83rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
|
83rd Infantry Division |
|
|---|---|
| active | December 1, 1939 to April 26, 1945 |
| Country |
.svg){kind=small} German Empire
|
| Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
| Armed forces | army |
| Branch of service | infantry |
| Type | Infantry Division |
| structure | structure |
| Strength | 15,000 debit |
| Installation site | Mountains |
| Second World War | Battle of Rzhev |
| Commanders | |
| list of | Commanders |
The 83rd Infantry Division (ID) was a major military unit of the Wehrmacht .
Division history
Areas of application
- Poland: December 1939 to May 1940
- France: May to December 1940
- Germany: December 1940 to January 1941
- France: January to December 1941
- Eastern Front, Central Section: December 1941 to October 1943
- Eastern Front, Northern Section: October 1943 to October 1944
- Courland Kessel and West Prussia: October 1944 to April 1945
The 83rd Infantry Division was deployed as part of the 6th wave of deployment on December 1, 1939 at the Bergen military training area. The 13th Company received heavy grenade launchers . The division was not yet used between August 1940 and February 1941.
In the spring of 1942 the 83rd Infantry Division was relocated to the Eastern Front and, after several operations, fought against partisans in the Battle of Velikiye Luki . The IR 277 under Lieutenant Colonel von Saß was locked up in Velikiye Luki for twelve months and was destroyed there. On January 30, 1943, there was an organizational change by adding the GR 277 and the III. Department / AR 193 dissolved and replaced by GR 547 and I. Department / AR 328. Due to heavy losses, the III. Battalions of the IR disbanded and the remnants of the GR 277 and 251 merged. In October 1943, the 83rd Infantry Division was subordinated to the 16th Army. Between 1943 and 1944 the division fought in numerous defensive battles of Army Group Center and North.
In June 1944, the entire GR 251 had to be rebuilt. A reorganization took place in January 1945 on the Tucheler Heide near Danzig . On February 17, 1945, the GR 257 was completely destroyed when it erupted from the Graudenz basin and replaced by the GR 412 on March 28, 1945. On April 26, 1945, the remnants of the 83rd Infantry Division surrendered to the Red Army on the East Prussian Hela peninsula .
Outline 1939
- 251st Infantry Regiment
- 257th Infantry Regiment
- 277th Infantry Regiment
- Artillery Regiment 183
- Cycling squadron 183
- Anti-tank department 183
- Engineer Battalion 183
- News Department 183
- Infantry Division Supply Leader 183
Commanders
| period of service | Rank | Surname |
|---|---|---|
| December 1, 1939 to December 10, 1940 | Major general | Kurt from the Chevallerie |
| December 10, 1940 to February 3, 1942 | Major General / Lieutenant General | Alexander von Zulow |
| February 4, 1942 to March 16, 1942 | Colonel | Fritz-Georg von Rappard |
| March 16 to November 2, 1942 | Colonel / Lieutenant General | Adolf Sinzinger |
| November 2, 1942 to March 1, 1944 | Lieutenant General | Theodor Scherer |
| March 1 to June 29, 1944 | Colonel / Major General / Lieutenant General | Wilhelm Heun |
| June 29 to August 22, 1944 | Colonel | Heinrich Götz |
| August 22, 1944 to March 27, 1945 | Lieutenant General | Wilhelm Heun |
| March 27 to April 26, 1945 | Major general | Maximilian Wengler |
| April 26, 1945 until surrender | Colonel | Hellmuth Raatz |
War crimes allegations
In 1946, 8 members of the 277 Infantry Regiment, including their former regimental commander Eduard Freiherr von Saß , were hanged in Velikiye Luki after being sentenced by a military tribunal of the Red Army . The allegation was war crimes and crimes against the population in Velikiye Luki and in the anti- partisan operation "Greif" in the Vitebsk area .
literature
- Mitcham, Samuel W., Jr. (2007). German Order of Battle. Volume One: 1st - 290th Infantry Divisions in WWII. PA; United States of America: Stackpole Books. Pp. 139 + 140, ISBN 978-0-8117-3416-5 .
- Reinhard Tiemann: History of the 83rd Infantry Division 1939–1945 , Podzun Verlag, Bad Nauheim 1960.
- Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945. Volume 6. The Land Forces 71-130 . 2nd Edition. Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1979, ISBN 3-7648-1172-2 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Andreas Weigelt, Klaus-Dieter Müller, Thomas Schaarschmidt, Mike Schmeitzner (eds.): Death sentences of Soviet military tribunals against Germans (1944–1947) , Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 581; Excerpt from books.google.de
