123rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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123rd Infantry Division |
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|---|---|
 Troop registration |
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| active | October 5, 1940 to March 1, 1944 (dissolution) |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire
|
| Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
| Armed forces | army |
| Branch of service | infantry |
| Type | Infantry division |
| structure | See: Outline |
| Installation site | Earthworm camp near Meseritz |
| Second World War | War against the Soviet Union 1941–1945 |
| Commanders | |
| Please refer: | List of commanders |
The 123rd Infantry Division was a major unit of the army of the German Wehrmacht during World War II .
history
Deployment and attack on Poland
The division was established on October 5, 1940 at the earthworm camp near Meseritz in Wehrkreis III as a division of the 11th wave of deployment from one third each of the 23rd Infantry Division , the 257th Infantry Division and parts of the 3rd Infantry Division with the Equestrian squadron of the 18th Infantry Division set up.
War against the Soviet Union
From its deployment in East Prussia , the division began the war against the Soviet Union . After crossing the Soviet border on June 22, 1941, the division advanced as part of Army Group North via Sebesch to the Demyansk area.
After the Demyansk pocket had been cleared , the division initially took over a defensive section at Cholm , but joined Army Group South in autumn 1943 . The division was broken up in February 1944 by the Soviet major attack on Army Group A in the course of the Nikopol-Krywyj Riher operation and disbanded on March 1, 1944 after heavy losses. Their remnants came as division group 123 to the corps department F.
Storage and operational areas
| date | corps | army | Army Group | Operational area |
| November 1940 | XX. | 11th Army | C. | Brandenburg |
| April 1941 | X. | 18th Army | B. | East Prussia |
| May 1941 | XXVIII. | 16th Army | C. | |
| June 1941 | North | Sebesch | ||
| August 1941 | II. | Demyansk | ||
| January 1943 | Demyansk, Cholm | |||
| September 1943 | reserve | Cholm | ||
| October 1943 | XVII. | 1st Panzer Army | south | Zaporozhye |
| January 1944 | 6th Army | |||
| February 1944 | XXX. | |||
| March 1944 | LVII. | A. | Kryvyi Rih |
structure
- 415th Infantry Regiment
- 416th Infantry Regiment
- 418th Infantry Regiment
- 123rd Artillery Regiment
- Engineer Battalion 123
- Field Replacement Battalion 123
- Panzerjäger detachment 123
- Reconnaissance Division 123
- News Division 123
- Division Supply Leader 123
Division commanders
| date | Rank | Surname |
| October 5, 1940 | Lieutenant General | Walter Lichel |
| August 6, 1941 | Major General / Lieutenant General | Erwin Rauch |
| October 1, 1943 | Lieutenant General | Erwin Menny |
| November 1, 1943 | Lieutenant General | Erwin Rauch |
| January 15, 1944 | Colonel / Major General | Louis Tronnier |
literature
- Werner Haupt : Demjansk - A bulwark in the east , Bad Nauheim 1963.
- Werner Haupt: Army Group North , Bad Nauheim 1967.
- Franz Kurowski: Demjansk - The cauldron in the ice , Wölfersheim-Berstadt 2001.
- Samuel W. Mitcham (2007). German Order of Battle. Volume One: 1st - 290th Infantry Divisions in WWII. PA; United States of America: Stackpole Books, pp. 176-178. ISBN 978-0-8117-3416-5 .
- Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945. Volume 6. The Land Forces 71-130 . 2nd Edition. Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1979, ISBN 3-7648-1172-2 .
