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The 3rd 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 ...
that fought in
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 ...
. The division was established under the cover name ''Wehrgauleitung Frankfurt'' in 1934 by expanding the 3rd Division of the
Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
. It was redesignated ''Kommandant von Frankfurt'' shortly afterward, and took on its bona fide name when the formation 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 March 1939 the division took part in the invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia. During World War II the division 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 ...
in September 1939 where it was part of the German 4th Army. It then took part in the invasion of France in May 1940. In October that year it returned to Germany and was upgraded to a fully motorized division. (Most German divisions during the war 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.) Redesignated the 3rd Motorized Infantry Division it took part in
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 ...
in June 1941, advancing on
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
under
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 ...
. In October the division was transferred to
Army Group Center 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 ...
for
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 ...
and the
Battle of Moscow 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 ...
and the defensive battles of the winter. In mid-1942 it was transferred to
Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...
to take part in the summer offensive ''Fall Blau'' ("Case Blue"), and was ultimately caught up in the
Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
, where it was destroyed in the encirclement with the German 6th Army in February 1943. It was reconstituted as the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division in March, absorbing the 386th Motorized Division in the process. It then fought on the Italian Front until the summer of 1944, when it was transferred to the Western Front to help re-establish the front line after the Allied breakout from the Normandy beachhead. Later in the year, it participated in the
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...
and then in the defensive actions at
Remagen Remagen () is a town in Germany in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the district of Ahrweiler (district), Ahrweiler. It is about a one-hour drive from Cologne, just south of Bonn, the former West Germany, West German seat of government. It i ...
. During this battle, several dozen soldiers of the division were killed in the
Chenogne massacre The Chenogne massacre was a war crime committed by members of the 11th Armored Division, an American combat unit, near Chenogne, Belgium, on January 1, 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge. According to eyewitness accounts, an estimated 80 G ...
. The division surrendered in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945, shortly before
Victory in Europe Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...
.


Commanding officers


3rd Infantry Division

*Oberst
Curt Haase Curt Haase (15 December 1881 – 9 February 1943) was a German general (''Generaloberst'') in during World War II. He commanded the III Corps during the Invasion of Poland and France. He later commanded the 15th Army in German-occupied France ...
, 4 April 1934 – 3 July 1936 *Generalmajor Walter Petzel, 3 July 1936 – 11 October 1938 *Generalleutnant Walter Lichel, 11 October 1938 – 1 October 1940


3rd Infantry Division (mot.)

*General der Artillerie Paul Bader, 1 October 1940 – 25 May 1941 *General der Artillerie Curt Jahn, 25 May 1941 – 1 April 1942 *Generalleutnant Helmuth Schlömer, 1 April 1942 – 15 January 1943 *Oberst i. G. Jobst Freiherr von Hanstein, 15 January 1943 – 28 January 1943


3rd Panzergrenadier-Division

*General der Panzertruppe Fritz-Hubert Gräser, 1 March 1943 – March 1944 *Generalmajor Hans Hecker, March 1944 – 1 June 1944 *Generalleutnant Hans-Günther von Rost, 1 June 1944 – 25 June 1944 *Generalleutnant Walter Denkert, 25 June 1944 – April 1945


War crimes

The division has been implicated in a number of war crimes in Italy between September 1943 and August 1944. It is estimated that the division massacre roughly 200 Italian civilians during this time period. After the division moved to
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, it continued to commit war crimes, including the massacre of 86 civilians in Couvonges. Two members of the division, Lieutenant Wolfgang Lehnigk-Emden and NCO Kurt Schuster were sentenced to life in prison in absentia by an Italian court for their role in the Caiazzo massacre, the murder of twenty-two civilians at Caiazzo, near Naples, in October 1943 but not extradited. Lehnigk-Emden was captured by Allied forces during the war, confessed the crime but then released by accident. He was found guilty of manslaughter by the '' Bundesgerichtshof '', Germany's highest court but released because of the
Statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
had expired. This caused considerable outrage in both Germany and Italy because of the particularly brutal nature of the crime, and was seen as a
Miscarriage of justice A miscarriage of justice occurs when an unfair outcome occurs in a criminal or civil proceeding, such as the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. Miscarriages are also known as wrongful convictions. Innocent ...
.


Organization

;1934 Order of Battle * Frankfurt Infanterie Regiment ** I. Battalion ** II. Battalion ** III. Battalion * Crossen Infanterie Regiment ** I. Battalion ** II. Battalion ** III. Battalion * Frankfurt / Oder Artillerie Regiment ** I. Battalion ** II. Battalion ** III. Battalion ** IV. Battalion * Küstrin Engineer Battalion ** I. Kompanie ** II. Kompanie ** III. Kompanie * Potsdam Support Division Group **
Signals A signal is both the process and the result of Signal transmission, transmission of data over some transmission media, media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processin ...
Detachment


References

;Citations ;Bibliography * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:3rd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 0*003 German units at the Battle of Stalingrad Military units and formations established in 1934 1934 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 War crimes of the Wehrmacht de:3. Panzer-Grenadier-Division fr:3e Panzergrenadier Division sv:3. Panzergrenadier-Division