The 383rd Infantry Division was formed during the winter of 1941/42, as part of the 18th wave. All infantry divisions of this wave, numbers 383 to 389, were referred to as “Rhine Gold” divisions. After its formation, the division was transferred to the Eastern Front in April 1942.
The division was first integrated into the 2nd Army 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 ...

. In March 1943 it joined the 9th Army 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 ...

with which it took part in

Operation Citadel Operation Citadel (german: Unternehmen Zitadelle) was a German offensive operation in July 1943 against Soviet forces in the Kursk salient, proposed by Generalfeldmarschall Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein during the Second World War on ...

(Battle of Kursk). When the Soviets launched

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

on 23 June 1944, The division was surrounded during the Bobruysk Offensive and destroyed. It was officially dissolved on 3 August 1944.

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 ...

Johannes Haarde (26 January 1942 – March 1942) *Generalmajor Eberhard von Fabrice (March 1942 – November 1942) *Generalleutnant Friedrich-Wilhelm John (November 1942 – July 1943) *Generalmajor

Edmund Hoffmeister Edmund Hoffmeister (4 March 1893 – 20 February 1951) was an officer in the German Army, mainly notable for his service in World War II. Hoffmeister's military service began in 1914 in the Imperial German army. During the 1930s, Hoffmeis ...

(1 July 1943 - 20 June 1944) *Generalleutnant

Adolf Hamann Adolf Hamann (3 September 1885 – 30 December 1945) was a German general. He was executed for war crimes. Early life and inter-war years Hamann joined the Schwerin 89th Grenadier Regiment on 16 July 1901. In 1914, during the first year of World ...

(20 June 1944 - 28 June 1944) : POW.

Sources

Lexikon der Wehrmachtaxis history
* {{Subject bar , portal1=Military of Germany , portal2=World War II Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944