The 305th Infantry Division (designated 305. Infanterie-Division in German) was a

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

unit that saw extensive, front-line action during World War II. This division was present at 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 ...

, the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino, was a series of four assaults made by the Allies against German forces in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The ultimate objective was ...

, and surrendered to

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

's 88th Infantry Division in

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

near

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

in late April 1945.

Formation

The 305th Infantry Division was part of the 13th wave of ''

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 ...

'' mobilizations October through November 1940. As of December 1940, the 305th Infantry Division was based out of

Ravensburg Ravensburg ( Swabian: ''Raveschburg'') is a city in Upper Swabia in Southern Germany, capital of the district of Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg. Ravensburg was first mentioned in 1088. In the Middle Ages, it was an Imperial Free City and an impo ...

Upper Swabia Upper Swabia (german: Oberschwaben or ) is a region in Germany in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.''Brockhaus Enzyklopädie.'' 19. Auflage. Band 16, 1991, p. 72. The name refers to the area between the Sw ...

on the

Bodensee Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lake ...

Division history

Battle of Stalingrad

The 305 Infantry Division was under the command of Lieutenant General Kurt Oppenländer during the Battle of Stalingrad. Infanterie-Regiment 578 was disbanded on 21 December, due to the Divisions inability to maintain three line regiments, and its constituent Bataillone were redistributed to the Divisions remaining Infanterie Regiments. The remnants of the Division surrendered in the northern kessel on 2 February 1943. Under Construction

First formation

*By December 1940, the 305th was as a garrison division absorbing one-third of the 78th Infantry Division and the 296th Infantry Division. *On 7 February 1942 the division was converted from garrison division to a field division. *In March 1942 divisions received full

armaments A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

and was led up to staff infantry division. *In May 1942 the division arrived on southern segment front in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, where it participated as part of the VIII Army Corps in the

Second Battle of Kharkov The Second Battle of Kharkov or Operation Fredericus was an Axis counter-offensive in the region around Kharkov against the Red Army Izium bridgehead offensive conducted 12–28 May 1942, on the Eastern Front during World War II. Its objectiv ...

and

Battle of Kalach The Battle of Kalach) and English-language historiography. The Soviet history of World War II (История второй мировой войны 1939–1945 в двенадцати томах) considers the battles at Kalach to have been ...

. *From August 1942 the division is engaged against

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

forces towards

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

and later in the city of Stalingrad itself. *The division was destroyed in the North Sector of

in January 1943. *Last units of the 305th see action on 1 February 1943 near the tractor factory in the North Sector of

.Very few survivors and wounded made it out of the city.

Second formation

The 305th ID was reformed in Brittany (France) during the first half of 1943. After Mussolini's fall, the division was relocated in August 1943, to the Ligurian coast in the Italian theater of war. During

Operation Achse Operation Achse (german: Fall Achse, lit=Case Axis), originally called Operation Alaric (), was the codename for the German operation to forcibly disarm the Italian armed forces after Italy's armistice with the Allies on 3 September 1943. S ...

, she was entrusted with the occupation of the military port of

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

, but could not prevent the escape of the Italian warships anchored there. In October, the division was moved to southern Italy in the eastern section of the

Volturno Line The Volturno Line (also known as the Viktor Line; , ) was a German defensive position in Italy during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The line ran from Termoli in the east, along the Biferno River through the Apennine Mountains to the Vo ...

, where she took part in defensive battles against the advancing 5th US Army. She then withdrew to the Sangro River in the eastern section of the

Gustav Line The Winter Line was a series of German and Italian military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt and commanded by Albert Kesselring. The series of three lines was designed to defend a western section of ...

. After the fall of the Gustav Line in the spring of 1944, the division, with the allies in close pursuit, marched towards Umbria and had to be replenished with troops from the

94th Infantry Division In military terms, 94th Division or 94th Infantry Division may refer to: * 94th Division (People's Republic of China) * 94th Infantry Division (German Empire) * 94th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) * 94th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) * 94th Gu ...

.
Before retreating to the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German Defense line, defensive line of the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Generalfeldmarschall, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's la ...

in the summer of 1944, she fought against Allied forces in Tuscany near

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea level. ...

and in

Casentino The Casentino is the valley in which the first tract of the river Arno flows to Subbiano, Italy. It is one of the four valleys (alongside Valdarno, Valdichiana, and Valtiberina) in which the Province of Arezzo is divided. Mount Falterona, from ...

. From autumn 1944 to the Allied spring offensive in April 1945, the 305th division was stationed in Romagna, east of

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

. The division was taken prisoner in May 1945 north of

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

War crimes

The division has been implicated in a number of war crimes in Italy between October 1943 and April 1945, with up to twelve civilians executed in each incident.

Commanding officers

*Generalleutnant Kurt Pflugradt (15 Dec 1940 – 12 Apr 1942) *Generalleutnant

Kurt Oppenländer __NOTOC__ Kurt Oppenländer (11 February 1892 – 17 March 1947) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Oppenländer died in ...

(12 Apr 1942 – 1 Nov 1942) *Generalleutnant Bernhard Steinmetz (1 Nov 1942 – 31 Jan 1943) * Dr. Ing. Albrecht Czimatis (31 Jan - 2 Feb 1943), surrendered *General der Artillerie

Friedrich-Wilhelm Hauck __NOTOC__ Friedrich-Wilhelm Hauck (10 January 1897 – 15 April 1979) was a German general during World War II who commanded several corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Biography Under his command, the 305th Inf ...

(5 Mar 1943 – ? Dec 1944) *Oberst Friedrich Trompeter (? Dec 1944 – 29 Dec 1944) *Generalmajor Friedrich von Schellwitz (29 Dec 1944 – 8 May 1945)

Order of battle

1942

*Infanterie-Regiment 576 *Infanterie-Regiment 577 *Infanterie-Regiment 578 *Artillerie-Regiment 305 *Pionier-Bataillon 305 *Panzerjäger-Abteilung 305 *Nachrichten-Abteilung 305 *Versorgungseinheiten 305

1944

*Grenadier-Regiment 576 *Grenadier-Regiment 577 *Grenadier-Regiment 578 *Füsilier-Bataillon 305 *Artillerie-Regiment 305 *Pionier-Bataillon 305 *Panzerjäger-Abteilung 305 *Nachrichten-Abteilung 305 *Feldersatz-Bataillon 305 *Versorgungseinheiten 305

Knight's Cross Holders

Wilhelm Braun (20-January-1943)
Josef Bruetsch (17-February-1945)

(25-July-1942)

References

German

* *

English

* {{DEFAULTSORT:305th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) Military units and formations established in 1940 German units at the Battle of Stalingrad Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Upper Swabia Military units and formations disestablished in 1945