170th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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170th Infantry Division |
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|---|---|
 Troop registration |
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| active | December 1, 1939 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 | See: Outline |
| Second World War | Weser exercise company |
| Commanders | |
| Please refer: | List of commanders |
The 170th Infantry Division (ID) was a major unit of the army of the German Wehrmacht during World War II .
history
The division was set up on December 1, 1939 as a division of the 7th wave in Munster in military district X from replacement and training units of the military district. In January 1940 she was also assigned to field replacement battalions 28 ( military district VIII ) and 30.
1940
After four months of installation and training in sometimes extreme winter conditions in northern Germany, the division took part in the Weser Exercise Company on April 9, 1940 . Your task was to cross the Danish border at Flensburg and Tondern and, together with the 11th Motorized Rifle Brigade and reinforced by Army Panzer Division 40 and MG Battalion 4, to occupy the Jutland peninsula . Parts of the division were transferred from Cuxhaven and Kiel by units of the Kriegsmarine to occupy the Jutland ports and the Belt Bridge at Middelfart . Apart from a small combat operation north of Flensburg, the operation was bloodless and systematic. Another division of the 7th wave, the 198th Infantry Division , took over the occupation of Copenhagen and the Danish islands.
The 170th ID was briefly deployed as an occupying force in Denmark and was then moved by rail to the Cologne - Maastricht area, from where it began its advance through northern France on May 31, 1940. In daily marches of up to 42 km, the division, following the fighting front, reached Paris on June 19, 1940 and moved under.
1941
In the association of the 16th , then the 9th Army , the division carried out its tasks as an occupying force, first in the Paris area, then in Normandy until February 1941. It then moved to Military District XI and carried out further training there. From April 20, 1941, the 170th Infantry Division moved to Romania and was deployed there as part of the so-called "German Training Force for Romania" until June 1941 together with other divisions in the 11th Army to protect the Romanian borders and the Ploiesti oil fields .
The beginning of Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941 saw the 170th Infantry Division in the 11th Army on the banks of the Prut river near Huși . From June 30th, the division fought under the LIV. Army Corps crossed the river, broke into Bessarabia and occupied Kishinev on July 16 after several days of fighting . The Dniester crossing was completed in the Dubossary area and thus the successful breakthrough through the heavily fortified " Stalin Line " was achieved on July 18, 1941. After the invasion of southern Ukraine, the Bug River was crossed on August 23 . In continuous fighting in the summer heat and daily extensive marching performances, the division finally reached the lower reaches of the Dnieper and forced the river crossing there from September 6th together with other divisions of the 11th Army at Berislaw . The further advance led into the Nogai steppe beyond its only larger city Melitopol and the numerous villages of the Black Sea Germans still there. The " Battle of the Sea of Azov ", which in cooperation with the XXX. Army Corps and Panzer Group 1 was defeated in October 1941, resulted in another great success of the campaign in southern Russia.
Once again the 170th Infantry Division moved to the entrances to the Crimean peninsula in the Perekop area , albeit remaining in the 11th Army . From October 25, 1941, the division fought there in cooperation with other divisions in very difficult battles to break through the isthmus and gain access to the Crimea and then quickly conquered the northern part of the Crimea and the Kerch peninsula up to the port city of Kerch on May 16. November 1941. During the land march over Feodosia , the division reached the siege front in front of Sevastopol , where they witnessed the first attack of the 11th Army on this strongest fortress in the world from December 21st, which, however, was unsuccessful because the The Soviets launched a counter-offensive through sea landings at Kerch and Feodosia, which required the cessation of the attack on Sevastopol and the relocation of the 170th Infantry Division to the Kerch peninsula.
1942
From January to May 1942 the division held a tendon position that cut the Kerch peninsula from the Crimea. The offensive enterprise " Trappenjagd " from May 8, 1942 brought the 11th Army, also through the deployment of the 170th Infantry Division, another great victory with 170,000 prisoners and the complete recapture of the Kerch peninsula. Then the division fought in June 1942 in the 2nd major attack on Sevastopol as part of the XXX. Army Corps , etc. a. in the conquest of the Sapun Heights, an important range of hills on the outskirts of the Sevastopol fortress. On July 3, 1942, the conquest of the fortress was completed with about 100,000 more prisoners.
After a short recovery phase, the division moved in rail transport to the front of Army Group North in front of Leningrad until August 12, 1942 . In the association of the 11th Army, which was also transferred there (which, however, comprised five divisions less than in the Crimea), the conquest of Leningrad was to take place in a new attempt in autumn 1942. However, the German forces were completely tied up by strong Soviet counter-attacks, so that the planned operation Northern Lights could not be carried out.
1943/44
The winter battles of 1942/43 experienced the 170th Infantry Division in the formation of the 18th Army on the front in front of Leningrad, where it was exposed to the heaviest Russian attacks between the Neva River and Shlisselburg. The division then fought in trench warfare in the areas of Pushkin and Oranienbaum until January 1944.
The major Soviet offensive to liberate Leningrad from January 15, 1944 also forced the 170th Infantry Division to withdraw. From February onwards, she fought on the eastern border of Estonia on the Narva River and, in cooperation with Army and Waffen SS units in the Narva Army Department, stopped the advance of the Red Army for months.
On June 28, 1944, while the majority of Army Group Center in Belarus was broken up in the course of the Soviet offensive Operation Bagration and the Red Army was able to advance to the Baltic Sea , the 170th Infantry Division moved by rail to Molodechno and was there together with the 5th Panzer Division of the "Kampfgruppe von Saucken" (later reorganization of the XXXIXth Panzer Corps ). Molodetschno could not be defended against the overwhelming power of the Red Army without the encirclement and smashing of the "Saucken Combat Group" into account. The further retreat, which was carried out in an orderly and fighting manner, led the 170th Infantry Division in July 1944, with considerable losses, via Wilna and Lida to the former German border of East Prussia . There the 170th Infantry Division moved to August 1944 defensive positions west of the city of Suwalki . The following months up to the beginning of the Soviet winter offensive in 1945 brought new fighting (→ Ossowezer Operation ), especially in September and October , but also one last time to refresh and strengthen positions.
1945
During the Soviet attack ( East Prussian Operation ) from January 14, 1945, the 170th Infantry Division in the Association of XXXXI. Panzer Corps (General Weidling ) involved in new, very loss-making defensive battles. From January 21, the division had to give up its positions and retreat in the direction of Königsberg, where it was enclosed in a pocket with other units of the 4th Army. From January 26th, the 170th Infantry Division in the association of the 4th Army under General der Infanterie Hoßbach, together with other divisions, had to force the breakthrough of the units in East Prussia into West Prussia in order to reconnect with the main German front . This breakout operation failed after initial success. Because of this, the division got caught in the Heiligenbeil pocket . There it was smashed together with other units of the 4th Army , later the "Army of East Prussia" by April 1945. The majority of the surviving soldiers were taken prisoner by the Soviets.
Storage and operational areas
| date | army | Army Group | Operational area |
| June 1940 | z. Vfg. OKH | Denmark | |
| July 1940 | 16th Army | HGr A | Lille |
| August 1940 | 9th Army | Northern France | |
| May 1941 | 11th Army | HGr South | Romania |
| November 1941 | Crimea | ||
| February 1942 | Sevastopol | ||
| September 1942 | 18th Army | HGr North | Leningrad |
| July 1944 | 4th Army | HGr middle | Vilna |
| February 1945 | HGr North | East Prussia |
structure
| from 1939 | from 1940 | from 1944 |
|---|---|---|
|
Infantry Regiment 391 |
Infantry Regiment 391 |
Grenadier Regiment 391 |
| Division Fusilier Battalion 170 | ||
| light artillery division 240 | Artillery Regiment 240 | |
| Engineer Battalion 240 | ||
| Anti-tank department 240 | ||
| Infantry Division News Department 240 | ||
| Infantry Division Supply Leader 240 | ||
| Field Replacement Battalion 240 | ||
Commanders
| date | Rank | Surname |
|---|---|---|
| December 1, 1939 | Lieutenant General | Walter Wittke |
| January 8, 1942 | Lieutenant General | Erwin Sander |
| February 15, 1943 | Lieutenant General | Walther Krause |
| February 15, 1944 | Major general | Franz Griesbach |
| February 16, 1944 | Colonel | Siegfried Haß |
| May 18, 1944 | Major general | Franz Eccard of Bentivegni |
| July 10, 1944 | Lieutenant General | Siegfried Haß |
See also
literature
- Hennecke Kardel: The history of the 170th Infantry Division 1939–1945 , Bad Nauheim, 1953.
- Georg Tessin: Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS 1939–1945, Volume 7, pp. 165–170.
- Martin Blanken, self-published by the comradeship: History of the 240 Artillery Regiment in the 170th Infantry Division 1939–1945 , 1987.
- 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 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Cf. Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in the Second World War 1939–1945 . 2nd Edition. tape 7 . The Land Forces 131–200 . Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1979, ISBN 3-7648-1173-0 . ; P. 165 f.
