25th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
25th Infantry Division |
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active | April 1, 1936 to May 8, 1945 |
Country | German Empire |
Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
Armed forces | army |
Branch of service | infantry |
Type | Infantry Division |
structure | structure |
garrison | Ludwigsburg |
Nickname | Stuttgart House Division |
Commanders | |
list of | Commanders |
The 25th Infantry Division was a large unit of the army of the German Wehrmacht . Later it was reclassified to 25th Infantry Division (motorized) and then to 25th Panzer Grenadier Division .
history
The 25th Infantry Division (ID) was set up on April 1, 1936 in Ludwigsburg, in military district V. On August 26, 1939, the division was mobilized and relocated to the Saar Palatinate to secure the border. In December 1939 the division was withdrawn as a reserve to Neustadt. In February 1940, the headquarters of Infantry Regiment 119 and the 2nd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 35 were transferred to the 293rd Infantry Division .
At the beginning of the western campaign, the Army Reserve Division was part of the 12th Army and marched through the Eifel and the Ardennes . On May 14, the division was pushed into the front and advanced to the Aisne between Compiègne and Reims . With the beginning of the Battle of France , the second section of the campaign, the division forced the Aisne crossing, took part in the storming of Laon and Chemin des Dames and then marched to the Seine , which was crossed at Romilly . Then the division marched across the Loire to Bourges . They stayed there for a few weeks as an occupying force and then returned to their home garrisons.
On November 15, 1940, the division was motorized and then referred to as the 25th Motorized Infantry Division. The 13th Infantry Regiment were transferred to the 4th Mountain Division as the 13th Mountain Infantry Regiment and the 1st Division of the Artillery Regiment 25 as the 1st Division of the Mountain Artillery Regiment 94 and the 1st Division of the Artillery Regiment 61 dissolved. The division also received the 25th motorcycle rifle battalion. This conversion was completed on March 15, 1941.
From June 22, 1941, the division took part in the attack on the Soviet Union and advanced from the Lublin area over the Bug to Lutsk and Rovno ( tank battle near Dubno-Lutsk-Rivne ). At Zwiahel am Slucz, the division broke through the Stalin line and then marched on Zhitomir and Kiev . After the Uman pocket was closed , the division took part in the Battle of Kiev . From September to November the division advanced on Sumy, then Orel , and then attacked Tula . In December 1941, the division had to retreat to the rivers Suscha and Oka , where it had to fight defensive and position battles until July 1942. In August 1942, the division took part in the offensive via Bolchow on Uljanowo and was then used for trench warfare in the Kirejkowo area north of Bolchow until the end of the year. These trench warfare continued in 1943.
On June 23, 1943, the division was transformed into the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division. In July 1944, during Operation Bagration , the division at Army Group Center was destroyed. Their remains came to the Panzer Brigade 107 .
The division was re-established in October 1944 at the Grafenwöhr training area and the Baumholder training area .
Areas of application :
- Poland : September to October 1939
- France : May to November 1940
- Germany : November 1940 to May 1941
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Eastern Front
- Southern section: June to September 1941
- Central section: October 1941 to July 1943
- Central section: July 1943 to July 1944
- France: October 1944 to January 1945
- East Germany: January to May 1945
people
period of service | Rank | Surname |
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April 1 to October 6, 1936 | Major general | Hubert Schaller-Kalide |
October 6, 1936 to October 15, 1939 | Lieutenant General | Christian Hansen |
October 15, 1939 to January 15, 1942 | Lieutenant General | Erich-Heinrich Clößner |
January 15 to February 4, 1942 | Major general | Sigfrid Henrici |
February 4, 1942 to November 5, 1943 | Lieutenant General | Anton Grasser |
November 5, 1943 to March 4, 1944 | Major general | Fritz Benicke |
March 4, 1944 to February 10, 1945 | Lieutenant General | Paul Schürmann |
February 10 to May 8, 1945 | Major general | Arnold Burmeister |
Awards
A total of 29 members of the 25th ID were awarded the Knight's Cross and 110 with the German Cross in Gold.
structure
25th Infantry Division | 25th Inf.-Div. (mot.) | 25th Panzer Grenadier Division |
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Well-known members of the division
- Heinz Brandt (1907–1944) was an Olympic champion in show jumping
- Anton Grasser (1891–1976), from May 18, 1951, was the first inspector of the newly founded Federal Border Police (BGS; today Federal Police )
- Hellmuth Reinhardt (1900–1989), was from 1960, as major general of the army of the German armed forces , commander of the defense area V
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 .
- Erwin Boehm: History of the 25th Division , Stuttgart: Kameradenhilfswerk e. V., 1972.
- Wilhelm Schrode: History of the 25th Division: The re-establishment of the 25th Pz.Gren.Div. - Autumn 1944 until the end of the war ., Self-published, 1980.
Remarks
- ↑ Ludwigsburg Infantry Regiment from 1934–1935, from 1940 Gebirgsjäger Regiment 13
- ^ Tübingen Infantry Regiment from 1934–1935