__NOTOC__ The 3rd Infantry Division was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

that fought 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The division was established under the cover name ''Wehrgauleitung Frankfurt'' in 1934 by expanding the 3rd Division of the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshape ...

. It was redesignated ''Kommandant von Frankfurt'' shortly afterward, and took on its bona fide name when the formation of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

was announced in October 1935. In March 1939 the division took part in the invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia. During World War II the division took part in the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week af ...

in September 1939 where it was part of the German 4th Army. It then took part in the invasion of France in May 1940. In October that year it returned to Germany and was upgraded to a fully motorized division. (Most German divisions during the war had no transport for the infantry and used horses to tow their artillery; German industry could not turn out sufficient motor transport while also trying to meet other military requirements.) Redesignated the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division it took part in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

in June 1941, advancing on

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 ...

under

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...

. In October the division was transferred to

Army Group Center Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army for ...

for

Operation Typhoon 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. It took place between September 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive ...

and 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. It took place between September 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive ...

and the defensive battles of the winter. In mid-1942 it was transferred to

Army Group South Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland Army Group So ...

to take part in the summer offensive ''Fall Blau'' ("Case Blue"), and was ultimately caught up in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later r ...

, where it was destroyed in the encirclement with the German 6th Army in February 1943. It was reconstituted as the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division in March, absorbing the 386th Motorized Division in the process. It then fought on the Italian Front until the summer of 1944, when it was transferred to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

to help re-establish the front line after the Allied breakout from the Normandy beachhead. Later in the year, it participated in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

and then in the defensive actions at

Remagen Remagen ( ) is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West German capital. It is situated on the left (western) bank of the ...

, ultimately surrendering in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945, shortly before

Victory in Europe Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easte ...

Commanding officers

3rd Infantry Division

*Oberst

Curt Haase Curt Haase (15 December 1881 – 9 February 1943) was a German general (''Generaloberst'') in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He commanded the III Corps during the Invasion of Poland and France. He later commanded the 15th Army in German-occu ...

, 4 April 1934 – 3 July 1936 *Generalmajor Walter Petzel, 3 July 1936 – 11 October 1938 *Generalleutnant

Walter Lichel __NOTOC__ Walter Lichel (1 May 1885 – 10 December 1969) was a German general during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Lichel surrendered to the Allied troops in 1945 and was held until 1947. ...

, 11 October 1938 – 1 October 1940

3rd Infantry Division (mot.)

*General der Artillerie

Paul Bader Paul Bader (20 July 1883 – 28 February 1971) was a '' General der Artillerie'' (lieutenant general) of the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 2nd Motorized Infantry Division in the invasions of Poland and France then served ...

, 1 October 1940 – 25 May 1941 *General der Artillerie

Curt Jahn General Kurt Jahn, aka Curt Jahn, (February 16, 1892 – November 7, 1966) was a German Army general and commander in Lombardy, Italy during World War II. Born in Schmalkalden, Germany, he was captured west of Milan on 1 May 1945 and interne ...

, 25 May 1941 – 1 April 1942 *Generalleutnant Helmuth Schlömer, 1 April 1942 – 15 January 1943 *Oberst i. G. Jobst Freiherr von Hanstein, 15 January 1943 – 28 January 1943

3rd Panzergrenadier-Division

*General der Panzertruppe

Fritz-Hubert Gräser __NOTOC__ Fritz-Hubert Gräser (3 January 1888 – 4 November 1960) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Awards * Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Clas ...

, 1 March 1943 – March 1944 *Generalmajor

Hans Hecker __NOTOC__ Hans Hecker (26 February 1895 – 1 May 1979) 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 of Nazi Germany. Awards and decorations * Knight's Cross ...

, March 1944 – 1 June 1944 *Generalleutnant

Hans-Günther von Rost Hans-Günther von Rost (15 November 1894 – 23 March 1945) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Rost was killed on 23 March 1945 near Székesfeh ...

, 1 June 1944 – 25 June 1944 *Generalleutnant Walter Denkert, 25 June 1944 – April 1945

War crimes

The division has been implicated in a number of war crimes in Italy between September 1943 and August 1944, when up to twenty-two civilians were executed in each incident. Two members of the division, Lieutnant

Wolfgang Lehnigk-Emden The Caiazzo massacre ( it, Eccidio di Caiazzo, german: Massaker von Caiazzo) was the massacre of 22 Italian civilians at Caiazzo, Campania, Southern Italy, on 13 October 1943, during World War II by members of the German 3rd Panzergrenadier Divi ...

and NCO

Kurt Schuster The Caiazzo massacre ( it, Eccidio di Caiazzo, german: Massaker von Caiazzo) was the massacre of 22 Italian civilians at Caiazzo, Campania, Southern Italy, on 13 October 1943, during World War II by members of the German 3rd Panzergrenadier Divis ...

were sentenced to life in prison in absentia by an Italian court for their role in the

Caiazzo massacre The Caiazzo massacre ( it, Eccidio di Caiazzo, german: Massaker von Caiazzo) was the massacre of 22 Italian civilians at Caiazzo, Campania, Southern Italy, on 13 October 1943, during World War II by members of the German 3rd Panzergrenadier Divis ...

, the murder of twenty-two civilians at Caiazzo, near Naples, in October 1943 but not extradited. Lehnigk-Emden was captured by Allied forces during the war, confessed the crime but then released by accident. He was found guilty of manslaughter by the '' Bundesgerichtshof '', Germany's highest court but released because of the

Statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

had expired. This caused considerable outrage in both Germany and Italy because of the particularly brutal nature of the crime, and was seen as a

Miscarriage of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when a grossly unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Inno ...

Organization

* Frankfurt Infanterie Regiment ** I. Battalion ** II. Battalion ** III. Battalion * Crossen Infanterie Regiment ** I. Battalion ** II. Battalion ** III. Battalion * Frankfurt / Oder Artillerie Regiment ** I. Battalion ** II. Battalion ** III. Battalion ** IV. Battalion * Küstrin Engineer Battalion ** I. Kompanie ** II. Kompanie ** III. Kompanie * Potsdam Support Division Group ** News Detachment

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:3rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 0*003 German units at the Battle of Stalingrad Military units and formations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 de:3. Panzer-Grenadier-Division fr:3e Panzergrenadier Division sv:3. Panzergrenadier-Division