101st Jäger Division

German World War II military unit 101st Jäger Division de 101. Jäger-Division 1941–1945 Nazi Germany Army Infantry Division Erich Marcks World War II Kamenets-Podolsky pocket The 101st Jäger Division (de 101. 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 (de 101. (leichte) Infanterie-Division none), which was itself formed in December 1940. The Walloon Legion was briefly attached to this division from December 1941 to January 1942.De Bruyne Eddy For Rex and for Belgium: Leon Degrelle and Walloon Political & Military Collaboration 1940-45 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.Command Magazine, Hitler's Army: The Evolution and Structure of German Forces, Da Capo Press (2003), 0-306-81260-6, 978-0-306-81260-6, p. 264 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. During the last year of the war, it fought in Hungary and Austria; by the end of the war, it had been reduced to the size of a Kampfgruppe. Background The division was raised, as the 101st Light Infantry Division (de 101. Leichte Infanterie-division), on 10 December 1940 near Prague in the German-dominated Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Its home station was initially at Heilbronn and later at Karlsruhe, both in Wehrkreis V, located in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany. Roughly one-third of the initial strength of the unit was transferred from the 35th Infantry Division,Mitcham 2007b 157–158 which had participated in the invasion of France and the Low Countries earlier that year, including fighting in Belgium and around Dunkirk. It had then served as part of the occupation forces on the Belgian coast.Mitcham 2007a 63 The principal fighting units of the four light infantry divisions raised during the 12th "wave" of recruitment for the German Armyone of which was the 101st Light Infantry DivisionMitcham 2008 442were two infantry regiments of three battalions each, an artillery regiment consisting of one motorised battery of 15 cm sFH 18 heavy field howitzers and three battalions of 10.5 cm leFH 18 light howitzers, and a reconnaissance battalion consisting of a bicycle company and a horse-mounted cavalry company. What motor vehicles they were issued with had usually been captured.Niehorster 2022b They were equipped as "pursuit" divisions.Mitcham 2008 442 The division joined General der Infanterie Hans-Wolfgang Reinhard's LI Army Corps once established.McCroden 2019 652 Operations The division remained with LI Army Corps during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, attacking from Austria into northern Yugoslavia as part of the 2nd Army.Schreiber Stegemann Vogel 1995 491Mitcham 2008 392 However, only some elements of the division were allocated to LI Army Corps on 5 Aprilthe day before the invasion beganand the rest was not transferred to LI Army Corps control until 10 April,Niehorster 2022a by which time the very limited Yugoslav resistance had been completely broken.U.S. Army 1986 53 With the Yugoslavs defeated, the division was transferred to LII Army Corps, which was part of the 17th Army. After a brief period under LV Army Corps, part of the 6th Army deployed in occupied Poland, the division returned to LII Army Corps in time for the invasion of the Soviet Union in June.McCroden 2019 664 The division was committed to the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, as part of Army Group South. It fought in the Battle of Uman in Ukraine from mid-July to mid-August,Mitcham 2007b 157–158 during which Army Group South encircled and annihilated the Red Army's 6th and 12th Armies.Nuzhdin 2015 450 and was transferred to Army Group South reserve in mid August.McCroden 2019 664 It transferred back briefly to LII Army Corps in September, before being re-allocated to LV Army Corpsnow with 17th Armylater that month.McCroden 2019 664 In early October, the division was briefly transferred XI Army Corps, before being transferred back to LV Army Corps and then to XVII Army Corps by early November.McCroden 2019 685 During this period the division fought in the Battle of Kiev and First Battle of Kharkov.Mitcham 2007b 157–158 In early December, the division was transferred to the reserve of the 17th Army.McCroden 2019 394 The division then fought through the winter battles of 1941–1942.Mitcham 2007b 157–158 In early January 1942, the division was transferred to LII Army Corps,McCroden 2019 987 with which it had begun Operation Barbarossa.McCroden 2019 664 At the end of that month, half the division was transferred to the XXXXIV Army Corps, while the remainder stayed with LII Army Corps. In late April, the remainder of the division transferred to the XXXXIV Army Corps.McCroden 2019 665 The division fought in the Second Battle of Kharkov in May 1942, and the capture of Rostov in July of that year. It was then committed to the Battle of the Caucasus which raged from July 1942 until the retreat into the Kuban bridgehead in early 1943. In the latter operation, the division suffered heavy losses, both from the Red Army and partisans.Mitcham 2007b 157–158 The division was evacuated across the Kerch Strait and transported through Crimea to the lower Dnieper River in the latter part of 1943, where it fought at Nikolajew and Vinniza. In March 1944, the division was surrounded along with the 1st Panzer Army, and formed part of the rearguard when XXXXVI Panzer Corps conducted its successful breakout from encirclement. The division was praised for its conduct during the withdrawal across northern Ukraine, it fought in the Carpathians, and was then withdrawn to the German-aligned Slovak Republic in late 1944.Mitcham 2007b 157–158 On 1 January 1945, the 101st Jäger Division (then under Army Group Heinrici of Army Group A) had a strength of 8,510 men.Lakowski, Richard Die Militärische Niederwerfung der Wehrmacht Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt 2008 9783421062376 Müller, Rolf-Dieter Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg 10/1 München 491–681 de Der Zusammenbruch der deutschen Verteidigung zwischen Ostsee und Karpaten504 It was deployed south in early in 1945, by which time two of its Jäger battalions were made up of USSR-recruited Osttruppen. The division fought rearguard actions during the withdrawal through Hungary and Austria. Reduced to kampfgruppe strength by the end of the war, it managed to surrender to US forces in the German-annexed Sudetenland.Mitcham 2007b 157–158 Commanders The following officers commanded the division:Mitcham 2007b 158 Generalmajor then Generalleutnant Erich Marcks (10 December 1940 - 26 June 1941) Generalleutnant Josef Brauner von Haydringen (26 June 1941 - 11 April 1942) Oberst then Generalmajor Erich Diestel (11 April 1942 - 1 September 1942) Oberst then Generalmajor then Generalleutnant Emil Vogel (1 September 1942 - 12 July 1944) Generalleutnant Dr. Walter Assmann (12 July 1944 - 8 May 1945) Knight's Cross Recipients + Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves Rank and Name Unit Date of Award Hauptmann der Reserve Josef Kult Company Commander, 3./Jäger-Rgt. 228 15 Mar 1943 Leutnant Heinrich Ochs 1./Panzerjäger-Abteilung 101 30 Dec 1943 Oberfeldwebel Johann Schwerdfeger 1./Jäger-Rgt. 228 17. Mai 1943 General der Gebirgstruppe Emil Vogel Division Commander, 101. Jäger-Division 14 May 1944 Oberst Otto Schury Regimental Commander, Jäger-Rgt. 229 21 Sep 1944 + Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Rank and Name Unit Date of Award General der Artillerie Erich Marcks Division Commander, 101. Jäger-Division 28 Jun 1944 General der Infanterie Karl Püchler Regimental Commander, Jäger-Rgt. 228 20 Dec 1941 Hauptmann der Reserve Josef Kult Jäger-Rgt. 228 7 Oct 1942 Oberst Karl Busche Regimental Commander, Jäger-Regiment 228 28 Feb 1943 Major Hüttner Battalion Commander, III./Jäger-Rgt. 228 15 Mar 1943 Oberfeldwebel Johann Schwerdfeger Acting Platoon Leader, 1./Jäger-Rgt. 228 17 May 1943 Rittmeister d.Res. Hans-Werner Dreves Squadron Commander, 3./Aufkl.Abt. 101 2 Jun 1943 Hauptmann d.Res. Georg Schmid Jäger-Regiment 229 2 Jun 1943 Leutnant Heinrich Ochs Acting Platoon Leader, 1./Pz.J.Abt. 10 2 Jun 1943 Major Goriany Battalion Commander, II./Artillerie-Regiment 85 19 Jul 1943 General der Infanterie Vogel Division Commander, 101. Jäger-Division 7 Aug 1943 Oberleutnant Gailinger Acting Company Commander, 1./Inf.Btl. 500 z.b.V. 8 Oct 1943 Oberleutnant Künnecke Company Commander, 2./Inf.Btl. 500 z.b.V. 16 Nov 1943 Oberleutnant Felder Battery Commander, Artillerie-Regiment 85 23 Feb 1944 Feldwebel Pius Butz 16./Jäger-Regiment 228 6 Mar 1944 Leutnant d.Res. Becker Acting Company Commander 2./Jäger-Rgt. 228 20 Mar 1944 Oberleutnant d.Res. Ernst Eckert Company Commander, 11./Jäger-Rgt. 229 9 Jun 1944 Gefreiter Hans Baindner 11./Jäger-Regiment 228 24 Jun 1944Oberst Bernhard Sieber Regimental Commander, Jäger-Rgt. 228 24 Jun 1944 Oberstleutnant Emil Liebmann Acting Regimental Commander, Jäger-Rgt. 228 18 Nov 1944 Major Karl Dixus Battalion Commander, I./Jäger-Rgt. 229 26 Nov 1944 Generalleutnant Dr. Walter Assmann Division Commander, 101. Jäger-Division 10 Feb 1945 Oberjäger Springmann Jäger-Rgt. 228 Apr 1945 Gefreiter Rudler Jäger-Rgt. 228 Apr 1945 Major Helmut Seeber Acting Regimental Commander, Jäger-Rgt. 229 Apr 1945 Gefreiter Jakob Kuchar 8./Jäger-Rgt. 228 11 May 1945 Order of battle The order of battle of the division was as follows:Mitcham 2007b 157–158 228th Jäger Regiment 229th Jäger Regiment 85th Artillery Regiment 101st Reconnaissance Battalion 101st Engineer Battalion 101st Panzerjäger (Anti-tank) Battalion 101st Signals Battalion 101st Field Replacement Battalion 101st Divisional Supply Troops 101st Pack Mule Battalion Notable members Willi Heinrich, author of The Willing Flesh (1956), which was based on his combat experiences, turned into the movie The Cross of Iron (1977), served in the division's 1st Battalion 228th Jäger Regiment. Footnotes References McCroden William T. McCroden William T. Nutter Thomas E. 2019 German Ground Forces of World War II: Complete Orders of Battle for Army Groups, Armies, Army Corps, and Other Commands of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, September 1, 1939, to May 8, 1945 Casemate Publishers California 978-1-61121-101-6 Mitcham Samuel W. Samuel W. Mitcham German Order of Battle, Volume One: 1st–290th Infantry Divisions in WWII 2007a Mechanicsburg Stackpole Books 978-0-8117-3416-5 German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry divisions, and Special Divisions in World War II Mitcham Samuel Stackpole Books Mechanicsburg 2007b 0-8117-3437-4 Samuel W. Mitcham Samuel W. Mitcham The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War II 2008 ABC-CLIO 66–67 978-0-275-99641-3 http://niehorster.org/011_germany/41-04/02-army.htm Balkan Operations Order of Battle German Forces 2nd Army 5th April 1941 2 October 2022 Leo Niehorster 2022a Niehorster Leo http://www.niehorster.org/011_germany/41_organ_army/41_id_12x-welle.html Light Infantry Division (12th Wave) 2 October 2022 Leo Niehorster 2022b Niehorster Leo Nuzhdin Oleg Уманский "котёл": Трагедия 6-й и 12-й армий The Uman "Cauldron": The Tragedy of the 6th and 12th Armies Russian 2015 Яуза-каталог [Yauza-Catalog] Moscow 978-5-906716-41-5 Schreiber Dr. Gerhard Stegemann Bernd Vogel Detlef 1995 The Mediterranean, South-East Europe, and North Africa, 1939-1941 : from Italy's Declaration of Non-belligerence to the Entry of the United States into the War Oxford University Press Oxford, United Kingdom 978-0-19-822884-4 https://books.google.com/books?id=yxzsngEACAAJ U.S. Army http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/balkan/intro.htm The German Campaigns in the Balkans (Spring 1941) United States Army Center of Military History Washington, D.C. CMH Pub 104-4 1986 16940402 1953 31 May 2014 19 June 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090619234443/http://history.army.mil/books/wwii/balkan/intro.htm dead Category:Jäger Divisions Category:Military units and formations established in 1941 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945