Storm Division Rhodes

The Sturm-Division Rhodes of the army of the German Wehrmacht was set up on May 31, 1943 during the Second World War from parts of the 22nd Infantry Division and the former 164th Infantry Division on the then Italian-occupied Greek Dodecanese island of Rhodes . Lieutenant General Ulrich Kleemann was appointed its commander . The association called Sturm-Division, but only strong in brigades, consisted only of the following units:

Grenadier Regiment Rhodes - Fusilier Battalion Rhodes (only 1944) - Panzer Detachment Rhodes - one flak, engineer and intelligence company each. So-called army troops and units of the 999th light Africa division were also temporarily subordinate : Panzer Reconnaissance Department 999 - III. and IV. Dept. Artillery Regiment 999 - supply units 999

Larger parts of the division were flown out in September 1944 with Ju 52 from Rhodes to Saloniki and on to Belgrade in September 1944, where they were largely destroyed in the fight against the Soviets and the Tito partisans. Only remnants went up in the Brandenburg Panzer Grenadier Division . The parts that remained on the island were led by the "Commandant East Aegean" "Major General Otto Wagener until the surrender to the British on May 9, 1945.

literature

• Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS 1939–1945. Volume 13 pp. 204-205; Volume 14, pp. 207-209, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1978/80
• Samuel W. Mitcham (2007a). 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. ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0 .
• Mitcham, Samuel W., Jr. (2007b). Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of WWII and Their Commanders. Mechanicsburg, PA, United States: Stackpole Books, ISBN 978-0-8117-3353-3 .