169th Infantry Division | |
---|---|
169. Infanterie-Division | |
Active | 1939–45 |
Country | Nazi Germany |
Branch | Army |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Engagements | World War II |
The 169th Infantry Division (German : 169. Infanterie-Division) was a German infantry division during World War II.
The division was formed in 1939. It took part in Operation Fall Gelb and stayed in France until being transferred to Finnish Lapland in 1941. The division was part of the German XXXVI Corps which also included SS Division Nord and the Finnish 6th Division. On 1 July the corps began its attack which was aimed at Kandalaksha on the White Sea coast. The division crossed the Finnish-Soviet Border just north of Salla. During the heavy fighting against the Soviet 122nd Division the SS Division Nord broke and fled. On 8 July the 169th occupied Salla. With the help of the Finnish 6th Division the Soviets were pushed back beyond the pre-Winter War borders.
In September the division had advanced to the River Verman (Vermanjoki), here the offensive finally stalled. During autumn 1941 AOK Norwegen decided to shifts its attack to the area held by the Finnish 3rd Division. The 169th Division stayed in the area around Salla until the beginning of hostilities between Finland and Germany in 1944. During 1944 the division withdrew back to Norway, then was transferred to Germany where it fought out the final few weeks of the war.
The 6th Division was a unit of the Finnish Army during the Continuation War. Subordinated to the German XXXVI Corps, the division took part in the German-led Operation Arctic Fox in 1941. In 1943, the division was moved to Eastern Karelia, from where it was moved to the Karelian Isthmus following the start of the 1944 Soviet Vyborg–Petrozavodsk offensive. Following the Moscow armistice, the division also took part in the Lapland War against the German forces remaining in Finnish Lapland.
The 6th SS Mountain Division Nord was a World War II mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the military wing of the German Nazi Party, primarily consisting of ethnic Germans along with some Norwegian and Swiss volunteers. It was the only Waffen-SS division to operate in the Arctic Circle.
Operation Arctic Fox[a] was the codename given to a World War II campaign by German and Finnish forces against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Murmansk Oblast, in July 1941. The operation was part of the larger Operation Silver Fox which aimed to capture the vital port of Murmansk. Arctic Fox was conducted in parallel to Operation Platinum Fox in the far north of Lappland. The principal goal of Operation Arctic Fox was to capture the town of Salla and then to advance in the direction of Kandalaksha to block the railway route to Murmansk.
Operation Silver Fox from 29 June to 17 November 1941, was a joint German–Finnish military operation during the Continuation War on the Eastern Front of World War II against the Soviet Union. The objective of the offensive was to cut off and capture the key Soviet Port of Murmansk through attacks from Finnish and Norwegian territory.
The XXXVI Corps was a German military formation in World War II.
The German 206th Infantry Division, 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.
The 163rd Infantry Division was a German Army infantry division in World War II. Formed in November 1939, it was engaged in the invasion of Norway the following year. It fought alongside the Finnish Army during Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union. During this time, the division's transit through neutral Sweden caused the Midsummer Crisis of 1941. The division spent most of the war in Finland, before being returned to Germany. It was destroyed in March 1945 in Pomerania by the First Polish Army, subordinated to the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front.
The 161 Infantry Division was a major unit of the German Wehrmacht. It fought in the Battle of France, and then later on in the Eastern Front.
The 6th Infantry Division was a unit of the German Army during World War II.
The 32nd Infantry Division of the German Army was mobilized on 1 August 1939 for the upcoming invasion of Poland. At that time, it consisted of the usual German Infantry Division elements: three infantry regiments of three battalions each, one three-battalion regiment of light artillery, one battalion of heavy artillery, a Panzerjäger (anti-tank) Battalion, a reconnaissance (Aufklärungs) Battalion, a Signals Battalion, a Pioneer (Engineer) Battalion, and divisional supply, medical, and administrative units.
The 101st Jäger Division was a light infantry Division of the German Army in World War II. It was formed in July 1942 by the redesignation of the 101st (Light) Infantry Division, which was itself formed in December 1940. The Walloon Legion was briefly attached to this division from December 1941 to January 1942. The Division took part in the Battle of Kharkov, the Battle of the Caucasus, and the retreat into the Kuban, where it suffered heavy losses fighting both the Red Army and partisans. The division was then involved in the battles in the Kuban bridgehead before being evacuated. The 101st was subsequently transferred to the lower Dnieper River in late 1943. It was part of the 1st Panzer Army that was surrounded in March 1944; it formed the rear guard for the XLVI Panzer Corps during the breakout of the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket. The division then retreated across Ukraine. In October 1944, it was moved to Slovakia and took part in the Battle of the Dukla Pass.
The 30th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht was created on 1 October 1936 in Lübeck and mobilized on 26 August 1939 for the upcoming invasion of Poland. At that time, it consisted of the usual German infantry division elements: three infantry regiments of three battalions each, one three-battalion regiment of light artillery, one battalion of heavy artillery, a panzerjager (anti-tank) battalion, an aufklärungs (reconnaissance) battalion, a signals battalion, a pioneer (engineer) battalion, and divisional supply, medical, and administrative units.
The 15th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during the interwar period and World War II, active from 1934 to 1945.
V Army Corps was a corps in the German Army during World War II.
The German 291st Infantry Division, was an infantry division of the Wehrmacht and served in World War II.
X Army Corps was a corps in the German Army during World War II. It was formed in mid-May 1935 from the Cavalry Division.
XIII Army Corps was a corps of the German Army during World War II. Made up of several divisions, which varied from time to time, it was formed in Nuremberg on 1 October 1937.
The 376th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II, active from 1942 to 1944 in two separate instances.
The LIII Army Corps was a corps of the German Army during World War II. It was first deployed in 1941 and was active as part of various armies under Army Group Centre until 1944, when it was destroyed during the Soviet Red Army operations Bagration and Kutuzov in June and July 1944. The corps suffered enormous casualties as a result of the Soviet attacks. All of its divisions were destroyed and all but a few of the soldiers were killed or captured by the Soviet Union. A new formation named LIII Army Corps was subsequently deployed in December 1944, when it was assigned to Seventh Army and fought on the western front until surrendering to United States Army forces in April 1945.
The XXVI Army Corps was a Wehrmacht army corps during World War II. It existed from 1939 to 1945. It was also known as Corps Wodrig during the Invasion of Poland.
"Extracts from My Battle Journal"