The 35th Infantry Division (German: ''35. Infanteriedivision'') was a
German Army 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 opposing ...
.
History
The 35th Infantry Division was raised in October 1936 in Germany's re-militarisation. It was mostly used on the eastern front.
In May 1940, the division was part of the German forces sent to invade France and Belgium, remaining as an occupational formation in the two nations until June the next year, when it took part in
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
(the invasion of the Soviet Union). Between then and April 1945 the division would remain in the central and southern sectors before being forced back to East Prussia by the advancing
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
.
The 35th Infantry Division was one of many
Wehrmacht units which committed war crimes in the Soviet Union. During early 1944 it was involved in an operation in the
Gomel Region
Gomel Region or Gomel Oblast or Homiel Voblasts ( be, Го́мельская во́бласць, Homielskaja vobłasć, russian: Гомельская область, Gomelskaya oblast) is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center i ...
of Belarus in which 40,000 civilians were expelled from their homes as the German Army retreated; approximately 9,000 civilians died. The 35th Infantry Division undertook a similar operation in early April 1944 in which it rounded up civilians who it then either used for forced labour or expelled from the region; 3,500 were expelled. During that month, the divisional engineer battalion's third company massacred civilians in the towns of
Karpilovka and
Rudabelka. This operation was planned by the company's officers, who retained control over their soldiers during the killings. Nine members of the division were convicted of this massacre by a Soviet military tribunal in 1947 and sentenced to 25 years hard labour.
Commanders
*''Generalleutnant'' Hubert Schaller-Kallide (12 Oct 1936 - 24 November 1938)
*''General der Infanterie'' Hans Wolfgang Reinhard (24 November 1938 - 25 November 1940)
*''General der Infanterie''
Walther Fischer von Weikersthal (25 November 1940 - 1 December 1941)
*''General der Artillerie''
Rudolf Freiherr von Roman (1 December 1941 - 10 September 1942)
*''Generalleutnant''
Ludwig Merker (10 September 1942 - April 1943)
*''Generalleutnant''
Otto Drescher (Apr 1943 - 8 June 1943)
*''Generalleutnant'' Ludwig Merker (8 June 1943 - 5 November 1943)
*''Generalleutnant''
Johann-Georg Richert (5 November 1943 - 9 April 1944)
*''Generalmajor''
Gustav Gihr
Gustav Gihr (18 August 1894 – 31 October 1959) was a German general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany 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 19 ...
(9 April 1944 - 11 May 1944)
*''Generalleutnant'' Johann-Georg Richert (11 May 1944 - May 1945)
*''Generalmajor'' der Reserve Dr.
Ernst Meiners (May 1945)
Order of battle
;1939
*34.''Infanterie-Regiment''
*109. ''Infanterie-Regiment''
*111. ''Infanterie-Regiment''
*35. ''Aufklärungs-Abteilung''
*35. ''Artillerie-Regiment''
*35. ''Beobachtungs-Abteilung''
*35. ''Pionier-Bataillon''
*35. ''Panzerabwehr-Abteilung''
*35. ''Nachrichten-Abteilung''
*35. ''Feldersatz-Bataillon''
*35. ''Versorgungseinheiten''
;1942
*34. ''Füsilier-Regiment''
*109. ''Grenadier-Regiment''
*111. ''Grenadier-Regiment''
*35. ''Radfahr-Abteilung''
*35. ''Artillerie-Regiment''
*35. ''Pionier-Bataillon''
*35. ''Panzerjäger-Abteilung''
*35. ''Nachrichten-Abteilung''
*35. ''Feldersatz-Bataillon''
*35. ''Versorgungseinheiten''
;1943
*34. ''Füsilier-Regiment''
*109. ''Grenadier-Regiment''
*111. ''Grenadier-Regiment''
*35. ''Füsilier-Bataillon''
*35. ''Artillerie-Regiment''
*35. ''Pionier-Bataillon''
*35. ''Panzerjäger-Abteilung''
*35. ''Nachrichten-Abteilung''
*35. ''Feldersatz-Bataillon''
*35. ''Versorgungseinheiten''
See also
*
Division (military),
Military unit,
List of German divisions in World War II
This article lists divisions of the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) and Waffen-SS active during World War II, including divisions of the Heer (army), Luftwaffe (air force), and the Kriegsmarine (navy).
Upgrades and reorganizations are shown only ...
*
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, ''
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 previo ...
''
References
;Citations
;Works consulted
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{{DEFAULTSORT:35th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
Military units and formations established in 1936
Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
0*035
War crimes of the Wehrmacht