334th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht): Difference between revisions
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== Bibliography == |
== Bibliography == |
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* Werner Haupt: ''Die deutschen Infanterie-Divisionen'', 3 Bände, Band 3: Aufstellungsjahr 1939–1945, Dörfler Verlag 2005, ISBN |
* Werner Haupt: ''Die deutschen Infanterie-Divisionen'', 3 Bände, Band 3: Aufstellungsjahr 1939–1945, Dörfler Verlag 2005, {{ISBN|978-3-89555-274-8}}. |
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* Mitcham, Samuel W., Jr. (2007). ''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. pg. 40–42, ISBN |
* Mitcham, Samuel W., Jr. (2007). ''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. pg. 40–42, {{ISBN|978-0-8117-3437-0}}. |
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* Peter Young: ''Der Grosse Atlas zum II. Weltkrieg'' Südwest Verlag, München 1974, pg. 122–130. |
* Peter Young: ''Der Grosse Atlas zum II. Weltkrieg'' Südwest Verlag, München 1974, pg. 122–130. |
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Revision as of 17:50, 25 March 2021
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2016) |
| 334th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
 Divisional insignia | |
| Active | November 1942 – May 1945 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Bamberg |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Friedrich Weber |
The 334th Infantry Division (German: 334. Infanterie-Division) was a German Army infantry division in World War II. Originally formed in November 1942, it surrendered to the Allies at the conclusion of the Tunisian Campaign in May 1943. The division was reconstituted from the 80th Infantry Division, which had only just been formed a few days prior. It spent the remainder of the war serving on the Italian Front.
Operational history
The 334th Infantry Division was set up on November 25, 1942 as "Kriemhilde" unit of the military districts XIII, XVII and XVIII at the Grafenwoehr training area.[1] It was unusual that their three regiments (754, 755, 756)[2] were drawn up from three different military districts (754/XIII – Nurnburg, 755/XVII – Wien, 756/XVIII – Salzburg).[2] It had two infantry regiments (754 and 755) and a mountain infantry regiment (756).[2] The division was already destined for a deployment in Africa at this point in time. In January 1943 the division was transferred by ship from Naples to Africa and assigned to the 5th Panzer Army in Tunisia, in a time where the supply ports of the Axis, as well as its forces, where threatened to be encircled in the winter of 1942/43. Its lead elements of the 754. Infanterie-Regiment arrived in Bizerta in late December of 1942 under the command of Oberst Friedrich Weber (promoted to Generalmajor on Jan.1,1943),[2] with the rest of the Division arriving by January 15,1943.[2]
Together with the 10th Panzer Division and the Division “von Manteuffel”, they successfully defended Tunis and northern Tunisia in the “Run for Tunis” in January 1943 as part of the “Company Eilbote” (Unternehmen Eilbote). Between February and March the division ("Kampfgruppe Krause") stayed in the northern Tunisian mountains and remained continually engaged, suffering heavy losses amid heavy fighting, in a series of fierce and costly engagements that cost the division dearly in casualties that it could not replace.[2] The 334th was involved in the storming of Djebel Manson. In late April 1943, “Gruppe Audorff” of the division participated in an attack on the heights of Medjez el Bab. After a week of bloody fighting, the 756.Geb.Inf.Rgt. retired from the heights it had recently regained and moved back towards Tunis. The 334th Division was separated from the rest of the army with the volunteer organization “Phalange africaine” of the Vichy regime, which had been assigned to the Division's 754.Inf.Rgt.(mot.),[2] and surrendered to the Allied troops in the Beja area on May 8, 1943, a few days before the fall of Tunis in the Bizerta bridgehead.
After its destruction, the division was reorganized in Bordeaux,[1] southern France, in June 3, 1943. Contrary to the first list, this time all of their soldiers came from the military district of Nuremberg (Wehrkries XIII).[1][2] On October 20, 1943, Generalleutnant Walter Scheller took over the Division that was brought to Italy, after some 3 months of intensive training.[2] Used by Army Group C, it was part of the LXXVI Panzer Corps deployed in the sector of the 10th Army on the Ligurian coast in the Genoa area.[3] In early 1944, the Division was part of the LI. Mountain Corps (LI. Gebirgs-Armeekorps) relocated south of Pescara to the Gustav Line between Orsogna and Guardiagrele east of the Majella massif. In January the division was assigned the Ost-Btl. 555 as III./755;[4][5] temporarily renamed Stab III and 9.-12. Kp. Grenadier-Rgt. 755 in early 1944 (the FpN change was not entered until 17 Apr 44).[5] In January 1945 the Ost companies were removed from Gren.Rgt. 755, re-designated Russ. Btl. 555 and assigned to 14th Army in Italy as an independent unit.[5] It remained in Italy to the end of the war in northern Italy.[5]
Parts of the division were used at Pontecorvo in the Battle of Monte Cassino on the course of the rivers Liri and Sacco. After the fall of the Gustav Line, the division withdrew to Umbria. On the Trasimeno Line (or Albert Line), the 334th was in positions southwest of Castiglione del Lago on Lake Trasimeno. After the collapse of the Trasimeno Line in the first days of July 1944, the division was involved in retreating battles in the Val di Chiana and on the Pratomagno south of Arezzo. Then the division was back in Genoa for rest and refitting.[6][7]
From the end of July to the end of August, the 334th was deployed in the Reggello-Pelago area southeast of Florence to fight partisans. At the end of August, the division was moved to the area north of Prato. Understrength,[2] the division was assigned to the XIV Panzer Corps in October 1944, and took part in the defensive battles in the Bologna area, with an effective strength of only some 2600 troops,[2] where it was subordinate to the I Parachute Corps from time to time (August 1944 and February 1945).[1][8] In April 1945 the remnants of the division surrendered to the Americans of the US 5th Army in the Dolomites.[7][4]
The divisional stocks relocated to Liegnitz reached Thuringia in their entirety evacuated by train at the beginning of 1945, where they were captured by American troops in April 1945 and brought to the United States via Frankfurt am Main.[4] There they were recorded again and - with the exception of the Ib documents - filmed. From 1962 they were returned to the Federal Republic of Germany. The documents first came to the document center of the Military History Research Office, from where they were handed over to the Federal Archives-Military Archives after they were closed at the beginning of 1968. This file material is supplemented by captured documents from the Western theater of war, by individual files from other groups of documents formed in the USA, in some cases with subject matter (e.g. "EAP") and by donations from private hands, including post-war elaborations by the study group of the US Historical Division.[4]
War crimes
Members of various units of the division were involved in several war crimes in Italy between February and September 1944, with up to thirty civilians executed in each incident.[9] Most of the victims were recorded in an anti-partisan operation north of Prato, in Figline on September 6, 1944 by members of the 756th Grenadier Regiment, 30 people were shot or hanged on the orders of Major Karl Laqua.[10]
According to the Atlante degli Stragi Naziste e Fasciste in Italia project, which was financed by the German Federal Government and led by a commission of historians, around 100 people were killed by members of the 334th Infantry Division.[9]
Organization
Structure of the division:[11]
- Headquarters
- 754th Grenadier Regiment
- 755th Grenadier Regiment
- 756th Mountain Grenadier Regiment
- 334th Artillery Regiment
- 334th Fusilier Battalion
- 334th Engineer Battalion
- 334th Signal Battalion
- 334th Tank Destroyer Battalion
- 334th Field Replacement Battalion
- 334th Divisional Supply Group
Commanding officers
- Generalmajor Friedrich Weber (15 November 1942 – 15 April 1943)
- Generalmajor Fritz Krause (15 April – 12 May 1943)
- General der Artillerie Heinz Ziegler (24 May – 20 October 1943)
- Generalleutnant Walter Scheller (20 October – 27 November 1943)
- Generalleutnant Hellmuth Böhlke (1 February 1944 – April 1945)
Bibliography
- Werner Haupt: Die deutschen Infanterie-Divisionen, 3 Bände, Band 3: Aufstellungsjahr 1939–1945, Dörfler Verlag 2005, ISBN 978-3-89555-274-8.
- Mitcham, Samuel W., Jr. (2007). 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. pg. 40–42, ISBN 978-0-8117-3437-0.
- Peter Young: Der Grosse Atlas zum II. Weltkrieg Südwest Verlag, München 1974, pg. 122–130.
Notes
- ^ a b c d "334. Infanterie-Division". Lexikon der Wehrmacht. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "334. Infanterie-Division". Feldgrau: German Armed Forces Research 1918-1945. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Schramm, Percy Ernst; Hubatsch, Walther; Verlag für Wehrwesen, Bernard; Verlag für Wehrwesen, Graefe (1963). Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht (Wehrmachtführungsstab). Band III: 1. Januar 1943 - 31. Dezember 1943. Frankfurt am Main: Kriegsgliederungen. pp. 262, 1402.
- ^ a b c d "334. Infanterie-Division". Portal Ehri Project. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d "Osttruppen units in the Wehrmacht". Axis History. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Lo sfondamento della linea Albert, 2 luglio 1944". combattentiereduci.it. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Gentile, Carlo. "Itinerari di guerra: La presenza delle truppe tedesche nel Lazio occupato 1943-1944" (PDF). Online-Publikationen des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom: 32.
- ^ Schramm, Percy Ernst; Verlag für Wehrwesen, Bernard; Verlag für Wehrwesen, Graefe (1965). Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht, Band IV: 1944/5. Frankfurt am Main: Kriegsgliederungen. pp. 1881, 1892, 1902.
- ^ a b "334. Infanterie-Division". Stragi Nazi-Fasciste (in Italian). Atlas of Nazi and Fascist Massacres in Italy. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Yada-Mc Neal, Stephan D. (2018). Places of shame - German war crimes in Italy 1943-1945. Norderstedt: Books on Demand. p. 132. ISBN 978-3-7448-5095-7. OCLC 1187230524.
- ^ Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). German order of battle: 291st-999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry Divisions, and Special Divisions in WWII. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-8117-3416-5. OCLC 122526978.
References
- Samuel W. Mitcham (2007). German Order of Battle. Volume One: 1st – 290th Infantry Divisions in WWII. PA; United States of America: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3416-5.