The 336th Infantry Division (german: 336. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Army during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, active from 1940 to 1944. It saw active service in France and on the Eastern Front. Largely destroyed during the

Crimean Offensive The Crimean offensive (8 April – 12 May 1944), known in German sources as the Battle of the Crimea, was a series of offensives by the Red Army directed at the German-held Crimea. The Red Army's 4th Ukrainian Front engaged the German 17th Army ...

, it surrendered to the Soviets at

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

in May 1944.

Operational history

The 336th Infantry Division was formed in

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. ...

in December 1940 under the command of '' Generalmajor'' Johann Stever. The division nominally fell within the responsibility of

Wehrkreis IV 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 ...

and was one of several static divisions raised for service in the occupied countries of Western Europe. It was formed around three battalions transferred from the 61st Infantry Division and three battalions from the 256th Infantry Division. Both of the donor divisions were experienced, having participated in 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 ...

and the Battle of the Netherlands, respectively. The 336th was soon sent to Western Europe, firstly Belgium for a month in May 1941, then onto

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

in France. In April 1942, it was posted to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. It was then moved to the Eastern Front the following month and soon participated in the Second Battle of Kharkov. After this, it was transferred to the 2nd Hungarian Army under which it fought in ''

Case Blue Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the German Armed Forces' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of the Cauc ...

'', the Wehrmacht's offensive in southern Russia in the summer of 1942. After this, it was involved in the attempt to relieve the 6th Army at Stalingrad. Later that year, it was engaged on the ''

Mius-Front The Mius-Front was a heavily fortified German Nazi defensive line along the Mius River in the Donbas region of the Soviet Union and Ukraine during World War II. It was created by the Germans in October 1941, under direction of General Paul Ludwi ...

'' and the subsequent fighting around Melitopol, as part of the

Panther–Wotan line The Panther–Wotan line, or ''Ostwall'' in German, was a defensive line partially built by the German Wehrmacht in 1943 on the Eastern Front. The first part of the name refers to the short northern section between Lake Peipus and the Baltic Se ...

. Dispatched to the Crimea in November 1943, when the Soviets launched their

six months later, the 336th was stationed on the Perekop Isthmus. It took heavy casualties during the Soviet assault, including the divisional commander, ''Generalmajor'' Wolf Hagemann, who was medically evacuated. What was left of the division retreated into

where it eventually surrendered to the Soviets along with the rest of the city's defenders on 9 May 1944. Some personnel did manage to avoid surrender by getting evacuated by sea; the surviving infantry were assigned to the 294th Infantry Division while what was left of the staff officers were posted to 237th Infantry Division.

Commanders

*''Generalmajor'' Johann Stever (15 December 1940 – 28 February 1942); *''Generalmajor''

Walther Lucht __NOTOC__ Walter Lucht (26 February 1882 – 18 March 1949) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who held commands at division, corps and army levels. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ...

(1 March 1942 – 30 June 1943); *''Generalmajor'' Wilhelm Kunze (1 July – 15 August 1943; 1 September – 7 December 1943); *''Oberst'' Werner von Bülow (15–30 August 1943); *''Oberst''

Wolf Hagemann __NOTOC__ Wolf Hagemann (20 July 1898 – 12 September 1983) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. War crimes On 2 September 1944 the 541th division ...

(8 December 1943 – 1944).

Notes

;Footnotes ;Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:336th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944 0*336