| 6th Luftwaffe Field Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1942–1944 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Luftwaffe |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | World War II |
The 6th Luftwaffe Field Division (German : 6.Luftwaffen-Feld-Division) was an infantry division of the Luftwaffe branch of the Wehrmacht that fought in World War II. It was formed using surplus ground crew of the Luftwaffe and served on the Eastern Front from late 1942 to June 1944 when it was destroyed during Operation Bagration.
The 6th Luftwaffe Field Division, one of several such divisions of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), was formed in September 1942 in Gross-Born Troop Maneuver Area, under the command of Oberst Ernst Weber. [Note 1] Intended to serve as infantry, its personnel were largely drawn from surplus Luftwaffe ground crew. [3] In November 1942, it was assigned to the 3rd Panzer Army in Army Group Centre on the Eastern Front and posted to a sector near Nevel. Here it defended against Soviet operations in the area. [1]
In November 1943, responsibility for the division was transferred to the Army and it was renamed the 6th Field Division (L). Shortly afterwards, its Field Jager battalions became the 52nd, 53rd and 54th Jager regiments while its original artillery, tank destroyer and flak battalions was integrated into a new 6th Artillery Regiment. [Note 2] In the summer of 1944, the 6th Field Division held an area to the east of Vitebsk as part of LIII Corps of the 3rd Panzer Army. The division was encircled during the Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive at Vitebsk within days of the start of the Soviet Army's Operation Bagration on 22 June 1944. The division was destroyed with its commander, Generalleutnant Rudolf Peschel, [Note 3] killed in action on 27 June 1944. [1]
Footnotes
Citations
The 164th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II. Formed in November 1939, the division took part in the invasion of Greece in April 1941. In January 1942, consolidating the Axis seizure of the island during the Battle of Crete, the 164th was reorganized as Fortress Division Kreta (FDK). In mid-1942 the division was transferred to North Africa and re-designated as 164th Light Africa Division, also alternatively spelt 164th Light Afrika Division in some anglophone literature. It surrendered in May 1943 in Tunisia at the end of the North African Campaign.
The 9th Luftwaffe Field Division was an infantry division of the Luftwaffe branch of the Wehrmacht that fought in World War II. It was formed using surplus ground crew of the Luftwaffe and served on the Eastern Front from late 1942 to June 1944. It was badly mauled during the Soviet offensive of January 1944 near Leningrad. It was later merged with the 225th Infantry Division.
The Luftwaffe field divisions were the ground forces of the German Luftwaffe during World War II.
The 4th Luftwaffe Field Division was an infantry division of the Luftwaffe branch of the Wehrmacht that fought in World War II. It was formed using surplus ground crew of the Luftwaffe and served on the Eastern Front from late 1942 to June 1944 when it was destroyed during Operation Bagration.
The 87th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1939 to 1945.
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 3rd Luftwaffe Field Division was an infantry division of the Luftwaffe branch of the Wehrmacht that fought in World War II. It was formed using surplus ground crew of the Luftwaffe and served on the Eastern Front from late 1942 to early 1944 at which time it was disbanded.
Vollrath Lübbe was a German general in the Wehrmacht. A veteran of World War I, he rose to command several divisions during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, awarded by Nazi Germany to recognise successful military leadership.
The 710th Infantry Division was a German Army Infantry division in World War II. Formed in May 1941, it spent the majority of the war in occupation duties in Scandinavia before being transferred to the Italian Front in late 1944. It participated in fighting against the Soviet Union in Hungary before it withdrew into Austria and surrendered to the Americans in May 1945.
The 1st Luftwaffe Field Division was an infantry division of the Luftwaffe branch of the Wehrmacht that fought in World War II. It was formed using surplus ground crew of the Luftwaffe and served on the Eastern Front from late 1942 to early 1944 at which time it was disbanded.
Johannes Bäßler was a German officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II who also served in the army of Imperial Germany during World War I. During World War II, he commanded two panzer divisions on the Eastern Front. He later commanded the 242nd Infantry Division which was stationed in the south of France. He died from wounds received during the Battle of Toulon.
The 462nd Volksgrenadier Division was a Volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1942 to 1944. It was initially known as Division Nr. 462 and subsequently became the 462nd Infantry Division before assuming its Volksgrenadier designation in late 1944.
The 361st Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1943 to 1945. It was redesignated as a Volksgrenadier division in 1944. It saw active service on the Eastern Front when the Soviets launched Operation Bagration, during which it suffered significant losses. It later fought in France before being absorbed by the 559th Volksgrenadier Division on 10 March 1945.
The 362nd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1943 to 1945. Formed in Italy, it participated in the Italian Campaign for the entire duration of its war service. It was implicated in the massacre of 97 civilians in what is known as the Benedicta massacre, which occurred at Piedmont in April 1944.
The 335th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1940 to 1944. It saw active service in France and on the Eastern Front and was destroyed in fighting in Romania in August 1944.
The 336th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1940 to 1944. It saw active service in France and on the Eastern Front. Largely destroyed during the Crimean Offensive, it surrendered to the Soviets at Sevastopol in May 1944.
The 387th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1942 to 1944. It saw active service on the Eastern Front and was destroyed in fighting in Romania in August 1944.
The 5th Luftwaffe Field Division was an infantry division of the Luftwaffe branch of the Wehrmacht that fought in World War II. It was formed using surplus Luftwaffe ground crew and served on the Eastern Front from late 1942 to mid-1944, when was disbanded.
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 14th Luftwaffe Field Division(14. Luftwaffen-Felddivision) was a Luftwaffe Field Division of the Wehrmacht during World War II. It was transferred to the German Army in November 1943 as the 14th Field Division (L) and spent its entire operational existence on occupation duties in Norway and Denmark. It saw no ground combat during its period of service.