217th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
217th Infantry Division |
|
---|---|
active | August 17, 1939 to November 2, 1943 |
Country | German Empire |
Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
Armed forces | army |
Type | Infantry Division |
structure | see structure |
Installation site | Allenstein |
Commanders | |
list of | Commanders |
The 217th Infantry Division (217th ID) was a major unit of the army of the German Wehrmacht in World War II .
Division history
The 217th Infantry Division was set up as a division of the 3rd wave of deployment and training division in Allenstein in Wehrkreis I in August 1939 . As a reserve of the 3rd Army , the division took part in the attack on Poland , in the combat operations of Mlawa , Serok and the capture of Warsaw . She then served as an occupation and security force in northern and central Poland until April 1940. During this time, battalions of field recruits were set up by her. By January 1940, numerous reclassifications and relocations took place within the division, especially in the artillery and reconnaissance departments.
In May 1940 the division was again ready for use in the field and was relocated to Soest and then to the Westwall as OKH reserve . This was followed by the invasion of the Benelux countries , from Brussels to Lille , during the so-called "Battle of France" the division was deployed in the area around Paris and served as a security force after the end of the fighting. In July 1940 she was moved back to East Prussia to secure the border.
During the attack on the Soviet Union from June 22, 1941, the division crossed the border at Heydekrug and advanced with Army Group North via Mitau , Riga and Wolmar to Lake Peipus . The battle for Reval broke out during the advance on Estonia . The siege of Leningrad followed . In October 1941 the division fought on the Gulf of Finland and on the western edge of the so-called Oranienbaumer Kessel . From April 1942 to August 1943 the association was in action in the Leningrad area . In August 1943, the division had to be withdrawn from the combat area and assigned to the 16th Army as a reserve .
When the Red Army broke through the German lines near Kiev in October 1943 , the 217th Infantry Division was rushed to the southern section in order to defuse the critical situation on the front there; on the Desna and the Dnepr there were battles until the 217th Infantry Division had to retreat to Korosten via Manuilski . The division was destroyed at Korosten. The official dissolution took place on November 2, 1943, the survivors were divided into Corps Division C.
people
period of service | Rank | Surname |
---|---|---|
August 17, 1939 to February 14, 1942 | Lieutenant General | Richard Baltzer |
February 14 to September 27, 1942 | Lieutenant General | Friedrich Bayer |
September 27, 1942 to October 1943 | General of the Infantry | Otto Lasch |
October 1943 until unknown | Lieutenant General | Walter Poppe |
Well-known members of the division
- Lothar Freutel , commander of the 217 artillery regiment from March 1941 to January 1943
structure
1939 | 1942 |
---|---|
311 Infantry Regiment | Grenadier Regiment 311 |
346th Infantry Regiment | Grenadier Regiment 346 |
389th Infantry Regiment | Grenadier Regiment 389 |
Artillery Regiment 217 | |
Field Replacement Battalion 217 | |
Anti-tank department 217 | Panzerjäger detachment 217 |
Engineer Battalion 217 | |
Reconnaissance Department 217 | |
News Department 217 | |
Resupply Troops 217 |
literature
- Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945 . Volume 8: The Land Forces 201–280 . 2nd Edition. Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1979, ISBN 3-7648-1174-9 .
- Werner Haupt: The German infantry divisions . Ed. Dörfler im Nebel-Verlag, Eggolsheim 2005, ISBN 3-89555-274-7 .
Web links
- 200th through 370th German Infantry, Security, and Panzer Grenadier Divisions. Organizations and Histories 1939–1945 ( Memento from February 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 461 kB), Nafziger Collection, Combined Armed Research Library.