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215th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 215th Infantry Division (215.''Infanterie-Division'') was a major military unit of the German Army that served in World War II. Combat History The 215th Infantry division was mobilized in September 1939 as a division of the 3rd wave in military district V. Its personnel was composed mostly of older men, many who were veterans of the first world war, and reserve troops with limited training.Werner Haupt, Die deutschen Infanterie-Divisionen, p63 The division was almost immediately sent to the west and took up defensive positions in the dank and damp bunkers of the west-wall, in winter temperature that sunk to below freezing. After some weeks it was withdrawn into training areas behind the front for further training and reorganization and many of the older troops and junior offices were replaced by younger men. By Mid March 1940 it was returned to the front in the Saar where it set about improving defensive positions under desultory French artillery fire. The division only too ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine infantry. Although disused in modern times, heavy infantry also commonly made up the bulk of many historic armies. Infantry, cavalry, and artillery have traditionally made up the core of the combat arms professions of various armies, with the infantry almost always comprising the largest portion of these forces. Etymology and terminology In English, use of the term ''infantry'' began about the 1570s, describing soldiers who march and fight on foot. The word derives from Middle French ''infanterie'', from older Italian (also Spanish) ''infanteria'' (foot soldiers too inexperienced for cavalry), from Latin '' īnfāns'' (without speech, newborn, foolish), from which English also gets '' infant''. The individual-soldier term ''infantry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortified Sector Of The Vosges
The Fortified Sector of the Vosges (''Secteur Fortifiée des Vosges'') was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line at the northern end of the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France. The sector was bordered to the west by the Fortified Sector of Rohrbach and to the east by the Fortified Sector of Haguenau. The sector featured two ''gros ouvrages'' mounting heavy artillery at either end of the sector and one ''petit ouvrage'' mounting infantry weapons, linked by a line of casemates. The sector was attacked in 1940 by German forces in the Battle of France. German forces penetrated the casemate line and moved behind French lines. Despite the withdrawal of the mobile forces that supported the fixed fortifications, the three ''ouvrages'' successfully fended off German assaults before the Second Armistice at Compiègne, but were unable to hinder German activities to their south. The positions and their garrisons finally surrendered on 1 Jul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Group D
Army Group D (''Heeresgruppe D'') was a German Army Group which saw action during World War II. Army Group D was formed on 26 October 1940 in France, its initial cadre coming from the disbanded Army Group C. On 15 April 1941, the status of Army Group D was upgraded. From that date on, the commander of Army Group D was also to be considered Oberbefehlshaber West (or OB WEST – the Commander in Chief for the Western Theatre). As a result of this, Army Group D is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Army Group West. Commanders Orders of battle May 1941 * Seventh Army * First Army * Fifteenth Army * Commander of all German troops of Occupation in the Netherlands May 1944 * Army Group G * Army Group B * Panzer Group West * First Fallschirm Army December 1944 * Army Group G * Army Group B * Army Group H Army Group H (''Heeresgruppe H''), Army Group Northwest (''Heeresgruppe Nordwest'') after March 1945, was a German army group in the Netherlands and in Nordrhein-We ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
12th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 12th Army (German: ''12. Armee'') was a World War II field army of the Wehrmacht. History The 12th Army was activated on October 13, 1939, with General Wilhelm List in command. First seeing defensive action along the Siegfried Line, the army was involved in the invasion and occupation of France. The army was then relocated to Romania as part of the Axis offensive in the Balkans. In February 1941, an agreement between Field Marshal List and the Bulgarian General Staff allowed the passage of German troops. On the night of February 28, German Army units crossed the Danube from Romania and took up strategic positions in Bulgaria. On 6 April, units of the 12th army advanced into Yugoslavia and Greece. The Yugoslavians crumbled first. But, after six months of fighting the Italians, the Greeks could not stand up to the 12th Army's fifteen divisions, four of which were armored. The British subsequently rushed four divisions from Libya to aid the Greeks but they, like the Greeks, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saarpfalz-Kreis
Saarpfalz (''Saar-Palatinate'') is a Kreis (district) in the south-east of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Saarbrücken, Neunkirchen, Kusel, Kaiserslautern, Südwestpfalz, district-free Zweibrücken, and the French ''département'' Moselle. History After the Treaty of Versailles, the Saar basin was placed under the administration of the League of Nations for 15 years. The Palatinate area, then part of Bavaria, was therefore split in two parts. The part which went into the Saar became commonly known as Saarpfalz, and was administrated by the two ''Bezirksamt'' St. Ingbert and Homburg. The Saarpfalz district was created in 1974 when the St. Ingbert and Homburg districts were merged. Since 1997 the district has had a partnership with Henrico County, Virginia. Coat of arms The lion in the top left is the symbol of the Palatinate (Pfalz), the cross in the top right is the symbol of Trier, both owned a large part of the district in the past. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1st Army (Wehrmacht)
The 1st Army (german: 1. Armee) was a World War II field army. Combat chronicle 1939 The 1st Army was activated on 26 August 1939, in Wehrkreis XII with General Erwin von Witzleben in command. Its primary mission was to take defensive positions and guard the western defences (West Wall) of Germany against Allied forces along the Maginot Line during the attack on Poland, making it the principal German combatant during the short-lived French Saar Offensive. 1940 During the Western campaign it belonged to the Army Group C and initially remained passive towards the Maginot Line. the 1st Army continued its defensive assignment on the French border until June 1940, when the Battle of France had turned decisively to Germany's favor. Starting on 14 June 1940, the 1st Army began the penetration of the Maginot Line, breaking through French defenses, it began concentrating its forces in the frontier sector south of Saarbrücken. Another penetration was conducted north of Wörth am Mai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Upper Rhine
The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the scale beginning in Konstanz and ending in Rotterdam). The ''Upper Rhine'' is one of four sections of the river (the others being the High Rhine, Middle Rhine and Lower Rhine) between Lake Constance and the North Sea. The countries and states along the Upper Rhine are Switzerland, France (Alsace) and the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. The largest cities along the river are Basel, Mulhouse, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Mainz. The Upper Rhine was straightened between 1817 and 1876 by Johann Gottfried Tulla and made navigable between 1928 and 1977. The Treaty of Versailles allows France to use the Upper Rhine for hydroelectricity in the Grand Canal d'Alsace. On the left bank are the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army Group C
Army Group C (in German, ''Heeresgruppe C'' or ''HGr C'') was an army group of the German Wehrmacht, that was formed twice during the Second World War. History Army Group C was formed from Army Group 2 in Frankfurt on 26 August 1939. It initially commanded all troops on Germany's western front but after the Polish campaign it was reduced to commanding the southern half of the western front, overseeing the frontal breakthrough through the Maginot Line during June 1940. At the end of the battle of France it moved back to Germany then – under the cover name "Section Staff East Prussia" – moved to East Prussia on 20 April 1941. On 21 June 1941 it was renamed Army Group North. It was re-formed on 26 November 1943, by being separated from the staff of Supreme Commander South (''OB Süd'' Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 7th Army () was a World War II field army of the German land forces. History Origins The 7th Army was activated in Stuttgart on August 25, 1939 with General Friedrich Dollmann in command. At the outbreak of the war, the 7th Army defended the French border and manned the Westwall in the Upper Rhine region. At the start of the Campaign in the West in 1940, the 7th Army was part of General Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb's Army Group C. On 14 June 1940, Army Group C attacked the Maginot Line after it had been cut off by armored units of the XXXXI Panzer Corps. Lead elements of the 7th Army reached the area in front of Colmar and later pursued parts of the French 2nd Army Group into Lorraine. At the conclusion of the campaign, the 7th Army was in eastern France. From July 1940 until April 1941, the 7th Army guarded a region of the coast in southwestern France. From 18 April 1941, the 7th Army was responsible for coastal defense in Brittany and Normandy. By mid-1944, the 7th Arm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruno Frankewitz
__NOTOC__ Bruno Frankewitz (8 December 1897 – 11 August 1982) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 215. Infanterie-Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Awards and decorations * Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (7 August 1915) & 1st Class (27 January 1918)Thomas 1997, p. 177. * Clasp to the Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (21 September 1939) & 1st Class (3 October 1939) * German Cross in Gold on 1 April 1942 as ''Oberst'' in Artillerie-Regiment 161 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ** Knight's Cross on 29 February 1944 as ''Generalleutnant'' and commander of 215. Infanterie-Division ** Oak Leaves on 16 March 1945 as ''Generalleutnant is the Germanic 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 rank of O ...'' and commande ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baptist Knieß
__NOTOC__ Baptist Knieß (17 April 1885 - 10 November 1956 ) was a German general during World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ... who held several commands at division and corps level. Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kniess, Baptist 1885 births 1956 deaths German Army generals of World War II Generals of Infantry (Wehrmacht) German Army personnel of World War I Reichswehr personnel German prisoners of war in World War II Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross People from Grünstadt Military personnel from Rhineland-Palatinate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tosno
Tosno (russian: То́сно) is a town and the administrative center of Tosnensky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Tosna River, southeast of the center of St. Petersburg. Population: History The village of Tosno was first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 1500. It was a part of Vodskaya Pyatina, one of the five ''pyatinas'' into which Novgorod Lands were divided. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, Tosno was included into Ingermanland Governorate (known since 1710 as St. Petersburg Governorate). Its development in the 18th and 19th centuries was mainly due to its geographic location on the road between the two Russian capitals. From 1774, it was a station at the yam route. In 1849, the railway connecting Tosno with St. Petersburg and Chudovo opened. In the 19th century, Tosno was a part of Tsarskoselsky Uyezd (renamed in 1918 Detskoselsky Uyezd); the governorate was accordingly renamed Petrog ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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