217th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

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217th Infantry Division

active August 17, 1939 to November 2, 1943
Country German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) 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 In August 1943, the division had to be withdrawn from the combat area and assigned to the 16th Army as a reserve .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

Division commanders of the 217th ID:
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

Changes to the structure of the 217th ID from 1939 to 1942
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