The 91st Air Landing Division (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

''91. Luftlande-Infanterie-Division'') 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 ...

infantry division in

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 ...

History

The division was originally formed as an air landing division (''Luftlandedivision'') trained and equipped to be transported by aircraft (i.e. having only light artillery and few heavy support weapons) to take part in

Operation Tanne Ost Operation Tanne Ost ("Fir East") was a German operation during World War II to capture the island Suursaari (Swedish: ''Hogland'', Russian: ''Gogland'') in the Gulf of Finland before it could fall into Soviet hands. Suursaari was especially imp ...

, an aborted airborne operation in Scandinavia. Despite its name, the 91st in practice was a regular ''Heer'' unit and spent its entire existence as a conventional infantry division. Formed in the

Baumholder Baumholder () is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in the Westrich, an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France. The town of Baumholder is the administrative seat of the like-named ''Verb ...

area from replacement center personnel in January 1944 under the command of ''Generalleutnant'' Bruno Ortner, its command was transferred to ''Generalleutnant''

Wilhelm Falley __NOTOC__ Wilhelm Falley (25 September 1897 – 6 June 1944) was the first German general to be killed during the Normandy landings in France. He was commander of the 91st Infantry Division. Career Promoted to major general in December 1943, and ...

and moved to the

Cotentin The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; nrf, Cotentîn ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its w ...

peninsula with von der Heydte's 6th Parachute Regiment and 100th Panzer Replacement and Training Battalion, armed with captured

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

light tanks, attached as part of the German 7th Army. Located within the

landing zones In military terminology a landing zone (LZ) is an area where aircraft can land. In the United States military, a landing zone is the actual point where aircraft, especially helicopters, land (equivalent to the commonwealth landing point.) In c ...

of both the U.S. 82nd and

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

s, it saw heavy fighting around Sainte-Marie-du-Mont with its divisional commander being killed. Placed under the temporary command of ''Generalmajor'' Bernard Klosterkemper, It attempted to block the

U.S. 4th Infantry Division The 4th Infantry Division is a division of the United States Army based at Fort Carson, Colorado. It is composed of a division headquarters battalion, three brigade combat teams (two Stryker and one armor), a combat aviation brigade, a divis ...

's advance off

Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...

Carentan Carentan () is a small rural town near the north-eastern base of the French Cotentin Peninsula in Normandy in north-western France, with a population of about 6,000. It is a former commune in the Manche department. On 1 January 2016, it was merg ...

where its 1058th Grenadier Regiment was all but destroyed. After the second week of 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 ...

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

the 91st had suffered so many casualties it was no longer considered combat effective as a unit. Now at battle group strength, it was attached to the

77th Infantry Division 77th Division or 75th Infantry Division may refer to: *77th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht), Germany *77th Infantry Division of Khurasan, Iran *77th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) *77th Division (People's Republic of China) *77th Division (Spain ...

then to the 243rd Infantry Division in Corps von Schlieban defending

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

where most of its remaining forces were captured by the Americans. Remnants of the division under the command of Colonel Eugen Konig escaped to the south. Despite recommendation the unit be dissolved ''Oberkommando des Heer'' (OKH) chose to rebuild it adding replacement battalions and sending it back to the front in early August. Defending

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

from

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

U.S. Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

, it again suffered heavy casualties and was reduced to battle group strength. It followed the German retreat to the

Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the west ...

and was later consolidated with the remains of the 275th and 344th Infantry Divisions to form the 344th

Volksgrenadier ''Volksgrenadier'' was the name given to a type of German Army division formed in the Autumn of 1944 after the double loss of Army Group Center to the Soviets in Operation Bagration and the Fifth Panzer Army to the Allies in Normandy. The name ...

Division.

Commanders

*''Generalleutnant''

Bruno Ortner Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

(10 February 1944 – 25 April 1944) *''Generalleutnant''

(25 April 1944 – 6 June 1944) KIA *''Generalmajor''

Bernhard Klosterkemper Bernhard Klosterkemper (17 April 1897 – 19 July 1962) was a German general (Generalmajor) in the Wehrmacht during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Klosterkemper surrendered to Allied troops i ...

(6 June 1944 – 10 June 1944) *''Generalleutnant''

Eugen König __NOTOC__ Eugen König (19 September 1896 – 8 April 1985) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Awards and decorations * Iron Cross ...

(10 June 1944 – 10 August 1944)

Organization (June 1944)

*Command *1057th Grenadier Regiment *1058th Grenadier Regiment *191st Mountain Artillery Regiment *191st Engineer Battalion *191st Anti-tank Company *191st Field Replacement Battalion *191st Anti-aircraft Company *191st Signals Battalion *6th Parachute Regiment (attached from the 2nd Parachute Division) *100th Panzer Replacement and Training Battalion (attached)

References

* * Pipes, Jason.
91.Infanterie-Division
. * Wendel, Marcus (2004).
91. Luftlande Infanterie-Division
. *

. German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved 7 April 2005. * Mitcham, Samuel (1985). Hitlers Legions The German Army Order of Battle {{DEFAULTSORT:91st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) Infantry091 Military units and formations established in 1944 9*91 Military units and formations disestablished in 1944