69th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
| 69th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
| 69. Infanterie-Division | |
 69. Infanterie Division Vehicle Insignia | |
| Active | 1939 – 1945 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | World War II |
The69th Infantry Division(German:69. Infanterie-Division) was a combatdivisionof the GermanWehrmachtduring theSecond World War.
History
[edit]Initially formed as a "second wave" division in August 1939 from theMünster-based16th Artillery Command,the unit spent the first months of the war in theEifelregion of northwest Germany.
In April 1940, the division participated in theGerman invasion of Norway.A small party of soldiers from the unit landedat Egersundwhere they seized the telecommunications cable linking Norway with mainland Europe, encountering no significant opposition. A further 900 soldiers from the division were put ashore nearBergenwhere they captured the defensive fortifications (which had fired on the approaching German ships) as well as the city after engaging Norwegian forces in combat. The largest element of the division, some 5,000 soldiers in 250 transport planes, landed atSola airportafter it was seized by German paratroopers. The division then captured the nearby city ofStavanger.After the successfulNorwegian Campaign,the 69th Infantry Division remained inoccupied Norwayuntil November 1942.
In December 1942 the division was moved to theLeningradfront as part ofArmy Group North's18th Army.(One regiment, the193rd Grenadier,was left in Norway and replaced by another.) (SeeSiege of Leningrad.) The division remained in the area and was pushed back to thePskovarea by Soviet offensives through February 1944.
In July 1944 the division was transferred south toArmy Group Centre,which was reeling from repeated Soviet assaults. Falling back toMemeland then evacuated toEast Prussia,by the beginning of 1945 the division was one of four defending the besieged city ofKönigsberg.Subjected to intense aerial bombing and artillery assault, the surviving members of the unit surrendered to theRed Armyshortly after the city fell on April 9, 1945.
Organization
[edit]In 1939 the 69th Infantry Division consisted of the following components:
- 159th Infantry Regiment
- 193rd Infantry Regiment
- 236th Infantry Regiment
- 169th Artillery Regiment
- 169th Engineer Battalion
- 169th Tank Defense Battalion
- 169th Intelligence Battalion
- 169th Signals Battalion
- 169th Supply Command
Having left a regiment in Norway and replacing it with another, the division's components in 1944 were:
- 157th Grenadier Regiment
- 159th Grenadier Regiment
- 236th Grenadier Regiment
- 69th Fusilier Battalion
- 169th Artillery Regiment
- 169th Engineer Battalion
- 169th Anti-Tank Battalion
- 169th Signals Battalion
- 169th Supply Troop Command
Commanders
[edit]The following officers commanded the 69th Infantry Division:
- August 1939 - September 1941: General of ArtilleryHermann Tittel
- September 1941 - February 1944: Lieutenant-GeneralBruno Ortner
- February 1944 - January 1945: Lieutenant-General Siegfried Rein
- January 1945 - February 1945: Colonel Grimme
- February 1945 - April 1945: Major-GeneralKaspar Völker
References
[edit]- Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr.Crumbling Empire: The German Defeat in the East, 1944.Westport: Praeger, 2001. pp: 32, 58, 118, 124ISBN0-275-96856-1
- Duffy, Christopher.Red Storm on the Reich: The Soviet March on Germany, 1945.New York: Atheneum, 1991. pp: 216ISBN0-689-12092-3
- 69.Infanterie-Division at Lexicon-der-WehrmachtRetrieved May 24, 2006.
- The Invasion of Norway at FeldgrauRetrieved May 24, 2006.