257th Infantry Division
| 257th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
| 257. Infanterie-Division | |
 | |
| Active | September 1939 – August 1944 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | World War II |
The257th Infantry Division(German:257. Infanterie-Division) was aninfantry divisionof theGermanArmyduringWorld War II.
The division was destroyed in combat in August 1944 and formally dissolved on 9 October 1944. The division was redeployed as the257th Volksgrenadier Division(German:257. Volks-Grenadier-Division) on 13 October 1944, using personnel from the587th Volksgrenadier Division.
History
[edit]257th Infantry Division
[edit]The 257th Infantry Division was formed inBerlin-KarlshorstinWehrkreis IIIas a division of the fourthAufstellungswelleon 26 August 1939, the day of Germanmobilization.It initially consisted of the Infantry Regiments 457, 466, and 477, as well as the Artillery Regiment 257. The three infantry regiments of the division took their initial battalions from several reserve formations of Wehrkreis III, including Infantry Regiment 8 (Frankfurt an der Oder), Infantry Regiment 9 (Wittenberg), Infantry Regiment 39 (Grünberg in Schlesien), Infantry Regiment 67 (Berlin-Spandau), Infantry Regiment 68 (Rathenow), and Infantry Regiment 150 (Berlin-Tegel).[1]The initial commander of the 257th Infantry Division wasMax von Viebahn.[2]
After theInvasion of Poland,in which the division served a reserve role underArmy Group South,it was used as an occupation force in theKrakówsector.[2]
On 29 January 1940, the 257th Infantry Division passed an infantry battalion of the 466th Regiment to the293rd Infantry Divisionof the eighthAufstellungswelle.[1]
In June 1940, during theBattle of France,the 257th Infantry Division stood opposite theMaginot Line,under the supervision ofArmy Group C.After the conclusion of the western campaign, the division was transferred back to Poland.[2]
On 4 October 1940, a third of the division was transferred to the123rd Infantry Divisionof the eleventhAufstellungswelle.[1]
Karl Sachstook command of the division on 1 March 1941.[2]
Between June 1941 and the summer of 1942, the 257th Infantry Division fought continuous battles in theGerman-Soviet war.It engaged in combat atUmanand participated in theencirclement of Kiev.[2]On 30 June 1941, elements of the division capturedBóbrka.[3]At the end of the year 1941, the 257th Infantry Division engaged in defensive operations against the Sovietwinter campaign of 1941–42.[2]
In May 1942, the division fought in theSecond Battle of Kharkov.[2]The 257th Infantry Division was now commanded byKarl Gümbel,who had assumed his post on 1 May 1942. Gümbel would be shortly replaced byCarl Püchleron 1 June.[2]
On 5 November 1943,Anton Reichard von Mauchenheim genannt Bechtolsheimassumed command of the division.[2]
On 2 July 1944,Friedrich Blümkeassumed command of the division.[2]
In August 1944, the 257th Infantry Division was destroyed while under the supervision of Army Group South. It was formally dissolved on 9 October 1944.[1]Its final commander, appointed on 1 October 1944, had beenErich Seidel.[2]
257th Volksgrenadier Division
[edit]| 257th Volksgrenadier Division | |
|---|---|
| 257. Volksgrenadier-Division | |
| Active | October 1944 – May 1945 |
| Country | Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | World War II |
The 257th Volksgrenadier Division was activated on 13 October 1944, using survivors of the 257th Infantry Division as well as the personnel ofShadow Division Groß-Görschen,also known as the587th Volksgrenadier Division,a division of the thirty-secondAufstellungswelle.The Grenadier Regiments of the 257th Volksgrenadier Division were still numbered 457, 466, and 477, as they had been under the 257th Infantry Division.[1]
The 257th Volksgrenadier Division was captured byUnited States Armyforces atFüssenin May 1945.[1]
The 257th Volksgrenadier Division's only commander was Erich Seidel.[2]
Superior formations
[edit]| Year | Month | Army Corps | Army | Army Group | Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As "257th Infantry Division", September 1939 – October 1944 | |||||
| 1939 | September | Army Group reserves. | Army Group South | Kraków | |
| December | XXIV | 1st Army | Army Group C | Saarpfalz | |
| 1940 | January | Army reserves. | |||
| May | XXIV | ||||
| June | XXXVII | Maginot Line | |||
| July – August | XXXIV | 18th Army | None. | Poland | |
| September – December | 12th Army | Army Group B | |||
| 1941 | January – April | 17th Army | South Poland | ||
| May | Army Group A | ||||
| June – July | XXXXIX | Army Group South | Lviv,Vinnytsia | ||
| August | LII | Uman | |||
| September | XI | Dnieper | |||
| October | LII | Kiev | |||
| November – December | XXXXIV | Donetsk | |||
| 1942 | January – May | ||||
| June – July | 1st Panzer Army | ||||
| August | Army Group reserves. | Army Group D | France | ||
| September | LXXXIII | Felber | Champagne | ||
| October – December | XXV | 7th Army | Brittany | ||
| 1943 | January – March | ||||
| April | In transit. | 1st Panzer Army | Army Group South | Donetsk | |
| May – September | XXXX | ||||
| October – December | XXX | Kryvyi Rih | |||
| 1944 | January | 6th Army | Nikopol | ||
| February | LVII | ||||
| March | Army Group A | Tighina | |||
| April – July | XXX | Army Group South Ukraine | Kishinev | ||
| August | "Status unknown", according to German records. In reality: Destroyed in combat.[1] | ||||
| As "257th Volksgrenadier Division", October 1944 – May 1945 | |||||
| 1944 | October – December | In deployment. | |||
| 1945 | January | LXXXX | 1st Army | Army Group G | Lower Alsace |
| February – March | LXXXIX | Saarpfalz | |||
| April | LXIV | 19th Army | Oberbefehlshaber West | Karlsruhe/Danube | |
Noteworthy individuals
[edit]- Max von Viebahn,divisional commander between 26 August 1939 and 1 March 1941.
- Karl Sachs,divisional commander between 1 March 1941 and 1 May 1942.
- Karl Gümbel,divisional commander between 1 May 1942 and 1 June 1942.
- Carl Püchler,divisional commander between 1 June 1942 and 5 November 1943.
- Anton Reichard von Mauchenheim genannt Bechtolsheim,divisional commander between 5 November 1943 and 2 July 1944.
- Friedrich Blümke,divisional commander between 2 July 1944 and 1 October 1944.
- Erich Seidel,divisional commander between 1 October 1944 and May 1945.
References
[edit]- ^abcdefghTessin, Georg (1973). "257".Die Landstreitkräfte 201–280.Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 8. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 245–250.ISBN3764808721.
- ^abcdefghijklMitcham, Samuel W.(2007). "257th Infantry (later Volksgrenadier) Division".German Order of Battle. Volume One. 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in World War II.Stackpole Books. pp. 306–308.ISBN9780811734165.
- ^Kruglov, Alexander; Ester-Basya, Vaisman (2012). "Bóbrka". In Dean, Martin; Megargee, Geoffrey P. (eds.).Ghettos In German-Occupied Eastern Europe.United States Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Vol. 2 A. Bloomington/Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. pp. 750–751.ISBN9780253002020.