| 91st Infantry Division 91st Air Landing Division | |
|---|---|
| 91. Infanterie-Division 91. Luftlande-Division | |
 | |
| Active | 15 January 1944 – 10 August 1944 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Air Landing |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Generalleutnant Wilhelm Falley |
The 91st Air Landing Division (German 91. Luftlande-Infanterie-Division) was a German Army infantry division in World War II.
The division was originally formed as an air landing division (Luftlandedivision) trained and equipped to be transported by aircraft (i.e. having only light artillery and few heavy support weapons) to take part in Operation Tanne Ost, an aborted airborne operation in Scandinavia. Despite its name, the 91st in practice was a regular Heer unit and spent its entire existence as a conventional infantry division.
Formed in the Baumholder area from replacement center personnel in January 1944 under the command of Generalleutnant Bruno Ortner, its command was transferred to Generalleutnant Wilhelm Falley and moved to the Cotentin peninsula with von der Heydte's 6th Parachute Regiment and 100th Panzer Replacement and Training Battalion, armed with captured French light tanks, attached as part of the German 7th Army.
Located within the landing zones of both the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, it saw heavy fighting around Sainte-Mere-Eglise and Neuville-au-Plain. Falley, the divisional commander, was killed when he drove into an ambush.
On June 7, 1944, D-Day + 1, the German 1058th Grenadier regiment of the 91st Luftlande Division, which was tasked with seizing the area of Sainte-Mere-Eglise, launched a fierce counterattack from the north towards Sainte-Mere-Eglise, which were defended by the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. The Germans attacked with intense mortar fire and StuGIII assault guns, and came very close to entering the town, before they were pushed back, and at least two assault guns were knocked out on the northern road just outside of the town.
Placed under the temporary command of Generalmajor Bernard Klosterkemper, It attempted to block the U.S. 4th Infantry Division's advance off Utah Beach. After the second week of the Allied invasion of Normandy the 91st had suffered so many casualties it was no longer considered combat effective as a unit.
Now at battle group strength, it was attached to the 77th Infantry Division then to the 243rd Infantry Division in Corps von Schlieban defending Cherbourg where most of its remaining forces were captured by the Americans. Remnants of the division under the command of Colonel Eugen Konig escaped to the south. Despite recommendation the unit be dissolved the Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heer, OKH) chose to rebuild it adding replacement battalions and sending it back to the front in early August.
Defending Rennes from Lieutenant General George S. Patton's U.S. Third Army, it again suffered heavy casualties and was reduced to battle group strength. It followed the German retreat to the Siegfried Line and was later consolidated with the remains of the 275th and 344th Infantry Divisions to form the 344th Volksgrenadier Division.
Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named landing beaches in Normandy, Utah is on the Cotentin Peninsula, west of the mouths of the Douve and Vire rivers. Amphibious landings at Utah were undertaken by United States Army troops, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided by the United States Navy and Coast Guard as well as elements from the British, Dutch and other Allied navies.
The 716th Static Infantry Division was a World War II, German Army infantry division. It was raised on May 2, 1941, and sent to German-occupied France in June 1941. Many of the division's troops were elderly Germans and conscripts from other German-occupied countries. The division also had some young German conscripts as well. As a bodenständig it was not equipped with the standard configuration of vehicles and heavy weapons. Much of the division's artillery and anti-tank guns were from captured armaments.
The 709th Static Infantry Division was a German Army infantry division in World War II. It was raised in May 1941 and used for occupation duties during the German occupation of France in World War II until the Allied invasion. It was on the Normandy coast when the invasion occurred and so fought in the Battle of Normandy. The division was trapped in the Cotentin Peninsula and destroyed in the defense of Cherbourg.
The 243rd Static Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army raised in July 1943. It was stationed in the Cotentin Peninsula when the Allies invaded in June 1944.
The Brécourt Manor Assault during the U.S. parachute assault of the Normandy Invasion of World War II is often cited as a classic example of small-unit tactics and leadership in overcoming a larger enemy force.
This is the complete order of battle of Allied and German forces involved during Operation Market Garden.
The 275th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during World War II.
The 6th Infantry Division was a unit of the German Army during World War II.
Wilhelm Falley was the first German general to be killed during the Normandy landings in France. He was commander of the 91st Infantry Division.
American airborne landings in Normandy were a series of military operations carried by the United States as part of Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Allies on June 6, 1944, during World War II. In the opening maneuver of the Normandy landings, about 13,100 American paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, then 3,937 glider infantrymen, were dropped in Normandy via two parachute and six glider missions.
The Order of battle for the American airborne landings in Normandy is a list of the units immediately available for combat on the Cotentin Peninsula between June 6, 1944, and June 15, 1944, during the American airborne landings in Normandy during World War II.
Mission Albany was a parachute combat assault at night by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy during World War II. It was the opening step of Operation Neptune, the assault portion of the Allied invasion of Normandy, Operation Overlord. Five hours ahead of the D-Day landings, 6,928 paratroopers jumped from 443 C-47 Skytrain troop-carrier planes into the southeast corner of France's Cotentin Peninsula. The troops were meant to land in an area of roughly 15 square miles (39 km2), but were scattered by bad weather and German ground fire over an area twice as large, with four sticks dropped as far as 20 miles (32 km) away.
Mission Boston was a parachute combat assault at night by Major General Matthew Ridgway's U.S. 82nd Airborne Division on June 6, 1944, part of the American airborne landings in Normandy during World War II. Boston was a component element of Operation Neptune, the assault portion of the Allied invasion of Normandy, codenamed Operation Overlord. 6,420 paratroopers jumped from nearly 370 Douglas C-47 Skytrain troop carrier aircraft into an intended objective area of roughly 10 square miles (26 km2) located on either side of the Merderet river on the Cotentin Peninsula of France, five hours ahead of the beach landings.
The 246th InfantryDivision was a division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. Towards the end of the war, it was redeployed under the name 246th Volksgrenadier Division.
The 25th Infantry Division was a military unit of the German Wehrmacht. It was later reclassified to 25th Motorized Infantry Division, and in June 1943 to the 25th Panzergrenadier Division.
The 708th Infantry Division was a German Army infantry division in World War II.
The 197th Infantry Division was a Wehrmacht division in World War II. It was activated on 1 December 1939.
The 50th Infantry Division was a German army division in World War II. It was formed on 26 August 1939 from the Grenzkommandantur Küstrin.
The 65th Infantry Division was a German division in World War II. It was formed in July 1942.
The 416th Infantry Division was a German infantry division of World War II.