The 129th Infantry Division (''

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: Hessen-Thuerinische 129. Infanterie-Division'') was an Infantry

Division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

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 ...

History

The 129th Infantry Division was formed in

Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...

, in

Wehrkreis XI The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military distr ...

on 20 October 1940 as Division 11 and incorporated personnel from

Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darm ...

and

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

.Mitcham, p. 181 Elements of

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

, 33rd and 251st Infantry Divisions formed approximately 30% of the division. After the training of the division ended in April 1941, it was sent to

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

and took part in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

. As part of

Army Group Center Army Group Centre (german: Heeresgruppe Mitte) was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army fo ...

, the division fought in several battles of the central sector of the Eastern Front, such as those in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

and

Vyazma Vyazma (russian: Вя́зьма) is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast, and Mozhaysk. Throu ...

. In October–November 1941 the division suffered heavy casualties defending the Kalinin Bridgehead and on 25 December it absorbed the 326th and 369th Regiments of the destroyed 162nd Infantry Division. The 236th Artillery Regiment of 162nd Infantry Division was incorporated into the 129th Artillery Regiment of the division as well. The following year it took part in the heavy fighting near Rzhev, where it remained from November 1941 to early March 1943. After the retreat from Rzhev, the division fought in

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ass ...

Mogilev Mogilev (russian: Могилёв, Mogilyov, ; yi, מאָלעוו, Molev, ) or Mahilyow ( be, Магілёў, Mahilioŭ, ) is a city in eastern Belarus, on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from the bor ...

and

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ci ...

, while it was reinforced with the 566th Grenadier Regiment of the 390th Field Training Division. Due to the high losses suffered in central

Belorussia Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

, namely in

Bobruisk Babruysk, Babrujsk or Bobruisk ( be, Бабруйск , Łacinka: , rus, Бобруйск, Bobrujsk, bɐˈbruɪ̯s̪k, yi, באָברויסק ) is a city in the Mogilev Region of eastern Belarus on the Berezina River. , its population was 2 ...

and

Baranavichy Baranavichy ( ; be, Бара́навічы, Belarusian Latin alphabet, Łacinka: , ; russian: Бара́новичи; yi, באַראַנאָוויטש; pl, Baranowicze) is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus, with a population (as of ...

, it was reorganised in July 1944. In January 1944, the division was still fighting near Narew, in

Różan Różan is a town in Mazovian Voivodeship, northeastern Poland, on the river Narew. National roads 60 and 61 intersect in the town. History In the late Middle Ages, Różan emerged as an important trade center of northeastern Mazovia. Enjoy ...

, but was soon forced to retreat. The 129th Infantry Division was eventually destroyed in East Prussia and disbanded around February. The surviving elements were transferred into the 4th Army and fought in the last battles in East Prussia. The Headquarters of the division served as the ''Kommandatur'' of

Frisches Haff The Vistula Lagoon ( pl, Zalew Wiślany; russian: Калининградский залив, transliterated: ''Kaliningradskiy Zaliv''; german: Frisches Haff; lt, Aistmarės) is a brackish water lagoon on the Baltic Sea roughly 56 miles (90 ...

.Mitcham, p. 182

Commanders

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 ...

Stephan Rittau __NOTOC__ Stephan Rittau (27 December 1891 – 22 August 1942) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Rittau was killed on 22 August 1942 in Rzhev, Soviet Unio ...

(1 October 1940 - 22 August 1942) ( Killed in Action) *

General der Nachrichtentruppe General der Nachrichtentruppe (Literally: General of the Communications Troops) was a General of the branch OF8-rank of German Army, introduced by the Wehrmacht in 1940. The rank was equivalent to the long established ''General der Kavalle ...

Albert Praun __NOTOC__ Albert Praun (11 December 1894, Bad Staffelstein – 3 March 1975) was a German general who became the Chief Signals Officer of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Biography Praun served during World War I. He was retained in the Reichsw ...

(22 August 1942 - 25 September 1943) *

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

(25 September 1943 - 31 January 1944) *Generalleutnant

Heribert von Larisch Heribert von Larisch (18 July 1894 – 16 May 1972) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Born into an aristocratic family, Larisch served during World War I as a troop officer during ...

(31 January 1944 - 11 February 1945) *Generalmajor Bernhard Ueberschär (11 February - 8 May 1945)

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:129th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945