17th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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17th Infantry Division |
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|---|---|
 Troop registration |
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| active | October 1, 1934 to May 8, 1945 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire
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| Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
| Armed forces | army |
| Branch of service | infantry |
| Type | Infantry Division |
| structure | structure |
| garrison | Nuremberg |
| Second World War | Battle of Rzhev |
| Commanders | |
| list of | Commanders |
The 17th Infantry Division (short: 17th ID ) was a large unit of the army of the German Wehrmacht .
Division history
The division was set up on October 1, 1934 in Nuremberg in military district VII under the code name Infanterieführer VII . The infantry regiment "Nuremberg", formerly the 21st (Bavarian) Infantry Regiment , from the former 7th Division of the Reichswehr and the infantry regiment "Bayreuth", which was newly established from levies from the former, as well as the 7th Infantry Regiment were subordinate to it . (Bavarian) Artillery Regiment, the emerged artillery regiment "Nuremberg". The division also received a pioneer battalion in Ingolstadt and a communications department. On October 15, 1935, when the associations were exposed, they were renamed the 17th Infantry Division . At the same time, the 63rd Infantry Regiment set up in Ingolstadt from contributions from the Nuremberg Infantry Regiment joined the division. In October 1937, when the division was placed under the new military district XIII, it received its final form with infantry regiments 21, 55 and 95. In March 1938, the division took part in the Anschluss of Austria .
After mobilization in August 1939 as a division of the 1st wave of formation , the 17th Infantry Division took part as part of the XIII. Army Corps of the 8th Army took part in the border battles in western Poland during the attack on Poland , also in the battle around Wiesuszow, the Warthe line and the windmill heights near Belen. After the capture of Łódź , the 17th Infantry Division fought near Ozorków , Kiernozia and Zaluskow. After the end of the campaign, he was relocated to the Eifel , later to the Trier area , and prepared for the western campaign .
In 1940 the division was deployed as part of Army Group A on the Siegfried Line, marched through Luxembourg, captured the Longwy fortress and was involved in combat on the Chiers and the Aisne . The French army was pursued as far as Dijon via the Rhine-Marne Canal . After the campaign in the west, the division in France was prepared for the later canceled company Seelöwe . At the beginning of June 1941 the company was transferred to Poland in preparation for Operation Barbarossa , the attack on the Soviet Union .
On June 22, 1941, the 17th Infantry Division crossed the border as part of the 4th Army of Army Group Center , then fought at Brest-Litovsk , Białystok and Slonim and reached the Dnieper . On June 29, 1941, in the battle of Popielewo in the forests of Bialystok, the 17th Infantry Division formed the anvil and a line of support in the north, while the 78th Infantry Division combed the forest area and pushed about 3,000 Red Army soldiers to the interception positions. She was also involved in fighting near Propoisk , Gomel , Tschernigow and on the Desna . In the winter of 1941 there was an unsuccessful advance on Moscow . The 17th Infantry Division fought for the Kremenki bridgehead and was involved in the retreat to the Vorja-Ugra defensive position in the Juchnow area . From March to June 1942 several regiments had to be disbanded and newly formed because of heavy losses.
In June 1942 the division was transferred to France, where it carried out coastal defense tasks in the area between Brest and Lorient . On October 15, 1942, all infantry regiments were renamed Grenadier regiments.
In 1943 the 17th Infantry Division returned to the Eastern Front, fought at Pokrovskoje on the Mius position and finally had to retreat to the Nikopol bridgehead .
In 1944, the division withdrew from the advancing Red Army in southern Ukraine and escaped the Jassy Kettle Battle , after which it was relocated to Poland. The 17th Infantry Division was completely destroyed on the Vistula in January 1945 . Reorganized in March 1945, it had to capitulate to the Red Army in Czechoslovakia at the end of the war.
Storage and operational areas
| date | corps | army | Army Group | Operational area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1939 | XIII. | 8th. | south | Silesia , Poland |
| October 1939 | III. | 6th | B. | Eifel |
| December 1939 | XIII. | 16. | A. | trier |
| January – May 1940 | Trier, Luxembourg | |||
| June 1940 | 12. | France ( Aisne ) | ||
| July 1940 | 9. | France | ||
| August – February 1941 | 16. | |||
| March 1941 | XXIII. | |||
| April 1941 | XXXVII. | |||
| May 1941 | 15th | D. | ||
| June 1941 | XIII. | 4th | center | Brest-Litovsk |
| July 1941 | IX. | Białystok | ||
| August to October 1941 | XIII. | 2. | Gomel , Chernigov | |
| November to December 1941 | 4th | before Moscow | ||
| January to February 1942 | XII. | Juchnow | ||
| March to April 1942 | XX. | 4th tank - | Gschatsk b. Rzhev | |
| May 1942 | to disposal | 3rd tank - | ||
| June 1942 to March 1943 | XXV. | 7th | D. | Brittany |
| April 1943 | to disposal | 6th | south | Mius |
| May to September 1943 | XXIX. | |||
| October 1943 | - | Dnepr , Nikopol | ||
| November 1943 | 1. Tank - | south | ||
| December 1943 | IV. | |||
| January to February 1944 | 6th | |||
| March 1944 | XVII. | A. | Uman | |
| April 1944 | Southern ukraine | Kishinev | ||
| May 1944 | XXXX. | |||
| June 1944 | LII. | |||
| July 1944 | to disposal | 8th. | Iassy | |
| August 1944 | XXXXVI. | 9. | center | Warka , Radom |
| September to October 1944 | VIII. | |||
| November to December 1944 | LVI. | 4. tank | A. | |
| January 1945 | 9. | |||
| February 1945 | to disposal | - | center | Lissa , or |
| April 1945 | VIII. | 17th | Goerlitz | |
| May 1945 | PzK GD | Giant Mountains |
structure
Changes in the structure of the 17th ID from 1939 to 1945
| 1939 | 1942 | 1944 |
|---|---|---|
| Infantry Regiment 21 | Grenadier Regiment 21 | |
| 55th Infantry Regiment | Grenadier Regiment 55 | |
| 95th Infantry Regiment | Grenadier Regiment 95 | |
| - | Fusilier Battalion 17th | |
| Reconnaissance Department 17 | Cycling Battalion 17th | - |
| Observation Department 17 | - | |
| 17th Artillery Regiment | ||
| Engineer Battalion 17th | ||
| Anti-tank department 17 | Panzerjäger detachment 17 | |
| News Department 17 | ||
| Field Replacement Battalion 17th | ||
| Supply units 17 | ||
The artillery regiment 17 was divided into the divisions I to III and also had the I division of the artillery regiment 53 under subordination.
people
Commanders
| period of service | Rank | Surname |
|---|---|---|
| October 15, 1935 to March 1, 1936 | Major general | Eugen Ritter von Schobert |
| March 1, 1936 to October 1, 1937 | Lieutenant General | Curt Haase |
| October 12, 1937 to April 1, 1939 | Lieutenant General | Erich Friderici |
| April 1, 1939 to October 27, 1941 | Major General / Lieutenant General | Herbert Hole |
| October 27 to December 25, 1941 | Major general | Ernst Güntzel |
| December 25, 1941 to April 1, 1943 | Major General / Lieutenant General | Gustav-Adolf von Zangen |
| April 1 to September 17, 1943 | Colonel / Major General | Richard Room |
| September 17 to November 11, 1943 | Major general | Kurt Kruse (m.st.Fb) |
| February to March 15, 1944 | Colonel | Otto-Hermann Briicker |
| March 15 to April 16, 1944 | Colonel | Georg house |
| April 16 to May 1944 | Colonel | Otto-Hermann Briicker |
| May 1st to September 4th 1944 | Lieutenant General | Richard Room |
| September 4, 1944 to May 8, 1945 | Colonel / Major General | Max Sachsenheimer |
General Staff Officers (Ia)
| period of service | Rank | Surname |
|---|---|---|
| November 1, 1938 to October 1939 | Lieutenant colonel | Siegfried Rasp |
| October 1939 to February 1940 | Lieutenant colonel | Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein |
| February to June 1940 | Lieutenant colonel | Paul Gäthgens |
| June 1940 to February 1941 | Lieutenant colonel | Bernhard Pezold |
| February 1941 to May 1942 | major | Hans Dieckmann |
| May 1942 to July 1943 | Lieutenant colonel | Wilhelm Freiherr von Maltzahn |
| July 12 to August 27, 1943 | Lieutenant colonel | Eduard Schwandner |
| August 27, 1943 to August 25, 1944 | Lieutenant colonel | Leo Waldmüller |
| August 25, 1944 to January 29, 1945 | major | Hermann Kesselheim |
| January 29 to March 15, 1945 | major | Josef Bailer |
| March 15 to May 1945 | major | Christoph Kutscher |
Award winners
A total of 19 members of the 17th Infantry Division received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and 50 the German Cross in Gold .
Higher award levels of the Knight's Cross:
- Colonel Karl-Wilhelm Specht: The commander of the 55th Infantry Regiment received the oak leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on January 16, 1942
- Captain dR Walter Elflein: The commander of the 1st Battalion / Grenadier Regiment 55 received the oak leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on December 5, 1943
- Major General Max Sachsenheimer: On February 6, 1945, the division commander received the oak leaves with swords for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
literature
- Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945. Volume 4. The Land Forces 15–30 . 2nd Edition. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1976, ISBN 3-7648-1083-1 .
Notes and individual references
- ↑ location unknown
- ↑ missing in action
- ↑ Walther-Peer Fellgiebel: The bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 . Podzun-Pallas, Friedburg 2000, ISBN 3-7909-0284-5 , pp. 52 .
- ↑ Walther-Peer Fellgiebel: The bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 . Podzun-Pallas, Friedburg 2000, ISBN 3-7909-0284-5 , pp. 65 .
- ↑ Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 648.
