362nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
|
362nd Infantry Division |
|
|---|---|
| active | November 11, 1943 to May 2, 1945 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire
|
| Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
| Armed forces | army |
| Type | Infantry Division |
| structure | structure |
| Installation site | Romagna |
| Second World War | Italian campaign |
| Commanders | |
| list of | Commanders |
The 362nd Infantry Division was a major military unit of the Wehrmacht .
Division history
The division was formed on November 15, 1943 in occupied Italy in Romagna in the Rimini - Ravenna - Forli area from parts of the 268th Infantry Division, which had been dissolved in Russia by Lieutenant General Heinrich Greiner , and the 52nd Infantry Division, which had also been dissolved, and to a lesser extent from parts of the 44th , 76th and 305th Infantry Divisions . Under the command of Greiner, it was initially subordinate to the 14th Army in Army Group C and used for coastal protection on the upper Adriatic coast . In December, she was near Cervia and Milano Marittima and carried out the construction of defensive positions on the coast.
After the Allies landed at Anzio in January 1944, the division was hastily relocated to the Anzio - Nettuno area. During the Allied breakout from the Anzio bridgehead at the end of May 1944, the division was in the Cisterna area . Then she was pushed back with the other German associations in the direction of the Alban Hills and fought in Velletri , on Monte Cavo and Rocca di Papa .
On her further retreat to the north, she passed Rome to the southeast. Withdrawn from the front, the division stayed in Tuscany in June / July 1944 to refresh . Due to the previous loss-making battles, the remnants of Grenadier Regiments 954 and 955 were disbanded and replaced by Grenadier Regiments 1059 and 1060 of the disbanded 92nd Infantry Division . In August she was moved to the defense line built on the Arno and fought there near Florence . In September she withdrew to the gothic position in the Apennines in the direction of the Futapass . At the end of October the division was located between Futapass and Bologna and was involved in fierce defensive battles near Zena, but was able to repel all further attacks by the 34th and 91st US infantry divisions in the Zenatal until the fighting came to a standstill due to the onset of winter.
Taken from the front, the division was again in Romagna in 1945 and was involved in defensive battles. The slow retreat to the north began in April. The division surrendered on May 2, 1945 in Ponte nelle Alpi to Western Allied troops and was taken prisoner of war .
War crimes
Members of various units of the division were involved in counter-partisan operations in several war crimes in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna from June to October 1944 . Including the 1059 Grenadier Regiment on the anti-partisan campaign on Monte Sole near Bologna between September 29 and October 5, 1944, better known as the Marzabotto massacre . The IV. Battalion of the Grenadier Regiment 1059, consisting of Russian volunteers, was involved in the attack on the Quercia district of the Marzabotto municipality on September 29, 1944, in which 17 civilians, including women and children, were killed.
According to the Atlante degli Stragi Naziste e Fasciste in Italia project, financed by the German Federal Government and led by a historians' commission, around 70 people were killed by members of the 362nd Infantry Division.
structure
| 1943 | 1944 |
|---|---|
| 954th Grenadier Regiment | - |
| Grenadier Regiment 955 | - |
| 956th Grenadier Regiment | 956th Grenadier Regiment |
| - | Grenadier Regiment 1059 (taken from the disbanded 92nd ID) |
| - | Grenadier Regiment 1060 (taken from the dissolved 92nd ID) |
| Division Fusilier Battalion 362 | |
| 362nd Artillery Regiment | |
| - | Panzerjäger -teilung 362 (taken from the disbanded 92nd ID) |
| Engineer Battalion 362 | |
| Divisional News Department 362 | |
| Divisional Supply Leader 362 | |
people
| Rank at that time | Surname | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant General | Heinrich Greiner | November 11, 1943 to December 31, 1944 |
| Major general | Max Reinwald | January 1, 1945 to February 1945 |
| Major general | Alois Weber | February 1945 to April 17, 1945 |
| Major general | Max Reinwald | April 17, 1945 until dissolution |
literature
- Samuel W. Mitcham : 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 2007. ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0 .
- Samuel W. Mitcham: Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of WWII and Their Commanders. Mechanicsburg, PA, United States: Stackpole Books 2007. ISBN 978-0-8117-3353-3 .
- Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945. Ninth volume. The land forces 281-370. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1974. ISBN 3-7648-0872-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d 362nd Infantry Division. In: portal.ehri-project.eu. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
- ↑ 362nd Infantry Division a Cervia. In: www.cerviaemilanomarittima.org. Retrieved October 31, 2019 (Italian).
- ^ Carlo Gentile : Itinerari di guerra: La presenza delle troupe tedesche nel Lazio occupato 1943-1944. Online publications of the German Historical Institute in Rome , Rome or JS 33 PDF
- ↑ Si esaurisce l'attacco degli Alleati verso Bologna e si la stabilizza Winter Line. In: www.storiaememoriadibologna.it. Retrieved October 31, 2019 (Italian).
- ↑ Quercia Marzabotto September 29, 1944. In: straginazifasciste.it. Retrieved October 30, 2019 (Italian).
- ^ Carlo Gentile: Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS in Partisan War: Italy 1943–1945. Schöningh, Paderborn 2012, ISBN 978-3-506-76520-8 . P. 239
- ↑ 362nd Infantry Division. In: straginazifasciste.it. Retrieved October 30, 2019 (Italian).
- ^ Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry divisions, named infantry divisions, and special divisions in World War II . Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0 , pp. 71 ( google.de [accessed October 31, 2019]).
