The 121st

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 broadl ...

Division () was a

German 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 previou ...

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 ...

. It was a part of the German XXVIII Army Corps. In September 1941 the formation, on arriving in

Pavlovsk, Saint Petersburg Pavlovsk ( "

he town He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

of Pavel" after Emperor Pavel (Paul) of Russia) is a administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, municipal town in Pushkinsky District, Saint Petersburg, Pushkinsky District in the suburban part of the federal cities of ...

; engaged in the

siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

. By October 1941 it was down to 40% of its authorized strength and 3 infantry battalions had to be disbanded due to high casualties. In 1944 it was involved in the retreat from Leningrad through the Baltic states wherein it fought in the Battle of Pskov. It remained in the

Courland pocket The Courland Pocket was a Pocket (military), pocket located on the Courland Peninsula in Latvia on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 9 October 1944 to 10 May 1945. Army Group North of the ''Wehrmacht'' were ...

until the end of the war. In the winter of 1943/44, the

Blue Legion The Blue Legion (; ), officially called the Spanish Volunteer Legion (; ), was a volunteer legion created from 2,133 falangist volunteers who remained behind at the Eastern Front after most of the Spanish Blue Division was withdrawn in October 19 ...

of Spanish volunteers (formerly part of the

Blue Division The 250th Infantry Division (), better known as the Blue Division (, ), was a unit of volunteers from Francoist Spain operating from 1941 to 1943 within the German Army () on the Eastern Front during World War II. It was officially designated t ...

, dissovled in late 1943) was initially attached to the 121st Division before its dissolution in March 1944.

Commanding officers

*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 interned in Br ...

, 5 October 1940 – 6 May 1941 *Generalleutnant

Otto Lancelle Otto Quirin Lancelle (27 March 1885 – 3 July 1941) was a German soldier who fought in both world wars and was awarded both the ''Pour le Mérite'' and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest military awards of the German Empire and N ...

, 6 May 1941 – 3 July 1941 *General der Artillerie

Martin Wandel __NOTOC__ Martin Wandel (15 April 1892 – went missing 14 January 1943) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Wandel went Missing in action on ...

, 8 July 1941 – 11 Nov 1942 *General der Infanterie Helmuth Prieß, 11 November 1942 – March 1944 *Generalmajor Ernst Pauer von Arlau, March 1944 – 1 June 1944 *Generalleutnant

Rudolf Bamler Rudolf Bamler (6 May 1896 – 13 March 1972) was a German general during World War II. Although Bamler was a member of the Nazi Party he would later serve as a leading member of the East German security forces. Early life Bamler was born in Oste ...

, 1 June 1944 – 27 June 1944 *General der Infanterie Helmuth Prieß, 27 June 1944 – 10 July 1944 *General der Infanterie

Theodor Busse Ernst Hermann August Theodor Busse (15 December 1897 – 21 October 1986) was a German officer during World War I and World War II. Early life and career Busse, a native of Frankfurt (Oder), joined the Imperial German Army as an officer cadet ...

, 10 July 1944 – 1 August 1944 *Generalleutnant

Werner Ranck __NOTOC__ Werner Karl Otto Leopold Ranck (25 October 1904 – 7 December 1989) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, awarded by for successful military leade ...

, 1 August 1944 – 30 April 1945 *Generalmajor Ottomar Hansen, 30 April 1945 – 8 May 1945

Composition

*405th Infantry Regiment *407th Infantry Regiment *408th Infantry Regiment *121st Artillerie Regiment *121st Reconnaissance Battalion *121st Tank Destroyer Battalion *121st Engineer Battalion *121st Signal Battalion *121st Divisional Supply Troops

References

Bibliography

* * Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 {{Germany-mil-unit-stub