The 210th Coastal Defence Division was created from a ''Division zbV'' staff (an ''ad hoc'' headquarters that could be used to form a division around) in July 1942, and shipped north to defend the port
Petsamo Petsamo may refer to:
* Petsamo Province, a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922
* Petsamo, Tampere, a district in Tampere, Finland
* Pechengsky District
Pechengsky District (; ; ; ; ) is an administrative district (raion), one of the six in Mur ...
in Arctic Finland. In late 1944 it moved westward to take up the defense of
Vardø
Vardo or Vardø may refer to:
Places
* Vardø Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway
*Vardø (town)
(Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative centre of Vardà ...
in the Norwegian
Finnmark
Finnmark (; ; ; ; ) is a counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland's Lapland (Finland), Lapland region to the south, and Russia's Murmansk Oblast to the east, and by water, the Norweg ...
.
The division had a non-standard organization, consisting of several battalions of fortress infantry and coastal artillery.
Organization
The division had the following structure during its existence:
* Headquarters at
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
** 661st Fortress Battalion
** 662nd Fortress Battalion
** 663rd Fortress Battalion
** 664th Fortress Battalion
** 665th Fortress Battalion
** 37th Army Coastal Defense Artillery Regiment
*** 448th Army Coastal Defense Artillery Battalion
*** 478th Army Coastal Defense Artillery Battalion
*** 480th Army Coastal Defense Artillery Battalion
*** 773rd Army Coastal Defense Artillery Battalion
** 3rd Battalion, 67th Mountain Signal Battalion ''(Later became 210th Signal Company)''
**210th Divisional Supply Group
**''(Later Added - 9th Motorcycle Battalion)''
**
Commanders
The division only had 2 commanders during its time :
*
Generalleutnant
() is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries.
Austria
Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...
Karl Wintergerst (15.07.1942 – 01.02.1944)
*
Generalleutnant
() is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries.
Austria
Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...
Kurt Ebeling (01.02.1944 – 08.05.1945)
See also
*
List of German divisions in World War II
This article lists Division (military), divisions of the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) and Waffen-SS active during World War II, including divisions of the German Army (1935–1945), Heer (army), Luftwaffe (air force), and the Kriegsmarine (na ...
References
* Wendel, Marcus (2004).
210. Küste-Abwehr-Infanterie-Division. Retrieved April 7, 2005.
*
. German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved April 7, 2005.
German units in the Arctic
Military units and formations established in 1942
Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
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