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German 56th Infantry Division
The 56th Infantry Division (; nicknamed ''Gekreuzte Säbel'', 'crossed sabres', after the divisional symbol) was a German infantry division which fought during World War II. Formed in late August 1939, it participated in occupation duty in Poland before fighting in the Battle of France. The 56th spent mid-1940 in Belgium, then returned to Poland in the early northern hemisphere fall, fighting in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The division spent the rest of its existence on the Eastern Front, participating in the Battle of Moscow and the Battle of Kursk, suffering heavy losses in the latter. In late 1943 the division was dissolved and its headquarters used to form Corps Detachment D, which was destroyed during Operation Bagration. The headquarters of the latter was again used to reform the division in East Prussia in September 1944, but it was again destroyed in the Heiligenbeil Pocket in early 1945. History The division was formed on 26 August 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalitarianism, totalitarian dictatorship. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945, after 12 years, when the Allies of World War II, Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin, End of World War II in Europe, ending World War II in Europe. After Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Nazi Party began to eliminate political opposition and consolidate power. A 1934 German referendum confirmed Hitler as sole ''Führer'' (leader). Power was centralised in Hitler's person, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 4th Infantry Division, designated ''4.Infanterie-Division'' in German was one of the first divisions raised and served during part of World War II. In 1940 it was reorganized as 14th Panzer Division. History The 4th Infantry Division was raised in October 1934 in Dresden. It took part in the Invasion of Poland in 1939 and later the Battle of France in 1940. Later that year it was converted into the 14th Panzer Division. Organization In 1937, the division's units were: * Infantry Regiment 10 * Infantry Regiment 52 * Infantry Regiment 103 * Artillery Regiment 4 * I./Artillerie-Regiment 40 * Anti-tank (Panzer-Abwehr) Detachment 4 * Pioneer Battalion 4 * Signals (Nachricten) Detachment 4 * Machine gun Battalion 7 By 1939, the division's units were: * Infanterie-Regiment 10 * Infanterie-Regiment 52 * Infanterie-Regiment 103 * Artillerie-Regiment 4 * I./Artillerie-Regiment 40 * Aufklärungs-Abteilung 4 (reconnaissance battalion) * Panzerjäger-Abteilung 4 (anti-tank battal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Königsberg
Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, Baltic Crusades. It was named in honour of King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who led a campaign against the pagan Old Prussians, a Baltic tribe. A Baltic Sea, Baltic port city, it successively became the capital of the State of the Teutonic Order, the Duchy of Prussia and the provinces of East Prussia and Province of Prussia, Prussia. Königsberg remained the coronation city of the Prussian monarchy from 1701 onwards, though the capital was Berlin. From the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries on, the inhabitants spoke predominantly German language, German, although the city also had a profound influence upon the Lithuanian and Polish cultures. It was a publishing center of Lutheranism, Lutheran literatu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3rd Panzer Army
The 3rd Panzer Army () 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 () was formed on 16 November 1940. It was a constituent part of Army Group Centre and participated in Operation Barbarossa and fought in the Battle of Moscow in late 1941 and early 1942. Later it served in Operation Typhoon, where it was placed under operational control of the Ninth Army. ''Panzergruppe 3'' was retitled the 3rd Panzer Army on 1 January 1942. Orders of battle At the start of Operation Barbarossa the Group consisted of the XXXIX and LVII Army Corps (mot.). 2 October 1941 Part of Army Group Centre. * Commander: Colonel General Hermann Hoth * Chief of Staff: Colonel Walther von Hünersdorff * XLI Motorized Corps under General of Panzer Troops Georg-Hans Reinhardt ** 1.Panzer-Division under Lieutenant General Friedrich Kirchner ** 36.Infanterie-Division (Mot.) under Lieutenant Gener ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vitebsk
Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest city. It is served by Vitebsk Vostochny Airport and Vitebsk Air Base. History Middle Ages Vitebsk developed from a river harbor where the Vićba River (Віцьба, from which it derives its name) flows into the larger Western Dvina, which is spanned in the city by the Kirov Bridge. Archaeological research indicates that Baltic tribes had settlements at the mouth of Vitba. In the 9th century, Slavic settlements of the tribal union of the Krivichs replaced them. According to the '' Chronicle of Michael Brigandine'' (1760), Princess Olga of Kiev founded Vitebsk (also recorded as Dbesk, Vidbesk, Videbsk, Vitepesk, or Vicibesk) in 974. Other versions give 947 or 914. Academician Boris Rybakov an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
262nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 262nd Infantry Division () was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. History The 262nd Infantry Division was formed in Mistelbach in Wehrkreis XVII on 26 August 1939, the day of German mobilization, as a division of the fourth ''Aufstellungswelle''. It initially consisted of the Infantry Regiments 462, 482, and 486, as well as the Artillery Regiment 262. The initial divisional commander was Edgar Theisen. On 28 January 1940, the division passed an infantry battalion to the 296th Infantry Division of the eighth ''Aufstellungswelle''. On 1 October 1940, a third of the division's strength was transferred to the 137th Infantry Division of the eleventh ''Aufstellungswelle''. The 262nd Infantry Division was posted opposite the Maginot Line in late 1939 and remained there until after the conclusion of the Battle of France. In September 1940, the division was redeployed to occupied Poland, and participated in ''Operation Barbarossa'' in June 1941. It adv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Werwolf
''Werwolf'' (, German for "werewolf") was a Nazi plan which began development in 1944, to create a resistance force which would operate behind enemy lines as the Allies advanced through Germany in parallel with the ''Wehrmacht'' fighting in front of the lines. There is some argument that the plan, and subsequent reports of guerrilla activities, were created by Joseph Goebbels through propaganda disseminated in the waning weeks of the war through his "Radio Werwolf", something that was not connected in any way with the military unit. Nomenclature How and by whom the name was chosen is unknown, but it may have alluded to the title of Hermann Löns's novel, '' Der Wehrwolf'', first published in 1910. Set in the Celle region (Lower Saxony) during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), the novel concerns a peasant named Harm Wulf. After marauding soldiers kill his family, Wulf organizes his neighbors into a militia who pursue the soldiers and mercilessly execute any they capture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Von Hase
Karl Paul Immanuel von Hase (24 July 1885 – 8 August 1944) was a Nazi Germany, German career soldier and figured among the members of the German_resistance_to_Nazism, resistance against Adolf Hitler's Nazism, Nazi regime. Life Von Hase was born in Hanover. He was the fifth an last child of Oberstabsarzt Dr. med. Paul Erwin von Hase (1840–1918) and his wife Maria Elise Friederike "Frieda". née Sperber (1849–1943). His three brothers were also officers, but of the reserves. Brother Dr. jur. Karl Benidikt von Hase was killed in action as 2nd Lieutenant of the Reserves with the Füsilier-Regiment „Königin“ (Schleswig-Holsteinisches) Nr. 86 on 5 October 1914 near Saint-Mard. On 12 December 1921, von Hase married Margarethe Baronesse von Funck (1898–1968) in Neustrelitz. They had four children: Ina, Maria-Gisela, Alexander and Friedrich-Wilhelm. Biography After graduating from Joachimsthalschen Gymnasium in Berlin in 1904, he began studying law at the Friedrich Wilhelm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Group Centre
Army Group Centre () 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 during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, as one of the three German Army formations assigned to the invasion. After Army Group North was trapped in the Courland Pocket in mid-1944, it was renamed to Army Group Courland and the first Army Group Centre was renamed "Army Group North". The second iteration of Army Group Centre was formed by the redesignation of Army Group A as the replacement for the first Army Group Centre. Formation and Command The army group was officially created by Adolf Hitler when he issued Führer Directive 21 on 18 December 1940, ordering German forces to prepare for an attack on Soviet Russia in 1941. The first commanding officer of Army Group Centre was Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, who would lead it until he was relieved on 18 December 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
304th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 304th Infantry Division () was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. The 304th Infantry Division was deployed twice, once in November 1940 and once again in February 1945, after the destruction of the previous formation in January of that same year. History First deployment The 304th Infantry Division was formed as a static infantry division on 15 November 1940 as part of the 13th ''Aufstellungswelle'' in the area north of Leipzig. Its initial recruits were drawn from a third each of the 56th and 294th Infantry Divisions. The division was initially commanded by Heinrich Krampf. Initially, the 304th Infantry Division consisted of the following parts: * Infantry Regiment 573 (three battalions), drawn from members of the 56th Infantry Division. * Infantry Regiment 574 (three battalions), drawn from members of the 294th Infantry Division. * Infantry Regiment 575 (three battalions), drawn from members of both the 56th and the 294th Infantry Divisions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
294th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 294th Infantry Division was a German infantry division in 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 ... that participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia. The 294th Infantry Division was amalgamated with the 513th Infantry Regiment to create the 513th Grenadier Regiment, on October 15, 1942. The division was destroyed by the end of August 1944 during the Soviet Jassy–Kishinev Offensive and its commander killed. Organization Structure of the division: * Headquarters * 294th Reconnaissance Battalion * 513th Infantry Regiment * 514th Infantry Regiment * 515th Infantry Regiment * 294th Field Replacement Battalion * 294th Engineer Battalion * 294th Artillery Regiment * 294th Tank Destroyer Battalion * 294th Signal Battalion * 294th Divisional Supply Group Comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunkirk Evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week Battle of France. After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France and the British Empire declared war on Germany and imposed an economic blockade. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was sent to help defend France. After the Phoney War of October 1939 to April 1940, Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, and France on 10 May 1940. Three panzer corps attacked through the Ardennes and drove northwest to the English Channel. By 21 May, German forces had trapped the BEF, the remains of the Belgian forces, and three French field ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
