin-Plötzensee )
- was in command of the 117 Infantry Regiment and later a member of the July 20, 1944 conspiracy
- Joachim Kuhn (born August 2, 1913 in Berlin ; † March 6, 1994 in Römershag near Bad Brückenau )
- was an orderly officer in the 111th Infantry Division and later a member of the July 20, 1944 conspiracy
Awards
A total of 12 members of the 111th Infantry Division were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and 60 with the German Cross in Gold .
structure
- 50th Infantry Regiment
- 70th Infantry Regiment
- 117th Infantry Regiment
- 117th Artillery Regiment
- Panzerjäger detachment 111
- Reconnaissance Battalion 111
- News Department 111
- Engineer Battalion 111
- Supply troops
literature
- Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS in World War II 1939–1945 , Volume 6: The land forces. No. 71-130. 2nd Edition. Osnabrück 1979. VI, 336 pages. ISBN 3-7648-1172-2 .
- French Maclean: Quiet Flows the Rhine: German General Officer Casualties in World War II, JJ Fedorowicz Publishing, 1996, ISBN 978-0-921991-32-8 .
- Friedrich Musculus: History of the 111th Infantry Division 1940–1944, self-published by the Traditionsverband, Neustadt a. d. Weinstrasse, 1980.
Remarks
