| 111th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
| 111. Infanterie-Division | |
 | |
| Active | November 1940 – May 1944 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | World War II |
The 111th Infantry Division was a major unit of the German Wehrmacht. Formed in late 1940 in the further expansion of the German army it was committed to the campaign against Russian, and spent 3 years on the eastern front. The division was finally trapped in the Crimea and destroyed in the spring of 1944.
In May 1941, the division moved to the German-occupied zone of Poland, ready for the launch of operation Barbarossa in June. After crossing the Bug river, the division advanced on Dubno, where it fought off Russian counter attracts by the xx Mechanised corps, 34th Tank division. As part of 6th Army the division continued to push the soviet 5th Army forces back towards Kiev and by the end of August the division had reached the Dnieper river north of the Ukrainian capital, and formed bridgehead with 113th and the 298th Infantry Divisions. On 1 September these forces attacked out of the bridgehead striking into the rear of the Russian xxx Front, as a part of the huge encirclement operation around Kiev. The division went on to trap and help with the destruction the Russian 37th Army. After the great battle, the Soviet resistance in the southern Russia lessened and the forces under Army Group South were able to push eastwards on a broad front.
After the capture of Rostov-on-Don, Kleist's Panzer Army was forced to retreat to the line of the Mius-Front, where at the end of December 1941 saw the division on the line of Nikitovka - Debalcevo. But in the middle of January 1942 the division had to stop a deep penetration by the enemy in area of Barvenkovo-Vine.
After a long period of rest, the division joined the summer offensive, advancing with the 17th Army to the Caucasus, passing through the Rostov-on-Don, Mozdok, Nalchik, and Ordzhonikidze., Due to the impending threat of envelopment after the Battle of Stalingrad Army Group A had to quickly return to the line of the Mius-Front, and Taganrog, where the division remained on the defensive until the end of July 1943. After the failure of the German summer offensive at Kursk, the German army was forced to retreat, the 111th gradually rolled back to the West, defending the approaches to Melitopol to the end of September 1943, then to Nikopol until February 1944. The division then was switched to the defence of the Crimea, where it was destroyed. The last remnants were evacuated by ship in May 1944, and the division was officially disbanded.
The 111th Infantry Division was formed on 6 November 1940 as part of the 12th Wave at Fallingbostel in Military District XI.
The 50th Infantry regiment was transferred to the division from 3rd Infantry division, which was in the process of converting to a motorised division, with only 2 infantry regiments. The regiment had already fought in France and Poland with the 3Rd Division.
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The 117th Infantry Regiment was formed in November 1940 from Fortress Regiment D.
In 1941 it contained
Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist was a German Generalfeldmarschall of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Born into the Prussian noble family von Kleist, Kleist entered the Prussian Army in 1900 and commanded a cavalry squadron during World War I. Kleist joined the Reichswehr of inter-war Germany before being discharged in 1938.
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The 339th Rifle Division was first formed in late August, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Rostov-on-Don. As it was formed in part from reservists and cadre that included members of the Communist Party from that city, it carried the honorific title "Rostov" for the duration. In late November it was part of the force that counterattacked the German 1st Panzer Army in the Battle of Rostov and forced its retreat from the city, one of the first major setbacks for the invaders. During 1942 the division was forced to retreat into the Caucasus, where it fought to defend the passes leading to the Black Sea ports. In 1943 it fought to liberate the Taman Peninsula, and then in early 1944 to also liberate Crimea. In the following months the division was reassigned to the 1st Belorussian Front, with which it took part in the Battle of Berlin in 1945. Following a distinguished career, the division was disbanded in the summer of that year.
Aleksei Aleksandrovich Grechkin was a Soviet army commander.
The 387th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming on September 1, 1941, in the Central Asia Military District. It first served in the winter counteroffensive south of Moscow, then spent the spring and summer of 1942 on the relatively quiet fronts southwest of the capital in the area of Kaluga and Tula. In September it was withdrawn to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command where it joined the 1st Reserve Army. This became the 2nd Guards Army and the division fought south of Stalingrad against Army Group Don during the German attempt to relieve their encircled 6th Army in December. During January and into February, 1943, 2nd Guards advanced on both sides of the lower Don River towards Rostov in a race to prevent Army Group A from escaping being trapped in the Caucasus region. The division was now part of Southern Front and it would remain in that Front until May, 1944. During the summer advance through the Donbas and southern Ukraine the 387th served under several different army commands before returning to 2nd Guards for the Crimean Offensive in April, 1944, during which it won a battle honor. After the Crimea was cleared the division remained there as part of the Separate Coastal Army until it went back to the Reserve in March, 1945. It then was assigned to the 2nd Ukrainian Front as a separate rifle division, and spent the last weeks of the war in Hungary and Austria. It continued to serve briefly into the postwar period.
The 395th Rifle Division was converted from a militia division to a regular infantry division of the Red Army in October 1941. From 1941-45, it fought against the German invasion, Operation Barbarossa. As a militia unit it was under command of the Kharkov Military District and designated as the Voroshilovgrad Militia Division, although it was unofficially known as the 395th before it was converted. It took part in the fighting near Rostov-on-Don during the winter of 1941–42 in the 18th Army, and retreated with that Army into the northern Caucasus mountains in the face of the German summer offensive, fighting under the command of the 18th and 12th Armies, then in the 56th Army in October. As the Axis forces retreated from the Caucasus in early 1943 it was sent to the 46th and later to the 37th Army of North Caucasus Front. During the battles that cleared the German forces from the Taman peninsula from August to October the 395th was back in 56th Army and was awarded a battle honor for its part in the campaign. By the end of 1943 it had returned to 18th Army, now under 1st Ukrainian Front near Kyiv. In January 1944 the division was decorated with both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. With its Front it advanced through western Ukraine, Poland and eastern Germany, finally taking part in the Lower Silesian, Berlin, and Prague offensives in early 1945 as part of 13th Army.
The 118th Rifle Division was thrice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. The first formation was based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It was based at Kostroma through its early existence. After the German invasion in June 1941 it was rushed to the front as part of the 41st Rifle Corps and arrived at the Pskov Fortified Area between July 2–4. Under pressure from the 4th Panzer Group the division commander, Maj. Gen. Nikolai Mikhailovich Glovatsky, requested permission on July 8 to retreat east across the Velikaya River. There is some question if he received written orders and in any case the retreat fell into chaos due to a prematurely-blown bridge. Glovatskii was arrested on July 19, sentenced to death a week later and shot on August 3. The battered division had by then moved north to Gdov and came under command of 8th Army but could not be rebuilt due to a lack of replacements and on September 27 it was disbanded.