The German 23rd Infantry Division (''23. Infanterie-Division''), later the 26th Panzer Division, was a military unit operational 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 ...

. It was organized along standard lines for a German

infantry division A division is a large military unit or Formation (military), formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically mak ...

. It was non-motorised and relied on horse-drawn wagons for its mobility. The unit carried the nickname ''Grenadierkopf''. The 23rd Infantry participated 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 ...

in 1939 as part of the reserve component of the 4th Army. The division was commanded by Walter Graf von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt and consisted of the 9th, 67th, and 68th infantry regiments.

Commanding officers

*Generalleutnant Ernst Busch, creation – 4 February 1938 *General der Infanterie Walter Graf von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt, 4 February 1938 – 1 June 1940 *Generalleutnant

Heinz Hellmich Heinz Hellmich (9 June 1890 – 17 June 1944) was a German general (Generalleutnant) in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a posthumous recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. On 1 April 1942, Hellmich was appoint ...

, 1 June 1940 – 17 January 1942 *Generalleutnant

Curt Badinski __NOTOC__ Curt Badinski (17 May 1890 – 27 February 1966) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who held several divisional commands. He reached the rank of ''Generalleutnant'' and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the ...

, 17 January 1942 – 9 July 1942

26th Panzer Division

In July 1942, the division was reorganized as the 26th Panzer Division (''26. Panzer-Division''). It then served occupation duties in the west until mid-1943, whereupon it transferred to Italy to resist the Allied invasion, fought at

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

, and remained in Italy for the rest of the war, surrendering to the British near

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

at the end. Soldiers of the division, then commanded by

Eduard Crasemann Eduard Crasemann (5 March 1891 – 29 April 1950) was a German ''General der Artillerie'' in the Wehrmacht and convicted war criminal who commanded several Panzer divisions during World War II. Crasemann fought as an artillery officer during W ...

, were involved in the

Padule di Fucecchio massacre The Padule di Fucecchio massacre () was the murder of at least 174 Italian civilians, carried out by the 26th Panzer Division at , a large wetland north of Fucecchio, Tuscany, on 23 August 1944. After the war, the commander of the 26th Panzer ...

on 23 August 1944. Crasemann was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for war crimes after the war and died in jail in West Germany in 1950.

Commanding officers

*General der Panzertruppe

Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz Smilo Walther Hinko Oskar Constantin Wilhelm Freiherr von Lüttwitz (23 December 1895 – 19 May 1975) was a German general during World War II and son of Walther von Lüttwitz. After World War II he joined the Bundeswehr in 1957 and served as th ...

, 14 September 1942 *Generalmajor

Hans Hecker __NOTOC__ Hans Hecker (26 February 1895 – 1 May 1979) was a German general during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Awards and decorations * Knight's Cross ...

, 22 January 1944 *General der Panzertruppe Smilo Freiherr von Lüttwitz, 20 February 1944 *Oberst Dr. rer. pol. Dr. jur.

Hans Boelsen Hans Boelsen (6 March 1894 – 24 October 1960) 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. During his time in command of the 114th Jäger Division, the unit wa ...

, 11 April 1944 – 7 May 1944 (deputy) *Generalleutnant

, 6 July 1944 *Oberst Carl Stollbrock, 15 December 1944 - 15 January 1945 (deputy) *Generalmajor

Alfred Kuhnert __NOTOC__ Alfred Kuhnert (19 March 1898 – 28 November 1977) was a German general during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Awards * Knight's Cross of the I ...

, 29 January 1945 *Generalleutnant

Viktor Linnarz Generalleutnant Viktor Leopold Linnarz (19 August 1894 – 14 October 1979) was a German army officer who served in the Prussian Army in World War I and the German Army during World War II. He joined the Prussian Army in March 1914 and was awar ...

, 19 April 1945

New 23rd Infantry Division

In November 1942 a new 23rd Infantry Division was formed, with the new 9th and 67th regiments called ''Grenadier'' to distinguish them from the original 9th and 67th regiments now called ''

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 ...

'' in the 26th Panzer Division. This new division served on the Eastern Front for the remainder of the war, ultimately surrendering in

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 ...

Commanding officers

*Generalmajor Friedrich von Schellwitz, re-creation - August 1943 *General der Artillerie

Horst von Mellenthin __NOTOC__ Horst von Mellenthin (31 July 1898 – 8 January 1977) was a German general during World War II who commanded several corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Mellenthin surrende ...

, August 1943 - 1 September 1943 *Generalleutnant Paul Gurran, 1 September 1943 - 22 February 1944 *Generalleutnant Walter Chales de Beaulieu, 22 February 1944 - 1 August 1944 *Generalleutnant Hans Schirmer, 1 August 1944 - disbanded

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:23rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 0*023 Military units and formations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

Commanding officers

26th Panzer Division

Commanding officers

New 23rd Infantry Division

Commanding officers

See also

References