, dates = 1 August 1939 – May 1945 , country = , branch = , type =

Flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

, role =

Anti-aircraft warfare Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes Surface-to-air m ...

, size =

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 ...

, garrison =

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, battles =

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...

Battle of Narva

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...

, notable_commanders = Alexander Kolb

Job Odebrecht __NOTOC__ ---> , awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross , laterwork= Job Odebrecht (25 February 1892 – 20 November 1982) was a German general during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. ...

Werner Anton __NOTOC__ Werner Rudolph Anton (3 April 1895 – 12 September 1948) was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II who commanded the 6. Flak-Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Awards and decorations ...

The 6th Flak Division () was a Flak division of the ''

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

'' of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during World War II.

History

On 1 August 1939, a staff named Air Defense Command No. 6 () was formed in

from a staff that had previously deployed to

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

. The initial head of the staff was Alexander Kolb, who was succeeded on 29 February 1940 by Wolfgang Rüter and on 15 October 1940 by

. In May 1940, the air defense command was moved to

and, after the German invasion of Belgium, to

. In mid-1941, Air Defense Command No. 6 was temporarily posted to

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...

in eastern Germany, where it was tasked with the prevention of bombing attacks by the

Soviet Air Forces The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

. On 1 September 1941, the air defense command received the official designation "6th Flak Division". Odebrecht remained divisional commander. On 1 April 1942, it was replaced in its defense task in Brussels by the newly formed 16th Flak Division and mobilized for service in the field. The 6th Flak Division was sent to the Eastern Front and attached to

Luftflotte 1 ''Luftflotte'' 1For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organisation (Air Fleet 1) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed 1 February 1939 from Luftwaffengruppe ...

. It was assigned to support

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 comma ...

and took over several regiments from the 2nd Flak Division to facilitate its task. These were Flak Regiment 18 in Duderhof (attached to the 11th Army), Flak Regiment 164 in Roshdestvenno (attached to 18th Army) and Flak Regiment 151 at Medved (attached to 16th Army). The 6th Flak Division assisted Army Group North's

and later fought in the Battle of Narva during the army group's withdrawal. On 16 November 1942,

took command of the 6th Flak Division. He held his command for the rest of the war. The 6th Flak Division remained with Army Group North for the rest of the war. After 25 January 1945, the parent army group became designated "

Army Group Courland Army Group Courland (german: Heeresgruppe Kurland) was a German Army Group on the Eastern Front which was created from remnants of the Army Group North, isolated in the Courland Peninsula by the advancing Soviet Army forces during the 1944 Balt ...

". Along with its army group, the 6th Flak Division remained trapped in the

and eventually captured by

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, after ...

forces when

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

surrendered to the Soviets.

References

{{Flak divisions of the Wehrmacht Flak divisions Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945