The 243rd Static Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army raised in July 1943. It was stationed in the
Cotentin Peninsula
The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...
when the Allies invaded in June 1944.
''Generalleutnant''
Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben
__NOTOC__
Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben (30 October 1894 – 18 June 1964) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II.
Biography
Schlieben joined the Prussian Army in August 1914 and served during World War I. He served as a regimen ...
, commander of the 709th Infantry Division reported that the commander of the 922nd Grenadier Regiment, ''Oberstleutnant'' Franz Müller, who had been assigned to the 243rd Infantry Division on the west coast, had been transferred by Generalleutnant Heinz Hellmich with regimental troops of the 922nd Grenadier Regiment, the 3rd Battalion 922nd Grenadier Regiment, and one Battalion of the 920th Grenadier Regiment, and the engineer battalion of the 243rd Infantry Division to Montebourg by night march on June 6. Regiment Müller was to advance south with its left wing along Saint-Floxel- Fontenay-sur-Mer-
Ravenoville
Ravenoville () is a former commune in the Manche department in north-western France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the commune Sainte-Mère-Église.Ste-Mere-Eglise on June 7. An attack by Regiment Müller was prevented from making progress by heavy naval gunfire.
Oberstleutnant Günther Keil reported events slightly differently. He said Oberstleutnant Müller arrived on the evening of June 6 in the area north of Azeville- Saint-Marcouf with regimental troops of the 922nd Grenadier Regiment, the engineer battalion of the 243rd Infantry Division, and the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the 922nd Grenadier Regiment (not a battalion from the 920th Grenadier Regiment). He goes on to add that on the morning of June 7 Regiment Müller attacked, the 3rd Battalion 922nd Grenadier Regiment on the left wing operating against Saint-Marcouf. Saint-Marcouf was captured, but under the pressure of heavy fire from enemy ship based artillery had to give up the position. Making connection with the 3rd Battalion 739th Grenadier Regiment, Oberstleutnant Müller then entrenched with his front facing south. That evening, the 3rd Battalion 922nd Grenadier Regiment along with the 3rd Battalion 739th Grenadier Regiment under command of Oberstleutnant Müller were subordinated to Oberstleutnant Keil. Oberstleutnant Müller took over the southern front adjacent to Oberst Helmuth Rohrbach's taskforce with the boundary being the western edge of the park of Fontenay. This position was maintained until the evening of June 12, when the units withdrew under orders of General der Artillerie
Erich Marcks
Erich Marcks (6 June 1891 – 12 June 1944) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He authored the first draft of the operational plan, ''Operation Draft East'', for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, ad ...
.
Generalleutnant Hellmich also dispatched the 3rd Battalion of the 243rd Artillery Regiment (less the 10th Battery) from the west coast via Bricquebec to Valognes. The two batteries took up position during the fight of June 6 near Ecausseville (3.5 km south of Montebourg). They were assigned to Regimental Staff Seidel and supported the attack of the 1058th Grenadier Regiment on June 7. The 3rd Battalion of the 243rd Artillery Regiment remained with the defending forces around Montebourg after the failed attack of the 1058th Grenadier Regiment.
The division was destroyed in the
Battle of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
, with its last elements lost in the fall of Cherbourg.
Commanders
* Generalmajor
Hermann von Witzleben Hermann or Herrmann may refer to:
* Hermann (name), list of people with this name
* Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language
* Éditions Hermann, French publisher
* Hermann, Miss ...
(August 1943 - 10 January 1944)
* Generalleutnant Heinz Hellmich ( 10 January 1944 - 17 June 1944) - KIA
* Generalmajor
Bernhard Klosterkemper
Bernhard Klosterkemper (17 April 1897 – 19 July 1962) was a German general (Generalmajor) in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Klosterkemper surrendered to Allied troops i ...
(17 June 1944 - 26 September 1944) - unit destroyed
Order of Battle on D-Day
*920 Grenadier Regiment (Oberst
Bernhard Klosterkemper
Bernhard Klosterkemper (17 April 1897 – 19 July 1962) was a German general (Generalmajor) in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Klosterkemper surrendered to Allied troops i ...
)
*921 Grenadier Regiment (Oberstleutnant Jacob Simon)
*922 Grenadier Regiment (Oberstleutnant Franz Müller)
*243 Artillery Regiment (Oberst Eduard Hellwig)
*561 Ost Battalion (Russian)
*206 Panzer Battalion (Major Ernst Wenk)
*243 Panzerjäger Company
See also
*
Order of battle for the American airborne landings in Normandy The Order of battle for the American airborne landings in Normandy is a list of the units immediately available for combat on the Cotentin Peninsula between June 6, 1944, and June 15, 1944, during the American airborne landings in Normandy during W ...