12th Luftwaffe Field Division

12th Luftwaffe Field Division
12. Luftwaffen-Feld-Division
Active	1942 – 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Engagements	World War II Eastern Front Siege of Leningrad Riga Offensive (1944) Courland Pocket East Pomeranian Offensive

The 12th Luftwaffe Field Division (German: 12. Luftwaffen-Feld-Division) was a major military organization of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. The Luftwaffe Field Division was formed from Flieger-Regiment 12 at the end of 1942, and was assigned to Army Group North s 18th Army , XXVIII Army Corps in early 1943. It was sent to a Volkhov river sector, just South of the 61st Infantry Division and saw action near the Kirischi bridgehead & was partly responsible for stopping Soviet drives in the area Siege of Leningrad. ^{[1] [2]} In January 1944 it was listed as one of the stronger divisions in Army Group North, according to documents. It was scheduled as a 'Category III' formation that is capable of Full Defense. It made a fighting withdrawal to defend Luga and took heavy losses, listed as having 7424 men out of whom only 1481 were the actual bayonet strength. It had begun to withdraw with around 11,000 men. The division remained north of & defending Pskov until August 1944, during this time it was almost constantly in action. In March 1944 it absorbed the remnants of the Felddivision 13 (L). During this time its Jager regiments were reduced to two battalions. In May 1944 Army Group North stated in their daily war diary that only seven out of its thirty-two divisions were at 'full combat readiness'. Felddivision 12 (L) was considered 'one of the best divisions in the army group'. By September 1944 the German Divisions of Army Group North had been pushed back to Courland in Latvia Courland Pocket but still held the capital Riga. By 10 October the German divisions in the Riga bridgehead had repulsed thirteen major assaults Riga Offensive. Withdrawn to replenish the division was placed on the islands of Hiumaa & Saaremaa in the gulf of Riga. Where it defended against Red Army attempts to take the islands. Withdrawn from the islands the division took its place defending Courland after the withdrawal from Riga. During this time the strength of its Regiments were reduced by 1 battalion each once more although it did absorb a Latvian security battalion to replace one in the 24th Regiment. After taking part in four of the battles for the Courland pocket the division was withdrawn by ship to Danzig on 8 March 1945 & made part of the 2nd Army's XXIII Army Corps. It was employed there between Danzig and Zoppot & took part in the defence against the Soviets East Pomeranian Offensive until the end of March 1945, when it had been almost completely wiped out. A small group of men from the Division managed to make a fighting withdrawl through Loblau-Prangenau then via Zoppot to Gotenhafen. Where they boarded an evacuation ship on March 31 1945 bound for Schlewswig-Holstein, they arrived in April 1945. Felddivision 12 (L) is considered as one of the two best Luftwaffe Field Divisions. ^{[3] [4]}

Commanders

• Generalleutnant Herbert Kettner 14 December 1942 - 15 November 1943
• Generalmajor Gottfied Webber 15 November 1943 - 10 April 1945
• Generalleutnant Franz Schlieper 10 April 1945 - 8 May 1945

Known division members

• Hanns Günther von Obernitz  [ de ] (1899–1944), was from 1933 to 1934 chief police officer of Nuremberg - Fürth and from 1939 to 1944 NSDAP member of the Reichstag.
• Oberstleutnant Wolfgang Kretschmar CO Jager Regiment 24 (L) March 1943 - 27 December 1944 -Awarded 600th Oak Leaves 30 September 1944, 121st Swords 12 January 1945 ^{[Note 9] [11]}
• Oberleutnant Gunter Ohme CO 4 Kompanie Luftwaffen-Panzer-Jager-Abteilung 12 - German Cross in Gold November 1943 ^[7]
• Oberleutnant Werner Stuhlick Luftwaffen-Panzer-Jager-Abteilung 12 - German Cross in Gold November 1943 ^[7]

Notes

Footnotes

1. Each Regiment comprised three Battalions which contained four companies. Each line company contained two heavy machine & thirteen light machine guns. The fourth or schwer or heavy company contained six heavy & three light machine guns, plus four 120mm and six 80mm mortars.
2. In February 1944 25th Field Jager Regiment (With I & II Battalions) was added to the Divisions table of organisation by absorbing II Battalion Jager-Regiment 25 & I Battalion Jager-Regiment 26 from Felddivision 13 (L).
3. Initially This contained two battalions I & II Artillerie-Abteilung each possessed 12 French model 1897 75mm Artillery Howitzers, split into 3 batteries of 4 guns. In November 1943 two more artillerie-abteilung were added III & IV. III Abteilung came from Luftwaffen Artillerie regiment 13 and comprised 4 105mm Howitzers. Whilst IV Abteilung comprised twelve french 155mm howitzers split into 3 batteries.
4. By 16 January 1944 This battalion had been upgraded to a full Fusilier Battalion.
5. Initially This contained one company of towed 75mm L-40 PAk anti tank guns (12 guns), one company of light flak 12 x 20mm flak guns and an assault gun battery of 10 sturmgeschutz IV long barreled 75mm L48 assault guns.
6. Initially This contained three companies.Each of these companies were equipped with two heavy machine guns, nine light machine guns, six flamethrowers, two 80mm granatwerfer-34 mortars and an engineer column with engineer eqquipment.
7. Initially This contained one company but was upgraded to three in November 1943.
8. In November 1943 This battalion was removed from the division and became II Flak-Abteilung of Flak Regiment 6.
9. 'The 24th Luftwaffe Light Infantry Regiment under it's excellent commander Kretzschmar, stood like a rock in the surf' The Luftwaffe soldiers gave no ground without exacting a price. Kretzschmar died a soldiers death with his weapon in his hand. For his courageous leadership and his bravery in combat, 'Oberst' Kretzschmar was posthumously awarded the Oakleaves and crossed swords to the knights cross on 12 January 1945.

Citations

1. Munoz 2025, pp. 119.
2. Kevin Conley Ruffner: Luftwaffe Field Divisions 1941–1945, Osprey Publ., Oxford 1990. ISBN   1-85532-100-9.
3. Munoz 2025, pp. 135–136.
4. Glantz 2002, pp. 319–392.
5. Mitcham 2007a, pp. 307–308.
6. Munoz 2025, pp. 118–137.
7. Munoz 2025, pp. 120.
8. Munoz 2025, pp. 118–120.
9. Munoz 2025, pp. 96.
10. Munoz 2025, pp. 118.
11. Munoz 2025, pp. 131.

References

• Conley Ruffner, Kevin; Volstad, Ron (ill.) (2012). Luftwaffe Field Divisions 1941–45. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-85532-100-7.
• Peter Schmitz / Klaus -Jürgen Thies / Günter Wegmann / Christian Zweng: The German divisions 1941–1945, Bd. 3, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1996. ISBN   3-7648-2458-1.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007a). German Order of Battle, Volume Two: 291st–999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry Divisions, and Special Divisions in WWII. Mechanicsburg, PA, United States: Stackpole Books. ISBN   978-0-8117-3437-0.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007b). German Order of Battle, Volume Three: Panzer, Panzer Grenadier, and Waffen SS Divisions in WWII. Mechanicsburg, PA, United States: Stackpole Books. ISBN   978-0-8117-3438-7.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. (1985). German Order of Battle World War II. Trowbridge, Wiltshire: Leo Cooper in association with Secker & Warburg Limited, London. ISBN   0-436-28200-3.
• Munoz, Antonio J. (2025). Hitler's Luftwaffe Infantry, The German Air Force Field Divisions 1942 - 1945. Frontline Books. ISBN   978-1-03613-033-6.
• Glantz, David M. (2002). The Battle for Leningrad 1941-1944. Kansas State University, The United States of America: University Press of Kansas. ISBN   0-7006-1208-4.