216th Infantry Division (Germany)
Encyclopedia
The 216th Infantry Division was created on 26 August 1939 by reorganizing several Border Defense and Army Reserve units from Lower Saxony, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Hannover. Organized under the pre-war infantry division "alter Art," structure, it consisted of three 3-battalion infantry regiments, an artillery regiment of four battalions, a combat engineer battalion, a signal battalion, and an antitank defense battalion, as well as division services. Total strength was approximately 17,200 men.
The 216th Infantry Division did not participate in the Invasion of Poland, since it was occupying defensive positions in the Ardennes Forest along the Westwall. It did take part in the invasion of the Low Countries and France in May and June 1940. When Operation Barbarossa
, the Invasion of the Soviet Union, began on June 22, 1941, the Division was performing occupation duties in France along the Channel Coast.
Following the success of the Soviet winter counteroffensive of December 1941, the Division was rushed to the Eastern Front as reinforcement and was soon split into several smaller battlegroups urgently needed for defending key localities. One of these battlegroups, formed from the 348th Infantry Regiment, was surrounded by the Soviet 10th Army in January 1942, outside of the town of Sukhinitchi. Against all odds, the regiment managed to hold out for months until relief forces arrived.
Thereafter followed over a year of positional warfare in Army Group Center, where the division took part in battles at Rshev, Briansk, Orel, Spass Demensk, and Gomel. In July 1943, the 216th Infantry Division participated in the Battle of Kursk
, where it sustained heavy casualties while fighting on the northern shoulder of the Kursk salient as part of Generalfeldmarschall Model's Ninth Army.
The division was disbanded on 17 November 1943 after suffering heavy casualties during the retreat to the Dnieper River Defensive Line. The division staff, most of Grenadier Regiment 348, the Artillery Regiment, Combat Engineer Battalion and supply units were moved to Belgium, where they were used to form the framework for the new 272nd Infantry Division
. Most of the combat troops remained behind in the Soviet Union and were grouped into Divisions-Group 216, formed on 12 November 1943 and assigned to the 102nd Infantry Division
.
Infantry Regiment 348
Infantry Regiment 396
Infantry Regiment 398
Artillery Regiment 216
Panzerabwehr/Schnelle Abteilung 216
Pionier (Combat Engineer) Battalion 216
Infantry-Nachrichten Abteilung 216
Infantry-Division Nachschubfuehrer 216
Feldersatz Battalion 216
The 216th Infantry Division did not participate in the Invasion of Poland, since it was occupying defensive positions in the Ardennes Forest along the Westwall. It did take part in the invasion of the Low Countries and France in May and June 1940. When Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, the Invasion of the Soviet Union, began on June 22, 1941, the Division was performing occupation duties in France along the Channel Coast.
Following the success of the Soviet winter counteroffensive of December 1941, the Division was rushed to the Eastern Front as reinforcement and was soon split into several smaller battlegroups urgently needed for defending key localities. One of these battlegroups, formed from the 348th Infantry Regiment, was surrounded by the Soviet 10th Army in January 1942, outside of the town of Sukhinitchi. Against all odds, the regiment managed to hold out for months until relief forces arrived.
Thereafter followed over a year of positional warfare in Army Group Center, where the division took part in battles at Rshev, Briansk, Orel, Spass Demensk, and Gomel. In July 1943, the 216th Infantry Division participated in the Battle of Kursk
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk took place when German and Soviet forces confronted each other on the Eastern Front during World War II in the vicinity of the city of Kursk, in the Soviet Union in July and August 1943. It remains both the largest series of armored clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka,...
, where it sustained heavy casualties while fighting on the northern shoulder of the Kursk salient as part of Generalfeldmarschall Model's Ninth Army.
The division was disbanded on 17 November 1943 after suffering heavy casualties during the retreat to the Dnieper River Defensive Line. The division staff, most of Grenadier Regiment 348, the Artillery Regiment, Combat Engineer Battalion and supply units were moved to Belgium, where they were used to form the framework for the new 272nd Infantry Division
272nd Infantry Division (Germany)
The 272nd Infantry Division was a Type 1944 infantry division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II, that was originally formed in December 1943...
. Most of the combat troops remained behind in the Soviet Union and were grouped into Divisions-Group 216, formed on 12 November 1943 and assigned to the 102nd Infantry Division
102nd Infantry Division (Germany)
-Organisation and history:The division was formed on 15 December 1940 in Wehrkreis II , in the 12th mobilisation wave, using elements of the 8th Infantry Division and the 28th Infantry Division....
.
Commanding officers
- Generalleutnant Hermann Böttcher 26 August 1939
- Generalleutnant Kurt Himer 8 September 1940
- General der Infanterie Werner Freiherr von und zu GilsaWerner von GilsaWerner Albrecht Freiherr von und zu Gilsa was a German officer and General of Infantry, whose last assignment was as Wehrmacht commandant of Dresden...
, 1 April 1941 - General der Infanterie Friedrich August SchackFriedrich August SchackFriedrich August Schack was a General of Infantry best known for his pyrrhic defense of Caen after the allied invasion, September 1944, and for his brief leadership of the LXXXI Army Corps defending Aachen and the Siegfried Line.-World War I:Schack enlisted in the army, 6th August 1914,...
, 7 May 1943 - Generalleutnant Egon von NeindorffEgon von NeindorffEgon von Neindorff was a Major General awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves for his defense of the German garrison at Tarnopol.-World War I and Interwar Period:...
, 3 October 1943 - Generalmajor Gustav GihrGustav GihrGustav Gihr was the German commander of the 707th Infantry division during the Bobruisk Offensive.-World War I:...
, 20 October 1943
Order of battle
Division HeadquartersInfantry Regiment 348
Infantry Regiment 396
Infantry Regiment 398
Artillery Regiment 216
Panzerabwehr/Schnelle Abteilung 216
Pionier (Combat Engineer) Battalion 216
Infantry-Nachrichten Abteilung 216
Infantry-Division Nachschubfuehrer 216
Feldersatz Battalion 216
See also
- Division (military)Division (military)A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
, Military unit, List of German divisions in WWII - HeerGerman ArmyThe German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
, WehrmachtWehrmachtThe Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:... - 272nd Infantry Division272nd Infantry Division (Germany)The 272nd Infantry Division was a Type 1944 infantry division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II, that was originally formed in December 1943...
- 272nd Volksgrenadier Division272nd Volksgrenadier Division (Germany)The 272nd Volksgrenadier Division , was a German Army volksgrenadier division formed following the defeats of the Normandy Campaign in 1944...