The 94th Infantry Division (German: ''94. Infanteriedivision'') 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.

History

Formation and the west campaign

The 94th Infantry Division was raised in September 1939 as part of the fifth wave from men of Military District number 4 ( Wehrkreis 4), which comprised

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 ...

and

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

. The division was then sent to the

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

in December, should the French invade. The division then aided the 6th Army in their border-crossing the following year. Following a fatal car collision in August 1940, ''General of the Infantry'' Hellmuth Volkmann was replaced by ''Major General''

Georg Pfeiffer Georg Pfeiffer (5 May 1890 – 28 June 1944) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany who commanded the VI Army Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Pfeiffer was killed in an air attack on 28 June 1944 at Mog ...

The east campaign and destruction

In June 1941, the 94th Division attacked the Soviet Union with a large number of other German divisions. However; until October 1942, the 94th was assigned to the occupied Ukraine. In June 1942, ''Major General'' Pfeiffer was promoted to ''Lieutenant General''. During the

Case Blue 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 ...

offensive, the division was sent with the 6th Army as a component of LI Corps to capture the industrial Russian city of

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 ...

, which was considered important in crushing Soviet morale. 94th Infantry Division was cut off from supplies and reinforcements outside of Stalingrad, as a Soviet pincer-movement left the 6th Army surrounded. The commander Lieutenant General Pfeiffer and his staff were flown out on December 11. The remnants of the 94th division surrendered in the last days of January 1943.

Recreation and surrender

The 94th was recreated later in 1943 and later moved to the Mediterranean, where the Allies opened up a new front in Italy. In Autumn 1944, remnants of the 95th Infantry and 278th Volksgrenadier Divisions were reconstituted as part of the 94th Infantry. The division surrendered on 22 April 1945.

War crimes

The division has been implicated in the San Polo massacre (

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

), on 14 July 1944, when 63 civilians were executed.

Order of battle

;1942 *267th Grenadier Regiment *274th Grenadier Regiment *276th Grenadier Regiment *194th Schnelle Abteilung *194th Artillery Regiment *194th Engineer Battalion *194th Signal Battalion *194th Supply Detachment ;1943 *267th Grenadier Regiment *274th Grenadier Regiment *276th Grenadier Regiment *194th Reconnaissance Battalion *194th Artillery Regiment *194th Engineer Battalion *194th Anti-tank Battalion *194th Signal Battalion *194th Field-replacement Battalion *194th Supply Detachment

Commanders

*''General of the Infantry''

Hellmuth Volkmann Hellmuth is both a masculine German given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Hellmuth Heye (1895–1970), German admiral and politician * Hellmuth Hirth (1886–1938), German engineer who founded engine manufa ...

(25 September 1939 – 21 August 1940) *''General of the Artillery''

(21 August 1940 – 2 January 1944) *''Lieutenant General''

Bernhard Steinmetz Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar *Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 1946 ...

(2 January 1944 – 22 April 1945)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:94th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) German units in Normandy Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 0*094 1939 establishments in Germany