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, dates = 15 December 1941 – 30 December 1943
16 March 1944 – 7 October 1944
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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 mar ...
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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 ...
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The 331st Infantry Division was an infantry division of the
German army 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 ...
. It was active between 1941 and 1944, with a brief period of inactivity between 30 December 1943 and 16 March 1944.
Operational history
Formation
The 331st Infantry Division was assembled as one of the ''valkyrie divisions'' of the 17th
wave of deployment on 15 December 1941. Initially deployed at
Königsbrück
Königsbrück ( Upper Sorbian: ''Kinspork'') is a town in the Bautzen district, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated west of Kamenz, and northeast of the Saxon capital Dresden. Königsbrück is known as the western gate of the historic Upper Lusati ...
military base using personnel of Division 174 (later
174th Reserve Division
The 174th Reserve Division was a formation of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. Formed as the 174th Replacement Division on 10 June 1940, it commanded replacement training units in Saxony and the Sudetenland, based in Chemnitz. It was r ...
), it consisted of the Infantry Regiments 557, 558 and 559, as well as Artillery Regiment 331 and the Division Units 331. Infantry Regiment 557 initially consisted of three infantry battalions, whereas the 558th and 559th regiments had two battalions each, for a divisional total of seven infantry battalions. Artillery Regiment 331 was equipped with two artillery detachments.
The initial divisional commander was
Fritz Hengen, but command quickly passed to
Franz Beyer, who oversaw the division between 30 December 1941 and 22 February 1943.
1942
The division marched from
Łuków
Łuków is a city in eastern Poland with 30,727 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2005). Since 1999, it has been situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, previously it had belonged to the Siedlce Voivodeship (between 1975–1998). It is the capital of ...
to the Eastern Front on foot between January and February 1942, where it was placed under
XXXX Corps (
4th Army,
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 for ...
) and was active in the
Yukhnov
Yukhnov (russian: Ю́хнов) is a town and the administrative center of Yukhnovsky District in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Kunava River (Oka's basin) northwest of Kaluga, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
Histor ...
area.
Here, the division suffered very heavy casualties almost immediately upon entering combat against the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
,
making its first enemy contact in late January 1941, reinforcing 4th Army troops under pressure by the
Soviet 1941–42 winter offensive.
The division remained under XXXX Corps in March and April, before spending time under
LVI Corps between May and December. Between May and June, the division was reorganized and several new formations added: Panzerjäger Detachment 331, Reconnaissance Detachment 331, and an additional artillery detachment for Artillery Regiment 331, bringing the regiment to three detachments. Over the course of the fighting of the year 1942, the 3rd Battalion of Infantry Regiment 557 had to be dissolved.
1943
![Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1989-078-18A, Karl Rhein](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1989-078-18A%2C_Karl_Rhein.jpg)
In January 1943, the 331st Infantry Division was shifted from the Yukhnov sector to
Velizh
Velizh (russian: Ве́лиж) is a town and the administrative center of Velizhsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Western Dvina, from Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
History
In ...
, where the division was subordinate to
LIX Corps 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 ...
in February 1943. Between March and April, the division served under
XXXXIII Corps (also 3rd Panzer Army).
On 22 February 1943, divisional command passed from Beyer to
Karl Rhein, who held the command post until 1 January 1944 and briefly reassumed it between April and August 1944.
On 17 March 1943, the 557th regiment was fully dissolved and its two remaining battalions given to the 558th and 559th, resulting in a division of two infantry regiments with a total of six battalions. This design was later reverted on 22 September 1943, and the 558th and 559th regiments each gave their third battalions back to a newly formed 557th regiment, preparing a reorganization of the division to fit the ''Division Neuer Art 44'' archetype. The 331st Infantry Division was assigned to
II Corps of
16th Army under
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 ...
in the
Nevel sector between May 1943 and February 1944. Additionally, the Infantry Regiments were redesignated Grenadier Regiments, as was the case for all Infantry Regiments of the German army in 1943.
After heavy casualties in the Nevel sector, the division was ordered on 30 December 1943 to be temporarily dissolved and subsequently reassembled as a division of the 24th wave of deployment using the resources of
Wahn Division. The infantry as well as the military equipment remained on the Eastern Front. Grenadier Regiment 557 was dissolved outright, Grenadier Regiment 558 was redesignated Grenadier Regiment 547 and attached to the
83rd Infantry Division, and Grenadier Regiment 559 saw its battalions dissolved, whereas the staff went on to form the staff of Grenadier Regiment 358 of the
205th Infantry Division.
1944
The 331st Infantry Division was reactivated on 16 March 1944 in
Köln-Wahn (in
Porz
Porz () is a borough or ''Stadtbezirk'' of Cologne, Germany. It is situated on the east side of the Rhine in the south-east of the city. Porz is the largest borough of Cologne by area at 78.92 km2 and has 113,500 inhabitants.
Porz borders ...
Borough of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
), using the personnel of Wahn Division. The new 331st Infantry Division was once again equipped with three grenadier regiments, bearing the previous division's regimental numbers 557, 558 and 559. The personnel of the new Grenadier Regiment 557 was drawn from Grenadier Regiment 567 of the
391st Field Training Division, whereas the new Grenadier Regiments 558 and 559 were the renamed Grenadier Regiments 1 Wahn and 2 Wahn of the previous Wahn Division. The new Artillery Regiment 331, with four detachments, was drawn from both the old regiment of the 331st Division and from the materiel of Division Wahn. Division Fusilier Battalion 331 was a new creation, and Pioneer Battalion 331 was a redesignation of the Pioneer Battalion of Division Wahn.
Starting in April 1944, the 331st Infantry Division was deployed in
German-occupied France
The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...
, where it was initially assigned to the army reserves of
15th Army in the
Calais region. After the Allied
Normandy landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
in June, the 331st Infantry Division was assigned to
LXXIV Army Corps under
5th Panzer Army
5th Panzer Army (german: 5. Panzerarmee) was the name of two different German armoured formations during World War II. The first of these was formed in 1942, during the North African campaign and surrendered to the Allies at Tunis in 1943. The ...
of
Army Group B
Army Group B (German: ') was the title of three German Army Groups that saw action during World War II.
Operational history
Army Group B first took part in the Battle of France in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands.
The second formation of Ar ...
. The division was involved in the peripheral fights around the
Falaise pocket in late August 1944,
suffering casualties during breakthrough attempts.
During the retreat, LXXIV Corps covered the
Londe-Rouvray Forest south of Rouen to enable armored elements of
LXXXI Corps to withdraw. The 331st Infantry Division, according to statements of its commander
Walter Steinmüller
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
(in command between 1 August and 16 October 1944) in official
Canadian war histories, was one of the final formations to cross the river Seine in the early morning hours of 30 August 1944.
Divisional remnants appear in German records under command of
LXVII Corps (15th Army, Army Group B) for the duration of September 1944.
Dissolution
The 331st Infantry Division was formally dissolved on 7 October 1944. Remaining staff personnel formed a
z.b.V. divisional staff on 13 November. The 2nd Battalion of Grenadier Regiment 558 became the 2nd Battalion of Grenadier Regiment 857 under
346th Infantry Division. The 1st and 2nd Detachments of Artillery Regiment 331 became the 1st and 2nd Detachments of Artillery Regiment 346 (also 346th Infantry Division), whereas the 3rd Detachment of Artillery Regiment 331 became the 3rd Detachment of Artillery Regiment 168 (under
168th Infantry Division).
The z.b.V. divisional staff continued service between November 1944 and March 1945. After an initial attachment to 15th Army of Army Group B, it spent the final months of activity with
LXXXVIII Corps of
25th Army under
Army Group H.
Organizational history
Noteworthy individuals
*
Fritz Hengen, divisional commander between 15 December and 30 December 1941.
*
Franz Beyer, divisional commander between 30 December 1941 and 22 February 1943.
*
Karl Rhein, divisional commander between 22 February 1943 and 1 January 1944 and between 25 April and 1 August 1944.
*
Heinz Furbach, divisional commander between 1 January and 25 April 1944.
*
Walter Steinmüller
Walter may refer to:
People
* Walter (name), both a surname and a given name
* Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968)
* Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...
, divisional commander between 1 August and 16 October 1944.
*
Erich Diestel __NOTOC__
Erich Diestel (8 November 1892 – 3 August 1973) 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.
Awards and decorations
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cro ...
, commander of z.b.V. staff starting 16 October 1944.
References
{{Infantry Divisions of the Wehrmacht
Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 1944