The German 73rd Infantry Division or in German ''73. Infanterie-Division'' was a German military unit which served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The division consisted of more than 10,000 soldiers, primarily of the

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

branch, with supporting

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

. The division was only semi-motorized and relied on marching for the infantry units and horse-drawn transport for most of the support equipment, especially the artillery. The 73rd Infantry Division was formed on 26 August 1939 as part of the 2nd wave (

aufstellungswelle In the German Wehrmacht before and during World War II, infantry divisions were raised as part of a designated ''Aufstellungswelle'' (deployment wave) or ''Welle'' (wave), sometimes translated as "draft". The ''Aufstellungswelle'' system was adopt ...

). Shortly after its formation it then participated in the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

as a reserve division of

Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

. In 1941, it fought briefly in the Greek Campaign. It fought on the southern sector of the Eastern Front, from July 1941 through May 1944. As part of the 11th Army, it participated in the

Crimean campaign The Crimean campaign was conducted by the Axis powers, Axis as part of Operation Barbarossa during World War II. The invading force was led by Nazi Germany, Germany with support from Kingdom of Romania, Romania and Fascist Italy, Italy, wh ...

in late 1941, including the initial assaults near Perekop and the "Tartar Ditch" as well as

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

. In the spring of 1944, it was cut off by the Soviet forces in the

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

and destroyed in Sevastopol in May 1944. The division was reformed in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

on 16 June 1944. it participated in battles around

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

in the summer, at the end of July it was routed by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

's 2nd Guards Tank Army commanded by Alexei Radzievsky, and in September 1944 was destroyed by Soviet forces during their assault on the

Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at the e ...

suburb of

. The division was subsequently reformed. On 1 January 1945, the 73rd Infantry Division (then part of 9th Army under

Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...

) had a strength of 10,782 men. The 73rd Infantry Division was destroyed in the fighting around Danzig in 1945. The surviving divisional staff officers went down with the liner ''Goya'' on 17 April 1945.

Commanding officers

General der Artillerie (English language, en: General of the artillery) may mean: A rank of three-star rank, three-star General of the branch, general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussian A ...

Friedrich von Rabenau Friedrich von Rabenau (10 October 1884 – 15 April 1945) was a German career-soldier, general, theologian, and opponent of Nazism. Biography Friedrich von Rabenau was born in Berlin to the physician Friedrich von Rabenau (1847–1885) and Wa ...

(26 August 1939 – 29 September 1939) * General der Infanterie Bruno Bieler (29 September 1939 – 29 October 1941) *General der Infanterie Rudolf von Bünau (1 November 1941 – 1 February 1943) *

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

Johannes Nedtwig (1 February 1943 – 7 September 1943) *

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

Hermann Böhme (7 September 1943 – 13 May 1944) *Generalleutnant Dr. Friedrich Franek (26 June 1944 – 29 July 1944) *Generalmajor Kurt Hähling (30 July 1944 – 7 September 1944) *Generalmajor Franz Schlieper (7 September 1944 – 10 April 1945)

Order of battle

Structure of the division: * Headquarters * 170th Infantry Regiment * 186th Infantry Regiment * 213th Infantry Regiment * 173rd Reconnaissance Battalion (later bicycle battalion) * 173rd Artillery Regiment * 173rd Engineer Battalion * 173rd Tank Destroyer Battalion * 173rd Signal Battalion * 173rd Divisional Supply Group

References

Sources

* 0*073 Military units and formations established in 1939 1939 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1945 disestablishments in Germany {{Germany-WWII-stub