The German 73rd Infantry Division or in German ''73. Infanterie-Division'' was a German military unit which served 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The division consisted of more than 10,000 soldiers, primarily of the

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 m ...

branch, with supporting

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

. The division was only semi-motorized and relied on marching for the infantry units and horse-drawn transport for most of the support equipment, especially the artillery. The 73rd Infantry Division was formed on 26 August 1939 as part of the 2nd wave (

aufstellungswelle In the German Wehrmacht before and during World War II, infantry divisions were raised as part of a designated ''Aufstellungswelle'' (deployment wave) or ''Welle'' (wave), sometimes translated as "draft". The ''Aufstellungswelle'' system was adopte ...

). Shortly after its formation it then 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 af ...

as a reserve division of

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 com ...

. In 1941, it fought briefly in the

Greek Campaign The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

. It fought on the southern sector of the Eastern Front, from July 1941 through May 1944. As part of the 11th Army, it participated in the

Crimean campaign The Crimea campaign was an eight-month-long campaign by Axis forces to conquer the Crimea Peninsula, and was the scene of some of the bloodiest battles on the Eastern Front during World War II. The German, Romanian, and defending Soviet ...

in late 1941, including the initial assaults near

Perekop Perekop ( Ukrainian & Russian: Перекоп; ; ) is an urban-type settlement located on the Perekop Isthmus connecting the Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland. It is known for the fortress Or Qapi that served as the gateway to Crime ...

and the "Tartar Ditch" as well as

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 the spring of 1944 it was cut off by the Soviet forces in the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

and destroyed in Sevastopol in May 1944. The division was reformed in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

on 16 June 1944. it participated in battles around

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

in the summer, at the end of July it was routed by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

2nd Guards Tank Army The 2nd Guards Tank Army () was a large military formation of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, now part of the Russian Ground Forces of the Russian Federation. The army was originally formed in early 1943 as the 2nd Tank Army. It was the ...

commanded by

Alexei Radzievsky Alexei Ivanovich Radzievsky, transliterated in several different ways, including Aleksei, Aleksey, Alexey, and Radzievskii, Radzievskiy (born 31 July old style, or 13 August new style, 1911, died 1978), was a professional soldier of the Soviet Un ...

, and in September 1944 was destroyed by Soviet forces during their assault on the

Praga Praga is a district of Warsaw, Poland. It is on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter. History The historical Praga was a small settlement located at ...

suburb of

. Reformed again, the division was destroyed in the fighting around Danzig in 1945. The surviving divisional staff officers went down with the liner ''Goya'' on 17 April 1945.

Commanding officers

General der Artillerie General der Artillerie ( en: General of the artillery) may mean: 1. A rank of three-star general, comparable to modern armed forces OF-8 grade, in the Imperial German Army and its contingency armies of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg. ...

Friedrich von Rabenau Friedrich von Rabenau (10 October 1884 – 15 April 1945) was a German career-soldier, general, theologian, and opponent of National Socialism. Biography Friedrich von Rabenau was born in Berlin to the physician Friedrich von Rabenau (1847–1 ...

(26 August 1939 – 29 September 1939) *

General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German I ...

Bruno Bieler __NOTOC__ Bruno Bieler (18 June 1888 – 22 March 1966) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who commanded the XLII Corps during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Awards and decorations * Iron Cros ...

(29 September 1939 – 29 October 1941) *General der Infanterie Rudolf von Bünau (1 November 1941 – 1 February 1943) *

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a tw ...

Johannes Nedtwig (1 February 1943 – 7 September 1943) *

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 ...

Hermann Böhme (7 September 1943 – 13 May 1944) *Generalleutnant Dr.

Friedrich Franek __NOTOC__ Friedrich Franek (16 July 1891 – 8 April 1976) was an Austrian general in the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Along with Alois Windisch, he was one of only two recipients of both the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cr ...

(26 June 1944 – 29 July 1944) *Generalmajor

Kurt Hähling __NOTOC__ Kurt Haehling (7 November 1893 – 20 May 1983) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Haehling surrendered to the Red Army in May 1945 in t ...

(30 July 1944 – 7 September 1944) *Generalmajor

Franz Schlieper __NOTOC__ Franz Schlieper (22 August 1905 – 4 April 1974) 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. Schlieper surrendered to the Soviet forces in May 1945 an ...

(7 September 1944 – 10 April 1945)

Order of battle

Structure of the division: * Headquarters * 170th Infantry Regiment * 186th Infantry Regiment * 213th Infantry Regiment * 173rd Reconnaissance Battalion (later bicycle battalion) * 173rd Artillery Regiment * 173rd Engineer Battalion * 173rd Tank Destroyer Battalion * 173rd Signal Battalion * 173rd Divisional Supply Group

References

Sources

* 0*073 Military units and formations established in 1939 1939 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1945 disestablishments in Germany {{Germany-WWII-stub