The 164th Infantry Division () was an

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 of the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

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 ...

. Formed in November 1939, the division took part in the invasion of Greece in April 1941. In January 1942, consolidating the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

seizure of the island during the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (, ), codenamed Operation Mercury (), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May ...

, the 164th was reorganized as Fortress Division Kreta (FDK). In mid-1942 the division was transferred to North Africa and re-designated as 164th Light Africa Division (), also alternatively spelt 164th Light Afrika Division in some anglophone literature. It surrendered in May 1943 in Tunisia at the end of the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

Operational history

The 164th Infantry Division was formed on 27 November 1939 with ''Oberst'' Konrad Haase as its commander. Stationed at

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, Wehrkreis IV, by January 1940, it included three infantry regiments and Haase had been promoted to ''

generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

'' on 1 January 1940. It was held in reserve during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

and was later involved in the invasion of Greece in April 1941. After the end of the campaign, it was stationed in Salonika on occupation duty. During this time, one of its infantry regiments was detached to serve on the Greek island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. In early 1942, the division was moved to the island of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

and organised as Fortress Division Kreta. Reinforced with the experienced 125th Infantry Regiment, it remained here until mid-1942 at which time it was transferred to North Africa to serve with the '' Panzer Armee Afrika''. It was now designated as the 164th Light Afrika Division; each of its regiments only had two battalions. The division fought at

El Alamein El Alamein (, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. The town is located on the site of the ancient city Antiphrai which was built by th ...

and performed well. During the battle, one of its regiments was instrumental in preventing the capture of the headquarters of ''Panzer Armee Afrika'' by advancing Allied infantry. Along with the remainder of the Axis forces, the division gradually retreated into

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. It spent the final stages of the campaign in Tunisia fighting against Free French troops as part of the 1st Italian Army. Liebenstein, the division's final commander, surrendered to Lieutenant General

Bernard Freyberg Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, (21 March 1889 – 4 July 1963) was a United Kingdom, British-born New Zealand soldier and Victoria Cross recipient, who served as the List of g ...

, commander of the

2nd New Zealand Division The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry division of the New Zealand Military Forces (New Zealand's army) during the Second World War. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-G ...

Commanding officers

The following officers commanded the 164th Infantry Division during the course of World War II: *''Generalmajor'' Konrad Haase, 1 December 1939 – 9 January 1940; *''Generalleutnant''

Josef Folttmann Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura and is the only company in Japan spec ...

, 10 January 1940 – 9 August 1942; *''Generalmajor'' Carl-Hans Lungershausen, 10 August – 30 November 1942; 30 December 1942 – 14 January 1943; *''Oberst''

Siegfried Westphal __NOTOC__ Siegfried Carl Theodor Westphal (18 March 1902 – 2 July 1982) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Upon the outbreak of the war, Westphal, then a major, served as the operations officer 58th Infantry Division ...

, 1–29 December 1942; *''Generalmajor'' Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein, 15 – 16 January 1943; 13 March – 12 May 1943; *''Oberst'' Becker, 16 January – 16 February 1943; *''Generalmajor'' Fritz Krause, 17 February – 12 March 1943.

Notes

;Footnotes ;Citations

References

* * * German units in Africa Military units and formations established in 1939 Crete in World War II Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 1942 establishments in Germany {{Germany-WWII-stub

Operational history

Commanding officers

See also

Notes

References