The 24th Infantry Division (german: 24. Infanterie-Division) was a German Army
infantry division
A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers.
In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Histo ...
active in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, finally being destroyed in the Courland Pocket in 1945.
History
Formation and the Polish Campaign
The 24th Infantry Division was raised on 15 October 1935 in Chemnitz, and was placed under the command of Lieutenant General
Werner Kienitz __NOTOC__
Werner Kienitz (3 June 1885 – 31 December 1959) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XVII. Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
Awards
* Knight's ...
until April 1938, when command was passed to Lieutenant General Sigismund von Förster. In November, Lieutenant General Friedrich Olbricht was appointed commander. The 171st Infantry Regiment was separated from this division in August 1939 and handed over to the newly activated 56th Infantry Division, while elements of the 24th Infantry's staff were given to 87th Infantry Division.
The division was first deployed into action in September 1939 during the Soviet-German invasion of Poland, as part of X Corps in the newly formed 8th Army. The division attacked through Silesia in south-west Poland, but the components of X Corps began to stretch out over a wide area. Despite Colonel General von Rundstedt warning the 8th Army's commander about the weakness, little was evidently done, as they soon encountered fierce Polish resistance along the
Bzura
The Bzura is a river in central Poland, a tributary of the Vistula river (in Wyszogród), with a length of 173 kilometres and a basin area of 7,764 km2.Vistula
The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
. On September 5, the division was on the banks of the
Warta
The river Warta ( , ; german: Warthe ; la, Varta) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly north-west to flow into the Oder, against the German border. About long, it is Poland's second-longest river within its borders after the Vistula, a ...
and attempting to cross the river. Resisting heavy Polish anti-personnel fire, the arrival of the 10th Infantry Division helped the 24th substantially in clearing the banks. The division entered Glinno at the end of the day.
Moving near the village of Piatek with the 30th Infantry Division, and the 1st Panzer Division near the banks of the
Vistula
The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
, some eight Polish army divisions remained hidden from German intelligence in between them and the
4th Panzer Division
The 4th Panzer Division ( en, 4th Tank Division) was an armored division in the Army of Nazi Germany.
In World War II, it participated in the 1939 invasion of Poland, the 1940 invasion of France, and the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union. It ...
outside
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
. At the end of the campaign, one-third of the division's dead were assessed to have perished along the
Bzura
The Bzura is a river in central Poland, a tributary of the Vistula river (in Wyszogród), with a length of 173 kilometres and a basin area of 7,764 km2.
Remaining in occupied Poland until December, the division was then sent back to Eifel as a reserve division for the 12th Army for the duration of the eastern campaign. The following February, Lieutenant General Friedrich Olbricht was replaced by Obernitz.
Although a number of records relating to the 24th Infantry Division were destroyed in a fire, it can be deduced that the actions of the 102nd Regiment were significant enough to earn its regimental commander, Otto von Knobelsdorff, a divisional commendation.
The French Campaign
In May 1940, the 12th Army attacked France by entering via
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
; the 24th Division took part as a component of VI Corps. Unfortunately, their advance was slowed thanks to an earlier panzer advance having made driving difficult for mobilized units. Reaching the border with Belgium, the corps did not wait to clear away resistance, resulting in their infantry divisions and the
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...
and 6th Panzer Divisions taking casualties. Over the course of May 1517, German forces occupied and reoccupied the village of Stonne as they fought French tanks. The
16th
16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, ...
Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland
The Infantry Regiment ''Großdeutschland'' (german: Infanterie-Regiment "Großdeutschland"; ) was an élite German Army ceremonial and combat unit which saw action during World War II. Originally formed in 1921 it was known as the ''Wachregimen ...
. The two occupied the village for the last time at 1745, with French resistance in the area being present until May 25.
In June, it was transferred to VII Corps of the 16th Army, and sent across the
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
under its new commander, General of the Infantry Hans von Tettau. In July, with the Battle of France over, the positioning of divisions was relaxed and the 24th, now part of the 9th Army's IV Corps, continued to police the country, being moved to the
Scheldt
The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...
estuary along the Belgium-Netherlands border. The division continued to police the estuary in April 1941, albeit now as part of the XXXVII Corps. During the quieting-down period, regiment-level cadres were handed over to the newly activated 113th Infantry Division.
Barbarossa and the Crimea
In May 1941, the division was moved back to occupied Poland, being stationed in Galicia with IV Corps, which was now part of the 17th Army. The following month the Wehrmacht made a major assault on the Soviet Union, with the 17th Army, part of Army Group South, attacking and occupying the Ukrainian city of
Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia ( ; uk, Вінниця, ; yi, װיניצע) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug.
It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast and the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. ...
. August saw the 24th Division's temporary assignment to XXXXIV Corps of the 1st Panzergruppe as it took part in the Mass-encirclement of Soviet troops south of
Uman
Uman ( uk, Умань, ; pl, Humań; yi, אומאַן) is a city located in Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the historical region of the eastern Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River ...
; the next month saw the division's return to IV Corps as it took Kiev. During the Battle of Kiev, the 24th Infantry Division attacked from Kremenchuk in the south-east along the
Dnieper
}
The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...
, assisting in the encirclement of the Ukrainian capital. The division remained as an occupying force until the end of October; Army Group South, meanwhile continued onwards to the black sea without it. In their time as an occupational force, some level of confusion was present amongst the men, who were baffled by the Soviet's technological sophistication in relation to propaganda portrayals, particularly with educational material. On October 15 a report from the division was filed regarding the Soviet POWs they were transporting - 1,000 had been killed from exhaustion and executions in the long marches. Also in the report was a complaint over the state of the POW camps; Oleksandriya's camp #182 held accommodation for only 20,000, with Novoukrainka only 10,000 - this was not enough to house the impressive figures the Germans had already encircled with their Blitzkrieg tactics. This report was brought up in a war crimes trial that included General of the Infantry Karl von Roque, who the report was sent to.
Re-joining Army Group South in the
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
, the division was moved to the 11th Army's LIV Corps. With the Soviet forces in the region too well-defended for
Erich von Manstein
Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein (born Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski; 24 November 1887 – 9 June 1973) was a German Field Marshal of the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes and ...
's army to defeat, the axis forces instead besieged the city-turned-fortress of
Sevastopol
Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...
until June 1942, when they finally made an assault on the port. On June 9 the division took control of the Mekenziyevy Mountain train station, and Fort Stalin on the 13th. On the 17th, aided much by elements of the 197th Sturmgeschütz Battalion, forts "Dnepr"; "GPU" and "Molotov" fell on the same day.
Bartenyevka was captured on the 18th, followed by an anti-aircraft battery on Malenkhov hill and an armoured train later in June. On June 28, elements of the 24th Infantry and the 22nd Air Landing Infantry Division crossed a stretch of the North Bay in an operation to flank the Red Army's rear. The next day, the rest of the two divisions crossed the Severnaya Bay to continue the assault. By the end of the siege the division had lost 30% of its men: recorded at being 11,148 on June 1, by July 1 it was at 8,811.
Leningrad and the Courland Pocket
Shortly after their success in the Crimea, the 24th Infantry Division was sent northwards as part of Army Group A with the 11th Army's XXX Corps to participate in Operation Nordlicht.
However, the Soviet 8th Army broke seven kilometres into the German lines around Leningrad from just west of Gaytolovo as part of the
Sinyavino Offensive
The Sinyavino offensives were a serie of Soviet offensives in 1941–1943 during World War II around the Sinyavino Heights, east of Leningrad, to lift the Siege of Leningrad. The area was only fully liberated during the Leningrad–Novgorod offe ...
; as such, the 24th and 170th Infantry Divisions; 5th Mountain and 28th Jäger Divisions first had to reinforce the 11th and 18th Army elements already present before their own arrival on the 28th. The following month the division then participated in the counter-offensive, moving from the south to pocket the Soviet force.
On February 19, 1943, the 102nd Grenadier Regiment launched an attack on the
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...
town of Novokolhoznoe (also known as "Tschernyschewo"). The muddy terrain made the attack largely-ineffective, and two support tanks attached to the 502nd Heavy Panzer Battalion were stuck. The division went through a command change the following week, with General of the Mountain troops Kurt Versock, an Iron Cross recipient, taking over. In March 1943 Soviet activity around Lake Ladoga was revived as sixteen Red Army divisions prepared a pincer movement in the hopes of recapturing the Kirov railway line desperately needed for supplying the city. Resisting the attack were the 24th and 215th Infantry Divisions; the
4th SS Polizei Division
The 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division (4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division) or SS Division Polizei was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Formation
The division was formed in Octobe ...
and the Spanish "
Blue Division
The Blue Division ( es, División Azul, german: Blaue Division) was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain within the German Army (''Wehrmacht'') on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated the Spanish Volunteer ...
", which all made up L Corps.
The division remained along the
Volkhov Front
The Volkhov Front (russian: Волховский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group ...
into January 1944. On January 16 the Soviet VI Rifle Corps made contact with a regiment of the 24th's, which was sent by XXXVIII Corps to defend the Novgorod railway lines needed for transport. With more pressure from Soviet forces, Colonel General
Georg Lindemann
Georg Lindemann (8 March 1884 – 25 September 1963) was a German general during World War II. He commanded the 18th Army during the Soviet Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive.
World War II
In 1936, Lindemann was promoted to Generalmajor and given comm ...
ordered German forces in the area to abandon Novgorod; the division retreated in response. With the immediate area around Leningrad re-captured by the Soviets, the 18th Army was pushed westward to Pskov.
During the retreat, Lieutenant General Versock was wounded, and his role was replaced by Lieutenant General Hans Freiherr von Falkenstein, while the division moved southward to the 16th Army's position in Polotsk in April.Mitcham, ''The German Defeat in the East, 1944-45'', p. 154. The division went through yet another command change as the situation became dire: General Kurt Versock retook command in June.
On 22 June the
1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. I ...
began pushing into the German lines at
Vitebsk
Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest c ...
; in reaction, the division was given to Army Group North to defend Polotsk with the
3rd Panzer Army
The 3rd Panzer Army (german: 3. Panzerarmee) was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942.
3rd Panzer Group
The 3rd Panzer Group (german: Panzergruppe 3) was formed on 16 November ...
and
909th Assault Gun Brigade
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
. Colonel General Lindemann, the new commander-in-chief of
Army Group North Ukraine
The Army Group North Ukraine (german: Heeresgruppe Nordukraine) was a major formation of the German army in World War II.
History
It was created on 5 April 1944 by renaming Army Group South under Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model. In April 1944 i ...
, ordered both the 24th and 190th Infantry Divisions to defend his far-right flank from the oncoming Soviet forces. The following day, the 24th Anti-Tank Battalion engaged the Soviet I Tank Corps while the 24th Engineer Regiment charged into enemy lines to cover the 252nd Infantry Division's retreat. While doing so the division came under heavy fire in the forests, requiring the assistance of the 909th Assault Gun Brigade and the 519th Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion. Under heavy fire and losing contact with divisions to his left and right, Versock withdrew to the north to re-join I Corps on the night of June 24. The following day Adolf Hitler ordered I Corps to halt their withdrawal, and extended their front by sixty miles, and that Army Group North was to counterattack to the forests in the south.
On June 27, the division succeeded in delaying the advance of the Soviet
6th Guards Army
The 6th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought against Nazi Germany during World War II under the command of General Ivan Chistyakov. The Army's chief of staff was General Valentin Antonovich Penkovskii.
The 6th Guards Army was ...
at Obol, protecting the left flank of the 16th Army; the city, itself was lost later that day, however. On June 30, Polotsk was reinforced, per
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's orders, in order to stop the Soviet's 43rd Army. The
4th Shock Army
The 4th Shock Army was a combined arms army of the Soviet Armed Forces during World War II.
The Army was formed from the 27th Army on 25 December 1941 (1st formation) within the Northwestern Front. On 1 October 1942 it included the 249th, ...
and 6th Guards Army reached the city outskirts on July 2 and the city centre the following day.
August saw a brief return to the 18th Army, who remained in Latvia, before being sent back to the 16th Army in October under Major General
Harald Schultz
Harald Schultz (; 10 November 1895 – 15 March 1957) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Schultz surrendered to the Soviet forces in the Courland Pocket in 1945. ...
; Versock had been promoted to commander of XXXXIII Corps in September. In October, it and the 18th Army were encircled within the
Courland Pocket
The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...
; both armies remained sealed by the Soviets, who did not consider too much of a threat,Chant, p. 80. as "
Army Group Courland
Army Group Courland (german: Heeresgruppe Kurland) was a German Army Group on the Eastern Front which was created from remnants of the Army Group North, isolated in the Courland Peninsula by the advancing Soviet Army forces during the 1944 Balt ...
" until their surrenders at the end of the war on May 9, 1945; Schultz was taken prisoner and was not released until 1955.
Werner Kienitz __NOTOC__
Werner Kienitz (3 June 1885 – 31 December 1959) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XVII. Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.
Awards
* Knight's ...
(15 October 1935 – 1 April 1938)
*Lieutenant General Sigismund von Förster (1 April – 10 November 1938)
*Major General Friedrich Olbricht (10 November 1938 – 15 February 1940)
*Major General Justin von Obernitz (15 February – 14 June 1940)
*General of the Infantry Hans von Tettau (14 June 1940 – 14 February 1943)
*Colonel
Ernst-Anton von Krosigk __NOTOC__
Ernst-Anton von Krosigk (5 March 1898 – 16 March 1945) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 16th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany ...
(14 February 1943)
*Colonel Kurt Versock (23 February – June 10, 1943)
*Major General Walter Wissmath (June 10 - July 6, 1943)
*Major General Kurt Versock (July 6, 1943 – 19 February 1944)
*Colonel Kurt Opelt (February 19–24, 1944)
*Lieutenant General
Hans Freiherr von Falkenstein
Hans may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People
* Hans (name), a masculine given name
* Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician
** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans
** Yuvraj Hans, Punjab ...
(24 February – 3 June 1944)
*General of Mountain Forces Kurt Versock (3 June – 2 September 1944)
*Colonel
Harald Schultz
Harald Schultz (; 10 November 1895 – 15 March 1957) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Schultz surrendered to the Soviet forces in the Courland Pocket in 1945. ...