The 6th Infantry Division (''6. Infanterie-Division'') was a unit of the German Army during

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 ...

History

Formed in October 1934 from Infanterieführer VI in

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

, the division was mobilized on 26 August 1939 for the upcoming invasion of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. At that time, it consisted of the usual German infantry division elements: three infantry regiments of three battalions each, one three-battalion regiment of light artillery, one battalion of heavy artillery (from a separate artillery regiment, but attached to the particular division), a Panzerjäger (anti-tank) Battalion, a reconnaissance (Aufklärungs) Battalion, a Signals Battalion, a Pioneer (Engineer) Battalion, and divisional supply, medical, and administrative units. When the Soviets launched

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...

on 23 June 1944, the division was surrounded during the Bobruysk Offensive and completely destroyed.

6th (Volks) Grenadier Division

On 25 July 1944, the division was recreated ''6. Grenadier-Division'' from the 552th Grenadier-Division which was still in formation. It was renamed in ''6. Volksgrenadier-Division'' on 9 October 1944. The division was destroyed during the Soviet Vistula–Oder Offensive in January 1945 and reestablished as ''6. Infanterie-Division'' (10 March 1945) using elements of Shadow Division Dresden.

Commanding officers

* General der Pioniere

Walter Kuntze __NOTOC__ Walter Kuntze (23 February 1883 – 1 April 1960) was a German general and war criminal during World War II who commanded the 12th Army. He was the commanding officer responsible for the execution of men and teenage boys in the Kragu ...

, 15 May 1935 * Generalleutnant

Arnold Freiherr von Biegeleben __NOTOC__ Arnold Freiherr von Biegeleben (16 April 1883 – 11 October 1940) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 6th Infantry Division of the ''Wehrmacht''. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Biegeleben d ...

, 1 March 1938 * Generalleutnant

Helge Auleb __NOTOC__ Helge Arthur Auleb (24 March 1887 – 14 March 1964) was a general in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was born in Gehren. Auleb commanded the 6th Infantry Division as part of VI Army Corps during Operat ...

, 14 October 1940 * Generalleutnant

Horst Großmann __NOTOC__ Horst Großmann (19 November 1891 – 4 May 1972) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 6th Infantry Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Lea ...

, 25 January 1942 * Generalleutnant

Egon von Neindorff Egon von Neindorff (12 September 1892 – 15 April 1944) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. World War II On 1 July 1942 Neindorff took comman ...

, 16 December 1943 * Oberst

Alexander Conrady __NOTOC__ Alexander Conrady (16 July 1903 – 21 December 1983) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 36th Infantry Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Conr ...

, 12 January 1944 * Oberst

Günther Klammt Günther, Guenther, Ginther, Gunther, and the variants Günter, Guenter, Guenther, Ginter, and Gunter, are Germanic names derived from ''Gunthere, Gunthari'', composed of '' *gunþiz'' "battle" (Old Norse ''gunnr'') and ''heri, hari'' "army". Gun ...

, 19 January 1944 * Generalleutnant

Hans-Walter Heyne __NOTOC__ Hans-Walter Heyne-Hedersleben (10 January 1894 – 29 August 1967) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Heyne surrendered to the Soviet troops in June 1944 during the ...

, 1 June 1944 * Generalleutnant

Otto-Hermann Brücker __NOTOC__ Otto-Hermann Adolf Brücker (17 October 1899 – 12 December 1964) was a German general during 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 ...

, until 4 May 1945 * Generalmajor Friedrich-Wilhelm Liegmann, 4 May 1945

References

*Burkhard Müller-Hillebrand: ''Das Heer 1933–1945. Entwicklung des organisatorischen Aufbaues.'' Vol.III: ''Der Zweifrontenkrieg. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende''. Mittler: Frankfurt am Main 1969, p. 285. * Georg Tessin: ''Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg, 1939 – 1945''. Vol. III: ''Die Landstreitkräfte 6 – 14''. Mittler: Frankfurt am Main 1967. {{DEFAULTSORT:6th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 0*006 Military units and formations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945