The 60th Infantry Division was formed in late 1939, from Gruppe

Eberhardt Eberhardt is a Germanic surname. It may refer to: People * Andrei Eberhardt (1856–1919), Russian naval officer * Charles Eberhardt (1871–1965), American diplomat * Cliff Eberhardt (b. 1954), American contemporary folk singer and songwriter * Er ...

, a collection of SA units that had been engaged in the capture of Danzig 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 ...

. This division was unusual in that its manpower was largely drawn from the SA and the

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

History

This division participated in the invasion of

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 ...

(1940) as part of the

1st Army First Army may refer to: China * New 1st Army, Republic of China * First Field Army, a Chinese Communist Party unit in the Chinese Civil War * 1st Group Army, People's Republic of China Germany * 1st Army (German Empire), a World War I field Army ...

, and was in July 1940 transferred back to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

where it was upgraded to 60th Infantry Division (motorized). During this upgrading it was reduced to two regiments (the Inf.Rgt 92 and Inf.Rgt 244) and the other regiment (Inf.Rgt 243) was reassigned.
In January 1941 the division was moved to

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and in April took part in the invasion of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. This division participated 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 ...

, advancing through

Uman Uman (, , ) is a city in Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. It is located to the east of Vinnytsia. Located in the east of the historical region of Podolia, the city rests on the banks of the Umanka River. Uman serves as the administrative c ...

and across the

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

as part of the 1st Panzergruppe (commanded by General Von Kleist). It took part in the attack and occupation of

Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

until it was pulled back along with other German troops to the

Mius River The Mius (; ) is a river in Eastern Europe that flows through Ukraine and Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Миус

. In a series of defensive battles during the winter of 1941–42 it managed to hold its position and then in March 1942 took part in the battles of

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

. Later in 1942 the division took part in the drive on

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

. During the latter part of 1942 it was involved in the bitter battles for this city, and then in early 1943 was encircled at

, and destroyed. In mid-1943, the division was reformed as a

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 ...

formation called

Panzer-Grenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle The Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle, was a semi- armoured formation of the German Army during World War II. History The Panzergrenadier Division " Feldherrnhalle" was created on 20 June 1943 in the south of France by the renaming and re ...

, as a part of the ''Feldherrnhalle'' organisation. For more information, see also Panzerkorps ''Feldherrnhalle''.

Commanders

* Generalleutnant Friedrich-Georg Eberhardt (15October 1939 - 15 May 1942) * Generalleutnant

Otto Kohlermann __NOTOC__ Otto Kohlermann (17 February 1896 – 27 February 1984) was a German general (Generalleutnant) in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Awards * Knight's Cross ...

(15 May - November 1942) * Generalmajor Hans-Adolf von Arenstorff (November 1942 - 2 January 1943) : POW

Orders of Battle

60. Infanterie-Division, May 1940 - Battle of France

* Division Stab * Infanterie-Regiment 92 * Infanterie-Regiment 243 * Infanterie-Regiment 244 * Artillerie-Regiment 160

60. Infanterie-Division (mot), August 1942 - Fall Blau

* Division Stab * Infanterie-Regiment (mot) 92 * Infanterie-Regiment (mot) 120 * Kradschützen-Bataillon 160 * Panzerjäger-Abteilung 160 * Aufklärungs-Abteilung 160 * Artillerie-Regiment 160 * Nachrichten-Abteilung 160 * Pionier-Battalion (mot) 160

References

Note: The Web references may require you to follow links to cover the unit's entire history. * Pipes, Jason
60.Infanterie-Division
. Retrieved April 2, 2005. *

. German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved April 2, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:60th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) 0*060 German units at the Battle of Stalingrad Military units and formations established in 1939 1939 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 Military units and formations of Germany in Yugoslavia in World War II

History

Commanders

Orders of Battle

60. Infanterie-Division, May 1940 - Battle of France

60. Infanterie-Division (mot), August 1942 - Fall Blau

See also

References