206th Infantry Division (Germany)

206th Infantry Division (Germany)

The German 206th Infantry Division (German designation "206. Infanterie-Division", nickname "Pique As", 'Ace of spades', after the divisional emblem), was a military unit that served during World War II. Like most German infantry units it had no motorization, and relied on leg and horse mobility.

History

The 206th Infantry Division was raised on 17 August 1939 in Insterburg, East Prussia. It served during the Invasion of Poland in 1939 as a reserve division for Army Group North.

The 206th participated in Operation Typhoon as part of the XXIII Corps under the Ninth Army. At this time, the division was under the command of Lieutenant General Hugo Höfl. The division is known to have used Marder Is from January 1943 to December 1943.

In mid-1944, the division, now under the command of Lieutenant General Alfons Hitter, was one of those defending the Vitebsk salient as part of 3rd Panzer Army's LIII Corps. The Soviet offensive, Operation Bagration, which commenced on 22 June, saw the entire corps encircled within a matter of days, after Soviet breakthroughs around the city. While the Oberkommando des Heeres, after realising the situation was hopeless, reluctantly authorised a breakout operation by the other three divisions involved, the 206th was ordered to stay in Vitebsk and fight to the last man.

By 26 June Soviet forces had fought their way into the city, and General Gollwitzer, LIII Corps' commander, ordered the 206th to withdraw in defiance of the OKH orders. It was too late, however, and the division was almost entirely killed or taken prisoner. Its commander, Lt-Gen Hitter, went on to join the NKFD in Soviet captivity.

Component units

* 301st, 312th, and 413th Infantry Regiments

ee also

* List of German divisions in World War II
* Order of battle of the German Ninth Army, October 1941


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division — Infobox Military Unit unit name=50th (Northumbrian) Division caption=Insignia of the 50th Division dates=World War II country=United Kingdom allegiance= branch=British Army type=Infantry role= size= Approximately 18,000 men command structure= XXX …   Wikipedia

  • 1st Infantry Division (Romania) — Infobox Military Unit unit name=1st Infantry Division Divizia 1 Infanterie caption=Official emblem of the 1st Infantry Division nickname= motto= colors= march= ceremonial chief= type= branch=Romanian Land Forces dates=16 August 1916 present… …   Wikipedia

  • 4th Ersatz Division (German Empire) — Infobox Military Unit unit name=4th Ersatz Division ( 4. Ersatz Division ) dates=1914 1918 country=Germany branch=Army type=Infantry size=Approx. 15,000 battles=World War I: Battle of the Frontiers, Siege of Antwerp, Battle of the Yser, Second… …   Wikipedia

  • Blue Division — For other uses, see Blue Division (disambiguation). 250. Infanterie Division (span.) 250th Infantry Division (Spanish) División Española de Voluntarios Spanish Volunteer Division …   Wikipedia

  • 442nd Infantry Regiment (United States) — 442nd Regimental Combat Team 442nd Infantry Regiment Coat of Arms Active August 1944–August 1946 July 1947–December 1969 …   Wikipedia

  • VI Corps (Germany) — Infobox Military Unit unit name=VI. Armeekorps dates=October 1934 March 1945 country=Germany allegiance= branch=Heer type=Army Corps role= size= command structure= current commander= garrison= ceremonial chief= colonel of the regiment= nickname=… …   Wikipedia

  • List of World War II topics (0-9) — # 1 Alpine Division Taurinense # 1 Alpini Regiment # 1 Cent WWII (Dutch coin) # 1 Mountain Artillery Regiment (Italy) # 1 vs 40 (Zipang manga) # 1. Jagd Division # 1.1 /75 caliber gun # 10 cm K 17 # 10.5 cm FlaK 38 # 10.5 cm leFH 16 # 10.5 cm… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Târgu Frumos — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Târgu Frumos (1st Iasi Kishinev Offensive) partof=Soviet German War, World War II caption=Advance of the Red Army 1943 1944 date=April May 1944 place=Eastern Romania territory= result=Axis victory… …   Wikipedia

  • List of German divisions in World War II — This is a list of German divisions in World War II. Only ground units are covered; divisions of aircraft are not.Upgrades and reorganizations are shown only to identify the variant names for what is notionally a single unit; other upgrades and… …   Wikipedia

  • Battle of Kursk — Operation Citadel Part of the Eastern Front of World War II …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”