The German 206th Infantry Division (German designation ''206. Infanterie-Division'', nickname ''Pique As'', 'Ace of spades', after the divisional emblem), was a military unit that served 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 opposing ...

. Like most German infantry units it had no motorization, and relied on leg and horse mobility.

History

The 206th Infantry Division was raised on 17 August 1939 in

Insterburg Chernyakhovsk (russian: Черняхо́вск) – known prior to 1946 by its German name of (Old Prussian: Instrāpils, lt, Įsrutis; pl, Wystruć) – is a town in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, where it is the administrative center of C ...

, East Prussia. It served during the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

in 1939 as a reserve division for

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...

. The 206th Infantry Division participated in

Operation Typhoon The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive ...

as part of the XXIII Corps under the Ninth Army. At this time, the division was under the command of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Hugo Höfl __NOTOC__ Hugo Höfl (16 June 1878 – 13 April 1957) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Höfl retired from active duty in April 1943. Awards * Knight's Cross of ...

. At the time of the Soviet Rzhev-Vyazma strategic offensive operation (8 January – 20 April 1942),

Operation Mars Operation Mars (Russian: Операция «Марс»), also known as the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation (Russian: Вторая Ржевско-Сычёвская наступательная операция), was the codename fo ...

, the division now led by Lieutenant General

Alfons Hitter __NOTOC__ Alfons Hitter (4 June 1892, Hochstatt, Alsace-Lorraine – 11 March 1968) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 206th Infantry Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ...

was again serving in XXIII Corps under the Ninth Army in the Molodoi Tud sector of the Rzhev salient. Here it came under attack by the Soviet 39th army of the

Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of World War II, named for the city of Kalinin. It was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941 and allocated three armies: 22nd, 29th Army a ...

.Glantz, p. 154-156, 158, 159, 219, 272 The division is known to have used

Marder I The ''Marder I'' "Marten" ( Sd.Kfz. 135) was a German World War II tank destroyer, armed with a 75 mm Pak-40 anti-tank gun. Most Marder Is were built on the base of the ''Tracteur Blindé'' 37L (Lorraine), a French artillery tractor/ar ...

s from January 1943 to December 1943. In mid-1944, the division, still under the command of Lieutenant General

, was one of those defending the

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 c ...

salient as part of

3rd Panzer Army The 3rd Panzer Army (german: 3. Panzerarmee) was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 3rd Panzer Group on 1 January 1942. 3rd Panzer Group The 3rd Panzer Group (german: Panzergruppe 3) was formed on 16 November ...

's LIII Corps. The Soviet offensive,

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...

, which commenced on 22 June, saw the entire corps encircled within a matter of days, after Soviet breakthroughs around the city. While the

Oberkommando des Heeres The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat at ...

, after realising the situation was hopeless, reluctantly authorised a breakout operation by the other three divisions involved, the 206th was ordered to stay in Vitebsk and fight to the last man. By 26 June, Soviet forces had fought their way into the city, and General Gollwitzer, LIII Corps' commander, ordered the 206th to withdraw in defiance of the OKH orders. It was too late, however, and almost all the soldiers of the division were killed or taken prisoner. Its commander, Hitter, went on to join the NKFD in Soviet captivity.

Commanders

From: 1 September 1939 Generalleutnant

10 July 1942 Generalleutnant

13 July 1943 Generalmajor Carl André 14 September 1943 Generalleutnant Alfons Hitter

Component units

Information on components retrieved from http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanteriedivisionen/206ID.htm, and links there from, 24/10/08 On formation: * 301st, 312th, and 413th Infantry Regiments * Artillery Regiment (Artillerie-Regiment) 206 * Engineer Battalion (Pionier-Bataillon) 206 * Anti Tank Battalion (Panzerabwehr-Abteilung) 206 * Reconnaissance Battalion (Aufklärungs-Abteilung) 206 * Infantry Division Signals Battalion(Infanterie-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung) 206 * Infantry Division Chief Supply Staff (Infanterie-Divisions-Nachschubführer) 206 Changes to composition: * 5 January 1940 the Anti-Tank Battalion was dissolved leaving a single Anti-Tank company. * July 1942 Mobile Battalion (Schnelle Abteilung) 206 was added, becoming Fusilier Battalion 206 (Füsilier-Bataillon) 206 on 10 September 1943. * 15 October 1942 Infanterie-Regiments 301, 312 and 413 became the Grenadier-Regiments 301, 312 and 413. * 24 April 1943 Grenadier-Regiment 312 was dissolved and the assets distributed to the other regiments of the division which were maintained at three battalions each. * 1 December 1943 a new anti-tank battalion(Panzerjäger-Abteilung) was added. By late 1943 the division was formed: * Grenadier-Regiment 301, Grenadier-Regiment 413 * Artillerie-Regiment 206 * Füsilier-Bataillon 206 * Pionier-Bataillon 206 * Panzerjäger-Abteilung 206 * Infanterie-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung 206 * Infanterie-Divisions-Nachschubführer 206

Footnotes

References

Glantz, David M. (2000). Zhukov's Greatest Defeat:The Red Army's epic disaster in Operation Mars. London, Ian Allan, 2000. . {{DEFAULTSORT:206th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II 1939 establishments in Germany

History

Commanders

Component units

See also

Footnotes

References