1st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

The German 1st Infantry Division, (German: 1. Infanterie-Division), was one of the original infantry divisions of the Reichswehr and Wehrmacht and served throughout World War II.

1st Infantry Division
1. Infanteriedivision
— 1. InfDiv —
XX
Unit insignia
ActiveOctober 1934 – 8 May 1945
Country Nazi Germany
BranchArmy (Wehrmacht)
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsWorld War II

History

Originally formed as the beginning of Germany's first wave of rearmament, the division was first given the title of Artillerieführer I and only later called Wehrgauleitung Königsberg. These names were an effort to cover Germany's expansion of infantry divisions from seven to twenty-one. The division's infantry regiments were built up from the 1.(Preussisches) Infanterie-Regiment of the 1.Division of the Reichswehr and originally consisted of recruits from East Prussia.[1] The unit's Prussian heritage is represented by the Hohenzollern coat of arms that served as the divisional insignia. Upon the official revelation of the Wehrmacht in October 1935, the unit received its title of 1.Infanterie-Division. In February 1936, the headquarters of the division was moved from Insterburg to Königsberg.

With the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, the 1st Infantry Division advanced toward Warsaw as a component of the XXVI Army Corps in von Küchler's 3rd Army. It engaged Polish forces near the heavily defended town of Mława (see Battle of Mława) for several days, then crossed over the Bug and Narew Rivers. It fought again near Węgrów and Garwolin and ended the campaign east of Warsaw.

Playing a minor role in the invasion of France, the division returned to East Prussia in the autumn of 1940. With the launch of Operation Barbarossa, the 1st Infantry Division participated in the Baltic Operation as part of the 18th Army with Army Group North, advancing on Leningrad. It remained and fought in the area of Leningrad and Lake Ladoga through December 1943. (See Siege of Leningrad.) Transferred to the 1st Panzer Army, the division fought at Krivoy Rog and broke out of an encirclement in March 1944.

The 1st Infantry Division returned to its native East Prussia in the summer 1944. Except for participating in the urgent and temporary link-up with the now-isolated Army Group North in Lithuania (Operation Doppelkopf), the unit remained to defend the easternmost German province from the advancing Red Army. Alternating between 3rd Panzer and 4th Armies, the division was trapped in the Königsberg/Samland area after it was cut off from the rest of Germany by end January 1945.

At 0400 hours on 19 February 1945, elements of the 1st Infantry, led by a captured Soviet T-34 tank, spearheaded a westward offensive from Königsberg intended to link with General Hans Gollnick's XXVIII Corps, which held parts of the Samland peninsula, including the vital port of Pillau. Capturing the town of Metgethen, the unit opened the way for the 5th Panzer Division to join with Gollnick's forces near the town of Gross Heydekrug the next day. This action re-opened the land route from Königsberg to Pillau, allowing for the evacuation of civilian refugees via the port and solidifying the German defense of the area until April.

With the capitulation of Königsberg on 9 April 1945, the surviving elements of the division retreated to Pillau where it later surrendered to the Soviets.

Organization

The 1st Infantry Division was a "Wave 1" division, meaning it existed prior to the outbreak of the war. It was equipped and organized along standard lines for a German infantry division. Its original form in 1934 consisted of two infantry regiments, an artillery regiment, a pioneer battalion, and a signals unit.

The division invaded Poland with the following units under command:

  • 1st Infantry Regiment
  • 22nd Infantry Regiment
  • 43rd Infantry Regiment
  • 1st Artillery Regiment
  • 37th Artillery Regiment
  • 31st Machine-gun Battalion
  • 1st Anti-tank Battalion
  • 1st Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 1st Engineer Battalion
  • 1st Signals Battalion
  • 1st Medical Battalion

Commanders

The following officers commanded the 1st Infantry Division:

Operational history
  • Invasion of Poland, as part of Army Group North:
    • Sept. 1939: Fought in Poland under 3.Armee of German Army Group North
  • Invasion of France as part of Army Group B:
    • May 1940: Reserve division of 6.Armee of German Army Group B in Belgium
    • June 1940: Fought in France under I.Armeekorps of 4.Armee
    • Jul–Aug. 1940: Part of I.Armeekorps of 7.Armee along the Atlantic coast
    • Sept 1940: Transferred to East Prussia under 18.Armee with Army Group B
  • Invasion of the Soviet Union as part of Army Group North:
    • June 1941: Attached to 18.Armee under Army Group North
    • July 1941: Transferred to XXVI.Armeekorps under 18.Armee
    • Aug. 1941: Transferred to XXXXI.Armeekorps of 4.Panzergruppe
    • Sept 1941: Transferred to XXXVIII.Armeekorps of 18.Armee near Peterhof
    • Nov 1941: Reserve division of 18.Armee near Leningrad
    • Dec 1941: Joined XXVIII.Armeekorps near Leningrad
    • May 1942: Rejoined XXVI.Armeekorps near Volkhov
    • June 1942: Rejoined I.Armeekorps near Volkhov
    • Jan 1943: Rejoined XXVI.Armeekorps near Ladoga
    • Feb 1943: Joined LIV.Armeekorps near Ladoga
    • Apr 1943: Rejoined XXVI.Armeekorps near Ladoga
    • Sept 1943: Rejoined XXVIII.Armeekorps near Tigoda
  • Summer 1942 campaign as part of Army Group South:
  • Retreat through Ukraine as part of Army Group North Ukraine:
  • Retreat into Germany:
    • Aug 1944: Rejoined XXVI.Armeekorps under 3.Panzer-Armee of Army Group Centre at Schlossberg
    • Feb 1945: Rejoined XXXXI.Armeekorps under 4.Armee at Königsberg
    • Mar 1945: Reserve division of Armee-Abteilung Samland at Samland
    • Apr 1945: Rejoined XXVI.Armeekorps under Armee Ostpreussen at Pillau
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References

Citations
  1. Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr, Hitler's Legions, The German Army Order of Battle, World War IIItalic textDorset Press, New York, 1985 ISBN 0-8128-2992-1

Bibliography
  • Christopher Duffy. Red Storm on the Reich: The Soviet March on Germany, 1945. New York: Atheneum, 1991. pp 164,165,207 ISBN 0-689-12092-3
  • Samuel W. Mitcham: Crumbling Empire: The German Defeat in the East, 1944. Westport: Praeger, 2001. pp 66,141 ISBN 0-275-96856-1
  • Burkhard Müller-Hillebrand: Das Heer 1933–1945. Entwicklung des organisatorischen Aufbaues. Vol.III: Der Zweifrontenkrieg. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende. Mittler: Frankfurt am Main 1969, p. 285.
  • Georg Tessin: Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg, 1939 – 1945. Vol. II: Die Landstreitkräfte 1 – 5. Mittler: Frankfurt am Main 1966.
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