389th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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The 389th Infantry Division was a German division 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 ...
in the
Second World War 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 ...
, which fought for example in 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 ...
. It was formed on 27 January 1942 in Milowitz.


History

The 389th Infantry division was formed on 27 January 1942 as a division of the 18th mobilization wave on the training area in Milowitz near Prague. The Motto of the division was "''Der Sonne Rad mit Schild und Speer, dem Rhein, dem Reich zu Wehr und Ehr''". It was designed as a "Sturm- und Stoß" division (English: storm and impulse division), whose soldiers had to run through a hard training and a long conscription to fight on the foremost part of the front. The soldiers were mostly veterans of the previous campaigns on the Western Front and the
Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
. From May 1942 onwards, it was employed in battles on the Eastern Front as a part of the 6th Army under the command of
General der Panzertruppe General der Panzertruppe () was a General of the branch OF8 rank of the German Army, introduced in 1935. A ''General der Panzertruppe'' was a Lieutenant General, above Major General (Generalleutnant), commanding a Panzer corps. Rank and ran ...
Friedrich Paulus Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). The battle ended ...
. After he had taken over the command in January 1942, the Red Army launched an
offensive Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
near the city of
Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.
. The German troops could repel the attack and conducted a successful counter-offensive, during which they encircled the Soviet formations. In this engagement, the
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, after ...
sustained great casualties. The 389th Infantry Division also participated in the German summer offensive
Operation Blau Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the German Armed Forces' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of the Cauca ...
, which had the aim to capture the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
and
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 ...
. Stalingrad should then be used to prevent the Soviet forces from using the
Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
as a supply route. The 6th Army should advance to Stalingrad. After the start of the offensive on 28 June 1942, Axis forces of
Army Group B Army Group B (German: ') was the title of three German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. Operational history Army Group B first took part in the Battle of France in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands. The second formation of ...
could advance quickly. By 23 August, German units reached the Volga north of the city. It was then planned that the 6th Army should encircle the Soviet 62nd and 64th Army together with
4th Panzer Army The 4th Panzer Army (german: 4. Panzerarmee) (operating as Panzer Group 4 (german: 4. Panzergruppe) from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, when it was redesignated as a full army) was a German panzer formation during World War ...
. The 4th Panzer Army started the attack regularly on 29 August. However, the 6th Army was still confronted with a Soviet counter-attack. Therefore, it could only attack 3 days later. This gave the Soviet forces to withdraw from the future pocket. During 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 389th Infantry Division was the main force of the failed attack on the tractor factory. During the Soviet counter-offensive beginning under the codename
Operation Uranus Operation Uranus (russian: Опера́ция «Ура́н», Operatsiya "Uran") was the codename of the Soviet Red Army's 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis ...
on 19 November 1942, the division's remnants were captured after the Axis capitulation on 2 February 1943. The division was reformed from 17 February 1943 onwards in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Its forces consisted of survivors and persons, who had been in furlough. In the end of September 1943, the 389th Infantry Division was redeployed on the Eastern Front, where it took part in fierce engagements in Dnjepr section causing high casualties among the division's forces. Afterwards, on 25 January, the 2nd Ukrainian Front conducted a massive attack, due to which forces of the 57th Infantry Division were sent to help the 389th Infantry Division. However, the support arrived too late and the division could just take up remnants of the 389. ID. As the
2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev O ...
then marched North, this division was pushed into the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket. Again, the 389. ID was reformed in
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
in March 1944 and employed as part of
Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comma ...
in the
Kurland Pocket The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...
, where it fought until February 1945. Then, it was redeployed to Western Prussia. In the end of the war, it was captured by Soviet forces on the
Hel Peninsula Hel Peninsula (; pl, Mierzeja Helska, Półwysep Helski; csb, Hélskô Sztremlëzna; german: Halbinsel Hela or ''Putziger Nehrung'') is a sand bar peninsula in northern Poland separating the Bay of Puck from the open Baltic Sea. It is loc ...
.


Commanders

*
Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...
Erwin Jaenecke __NOTOC__ Erwin Jaenecke (22 April 1890 – 3 July 1960), was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 17th Army. Jaenecke served on the Eastern Front as commander of the 389th Infantry Division and late ...
(February 1942 – November 1942) *
Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...
Erich Magnus (November 1942 – January 1943) * Generalmajor Martin Lattmann (January 1943 – April 1943) * Generalmajor Erwin Gerlach (April 1943 – November 1943) *
Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...
Kurt Kruse (November 1943 – March 1944) * Generalmajor Paul Herbert Forster (March 1944 – April 1944) *
General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...
Walther Hahm __NOTOC__ Walther Hahm (21 December 1894 – 11 August 1951) was a German general during World War II who held several commands at division and corps level. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi German ...
(April 1944 – September 1944) * Generalleutnant Fritz Becker (September 1944 – End)


Organization

* Infanterie-Regiment 544 (
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
) * Infanterie-Regiment 545 (
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
) * Infanterie-Regiment 546 (
Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
) * Artillerie-Regiment 389 ** I. Btl. ** II. Btl. ** III. Btl. ** IV. Btl. * Feldersatz-Bataillon 389 - Field Replacement battalion * Pionier-Bataillon 389 - Pioneer battalion * Panzerjäger-Abteilung 389 - Tank hunter battalion * Aufklärungs-Abteilung 389 - Reconnaissance battalion * Füsilier-Bataillon 389 - Fusilier battalion * Infanterie-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung 389 - Signals battalion * Infanterie-Divisions-Nachschubführer 389- Supply battalion


Literature

* Wilhelm Hauck, ''Die deutschen Infanterie-Divisionen Aufstellungsjahre 1939–1945'', Band 3, 1993, Podzun- Verlag, . * David M. Glantz: ''Armageddon in Stalingrad: September–November 1942 (The Stalingrad Trilogy, Volume 2)''. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence 2009, . * David M. Glantz with Jonathan M. House, ''To the Gates of Stalingrad: Soviet-German Combat Operations, April–August 1942'' (The Stalingrad Trilogy, Volume I), University of Kansas Press, Lawrence 2009, . * Florian von und zu Aufsess, ''Die Anlagenbänder zu den Kriegstagebüchern der 6. Armee'', Band I, Selbstverlag Schwabach 2006 * Florian von und zu Aufsess, ''Die Anlagenbänder zu den Kriegstagebüchern der 6. Armee'', Band II, Selbstverlag Schwabach 2006 * Florian von und zu Aufsess, ''Die Anlagenbänder zu den Kriegstagebüchern der 6. Armee'', Band III, Selbstverlag Schwabach 2006 * Janusz Piekalkiewicz, ''Stalingrad, Anatomie einer Schlacht'', 4. Auflage, Heyne-Verlag München 1992, * Armeeoberkommando 6, Kriegstagebuch Nr. 12 vom 23. Mai - 19. Juli 1942, Bundesarchiv -Militärarchiv Freiburg-, RH 20-6/176 * Armeeoberkommando 6, Kriegstagebuch Nr. 13 / 1. Band vom 20. Juli - 26. August, Bundesarchiv -Militärarchiv Freiburg-, RH 20-6/198 {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945