The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.

History

It was established in 1934 under the cover name ''Reichswehrdienststelle Hamburg'', and did not assume its bona-fide designation until the creation of the

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 ...

was announced in October 1935. In the autumn of 1937 it was upgraded to a fully motorized division.Most German divisions during the

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 ...

era had no transport for the infantry and used horses to tow their artillery; German industry could not turn out sufficient motor transport while also trying to meet other military requirements. As the 20th Motorized Infantry Division the unit took part in 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 ...

as part of

Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who later became a successful memoirist. A pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of ...

's XIX Corps. During that campaign the motorized divisions were found to be somewhat unwieldy, so afterward the 20th and other motorized divisions were reorganized to reduce their size by about a third, leaving them with six motorized infantry battalions organized into two regiments, plus ordinary divisional support units. In May 1940 the division took part in the

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 ...

, and remained there on occupation duty until April 1941, except for one brief period on reserve in Germany. In June 1941 it joined

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 ...

under

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 ...

. In September it was transferred to

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 ...

, and it spent most of 1942 on the

Volkhov Front The Volkhov Front () was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group North in its offensive thrust towards L ...

. In December it was transferred back to Army Group Centre for the relief attempt at the

Battle of Velikiye Luki The Battle of Velikiye Luki, also named Velikiye Luki offensive operation (), started with the attack by the forces of the Red Army's Kalinin Front against the Wehrmacht's 3rd Panzer Army during the Winter Campaign of 1942–1943 with the o ...

. In July 1943 it was redesignated as 20th Panzergrenadier Division; by that time it had been given an

assault gun An assault gun (from , , meaning "assault gun") is a type of armored infantry support vehicle and self-propelled artillery, mounting an infantry support gun on a protected self-propelled chassis, intended for providing infantry with heavy di ...

battalion to support its infantry. It remained on the Eastern Front for the remainder of the war and ended the war fighting in the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

under the

LVI Panzer Corps LVI Panzer Corps was a panzer corps in the German Army during World War II. This corps was activated in February 1941 as the LVI Army Corps (mot.), for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which commenced on 22 June 1941. Erich von Manstein ...

. On 1 January 1945, the 20th Panzergrenadier Division, then under

4th Panzer Army The 4th Panzer Army (), operating as Panzer Group 4 () from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, was a German panzer formation during World War II. As a key armoured component of the Wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial ...

Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...

, had a numerical strength of 14,484 men, and was thus the largest division of its army and second-largest division (after 19th Panzer Division) in the entire army group in terms of manpower.

Commanding officers

;20th Infantry Division (mot.) *General der Infanterie

Mauritz von Wiktorin __NOTOC__ Mauritz von Wiktorin (13 August 1883 – 16 August 1956) was an Austrian general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Wiktorin was discharged from the army on ...

, 10 November 1938 – 10 November 1940 *General der Infanterie

Hans Zorn __NOTOC__ Hans Zorn (27 October 1891 – 2 August 1943) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Zorn was killed on 2 August 1943 by Sov ...

, 10 November 1940 – 12 January 1942 *Generalleutnant

Erich Jaschke Erich Jaschke (11 May 1890 – 18 October 1961) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 20th Infantry Division and late the LV. Army Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross ...

, 12 January 1942 – 3 January 1943 *Generalmajor

Georg Jauer __NOTOC__ Georg Jauer (25 June 1896 – 5 August 1971) 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 with Oak Leaves. At the outbreak of World War II Jauer serve ...

, 3 January 1943 – 23 July 1943 ;20th Panzergrenadier-Division *Generalleutnant Georg Jauer, 23 July 1943 – 1 September 1944 *Oberst Dr.

Walter Kühn Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

, (i.V.) 1 Sep 1944 – September 1944 *Generalleutnant Georg Jauer, September 1944 – 1 January 1945) *Generalmajor

Georg Scholze __NOTOC__ Georg Scholze (21 August 1897 – 23 April 1945) was a German general during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Scholze committed suicide on 23 April 1945 in Berlin. Awards a ...

, 1 January 1945 – 23 April 1945

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{DEFAULTSORT:20th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 0*020 Military units and formations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945