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163rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 163rd Infantry Division () was a German Army infantry division in World War II. Formed in November 1939, it was engaged in the invasion of Norway the following year. It fought alongside the Finnish Army during Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union. During this time, the division's transit through neutral Sweden caused the Midsummer Crisis of 1941. The division spent most of the war in Finland, before being returned to Germany. It was destroyed in March 1945 in Pomerania by the First Polish Army, subordinated to the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front. History The 163rd Infantry Division was raised in November 1939. In April 1940 it was employed in the invasion of Norway, landing at Oslo, Kristiansand, Arendal, and Stavanger. It was troops from this division that were present on the heavy cruiser Blücher when it was sunk in the Battle of Drøbak Sound in the early hours of the invasion of Norway. Thereafter it remained on occupation duty in Norway until June 1941, when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 broadly encompasses a wide variety of subspecialties, including light infantry, irregular infantry, heavy infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry, mechanized infantry, Airborne forces, airborne infantry, Air assault, air assault infantry, and Marines, naval infantry. Other subtypes of infantry, such as line infantry and mounted infantry, were once commonplace but fell out of favor in the 1800s with the invention of more accurate and powerful weapons. Etymology and terminology In English, use of the term ''infantry'' began about the 1570s, describing soldiers who march and fight on foot. The word derives from Middle French , from older Italian (also Spanish) ''infanteria'' (foot soldiers too inexperienced for cavalry), from Latin '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Drøbak Sound
The Battle of Drøbak Sound took place in Drøbak Sound, the northernmost part of the outer Oslofjord in southern Norway, on 9 April 1940. It marked the end of the "Phoney War" and the beginning of World War II in Western Front of World War II, Western Europe. A Nazi Germany, German fleet led by the cruiser ''German cruiser Blücher, Blücher'' was dispatched up the Oslofjord to begin the Operation Weserübung, German invasion of Norway, with the objective of seizing the Norwegian capital of Oslo and capturing List of Norwegian monarchs, King Haakon VII of Norway, Haakon VII and his government. The fleet was engaged in the fjord by Oscarsborg Fortress, an aging coastal installation near Drøbak, that had been relegated to training coastal artillery servicemen, leading the Germans to disregard its defensive value. However, unbeknownst to German military intelligence, the fortress' most powerful weapon was a torpedo battery, which would be used to great effect against the German i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Units In The Arctic
German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also German nationality law **Germanic peoples (Roman era) * German diaspora * German language * German cuisine, traditional foods of Germany People * German (given name) * German (surname) * Germán, a Spanish name Places * German (parish), Isle of Man * German, Albania, or Gërmej * German, Bulgaria * German, Iran * German, North Macedonia * German, New York, U.S. * Agios Germanos, Greece Other uses * German (mythology), a South Slavic mythological being * Germans (band), a Canadian rock band * "German" (song), a 2019 song by No Money Enterprise * ''The German'', a 2008 short film * "The Germans", an episode of ''Fawlty Towers'' * ''The German'', a nickname for Congolese rebel André Kisase Ngandu See also * Germanic (disam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previously used term (''Reich Defence'') and was the manifestation of the Nazi regime's efforts to German rearmament, rearm Germany to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted. After the Adolf Hitler's rise to power, Nazi rise to power in 1933, one of Adolf Hitler's most overt and bellicose moves was to establish the ''Wehrmacht'', a modern offensively-capable armed force, fulfilling the Nazi regime's long-term goals of regaining lost territory as well as gaining new territory and dominating its neighbours. This required the reinstatement of conscription and massive investment and Military budget, defence spending on the arms industry. The ''Wehrmacht'' formed the heart of Germany's politico-military po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of German Divisions In World War II
This article lists Division (military), divisions of the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) and Waffen-SS active during World War II, including divisions of the German Army (1935–1945), Heer (army), Luftwaffe (air force), and the Kriegsmarine (navy). Upgrades and reorganizations are shown only to identify the variant names for what is notionally a single unit; other upgrades and reorganizations are deferred to the individual articles. Due to the scope of this list, pre-war changes are not shown. Most of these divisions trained in Berlin, which is also where new military technology was kept and tested. German unit designations These designations are normally not translated and used in the German form in the unit name or description. Army (Heer) Panzer divisions Numbered panzer divisions Named panzer divisions Light mechanized divisions The designation "Light" (''leichte in German'') had various meanings in the German Army of World War II. There were a series of 5 Li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Unit
Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hierarchical forms (see Modern hierarchy for terminology and approximate troop strength per hierarchical unit). In some countries, paramilitary forces are included in a nation's armed forces, though not considered military. Armed forces that are not a part of military or paramilitary organizations, such as insurgent forces, often emulate military organizations, or use these structures. History The use of formalized ranks in a hierarchical structure came into widespread use with the Roman Army. The Roman Army was organized into legions, each comprising around 5000 soldiers and led by a legate. Each legion was further divided into centuries which were led by centurions. In modern times, executive control, management and administrati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Rübel
__NOTOC__ Karl Rübel (16 August 1895 – 8 March 1945) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Rübel was killed on 8 March 1945 near Schivelbein, Pomerania, during the course of the Soviet East Pomeranian Offensive. Awards and decorations * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 13 January 1945 as ''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 ...'' and commander of 163. Infanterie-DivisionFellgiebel 2000, p. 298. References Citations Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubel, Karl 1895 births 1945 deaths Lieutenant generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German Army personnel killed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anton Dostler
Anton Dostler (10 May 1891 – 1 December 1945) was a German army officer who fought in both World Wars. During World War II, he commanded several units as a General of the Infantry, primarily in Italy. After the Axis defeat, Dostler was executed for war crimes—specifically, ordering the execution of fifteen American prisoners of war in March 1944 during the Italian Campaign. Dostler was tried during the first Allied war crimes trials to be held after the end of the war in Europe. During his trial, he mounted a defense on the grounds that he had ordered the executions only because he himself was obeying superior orders, and that as such only his superiors could be held responsible. The specially-appointed Military Commission judges rejected Dostler's defense, ruling, in an important precedent (later codified in Principle IV of the Nuremberg Principles and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights), that citing superior orders did not relieve soldiers or officers of re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erwin Engelbrecht
Erwin Engelbrecht (12 November 1891 in ''Wildpark'' Potsdam – 8 April 1964 in Munich) was a German military officer. Career In January 1939 Engelbrecht was promoted to General, in September 1942 to General of the Artillery. During 1939-1942 he was the commander of the 163rd Infantry Division (''Engelbrecht Division''); later he was assigned to special forces. On 9 April 1940, on board the German cruiser ''Blücher'', he led the staff of the forces designated to occupy Oslo during the invasion of Norway. When the ship was sunk, he managed to swim ashore. Along with hundreds of other survivors, Engelbrecht was detained by Norwegian guardsmen at a farm near Drøbak for several hours before being abandoned by their captors. In 1941 his division was allowed to cross Sweden to join Finnish forces in the Finnish invasion of East Karelia (1941), the only such large scale transit at the time. (See the transit of German troops through Scandinavia for details.) Engelbrecht took ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kandalaksha
Kandalaksha () is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandalaksha Gulf on the White Sea, north of the Arctic Circle. Population: 40,564 ( 2002 Census); Etymology According to the most common version, the name of the town comes from its location on the shore of Kandalaksha Bay, where "laksa" means "lip" (in Karelian ''lakši'' — «bay»), Kanda — name of the river that traverses the town. According to other sources, the name of the bay may come from the Sámi names ''Kantlukht'' (kannҍt — hill, a dry place among a swamp, ''лӯххт'' — bay) or ''Kandaslukht'' (ка̄нҍтэсь — pack saddle, ''лӯххт'' — bay, which means: “the bay where horse packs were reloaded”), or from ''Kantaalahti'' ( Finnish language, Finnish ''kantaa'' — to feed, bear fruit and Finnish language, Finnish ''lahti'' — bay). History The settlement was founded the 11th century but may have existed as a temporary stop for fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German XXXVI Mountain Corps
__NOTOC__The XXXVI Corps was a German military formation in World War II. It was formed in October 1939 and took part in the invasion of France. In August 1940 the corps was moved to southern Norway and from there to northern Finland. It took part in Operation Barbarossa in mid-1941. It was part of the German AOK Norwegen (Army Norway) and was moved to northern Finland during June 1941. The XXXVI Corps took part in Operation Polarfuchs aiming to advance through Salla to Kandalaksha, and from there to Murmansk. In November 1941 the corps was renamed the XXXVI Gebirgskorps (Mountain Corps).Tessin, p. 53 In late 1944 the corps had to fight its former allies during their withdrawal from Finland. The corps was forced to retreat from Finland back to Norway. The corps stayed the rest of the war in Norway and surrendered there in May 1945. Commanders * General of the Cavalry Hans Feige (Mai 1940 - 30 November 1941) * General of the Infantry Karl Weisenberger (1 December 1941 - 10 Au ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
