25th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

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25th Infantry Division
25th Motorized Infantry Division
25th Panzer Grenadier Division

Division badge of the 25th Infantry Division
active April 1, 1936 to May 8, 1945
Country German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) 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 In December 1939 the division was withdrawn as a reserve to Neustadt.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
  • 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

Division commanders of 25th ID, 25th ID (motorized) and 25th PGD
period of service Rank Surname
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
  • Infantry Regiment 13
  • 35th Infantry Regiment
  • 119th Infantry Regiment
  • Infantry Regiment 35 (mot)
  • Infantry Regiment 119 (mot)
  • Reconnaissance Department 25
  • Reconnaissance Department 25 (motorized)
  • Artillery Regiment 25 (motorized)
  • Observation Department 25
  • Panzerjäger Battalion 125
  • Pioneer Battalion 25 (motorized)
  • Engineer Battalion 25
  • News Department 25 (mot.)
  • News Department 25
  • Field Replacement Battalion 25
  • Field Replacement Battalion 25
  • Supply units 25
  • Infantry Division Supply Leader 25 (motorized)
  • Administrative services 25
  • Medical services 25

Well-known members of the division

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

  1. ↑ Ludwigsburg Infantry Regiment from 1934–1935, from 1940 Gebirgsjäger Regiment 13
  2. ^ Tübingen Infantry Regiment from 1934–1935