255th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

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255th Infantry Division
German: 255. Infanterie-Division
255th Infanterie Division Logo 1.svg
Active26 Aug 1939 – 2 Nov 1943
(255th Infantry Division)
2 Nov 1943 – Feb 1944
(Division Group 255)
CountryFlag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Branch Balkenkreuz.svg 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.

Contents

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]
YearMonthArmy CorpsArmyArmy GroupArea
1939September – DecemberIn the Protectorate.
1940January – April
MayArmy reserves. 6th Army Army Group B Netherlands
JuneArmy Group reserves. Belgium
July – August VI 4th Army Nantes
September – October 7th Army Army Group C Bordeaux
November – December Army Group D
1941January – February
MarchArmy 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
NovemberArmy reserves. Mozhaysk
DecemberArmy Group reserves. Moscow
1942January VII 4th Panzer Army Mozhaysk
February – April XX Gzhatsk
May – December 3rd Panzer Army
1943January
February4th Army
MarchVII2nd Army Sumy
April LII Army Detachment Kempf Army Group South Kharkiv
May – June Army Detachment Kharkiv
July – August4th Panzer Army Belgorod
SeptemberXXIV Dnieper
October XXXXVIII 8th Army
NovemberXXIV4th Panzer ArmyDnieper (Kiev)
DecemberDowngraded to Division Group 255.
1944January – February

Noteworthy individuals

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References

  1. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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.
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