The German 206th Infantry Division (German designation ''206. Infanterie-Division'', nickname ''Pique As'', 'Ace of spades', after the divisional emblem), was a military unit that served 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 ...

. Like most German infantry units it had no motorization, and relied on leg and horse mobility.

History

The 206th Infantry Division was raised on 17 August 1939 in

Insterburg Chernyakhovsk (; German language, German: Insterburg) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District. Located at the confluence of the Instruch and Angrap ...

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. It served during the

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 ...

in 1939 as a reserve division for

Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...

. The 206th Infantry Division participated in

Operation Typhoon The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

as part of the XXIII Corps under the Ninth Army. At this time, the division was under the command of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Hugo Höfl __NOTOC__ Hugo Höfl (16 June 1878 – 13 April 1957) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Höfl retired from active duty in April 1943. Awards * Knight's Cross of th ...

. At the time of the Soviet Rzhev-Vyazma strategic offensive operation (8 January – 20 April 1942),

Operation Mars Operation Mars (Russian: Операция «Марс»), also known as the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation (Russian: Вторая Ржевско-Сычёвская наступательная операция), was the codename f ...

, the division now led by Lieutenant General

Alfons Hitter __NOTOC__ Alfons Hitter (4 June 1892 – 11 March 1968) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 206th Infantry Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Hitter surre ...

was again serving in XXIII Corps under the Ninth Army in the Molodoi Tud sector of the Rzhev salient. Here it came under attack by the Soviet 39th army of the

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of 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 ...

.Glantz, p. 154-156, 158, 159, 219, 272 The division is known to have used

Marder I The ''Marder I'' "Marten" (Sd.Kfz. 135) was a German World War II tank destroyer, armed with a 75 mm Pak-40 anti-tank gun. Most Marder Is were built on the base of the ''Tracteur Blindé'' 37L (Lorraine), a French artillery tractor/armou ...

s from January 1943 to December 1943. In mid-1944, the division, still under the command of Lieutenant General

, was one of those defending the

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, m ...

salient as part of

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 ...

's LIII Corps. The Soviet 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 ...

, which commenced on 22 June, saw the entire corps encircled within a matter of days, after Soviet breakthroughs around the city. While the

Oberkommando des Heeres The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat ...

, after realising the situation was hopeless, reluctantly authorised a breakout operation by the other three divisions involved, the 206th was ordered to stay in Vitebsk and fight to the last man. By 26 June, Soviet forces had fought their way into the city, and General Gollwitzer, LIII Corps' commander, ordered the 206th to withdraw in defiance of the OKH orders. It was too late, however, and almost all the soldiers of the division were killed or taken prisoner. Its commander, Hitter, went on to join the

NKFD The National Committee for a Free Germany (, or NKFD) was an anti-fascist political and military organisation formed in the Soviet Union during World War II, composed mostly of German defectors from the ranks of German prisoners of war and also ...

in Soviet captivity.

Commanders

1 September 1939 Generalleutnant

10 July 1942 Generalleutnant

13 July 1943 Generalmajor Carl André 14 September 1943 Generalleutnant Alfons Hitter

Component units

Information on components retrieved from http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanteriedivisionen/206ID.htm, and links there from, 24/10/08 On formation: * 301st,

312th 31 may refer to: * 31 (number) Years * 31 BC * AD 31 * 1931 * 2031 Music * ''Thirty One'' (Jana Kramer album), 2015 * ''Thirty One'' (Jarryd James album), 2015 * "Thirty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Wild, Wonderful Purgatory ...

, and 413th Infantry Regiments * Artillery Regiment (Artillerie-Regiment) 206 * Engineer Battalion (Pionier-Bataillon) 206 * Anti Tank Battalion (Panzerabwehr-Abteilung) 206 * Reconnaissance Battalion (Aufklärungs-Abteilung) 206 * Infantry Division Signals Battalion (Infanterie-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung) 206 * Infantry Division Chief Supply Staff (Infanterie-Divisions-Nachschubführer) 206 Changes to composition: * 5 January 1940 the Anti-Tank Battalion was dissolved leaving a single Anti-Tank company. * July 1942 Mobile Battalion (Schnelle Abteilung) 206 was added, becoming Fusilier Battalion 206 (Füsilier-Bataillon) 206 on 10 September 1943. * 15 October 1942 Infanterie-Regiments 301, 312 and 413 became the Grenadier-Regiments 301, 312 and 413. * 24 April 1943 Grenadier-Regiment 312 was dissolved and the assets distributed to the other regiments of the division which were maintained at three battalions each. * 1 December 1943 A new anti-tank battalion (Panzerjäger-Abteilung) was added. By late 1943 the division was formed: * Grenadier-Regiment 301, Grenadier-Regiment 413 * Artillerie-Regiment 206 * Füsilier-Bataillon 206 * Pionier-Bataillon 206 * Panzerjäger-Abteilung 206 * Infanterie-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung 206 * Infanterie-Divisions-Nachschubführer 206

Footnotes

References

Glantz, David M. (2000). Zhukov's Greatest Defeat:The Red Army's epic disaster in Operation Mars. London, Ian Allan, 2000. . {{DEFAULTSORT:206th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II 1939 establishments in Germany

History

Commanders

Component units

See also

Footnotes

References