255th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

255th Infantry Division
German: 255. Infanterie-Division
Active	26 Aug 1939 – 2 Nov 1943 (255th Infantry Division) 2 Nov 1943 – Feb 1944 (Division Group 255)
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Heer (Wehrmacht)
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Nickname(s)	"Green Dot division"
Engagements	Battle of France German-Soviet War Battle of Moscow Third Battle of Kharkov Operation Citadel Battle of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket
Commanders
Notable commanders	Wilhelm Wetzel Walter Poppe

The 255th Infantry Division (German : 255. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

History

The 255th Infantry Division was formed on 26 August 1939, the day of German mobilization, as part of the fourth Aufstellungswelle in Döbeln in Wehrkreis VI (Dresden). ^[1] The initial commander of the 255th Infantry Division was Wilhelm Wetzel, who assumed his post on 26 August 1939. ^[2]

The division spent the first months of the war in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, until it was called to the Battle of France in April 1940. After German victory in that campaign, the 255th Infantry Division was on occupation duty in Belgium in June, in the Nantes region between July and August, and in the Bordeaux sector between September 1940 and February 1941. ^[2]

In March 1941, the 255th Infantry Division was called to occupied Poland in preparation for Operation Barbarossa. The division crossed into the Soviet Union in June and subsequently fought at Brest, Pinsk, Gomel, Smolensk, and Vyazma. At the end of the year, the division assisted in the defense against the Soviet winter campaign of 1941–42. ^[2]

On 12 January 1942, the 255th Infantry Division changed commanders for the only time in its history, with Walter Poppe replacing Wetzel. Poppe would hold his command post until the dissolution of the division. In early 1942, the division fought in the Gzhatsk sector before a transfer to the southern part of the Eastern Front after Germany's February 1943 defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad. It fought in the Third Battle of Kharkov and Operation Citadel. ^[2] In August 1943, the 255th Infantry Division absorbed the survivors of the battered 332nd Infantry Division. ^[2]

On 2 November 1943, the 255th Infantry Division was formally downgraded to a Kampfgruppe strength formation, dubbed Division Group 255, as a result of the large casualties sustained. ^[2] In February 1944, Division Group 255 was trapped in the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket and subsequently destroyed. ^[2]

The division was known by the nickname Green Dot division due to its divisional insignia, ^[2] which showed a green dot on a white square. ^{[3] : 28}

Superior formations

Organizational chart of the 255th Infantry Division ^[1]

Year	Month	Army Corps	Army	Army Group	Area
1939	September – December	In the Protectorate.
1940	January – April
	May	Army reserves.	6th Army	Army Group B	Netherlands
	June	Army Group reserves.			Belgium
	July – August	VI	4th Army		Nantes
	September – October		7th Army	Army Group C	Bordeaux
	November – December			Army Group D
1941	January – February
	March	Army reserves.	17th Army	Army Group B	General Government
	April	IX
	May	XXXXIV	4th Army
	June	XXIV	2nd Panzer Army	Army Group Center	Brest
	July	LIII			Pinsk
	August		2nd Army		Gomel
	September	VIII	9th Army		Smolensk
	October	XXVII			Vyazma
	November	Army reserves.			Mozhaysk
	December	Army Group reserves.			Moscow
1942	January	VII	4th Panzer Army		Mozhaysk
	February – April	XX			Gzhatsk
	May – December		3rd Panzer Army
1943	January
	February		4th Army
	March	VII	2nd Army		Sumy
	April	LII	Army Detachment Kempf	Army Group South	Kharkiv
	May – June		Army Detachment Kharkiv
	July – August		4th Panzer Army		Belgorod
	September	XXIV			Dnieper
	October	XXXXVIII	8th Army
	November	XXIV	4th Panzer Army		Dnieper (Kiev)
	December	Downgraded to Division Group 255.
1944	January – February

Noteworthy individuals

• Wilhelm Wetzel, divisional commander between August 1939 and January 1942.
• Walter Poppe, divisional commander between January 1942 and February 1944.

References

1. Tessin, Georg (1973). "255". Die Landstreitkräfte 201–280. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 8. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 234–238. ISBN   3764808721.
2. Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). "255th Infantry Division". German Order of Battle. Volume One. 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. pp. 303–304. ISBN   9780811734165.
3. Hartmann, Theodor (1970). Wehrmacht Divisional Signs, 1938–1945. Almark Publications. ISBN   0855240067.