The 113th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Wehrmacht in World War II.

History

The division was created on 10 December 1940 in

Grafenwöhr Grafenwöhr (, Northern Bavarian: ''Groafawehr'') is a town in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in the region of the Upper Palatinate () in eastern Bavaria, Germany. It is widely known for the United States Army military installation an ...

. It participated in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

and the

Battle of Kiev (1941) The First Battle of Kiev was the German name for the major battle that resulted in an encirclement of Red Army, Soviet troops in the vicinity of Kiev during World War II, the capital and most populous city of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Re ...

, before being sent to Serbia for anti-partisan operations. After the defeat in the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

, the division was rushed back to Russia to help stop the Soviet counter-offensive.
In 1942, the division participated in the

Second Battle of Kharkov The Second Battle of Kharkov or Operation Fredericus was an Axis powers, Axis counter-offensive in the region around Kharkov against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted 12–28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front (World War II), Easter ...

Case Blue Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the ''Wehrmacht'' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of Baku ( Azerb ...

and the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

, where it was annihilated. The division was reformed on 21 March 1943 in

occupied France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western France. This so-called ' was established in June 19 ...

. From 1 June 1943, it was relocated to the hinterland, where retaliatory actions against French partisans were carried out. On 20 July, the 113th Infantry Division was sent back to Russia, to take over a section of the "Buffalo Position" near

Rzhev Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: Hist ...

as part of Army Group Center. On 7 August, the Red Army attacked the division at the start of the Smolensk operation. The mostly inexperienced soldiers of the division withdrew in panic, so that the battle-hardened

18th Panzer Grenadier Division The 18th Infantry Division () was formed on 1 October 1934 as Infantry Command III ( Infanterieführer III) in Liegnitz and renamed the 18th Infantry Division on 15 October 1935. Mobilized in August 1939, it participated in the Invasion of Pola ...

had to be brought in to rectify the situation. In the following battles, the troops of the 113th Infantry Division continued to suffer high losses and were mostly subordinated to the neighboring divisions. Due to the low combat value of the division, it was disbanded on 2 November 1943. The remains of the division were transferred to the Divisions-Gruppe 113 of the 337th Infantry Division after the Battle of Nevel in November 1943.

Organization

Structure of the division: * Headquarters * 260th Infantry Regiment * 261st Infantry Regiment * 268th Infantry Regiment * 87th Artillery Regiment * 113th Reconnaissance Battalion * 113th Tank Destroyer Battalion * 113th Engineer Battalion * 113th Signal Battalion * 113th Divisional Supply Group

Commanding officers

* Generalleutnant

Ernst Güntzel Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (born ...

, 10 December 1940 – 4 June 1941, * Generalleutnant

Friedrich Zickwolff __NOTOC__ Friedrich Zickwolff (1 August 1893 – 17 September 1944) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Zickwolff died on 17 September 1944 from an infectious disea ...

, 4 June 1941 – 10 May 1942, * Generalleutnant

Hans-Heinrich Sixt von Armin __NOTOC__ Hans-Heinrich Sixt von Armin (6 November 1890 – 1 April 1952) was a German general during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Armin surrendered following the B ...

, 10 May 1942 – 20 January 1943 : POW, * Generalmajor Friedrich-Wilhelm Prüter, 15 March 1943 – 25 November 1943.

War Crimes

The 113th division participated in the Massacre at

Babi Yar Babi Yar () or Babyn Yar () is a ravine in the Ukraine, Ukrainian capital Kyiv and a site of massacres carried out by Nazi Germany's forces during Eastern Front (World War II), its campaign against the Soviet Union in World War II. The first and ...

under Friedrich Zickwolff.

References

Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 Military units and formations of Germany in Yugoslavia in World War II {{Germany-mil-unit-stub