The 14th Infantry Division (German: ''14. Infanterie-Division''; nickname: the ''Sächsische Division'' or Saxonian Division) was a formation of the Germany Army (

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 "''Wehrmac ...

) which fought during

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 ...

History and Organisation

The division was formed in 1934 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, by expanding the 11th (Saxonian) Infantry Regiment of the 4th Division of the old

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

. As this was a direct breach of the terms of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

, its existence was initially concealed; it was formally designated as the 14th Infantry Division in October 1935. This history, particularly of Infantry Regiment 11, made it one of the prestige infantry divisions of the

. Mobilised in the 1st wave in 1939, the division was involved in the German

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, where it attacked towards

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

and

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, and the following year's

invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * The 978 German invasion during the Franco-German war of 978–980 * The 1230 English invasion of ...

. In October 1940 it was 'motorised', i.e. provided with motor transport as opposed to the usual horse and foot mobility of Wehrmacht infantry divisions, as the ''14. Infanteriedivision (mot.)'', with the following organisation: *Infanterie-Regiment 11 (mot.) *Infanterie-Regiment 53 (mot.) *Artillerie-Regiment 14 (mot.) *Kradschützen-Abteilung 54 *Divisionstruppen 14 During

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, the division was involved in the encirclement of Minsk. In the winter of 1942/3 it was intended to reform the division as the 14th

Panzergrenadier (), abbreviated as ''PzG'' (WWII) or ''PzGren'' (modern), meaning ''Armoured fighting vehicle, "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "Grenadier"'', is the German language, German term for the military doctrine of mechanized infantry units in armoured fo ...

Division, but this process was stopped; in 1943 the formation was changed, having the following organisation: *Infanterie-Regiment 11 *Infanterie-Regiment 53 *Infanterie-Regiment 101 *Artillerie-Regiment 14 *Füsilier-Bataillon 14 *Kradschützen-Bataillon 54 *Divisionstruppen 14 During this period the 14th Infantry Division was mostly assigned to Ninth Army, with

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 So ...

on the Eastern Front; it suffered heavy losses during the

Battles of Rzhev The Battles of Rzhev () were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between 8 January 1942 and 31 March 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The battles took place in the northeast of Smolensk Oblast and the south of Tve ...

, and then in the defence against

Operation Suvorov The second Smolensk operation (code naming " Suvorov";Istomin (1975), pp. 20–21 7 August – 2 October 1943) was a Soviet strategic offensive operation conducted by the Red Army as part of the Summer-Autumn Campaign of 1943. Staged almost simu ...

. 1944 saw the division transferred to

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 Grou ...

. In the summer of 1944 it was one of Army Group Centre's few reserve formations, and in this capacity was rushed into the line near

Orekhovsk Arekhawsk (; ) is an urban-type settlement in Orsha District, Vitebsk Region, Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to t ...

on 25 June in a desperate attempt to hold back the breakthrough of several Soviet divisions at

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

during the Soviet summer offensive,

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration () was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (), a military campaign fought between 22 June and 19 August 1944 in Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Byelorussia in the Eastern ...

. Some elements made a last stand around

Bogushevsk Bahushewsk or Bogushevsk (; )Soviet military maN-36-37(1:100,000) is an urban-type settlement in Syanno District, Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated to the east of Syanno and 48 km — 70 km by road — to the south of Vitebsk Vitebsk ...

before being overwhelmed; Infantry Regiment 11 was left as a rearguard on the road to

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

. Only a handful of troops were able to retreat to the German lines. By the end of the year the remainders of the formation had been transferred to Second Army and was in the area of Ostrolenka,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

; during the Soviet East Prussian Offensive of January 1945, the rebuilt 14th was one of the divisions pushed north and trapped in the

Heiligenbeil pocket The Heiligenbeil Pocket or Heiligenbeil Cauldron () was the site of a major encirclement battle on the Eastern Front during the closing weeks of World War II, in which the Wehrmacht's 4th Army was almost entirely destroyed during the Soviet B ...

, where it attempted a breakout near Wormditt, before falling back on

Braunsberg Braniewo () (, , Old Prussian: ''Brus''), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of Braniewo County. Braniewo is the second biggest city of ...

. The division was eventually destroyed in fighting in the ''kessel'', most of its surviving troops entering Soviet captivity, while a few were evacuated via the

Frisches Haff The Vistula Lagoon is a brackish water lagoon on the Baltic Sea roughly 56 miles (90 km) long, 6 to 15 miles (10 to 19 km) wide, and up to 17 feet (5 m) deep, separated from the Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit. Geography The lag ...

Commanders

*Lieutenant-General

Peter Weyer Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

(1 September 1939) *Major-General

Lothar Rendulic Lothar Rendulic (; 23 October 1887 – 17 January 1971)Rudolf Neck, Adam Wandruszka, Isabella Ackerl (ed.) (1980): ''Protokolle des Ministerrates der Ersten Republik, 1918–1938, Abteilung VIII, 20. Mai 1932 bis 25. Juli 1934''. Vienna: Verlag ...

(15 June 1940) *Lieutenant-General Friedrich Fürst (6 October 1940) *Lieutenant-General Heinrich Wosch (1 June 1942) *Lieutenant-General Walther Krause (1 October 1942) *Lieutenant-General

Rudolf Holste Rudolf Holste (9 April 1897 – 4 December 1970) was a German general during World War II. He commanded the XLI Panzer Corps during the Battle of Berlin, allegedly abandoning his troops on 1 May 1945, one day before the city capitulated. Caree ...

(1 January 1943) *Lieutenant-General

Hermann Flörke __NOTOC__ Hermann Flörke (23 October 1893 – 19 August 1979) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 14th Infantry Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Awards and decoration ...

(15 May 1943) *Lieutenant-General Erich Schneider (15 December 1944) *Major-General Paul von Below (? 1945) *Colonel Kirch (? 1945) *Major-General Werner Schulze (March - April 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:14th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 0*014 Military units and formations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

History and Organisation

Commanders

See also

References