The 2nd Marine Division () was a military formation of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) under control of the German Army (Heer) during the later part of the

Second World War 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

In March 1945, the 2nd Marine Division was formed in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

with its home station in

Glückstadt Glückstadt (; ) is a town in the Steinburg district of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Lower Elbe at the confluence of the small Rhin river, about northwest of Altona. Glückstadt is part of the Hamburg ...

from excess naval personnel. The division also had a significant number of personnel from the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth ( , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. From 1936 until 1945, it was th ...

, a battalion of the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

, and Hungarian units. At the beginning of April 1945, the division was declared ready for action and, although poorly trained and equipped, relocated to the zone south of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

on the

Weser River The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Br ...

. From 5 April the division was part of Luftwaffe General Kurt Student's Army Group and moved in to defend the Weser-Aller line. On 10 April the division moved under the Blumentritt Army Group, and fought defensive battles on the Aller between

Verden an der Aller Verden an der Aller (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Veern''), also called Verden (Aller) or simply Verden, is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the river Aller. It is the district town of the district of Verden in Lower Saxony and an independent mun ...

and Rethem and from the Essel- Schwarmstedt bridgehead. From 15 April further actions occurred at Kirchboitzen, Kirchlinteln,

Visselhövede Visselhövede () is a town in the district of Rotenburg (district), Rotenburg in Lower Saxony, Germany. Nearby towns include the district capital Rotenburg an der Wümme, Rotenburg, Walsrode and Verden, Germany, Verden. Larger cities within a 100&n ...

, Neunkirchen am Potzberg, and Jeddingen. All guns of the two anti-aircraft batteries were lost on the Aller and Weser. The remnants of the division were on 20 April in the area south of

. Of the original almost 13,000 men, only 3,000 remained on 21 April after two weeks of heavy fighting. On 23 April, the remnants of the division settled in the

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is a town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has a footprint o ...

area, where they were used again against the

21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established ...

. On 28 April 1945, the remnants were returned to Meldorf an der Elbe, while the approximately 750 men were withdrawn behind the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal and were used as an alarm unit in the

Albersdorf Albersdorf is a municipality in the district of Dithmarschen, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated near the Kiel Canal, approx. 14 km southeast of Heide. The place was first mentioned in 1281 under the name ''Aluerdesdorpe'', mea ...

and Hemmingstedt area. At the end of the war, the remains of the division were at Bunsoh where it surrendered to the British.Mitchham, p. 36.

Organisation

The division's target structure was that of the '''Volksgrenadier Division, though this was never achieved. The division had no heavy weapons and was mainly equipped with small arms and ''panzerfausts''. The 2nd Marine Engineer Battalion was never established, with the establishment of the 2nd Marine Intelligence Division and 2nd Marine Field Replacement Battalion also never completed, along with the 200th Marine Supply Regiment never operational due to a lack of vehicles. The organisation of the division was as follows (with German title in parentheses, those in ''italics'' were never fully formed): * 2nd Marine Division Headquarters (2. Marine Division Stab) ** Division Headquarters (Stab) ** ''2nd Marine Intelligence Division'' (2. Marine-Nachrichten-Abteilung) ** 5th Marine Grenadier Regiment (5. Marine Grenadier Regiment) ** 6th Marine Grenadier Regiment (6. Marine Grenadier Regiment) ** 7th Marine Grenadier Regiment (7. Marine Grenadier Regiment) ** 2nd Marine Division Fusilier Battalion (2. Marine Division Füsilier Bataillon) ** 2nd Marine Division Field Replacement Battalion (2. Marine Division Feldersatzbataillon) ** 2nd Marine Artillery Regiment (2. Marine Artillerie Regiment) **4th Battery, 117th Anti-Aircraft Regiment (

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

troops) ** 4th Battery, 162nd Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Luftwaffe troops) ** 2nd Marine Tank Destroyer Battalion (2. Marine

Panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' (German: literally "armor hunter", more broadly "anti-tank") is a term used for an anti-tank vehicle (self-propelled anti-tank gun), as well as anti-tank units. The term was first used in the Wehrmacht (German armed forces, 19 ...

Bataillon) ** ''2nd Marine Engineer Battalion'' (2. Marine Ingenieur Bataillon) ** ''200th Marine Supply Regiment'' (200. Marine-Versorgungs-Regiment)

Notable individuals

Commanders

The divisional commanders included: * 11 February 1945 – 8 April 1945:

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Ernst Scheurlen * 8 April 1945 – 10 April 1945: Naval Captain Werner Hartmann * 10 April 1945–surrender: Army Colonel Werner, Count von Bassewitz-Levetzow

Other persons

The 2nd Marine Division was the superior formation of German soldier Kurt Albrecht, who was executed for desertion on 28 April 1945 as one of Nazi Germany's last death sentences. Albrecht's death became a topic of interest for a group of 12th grade students in Osterholz-Scharmbeck, after which the local government was convinced to rename a footpath after Albrecht. This makes him one of very few German enlisted men of World War II for whom public places in Germany are named.Freiberg, Sarah; et al. (2014): ''Hinrichtung des 17-jährigen Deserteurs Kurt Albrecht am 28. April 1945 auf dem Schützenplatz''; in: Schröder, Ulrich (Red.): ''Stationen der Geschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts in Osterholz-Scharmbeck.'' Osterholz-Scharmbeck. OCLC 253650063.

Footnotes

References

* * {{Marine divisions of the Wehrmacht Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations of the Kriegsmarine