270th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

Last updated February 10, 2024

The 270th Infantry Division (German : 270. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

There were two formations dubbed 270th Infantry Division. The first was a planned division scheduled for deployment in July 1940, but its deployment was interrupted. The division was eventually deployed in the second iteration in April 1942 and was posted on coastal defense duty in occupied Norway until the end of the war.

History

Planned deployment in 1940

Initially, an infantry division with the tentative designation 270. Infanterie-Division was scheduled for deployment following a directive of 22 May 1940 and planned to be fully operational by 1 July 1940. This formation's deployment was interrupted by the German victory in the Battle of France. The division was supposed to consist of the Infantry Regiments 565, 566, and 567, as well as Artillery Detachment 270 and the Division Units 270 (including Panzerjäger, pioneer, and intelligence companies).^[1] The division's regiments did not see action before the interruption of the division's deployment.^[2] Subsequently, the infantry recruits that were to make up the three regiments returned to their replacement battalions.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Later in the war, the regimental numbers that were initially intended for the regiments under the 270th Infantry Division were given out again:

Grenadier Regiment 565 was formed on 15 January 1944 from parts of the 390th Field Training Division and 391st Field Training Division and served under the 131st Infantry Division and was renamed Grenadier Regiment 432 on 22 April 1944.^[6]
Grenadier Regiment 566 was formed on 15 January 1944 from parts of the Grenadier Field Training Regiment 635 as well as parts of the 390th Field Training Division. It was dissolved and integrated as the first two battalions into the Grenadier Regiment 430 under the 129th Infantry Division.^[7]
Grenadier Regiment 567 was formed on 15 January 1944 and completed deployment by 8 February 1944 from parts of the 391st Field Training Division, was attached to the 331st Infantry Division on 1 April 1944 and renamed Grenadier Regiment 557 upon the redeployment of the 331st Division in Normandy. The second battalion joined the 78th Infantry Division as Division Assault Battalion 78.^[8]

Deployment in 1942

A second deployment of the 270th Infantry Division was undertaken in northern Norway on 21 April 1942 from the Coastal Defense Unit Tromsö , which had in turn been established on 10 February 1942 from Fortress Command Drontheim.^[1] The division's initial commander, appointed in April 1942, was Ralf Sodan.^[2]

The division was designated a fully autonomous formation on 9 May 1943, and consisted of the following elements:^[1]

Grenadier Regiment 341, three battalions (taken from the 199th Infantry Division).
Fortress Grenadier Regiment 856 with the Fortress Battalions 643, 648, and 660.
Artillery Detachment 270 (formerly the third detachment of Artillery Regiment 199).
Division Units 270 (consisting of a Panzerjäger Company and a Pioneer Company, each taken from the first battalion of the 199th Infantry Division, as well as a newly formed Intelligence Company).

On 17 August 1943, Hans Brabänder was appointed divisional commander, replacing Sodan.^[2]

In 1945, the Fortress Grenadier Regiment 856 was replaced with Jäger Regiment 501.^[1] The 856th Regiment instead joined the 199th Infantry Division.^[9]

The division remained in Norway throughout the war and did not see major combat until Germany was forced to surrender in May 1945.^[1]

Superior formations

Organizational chart of the 270th Infantry Division, 1942–1945^[1]
Year	Month	Army Corps	Army	Army Group	Area
1942	May – December	LXXI	Armee Norwegen	None.	Northern Norway
1943	January – December
1944	January – October
1944	November – December		20th Mountain Army
1945	January – April	Narvik	20th Mountain Army

Related Research Articles

The 6th Infantry Division was a unit of the German Army during World War II.

The 75th Infantry Division was a German infantry division in World War II. It was formed on 26 August 1939.

The 181st Infantry Division was a German division in World War II. It was formed on 1 December 1939. The division participated in anti-partisan operations in World War II in German-occupied Yugoslavia.

The German 86th Infantry Division was created on 26 August 1939. The division was disbanded on 3 November 1943.

The 63rd Infantry Division was a fictitious infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. No real division-size unit named 63rd Infantry Division was ever deployed in combat, but the name was given to a far smaller military unit. A reference was first made to the 63rd Infantry Division in a German Schematische Kriegsgliederung document dated 12 April 1945, where the fictitious division was listed among the reserves of Oberkommando West. In truth, the troops dubbed 63rd Infantry Division were the "Regiment Alvensleben". The code name was assigned to the regiment on 22 March 1945.

The 74th Infantry Division was a planned infantry division of the German Heer during World War II. Initially designed to be supplied with recruits by the Milowitz Division as part of the 24th Aufstellungswelle, the creation of the 74th Infantry Division was never realized. The planned regiments 1031, 1032 and 1033 were not established. The Milowitz Division was established at Milowitz training field on 27 January 1944 and was then sent to the Eastern Front, where its members were assigned to replenish the 320th Infantry Division, 106th Infantry Division and 389th Infantry Division.

The 84th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The 89th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The 92nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The 703rd Infantry Division was a fictitious infantry division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The troops designated as the 703rd Infantry Division never came close to the strength of an actual division.

The 219th Infantry Division was a fictitious infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The 249th Infantry Division was a fictitious infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

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.

The LXXI Army Corps, initially known as Higher Command LXXI or Höh.Kdo. röm. 71, was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The corps was deployed in March 1942. Throughout the war, it was stationed in the north of occupied Norway.

The LXXXIII Army Corps was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. It was formed in 1942 and existed until 1943. After its dissolution, the personnel of the LXXXIII Army Corps was used to form the staff of the new 19th Army.

The LXXXVIII Army Corps was an army corps of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. It was formed in 1942 and existed until 1945.

The 196th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

The 544th Volksgrenadier Division was a Volksgrenadier-type infantry division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. It was active from July 1944 to May 1945. In the first two months of service, the division was designated 544th Grenadier Division.

The Infantry Division Friedrich Ludwig Jahn was an infantry division of the German army during World War II. It was formed in the final weeks of the war, and existed between late March and early May 1945.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 Tessin, Georg (1973). "270". 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. 299–301. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.
1 2 3 Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). "270th Infantry Division (Coastal Defense)". German Order of Battle. Volume One. 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-8117-3416-5.
↑ Tessin, Georg (1975). "Infanterie-Rgt. 565". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 185. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.
↑ Tessin, Georg (1975). "Infanterie-Rgt. 566". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 187. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.
↑ Tessin, Georg (1975). "Infanterie-Rgt. 567". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 189. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.
↑ Tessin, Georg (1975). "Grenadier-Rgt. 565". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 185. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.
↑ Tessin, Georg (1975). "Grenadier-Rgt. 566". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 187. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.
↑ Tessin, Georg (1975). "Grenadier-Rgt. 567". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 189. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.
↑ Tessin, Georg (1976). "Festungs-Grenadier-Rgt. 856". Die Landstreitkräfte 801–13400. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 13. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 66. ISBN 978-3-7648-1029-0.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[:1-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tessin, Georg (1973). "270". 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. 299–301. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.

[:0-2] 1 2 3 Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). "270th Infantry Division (Coastal Defense)". German Order of Battle. Volume One. 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-8117-3416-5.

[3] Tessin, Georg (1975). "Infanterie-Rgt. 565". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 185. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.

[4] Tessin, Georg (1975). "Infanterie-Rgt. 566". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 187. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.

[5] Tessin, Georg (1975). "Infanterie-Rgt. 567". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 189. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.

[6] Tessin, Georg (1975). "Grenadier-Rgt. 565". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 185. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.

[7] Tessin, Georg (1975). "Grenadier-Rgt. 566". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 187. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.

[8] Tessin, Georg (1975). "Grenadier-Rgt. 567". Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 189. ISBN 978-3-7648-1181-5.

[9] Tessin, Georg (1976). "Festungs-Grenadier-Rgt. 856". Die Landstreitkräfte 801–13400. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 13. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. p. 66. ISBN 978-3-7648-1029-0.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]