The 154th Infantry Division (german: 154. Infanterie-Division), also known as Commander of the Replacement Troops IV (german: Kommandeur der Ersatztruppen IV), Division No. 154 (german: Division Nr. 154, link=no), 154th Reserve Division (german: 154. Reserve-Division, link=no), 154th Division (german: 154. Division, link=no) and 154th Field Training Division (german: 154. Feldausbildungs-Division, link=no) was an

infantry division A division is a large military unit or Formation (military), formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically mak ...

of the German Heer 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Operational history

During German

mobilization Mobilization is the act of assembling and readying military troops and supplies for war. The word ''mobilization'' was first used in a military context in the 1850s to describe the preparation of the Prussian Army. Mobilization theories and ...

on 26 August 1939, each

Wehrkreis The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military distr ...

(military district) was assigned a division to organize the reserves and training of recruits. The Wehrkreis IV (

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

) was assigned the ''Kommandeur der Ersatztruppen IV. T''he division was redesignated ''154. Division'' on 10 November 1939 and ''Division Nr. 154'' on 27 December 1939. The commander, starting on 27 September 1939, was Arthur Boltze. The division served as the administrative body and the training divisions for all recruits of Wehrkreis IV. As a result, its main trainees were

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and

Sudeten Germans German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...

. The formation of 174th Division on 10 June 1940 only left the division with Infantry Reserve Regiment 4 ''

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

'', Infantry Reserve Regiment 223 ''

Bautzen Bautzen () or Budyšin () is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree river. In 2018 the town's population was 39,087. Until 1868, its German name was ''Budis ...

'', Infantry Reserve Regiment 255 ''

Löbau Löbau (Upper Sorbian: Lubij) is a city in the east of Saxony, Germany, in the traditional region of Upper Lusatia. It is situated between the slopes of the Löbauer Berg and the fertile hilly area of the Upper Lusatian Mountains. It is the gatew ...

'', Infantry Reserve Regiment 256 ''

Teplitz Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The hist ...

'' and Artillery Reserve Regiment 4 ''Dresden'', in addition to several small reserve detachments. The division was commanded by

Franz Landgraf __NOTOC__ Franz Landgraf (16 July 1888 – 19 April 1944) 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. During the invasion of the Sovjet Union he led the 6th Pan ...

starting on 1 May 1942 and by

Friedrich Altrichter Friedrich Altrichter (3 September 1890 – 10 December 1948) was a German officer, last in the rank of ''Generalleutnant'' of the Wehrmacht. He was also an influential military writer and military instructor at the Dresden military academy from 193 ...

starting in June. It was reequipped on 15 June 1942 and redesignated ''154. Reserve-Division''. It was redeployed to

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...

in the

General Government The General Government (german: Generalgouvernement, pl, Generalne Gubernatorstwo, uk, Генеральна губернія), also referred to as the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (german: Generalgouvernement für die be ...

in occupied

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. At this point, it consisted of Infantry Reserve Grenadier Regiments 56 '' Jaroslau'', 223 ''

Krakau Krakau is a municipality in the district of Murau in Styria, Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation ...

'', and 255 ''

Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

'', as well Reserve Artillery Detachmanet 24 ''

Reichshof Reichshof is a North Rhine-Westphalian municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis in Germany, about 40 km east of Cologne. It is a health resort, known for its good climate. History While sources on the early history of the area are scarce, ...

''. The division was reorganized on 5 March 1944 after the dissolution of the staffs used for Infantry Division ''Generalgouvernment''. It was now commanded by Alfried Thielmann. The ''Intervention Group Zimmer'' (''german: Eingreifgruppe Zimmer, link=no'') was formed from elements of the 154th Division, deployed to the Namslau area and integrated into the 68th Infantry Division. The 154th Reserve Division served under 17th Army from August 1944, and then under

1st Panzer Army The 1st Panzer Army (german: 1. Panzerarmee) was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation of the Wehrmacht during World War II. When originally formed on 1 March 1940, the predecessor of the 1st Panzer Army was named Panzer Group ...

starting in September 1944. Parts of the division saw combat as early as March 1944, and the entire division was called into combat after the collapse of

Army Group Centre 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 ...

that started in July as a result of the Red Army's

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

. The remainders of the 154th were then merged with parts of the 174th Division to form a new iteration of the 154th on 1 October 1944, dubbed the ''154. Feldausbildungs-Division'', or just ''154. Division''. This division consisted of the Field Training Grenadier Regiments 562 through 564 as well as Artillery Field Training Detachment 1054, along with Heavy Battalion 1054 and Engineer Field Training Battalion 1054. The 154th Field Training Division remained in service under the 1st Panzer Army for its entire lifespawn. The division was again commanded by Friedrich Altrichter starting 19 December 1944. Altrichter would remain in command until the end of the war. In March 1945, following an order on 11 February, the division was redesignated a final time and became ''154. Infanterie-Division''. which consisted of all segments of the previous 154th Field Training Division as well as the

Panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' (German language, German "armour-hunters" or "tank-hunters", abbreviated to ''Pz.Jg.'' in German) was a branch of service of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht during the World War II, Second World War. It was an Anti-tank war ...

Detachment 1054. The division continued to serve under 1st Panzer Army. It was overrun by Soviet forces at

Oderberg Oderberg () is a town in the district of Barnim, in Brandenburg in northeastern Germany. It is situated 16 km east of Eberswalde, and 27 km southwest of Schwedt, close to the border with Poland, and in close vicinity of Berlin. Overvie ...

on 17 April 1945 and destroyed. Its commander, Friedrich Altrichter, was captured along with most of his surviving subordinates and died in a Soviet prison in 1949.

Noteworthy Individuals

* Arthur Boltze, divisional commander starting 27 September 1939. *

, divisional commander starting 1 May 1942. *

, divisional commander starting 31 May 1942 and again starting 19 December 1944. Final divisional commander. *

Alfred Thielmann Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

, divisional commander starting 20 April 1944.

References

{{Subject bar, portal1=Military of Germany, portal2=World War II Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945