Grenadier Regiment 916 was an infantry regiment of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

from 1943 until 1945. It was set up in the area around

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.Omaha Beach Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors designated for the amphibious assault component of operation Overlord during the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. "Omaha" r ...

in December 1943.

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

i.G. Ernst Goth was the commander of Grenadier Regiment 916 (Gren Reg 916) from the beginning to the end around 29 July 1944 in the Saint-Lô area where the whole 352nd Infantry Division was deactivated. Gren Reg 916 was split up in the Omaha Beach area and fought against the United States 29th Infantry Division, 2nd Ranger infantry battalion and 1st infantry divisions on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

. The headquarters of the regiment was located in

Trévières Trévières () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Administration Trévières is the seat of the canton of Trévières which contains 59 communes. Trévières is part of the Communauté de comm ...

. The companies were close to several coastal villages: Vierville, St. Laurent,

Colleville-sur-Mer Colleville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Colleville on Sea'') is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandie region in northwestern France. History It was originally a farm owned by a certain ''Koli'', a Scandinavian settler in the Middle Ag ...

, posted there as second line to counterattack the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

forces once they landed. Oberst (

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

) Goth held the highest rank on the German side on D-Day and personally led counter-attacks to regain ground. The 916th withdrew on 8 June from the Omaha Beach area and made the retreat to Saint-Lô. Fighting the US divisions with only

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

s and

handgrenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern ...

s. Very little supply reached the

combatant Combatant is the legal status of an individual who has the right to engage in hostilities during an armed conflict. The legal definition of "combatant" is found at article 43(2) of Additional Protocol I (AP1) to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It ...

s. Soldiers of the Regiment can be found at the German war cemetery at

La Cambe German war cemetery La Cambe is a Second World War German military war grave cemetery, located close to the American landing beach of Omaha, and north west of Bayeux in Normandy, France. It is the largest German war cemetery in Normandy and contains the remains of ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. The oldest reenactment group portraying Grenadier Regiment 916 today is known as GR916 in New England. This group has related units located throughout both the UK and the USA.

References

* German units in Normandy

916 __NOTOC__ Year 916 ( CMXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Kh ...

Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Grenadier regiments {{Germany-WWII-stub