Greater Germany division

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Infantry Division Großdeutschland (motorized)
Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-712-0497-24, Romania, officers of the Div. »Greater Germany« .jpg

Two officers in Romania (1944)
active March 12, 1942 to May 8, 1945
Country Flag of Germany (1935–1945) .svg German Empire
Armed forces Wehrmacht
Armed forces army
Branch of service Infantry / Panzer Grenadiers
Type Infantry Division / Panzer Grenadier Division
Installation site Hiking training area near Zielenzig (Brandenburg)
insignia
Troop registration "Greater Germany" division (Wehrmacht) .svg
Sleeve stripes Cuffti2.gif
Epaulette hunter WMacht H PzGrenDiv "GD" OR4-1 teams h 1945.svg

The Großdeutschland Division was a major unit of the Wehrmacht in World War II .

history

Short story
  • April 1939 - naming of the infantry regiment "Greater Germany"
  • afterwards - reclassification in infantry regiment "Greater Germany" (motorized)
  • April to May 1942 - grew up to the infantry division "Greater Germany" (motorized)
  • June 1943 - renaming to Panzergrenadier Division "Greater Germany"

Emergence

The roots of the Greater Germany Associations lie with the Berlin Guard Regiment and parts of the Infantry Training Regiment of the Döberitz Army School .

On July 1, 1939, the Berlin Guard Regiment was given the name “Greater Germany” infantry regiment . From this and the Infantry Training Regiment Dallgow-Döberitz , the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland (mot.) Was set up, which consisted of four battalions . In August, the newly established association had to hand over a “ Führer-Escort Command ”, whose task and one of its successor associations was to guard the Führer’s headquarters . After the unit had been relocated to the Grafenwöhr military training area in October 1939 to further merge and complete the reorganization, the new regiment was relocated again in November 1939 to the Westerwald in Montabaur and Westerburg to the reserve of Army Group A , where it was at the same time as the XIX. Army corps under General Heinz Guderian was subordinated.

War effort

French and Balkan campaign

War volunteers for the Greater Germany Division (1943)

The infantry regiment “Greater Germany” was first used in combat in 1940. The regiment took part in the French campaign under changing subordinates of different tank divisions , initially as part of the XIX. Army corps of General der Panzertruppe Guderian . The regiment advanced to Sedan and Dunkirk and was involved in the breakthrough of the Weygand Line in early June 1940 and shortly afterwards as part of the von Kleist Panzer Group in the capture of Lyon.

In 1941 the unit was transported by rail from France to Vienna, deployed in the Balkan campaign in April of that year , then relocated south of Warsaw and made available in the Żelechów area as an army reserve of the 2nd Panzer Army . From here the regiment saw the start of the attack on the Soviet Union .

Campaign against the Soviet Union

Battle of Brjansk - autumn 1941
Rasputiza - The mud period brings the German advance on Moscow to a standstill
Not all soldiers were so well equipped for the winter

The 2nd Panzer Army, led by Colonel General Heinz Guderian (actual name at this time, Panzergruppe 2 ) was the southern armored wedge of Army Group Center , whose main thrust was aimed at Moscow.

As an army reserve, the Greater Germany Regiment did not cross the border at Brest-Litovsk until June 25, three days after the start of the campaign . The first stations on the advance were Pruschany , Ružany , Slonim , Baranowitschi , Stoubzy and Kamienka. The regiment's units reached Minsk on July 2nd , after which they crossed the Berezina River at Berasino . On July 9, the Dnepr was crossed at Mogilew , followed by fighting at Schklou , Augustowo and Bely. In the notorious Jelnja bend near Kruglowka, Voroshilo and Ushakovo, the regiment had to endure the toughest defensive battles from the end of July. This Jelnja offensive was an attempt by the Red Army to break open the pocket near Smolensk and to relieve its own units enclosed there .

After Adolf Hitler had for the time being given up on the strategic goal of Moscow against the resistance of his generals in mid-August, the Greater Germany regiment was replaced by infantry units of the 2nd Panzer Army advancing. Together with other units of the 2nd Panzer Army, there was then a push to the south, from which at the beginning of September the Battle of Kiev developed in the area of Army Group South . The regiment advanced over the Desna bridgehead near Novgorod-Seversky and took Gluchow . As it continued to advance, it became involved in fierce fighting at Konotop in the second week of September.

After the end of the kettle battle for Kiev, the focus of the fighting shifted to Army Group Center, which again received the order to reach the old destination Moscow before the onset of winter ( Operation Taifun ). The spearhead of the southernmost pincer arm again formed the 2nd Panzer Army. While the successful double battle at Vyazma and Bryansk developed in the first days of the company , heavy rains led to the dreaded Rasputitsa , which largely paralyzed the advance for several weeks. The Greater Germany regiment reached the Tula area via Mzensk , Tschern and Plawsk during this period . In the vicinity of this besieged city, it took over security tasks until the end of November. In early December it was then pulled out over Wenew for a push to the northeast . It was supposed to be the most easterly point that the Greater Germany units reached in this war. These fights took place at temperatures well below freezing. Failures due to frostbite increased.

The final turning point in the Battle of Moscow brought the Soviet counter-offensive from December 5th, which also hit the Regiment Greater Germany. On the night of December 7th there were the first skirmishes with the fresh Siberian troops, which were excellently trained and equipped for winter combat. After Colonel-General Guderian had ordered his tank army to withdraw on his own authority, this began for the units of the Greater Germany Infantry Regiment in the morning hours of December 8th.

Over the next few weeks, the regiment's units withdrew further and further west. The combat strength of the companies dropped to that of trains , so that units had to be merged. The city of Mtsensk, known from the advance, was passed by the decimated Greater Germany units on the morning of December 22nd. In the vicinity of Bolchow the remnants of the regiment were incorporated into the Oka bridge head. After a few days of rest, the Red Army repeatedly attacked the bridgehead, inflicting even more losses on the decimated units. On January 20, these were removed from the defensive position and used until February 21 for local attack companies in villages such as Jagodnaja or Gorodok, which were located in the Belew area. As a result of these loss-making battles, the fighting strength of the once so large association sank to three officers and 30 NCOs and men, almost 1,000 men had died in the past few months and around 3,000 were wounded.

Use as a division

In April and May 1942 the regiment was expanded to the Greater Germany Infantry Division (motorized) , and the previous regiment commander, Colonel Hoernlein, was promoted to the first division commander and at the same time to major general. The new division was immediately under the German summer offensive at XXXXVIII. Armored Corps used. The attack took place on June 28 from the Shchigry area via the Tim section to the upper Don , where an eastern bridgehead at Voronezh could be formed on July 6 . Then the advance to the lower Don took place, on July 16 the place Tatsinskaya was taken and on July 18 a bridgehead was formed at Bronitzkij on the Donets . The industrial city of Shakhty was captured and the Manych section reached. Late summer was marked by the fighting for Rzhev . At the beginning of August the division was withdrawn and transferred to the central section of the 9th Army as a reserve . On September 9th it was released by Hitler for a counterattack and attacked on September 10th. The Red Army responded with the combined use of artillery, launchers, mines and especially many snipers. The Großdeutschland division suffered "high and extremely high" losses, while the Panzer division lost 80% of its vehicles. The general staff officer Hans Meier-Welcker wrote in a letter dated October 3, 1942:

“Some time ago, a division that was 'used to victory', which is often mentioned in newspapers and on the radio, came to our area and experienced its 'blue miracle' here. Her counterattack, which she approached so confidently, quickly got stuck, and the troops say that they have never experienced anything like this in this country. "

In this room the division in the area of XXIII. and XXVII. Army Corps spent the remainder of 1942 and earned the name of "fire brigade" during the Soviet Operation Mars in the Lutschessa Valley and Olenino. From now on, the Greater Germany Infantry Division was always deployed at focal points on the front.

The year 1943 was initially associated with the completion of operations in the area south of Rzhev for the division. On January 9th, the order to be transported to Novy Oskol arrived. The defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad and further attacks by Russian troops ( Operation Ostrogoschsk-Rossosh ) resulted in a 100–150 km long gap in the front in January 1943. With the aim of stopping the advance of Russian troops and the retreat of Italian and Hungarian troops together with SS divisions from the end of January 1943, the division withdrew along the runway to the Kharkov area by mid-February 1943. Here the division took part in the Battle of Kharkov in February / March 1943 . In June the infantry division was renamed the Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland . The official name of the association was Panzergrenadier Division, but the structure was a Panzer Division, which was also generously equipped with the latest equipment. In the summer it was used in the battle of Kursk . In August, the division was deployed again in the Kharkov area, when it came there in the course of the Belgorod-Kharkov operation to the decisive fourth battle for Kharkov, the attack by the Red Army to retake. During the retreat, she participated in the scorched earth tactic. From September 6 to 28, 1943, she blew up 1,260 agricultural machines and 165 grain and oil mills. It drove 9,268 head of cattle, took 1,393 tons of grain and deported 13,627 civilians.

An attack by the division on the Eastern Front in August 1944

The division was deployed until July 1944 in the southern area of ​​the Eastern Front, including in the Dnepr bend, near Krivoy Rog and Kirowohrad , then near the Cherkassy pocket . After the retreat battles over the Bug and through Bessarabia, battles followed in the east of Romania, including at Târgu Frumos . In the summer of 1944, the division, which was filled with replacement weapons and weapons, was transferred to Lithuania in order to close the front gap between Army Groups North and Central.

After attacks at Libau , Autz , and Tukkum , defensive and retreat fights followed in October as far as the enclosed Memel . After the Battle of Memel , the division was evacuated across the Baltic Sea and replenished with replacements and material in East Prussia. The division was destroyed in the defensive and retreat battles in East Prussia by the end of April. Only remnants were able to escape over the Fresh Spit . These 1,000 or so men were evacuated to Bornholm and Fehmarn , where they saw the end of the war.

Special badges

Sleeve stripes "Greater Germany" in old Latin script

In order to emphasize the elite status of the association, it was allowed to wear special badges; the best known was a lettering that depicted the word "Greater Germany" in Sütterlin script (later in old Latin script). This sleeve strip was worn twelve centimeters above the sleeve base. Since the association belonged to the Wehrmacht and not to the Waffen-SS , the soldiers wore the cuff on their right sleeve. Another special character was an interwoven "GD" that was attached to the epaulets. Longer collar braids were also provided.

War crimes

During the French campaign , numerous black African members of the French army, so-called Tirailleurs sénégalais , who fell into the hands of the Greater Germany infantry regiment , were murdered. There is evidence of two massacres of black African soldiers and their European officers. On June 10, 1940, at least 150 Tirailleurs were murdered in the Erquinvillers area on the march to Montdidier . On June 19 and 20, 1940 there was a series of massacres in the Chasselay area , in which the regiment and the SS Totenkopf division murdered around 100 Tirailleurs and their officers.

The division also committed war crimes during the Balkan campaign in Yugoslavia. On the night of April 20-21, 1941, partisans presumably shot and killed a soldier from a supply company of the SS division Das Reich in Panvevo and seriously wounded another. Soldiers from the Greater Germany Division and the Waffen SS arbitrarily arrested around 100 civilians. The local commander, the city commander Lieutenant Colonel Fritz Bandelow of the Greater Germany Division, initiated a military court case, which was presided over by SS-Sturmbannführer Rudolf Hoffmann as judge. The court sentenced 36 prisoners to death, including a 15-year-old boy. According to an eyewitness, the procedures were improper. The defendants were therefore not given the opportunity to defend themselves. On April 21, 1941, the first four civilians were shot. The following day, 18 victims were hanged in a cemetery and 14 others were shot on the cemetery wall by a firing squad from the Großdeutschland regiment of the Wehrmacht.

structure

Reinforced infantry regiment (motorized) Greater Germany

Beginning on October 1, 1939, the Greater Germany Infantry Regiment was reorganized into a motorized infantry regiment. After the French campaign, further incorporations of units were made in 1940, so that one spoke of the reinforced infantry regiment (motorized) Greater Germany . As the following breakdown shows, at the beginning of the Russian campaign the association had the strength of a brigade rather than a conventional regiment:

The following reinforcement troops were also assigned to the regiment:

  • Artillery Division 400
  • Supply troops 400

Panzergrenadier Division (officially from June 23, 1943)

  • Panzer Grenadier Regiment Greater Germany
  • Panzer Fusilier Regiment Greater Germany
  • Panzer Regiment Greater Germany
  • Tank Reconnaissance Department Greater Germany
  • Panzerjäger Department Greater Germany
  • Assault Gun Department Greater Germany
  • Panzer Artillery Regiment Greater Germany
  • Army anti-aircraft cartillery department Greater Germany
  • Panzer Pioneer Battalion Greater Germany
  • Panzer News Department Greater Germany

== Commanders ==

Colonel Lorenz

Well-known members of the division

References

Web links

Commons : Division Greater Germany  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

See also

literature

  • Thomas McGuirl, Remy Spezzano: History of the Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland , ISBN 3-89555-033-7 .
  • Horst Scheibert: Panzer Grenadier Division Greater Germany and its sister associations , ISBN 3-89555-311-5 .
  • Helmuth Spaeter: The missions of the Panzer Grenadier Division "Greater Germany" , ISBN 3-89555-089-2 .
  • Helmuth Spaeter: History of the Panzer Corps Greater Germany , In 3 volumes, antiquarian.
  • Rolf Stoves: The armored and motorized large German formations , ISBN 3-7909-0279-9 .
  • Gordon Williamson: German Army Elite Units 1939-45 , ISBN 1-84176-405-1 .
  • Dr. Hans Heinz Rehfeld: With the elite association of the Greater Germany Army deep in the vastness of Russia . Verlagshaus Würzburg, Würzburg, 2nd edition 2009. ISBN 978-3-88189-773-0 . (Diary about the operations, attacks and retreats, unvarnished report on everyday war life with the defeated, prisoners, fallen and wounded).
  • Guy Sajer : Because there was great agony these days: Report from a forgotten soldier . German Book Association, Stuttgart; Hamburg 1970 (French: Le soldat oublié . Translated by Wolfgang Libal).
  • Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945. Volume 14. The Land Forces. Name associations. The air force. Flying bandages. Flak deployment in the Reich 1943–1945 . Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1980, ISBN 3-7648-1111-0 , p. 94 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  • Ludger Tewes : The Panzer Grenadier Division "Greater Germany" in the campaign against the Soviet Union , Verlag Klartext, Essen 2020, ISBN 978-3-8375-2089-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ludger Tewes, Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland, pp. 35–37: Army Ordinance Sheet 1939 Part A, Sheet 7.
  2. ↑ a b c Peter Schmitz and Klaus-Jürgen Thies: The troop numbers of the associations and units of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS and their missions in the Second World War 1939–1945. , P. 855 ISBN 3-7648-1498-5 .
  3. ↑ Hans Heinz Rehfeldt: With the elite group of the army "Greater Germany" deep in the vastness of Russia. Würzburg 4th edition 2013, pp. 21–29.
  4. ↑ Hans Heinz Rehfeldt: With the elite group of the army "Greater Germany" deep in the vastness of Russia. Würzburg 4th edition 2013, pp. 30–50.
  5. ↑ Hans Heinz Rehfeldt: With the elite group of the army "Greater Germany" deep in the vastness of Russia. Würzburg 4th edition 2013, p. 51.
  6. ↑ Hans Heinz Rehfeldt: With the elite group of the army "Greater Germany" deep in the vastness of Russia. Würzburg 4th edition 2013, pp. 52–102.
  7. ↑ Hans Heinz Rehfeldt: With the elite group of the army "Greater Germany" deep in the vastness of Russia. Würzburg 4th edition 2013, pp. 103–117.
  8. ↑ Tewes, p. 196 ff.
  9. ↑ Hans Meier-Welcker : Notes of a General Staff Officer . Freiburg 1983, p. 175.
  10. ↑ Hans Heinz Rehfeldt: With the elite group of the army "Greater Germany" deep in the vastness of Russia. Würzburg 2nd edition 2009, pp. 257–267.
  11. ^ Tewes, Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland, pp. 255–335, colored map from the Center for Social and Military History of the Bundeswehr (ZMSBw) p. 1275.
  12. ^ Tewes, Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland, pp. 319–322.
  13. ^ Tewes, Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland, pp. 335–360, pp. 1147–1162, colored map from ZMSBw p. 1276.
  14. ^ Report of the evacuation command of the Greater Germany Division. Quoted in Tewes, p. 404 f.
  15. ^ Tewes, Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland, pp. 513–725, colored maps from ZMSBw pp. 1279–1288.
  16. ^ Tewes, Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland, pp. 43–44.
  17. ^ Raffael Scheck: Hitler's African victims. The German Army massacres of Black French soldiers in 1940. Cambridge UP 2006, ISBN 978-0-521-85799-4 , here especially pp. 124–126 and 154–157; German: Hitler's African victims. The Wehrmacht massacre of black French soldiers. Association A, Berlin 2009. Review by Bernhard Schmid, in Dschungel , supplement to jungle world Jan. 14, 2010, pp. 2–6 ( content in English ).
  18. ↑ Tewes, Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland, pp. 46–47.
  19. ↑ Hamburg Institute for Social Research : The German army and genocide: crimes against war prisoners, Jews and other civilians in the East, 1939-1944. Transl. from the German by Scott Abbott with ed. oversight by Paula Bradish and the Hamburg Inst. for Social Research, New Press, New York 1999. p. 42
  20. ↑ Hamburg Institute for Social Research (ed.): Crimes of the Wehrmacht. Dimensions of the War of Extermination 1941–1944. Hamburger Edition , ISBN 3-930908-74-3 , pp. 536-549.
  21. ↑ Tewes, Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland, pp. 97–121, diagram p. 1273.
  22. ^ Peter Schmitz and Klaus-Jürgen Thies: The troop numbers of the associations and units of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS and their deployments in the Second World War 1939–1945. ISBN 3-7648-1498-5 .
  23. ↑ Hans Heinz Rehfeldt: With the elite group of the army "Greater Germany" deep in the vastness of Russia. Würzburg 2nd edition 2009, pp. 115–116.
  24. ^ Tewes, Die Panzergrenadierdivision Grossdeutschland, pp. 772–811 personnel lists.