161 Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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161st Infantry Division |
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|---|---|
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| active | December 1, 1939 to October 9, 1944 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire
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| Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
| Armed forces | army |
| Type | Infantry division |
| structure | structure |
| Installation site | Arys military training area / East Prussia |
| Commanders | |
| list of | Commanders |
The 161st Infantry Division was a major military unit of the Wehrmacht .
Division history
Areas of application :
- East Prussia : December 1939 to June 1941
- Eastern Front , Central Section: June 1941 to December 1942
- France : December 1942 to April 1943
- Eastern Front, Southern Section: April 1943 to January 1944
- Eastern Front, Southern Section: July to August 1944
The 161st ID was from 1 December 1939 as a division of the seventh line-up shaft on the military training area Arys in the East Prussian Military District I set up. With the arrival of field replacement battalions 1, 11 and 21 on December 28, 1939, it reached full division strength. The division was set up and trained in East Prussia until April 1940, when the division moved to the Western Front, where it was briefly deployed in the Nancy area with the 16th Army.
Already in July 1940 the 161st Infantry Division moved back to East Prussia and remained there in the association of the 18th Army of Colonel General Georg von Küchler until the beginning of the Russian campaign in June 1941.
In the Association of the 9th Army under Colonel General Adolf Strauss, the 161st Infantry Division took part in the fighting at Białystok , Smolensk and Vyazma on the Eastern Front from June 22, 1941 .
In the winter battle off Moscow, the division suffered considerable losses in the Klin battle area , but was able to retreat to new positions in the Rshew area.
Continuing to fight in the association of the 9th Army, now under the leadership of Colonel General Walter Model, the 161st Infantry Division held its front sections in numerous heavy positional battles, but was further decimated and on November 1, 1942, the GR 336 had to go to one because of heavy losses Disband battalion.
In November 1942 the 161st Infantry Division moved to France for refreshment and refurbishment, leaving behind their heavy weapons and vehicles. The GR 336 was also set up there.
Until April 1943, the division remained in the 15th Army under Colonel General Hans von Salmuth on the French Channel coast and was then transferred to Army Group South in eastern Ukraine.
In the association of the Kempf Army Department, later 8th Army under General of the Armored Troop Walter Kempf, later General of the Infantry Otto Wöhler, the 161st Infantry Division fought on the front on the Donets, in the Kharkov area and on the retreat on the Dnieper in September 1943. The suffered in this Heavy losses - especially of infantry - and the lack of replacement forces forced the German leadership to re-establish Corps Division A from the combat group of 161 ID and the remnants of 293 ID and 355 ID, which were also broken up. Their formation took place on November 10, 1943 in the association of the 1st Panzer Army of Colonel General Eberhard von Mackensen, at the same time the history of the (first) 161st Infantry Division ended.
On July 27, 1944, the 161st Infantry Division was reorganized by renaming Corps Department A. She was part of the 6th Army General of Artillery Maximilian Fretter-Pico in Bessarabia on the front line on the Dniester River.
As part of the major Soviet offensive on Romania from 19./20. On August 1st, 1944, the 161st Infantry Division also got caught up in the vortex of the sinking of the 6th Army in the Jassy Kesselschlacht in Romania and was almost completely destroyed by September 5, 1944. Only a few survivors made their way into the Carpathian Mountains and were integrated into the 15th ID and 76th ID there .
The formal dissolution of the 161 ID took place on October 9, 1944, it was not reorganized.
people
| Rank | Surname | period of service |
|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant General | Hermann Wilck | December 1, 1939 to September 17, 1941 |
| Lieutenant General | Heinrich Recke | September 17, 1941 to August 15, 1942 |
| Major general | Otto Schell | August 15-22, 1942 |
| Lieutenant General | Karl-Albrecht von Groddeck | August 22, 1942 to August 28, 1943 |
| Major general | Paul Drekmann | August 28 to November 15, 1943 |
| Major general | Paul Drekmann | July 27 to September 5, 1944 |
| Rank | Surname | period of service |
|---|---|---|
| Captain | Joachim von Amsberg | January 5, 1940 to April 1, 1941 |
| major | Oldwig from Natzmer | April 1 to July 15, 1941 |
| major | Johannes Hölz | July 13, 1941 to March 4, 1942 |
| major | Moritz love | March 4 to June 1, 1942 |
| major | Johannes Hölz | June 1 to November 29, 1942 |
| Lieutenant colonel | Heinz Thien | October 20 to December 10, 1943 |
structure
- 336th Infantry Regiment
- 364th Infantry Regiment
- 371st Infantry Regiment
- Artillery Regiment 241 (four divisions)
- Panzerjäger detachment 241
- Bicycle squadron 241
- Engineer Battalion 241
- Field Replacement Battalion 241
- News Department 241
- Supply troops
literature
- Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945 . 2nd Edition. tape 7 . The Land Forces 131–200 . Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1979, ISBN 3-7648-1173-0 .
- Gerhard Kippar: The fighting of the 161st (East Prussian) Infantry Division from the formation in 1939 to the end, self-published, Bohmsende 1994.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Handwritten signature: http://www.dokumentenforum.de/thread.php?threadid=12713 Owned: Mentioned by name in various field post letters, notes and on photos of his long-time comrade and friend of the family Lieutenant General Hans de Salengre Drabbe
