306th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

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306th Infantry Division

Troop registration number of the 306th Infantry Division

Troop registration, the " wild boar "
active November 15, 1940 to October 9, 1944 (formal dissolution)
Country German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) German Empire
Armed forces Wehrmacht
Armed forces army
Type Infantry Division
structure structure
Installation site Hamm
Nickname Wild boar
Second World War German-Soviet War
Battle of Stalingrad
Commanders
list of Commanders
insignia
Troop registration number 2 Troop registration number 2
Troop registration 3 Troop registration 3

The 306th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) was a major military unit of the Wehrmacht . It existed from November 1940 until its annihilation in August 1944 with the Army Group South Ukraine and was finally formally dissolved on October 9, 1944.

Division history

The division was formed in November 1940 from a third each of the 86th ID , the 291st ID and the field recruits battalion 129. From April 1941 it was used as an occupation force by the 15th Army in Belgium , where it remained for the next 1½ years.

After the German 6th Army had been encircled near Stalingrad , in early December 1942, Soviet tank units tried to push through the German defensive front , which had been pushed back on the lower Don and Tschir , in the direction of Rostov and then cut off the retreat of the German troops in the greater Don bend . In order to prevent this, units that were already considerably weakened were hastily restructured.

The Hollidt Army Division was established at Tschir . The 306th Infantry Division should serve to strengthen them . On November 20, 1942, the commander Georg Neymann had taken over the 306th ID in Belgium (de Haan) from Lieutenant General Hans von Sommerfeld , who retired for reasons of age, for the Russian mission. The first units of the 306th Infantry Division arrived there after rail transport on December 16, 1942 at the Morozovskaya and Millerowo train stations, other units on December 20, 1942 at midnight. These soldiers marched in a northerly direction to the village of Grusinow in a temperature of -28 ° C and a sharp easterly wind and considerable fresh snow. Early in the morning they were brought very close to the main battle line there by trucks and front buses .

At the time, three well-equipped Russian armies were attacking across the frozen Don between Novaya Katitwa and one day later they had already broken through the German defenses in many places. The units of the 306th Infantry Division were put on the march to strengthen the front. At Nizhniy-Astakhov and Panomarev, the enemy's advance should be stopped. December 22nd, 1942 turned into a very heavy loss day, especially for the soldiers of the 306th Infantry Division. After heavy barrage, numerous Soviet tanks rolled up and destroyed the positions. Towards evening the remnants of the units were able to retreat in the direction of Morozovskaya. South of Nizhniy - Astachow, around Verkhne - Svetschnikow, the 306th Infantry Division was defeated. Many soldiers have been missing since then . The deeply snow-covered and uncovered terrain, crisscrossed by hilly Balkas, made it difficult to withdraw in an orderly manner. Ambulance vehicles and first aid stations came under artillery and tank fire. In the devastating turmoil, a great many soldiers died without their own comrades noticing. The 306th ID - especially the subordinate infantry regiment 580 - was wiped out in a very short time. The Hollidt group had to move south in the direction of the Gnilaja section.

On November 2, 1943, the division was replenished by the remnants of the disbanded 328th Infantry Division .

The division was destroyed in August 1944 by Army Group South Ukraine and formally dissolved on October 9, 1944.

people

Division commanders of the 306th ID:
Rank at that time Surname Period
Major general Hans von Sommerfeld November 15, 1940 to November 20, 1942
Major general Georg Neymann November 20 to December 1942
Colonel Gerhard Matthias December 1942 to January 29, 1943
Lieutenant General Georg Pfeiffer January 29, 1943 to February 21, 1943
Major general Theobald Lieb February 21 to March 30, 1943
Major General / Lieutenant General Karl-Erik Koehler March 30, 1943 to January 1, 1944
Colonel Karl Bear January 1 to January 12, 1944
Lieutenant General Karl-Erik Koehler January 12, 1944 until annihilation
  • Curt Ludwig Ehrenreich von Burgsdorff (1886–1962) was SA group leader and later served in the 306th ID as a major in the GR 580, in 1943 he was governor of the Krakow district . In 1948 von Burgsdorff was sentenced in Poland to a minimum sentence of three years for war crimes.
  • Carl Anders (1893–1972) was commander of the 1st battalion of the 581st Infantry Regiment, later major general and until October 28, 1955 in Soviet captivity.

structure

1940 1944

579th Infantry Regiment

Infantry Regiment 580

581th Infantry Regiment

Grenadier Regiment 579

Grenadier Regiment 580

Division group 328

Division Fusilier Battalion 306

306th Artillery Regiment

Engineer Battalion 306

Panzerjäger detachment 306

News Company 306

News Department 306

Division Supply Leader 306

Field Replacement Battalion 306

literature

  • Mitcham, Samuel W., Jr. (2007). German Order of Battle. Volume Two: 291st - 999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry Divisions, and Special Divisions in WWII. PA; United States of America: Stackpole Books. Pp. 20 + 21, ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0 .
  • 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