The 76th Infantry Division was created on 26 August 1939 together with the 23rd Infantry Division in Potsdam.

History

The division was annihilated in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

and reformed by the OB West on 17 February 1943.
In 1944, the 76th ID was involved in heavy fighting with Soviet troops in the Ukraine and eastern Romania.
In the defensive battles for Letcani and Iaşi (German: Jassy) the 76th ID suffered heavy losses and had to withdraw across the

Bahlui River The Bahlui is the largest river of the city of Iași, in eastern Romania. It is a right tributary of the river Jijia. Its name is derived from Cuman and it means "muddy river". The Bahlui has a length of 119 km and a catchment area of 1967&n ...

.
In September and October 1944, the 76th ID was again refreshed with new troops before surrendering in 1945 in Slovakia.

Organization

Structure of the division: * Headquarters * 178th Infantry Regiment * 203rd Infantry Regiment * 230th Infantry Regiment * 176th Artillery Regiment * 176th Reconnaissance Battalion * 176th Anti-Tank Battalion * 176th Engineer Battalion * 176th Signal Battalion * 176th Divisional Supply Group

Commanding officers

*General der Artillerie Maximilian de Angelis, 1 September 1939 *Generalleutnant Carl Rodenburg, 26 January 1942 – 31 January 1943, POW

Second formation

*General der Infanterie Erich Abraham, 1 April 1943 *Generalleutnant Otto-Hermann Brücker, July 1944 *General der Infanterie Erich Abraham, August 1944 *Generalleutnant Siegfried von Rekowski, 17 October 1944 *Oberst Dr. Wilhelm-Moritz Freiherr von Bissing, 8 February 1945 *Generalmajor Erhard-Heinrich Berner, 14 February 1945

References

* Military units and formations established in 1939 0*076 German units at the Battle of Stalingrad 1939 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 {{Germany-WWII-stub