298th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

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298th Infantry Division

active February 1940 to August 1944
Country German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) German Empire
Armed forces Wehrmacht
Armed forces army
Type Infantry Division
structure See outline
Installation site Neuhammer military training area
Second World War War against the Soviet Union
Commanders
list of Commanders

The Silesian 298th Infantry Division was a major military unit of the Wehrmacht . On the Eastern Front she suffered heavy losses on the Donbogen in January 1943 as part of the 8th Italian Army . The survivors were transferred to the 387th Infantry Division .

Division history

The division was formed on February 6, 1940 at the Neuhammer military training area as part of the 8th  wave of formation . In June 1940 the 298th Infantry Division was transferred from Stadtkyll to the western front and fought in the Arnay / Burgundy and Dijon area , and later carried out security tasks at Chambéry . In July 1940 the division was transported to Poland as part of the 18th Army .

On June 22, 1941, she took part in Operation Barbarossa , the attack on the Soviet Union. South of Chełm , the 298th Infantry Division crossed the Bug and was involved in fighting on the Stalin line at the height of Lutsk - Rowno - Zwiahel until it reached the area around Nowograd-Volynski . She then took part in the Battle of Kiev , then fought the Soviet Army on the Dnepr and Desna rivers in order to return to Kiev and fight the enemy who had stayed behind.

From January to March 1942 the 298th ID was in the association of the XXXXIV. Army corps deployed south of Kharkov . In May 1942, the division under the command of the XI. Army Corps participated in the Second Battle of Kharkov . In addition, together with the Kleist Army Group , she had missions against encircled Red Army soldiers. The defensive battles in this region dragged on throughout June 1942 and caused heavy losses.

On October 15, 1942, all infantry regiments were renamed Grenadier regiments. After that the 298th Infantry Division fought together with mountain troops west of Rostov-on-Don under different deployment: I. Romanian Army Corps and XXXV. Italian Army Corps. The skirmishes intensified on the Don, Oskol and Sapalow . Finally, the Division was at Ticho - Shuranskaya encircled by the Red Army, was able to break out from there to at Chertkovo to fall back into a boiler. In January 1943, the 298th Infantry Division broke out near Kupyansk , only to get into a third pocket near Shevchenko, from which it was able to escape at Malinovka-Isjum. After heavy fighting, the division withdrew behind the Donets and marched on Kremenchug , where it set up defensive positions against the advancing Red Army. Due to the high losses, the 298th ID had to be completely dissolved on April 30, 1943.

The 242nd Infantry Division and the 387th Infantry Division were formed from the survivors , the old staff of the 298th Infantry Division was taken over by the 389th Infantry Division . The 387th ID was destroyed in August 1944 in the Battle of Jassy .

Incorporation and subordination of the 298th ID during the Second World War
date Army Corps army Army Group place
June 1940 reserve 12th Army A. Aisne
July to August 1940 XVII 18th Army - Poland
September to December 1940 12th Army B.
January to April 1941 17th Army
May 1941 6th Army A.
June to October 1941 south Hrubieszów , Kiev , Donetsk
November / December 1941 LII 17th Army Isjum
January 1942 XXXXIV
February to May 1942 XI Kleist group Losovaya
June 1942 XIV - Kharkov
July 1942 ranger Wietersheim group Donbogen
August 1942 Romanian I. Corps 17th Army A.
September 1942 reserve - B. Donsteppe
October 1942 8th Italian Army
November 1942 Italian II Corps Boguchar
December 1942 Italian XXXV. corps
January 1943 reserve Chertkovo
February 1943 (survivors) reserve Lanz
March 1943 387 ID - - -

structure

  • Infantry Regiment 525 (I. – III. Btl.)
  • 526 Infantry Regiment (I. – III. Btl.)
  • 527 Infantry Regiment (I. – III. Btl.)
  • Artillery Regiment 298 (I.–IV. Btl.)
  • Panzerjäger detachment 298
  • Reconnaissance Battalion 298
  • Engineer Battalion 298
  • News Section 298
  • Supply troops

Commanders

period of service Rank Surname
February 6, 1940 to January 1, 1942 Lieutenant General Walther Graessner
January 1 to December 27, 1942 Lieutenant General Arnold Szelinski
December 27, 1942 to March 20, 1943 Major general Herbert Michälis

Awards

A total of six members of the 298th Infantry Division were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and one person was also awarded the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. 19 soldiers received the German Cross in Gold.

Rank Surname unit Award date
lieutenant Edwin Ewald Platoon leader 2.Kp./PiBtl. 298 August 21, 1941
Sergeant major Ernst Thiem Platoon leader 1.Kp./ Aufklärungs-Abtlg. 298 September 17, 1941
Lieutenant General Walther Graessner Division commander 298th ID October 27, 1941
Colonel Arnold Szelinski Regimental commander IR 525 November 18, 1941
Captain d. Res. Heinrich pupil Battalion Commander II. Btl./IR 525 September 18, 1942
Colonel Herbert Michaelis Regimental commander GR 525 December 27, 1942
Captain d. Res. Heinrich pupil Battalion Commander II. Btl./GR 525 Oak leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (218th award) on April 2, 1943

Well-known members of the division

literature

  • Comradeship of the 298th Infantry Division : 298th Infantry Division Glory and Fall 1940–1943 , self-published.
  • Theo Tebart: The history of the 298th Infantry Division , self-published.
  • Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945. Volume 9. The Land Forces 281-370 . Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1974, ISBN 3-7648-1174-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Malynivka in Ukrainian spelling.
  2. ^ I. Btl. Dissolved on September 26, 1942.
  3. II. Btl. Dissolved on September 26, 1942.
  4. III. Btl. Disbanded on September 26, 1942.
  5. Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 300.
  6. Veit Scherzer: Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, p. 742.
  7. Veit Scherzer: Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, p. 344.
  8. Veit Scherzer: Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, p. 737.
  9. a b Veit Scherzer: Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, p. 687.
  10. Veit Scherzer: Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, p. 543.