102nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

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The 102nd Infantry Division was a German military

Organisation and history

The division was formed on 15 December 1940 in Wehrkreis II (Mecklenburg/Pomerania), in the 12th mobilisation wave, using elements of the

On 25 November 1942 the Soviets simultaneously launched attacks against the eastern, western and northern flanks of the German Rzhev salient, known as Operation Mars. North of the Osuga River, the 102nd successfully repelled repeated assaults by 20,000 infantry and over 100 tanks of three Soviet 31st Army divisions (The 31st Army led its attack with the 88th, 336th, and 239th Rifle Divisions, supported by the 332d and 145th Tank Brigades). Soviet infantry clad in winter white advanced in echelon, their ranks interspersed with supporting tanks. German artillery, machine guns, and small arms fire tore gaping holes in the ranks of the assaulting infantry as antitank weapons picked off the accompanying tanks. For three days and at a cost of more than half of their riflemen and most of their tanks, the Soviets hurled themselves in vain at the 102nd Division's prepared defenses. Faced with this determined resistance, the 31st Army's assault collapsed, and, despite Zhukov's and Konev's exhortations, it could not be revived.^[1] In 1943 it was involved in Operation Citadel (the Battle of Kursk) and its aftermath, losing much of its strength in a series of fierce defensive battles around Orel; by October it was listed as assigned to the Second Army and reduced to Kampfgruppe level. In January 1944, the division was assigned to the Ninth Army, covering its southern flank in the

Structure of the division:[2]^[3]

• Hauptquartier (Headquarters) - Wehrkreis VIII - Casel
• 232. Infanterieregiment (232nd Infantry Regiment)
  • 1. Battalion (1st Battalion)
  • 2. Battalion (2nd Battalion)
  • 3. Battalion (3rd Battalion)
• 233. Infanterieregiment (233rd Infantry Regiment)
  • 1. Battalion (1st Battalion)
  • 2. Battalion (2nd Battalion)
  • 3. Battalion (3rd Battalion)
• 235. Infanterieregiment (235th Infantry Regiment)
  • 1. Battalion (1st Battalion)
  • 2. Battalion (2nd Battalion)
  • 3. Battalion (3rd Battalion)
• 104. Artillerieregiment (104th Artillery Regiment)
  • 1. Battalion (1st Battalion)
  • 2. Battalion (2nd Battalion)
  • 3. Battalion (3rd Battalion)
  • 4. Battalion (4th Battalion)
• 102. Aufklärung Battalion (102nd Reconnaissance Battalion)
• 102. Panzer-Zerstörer-Bataillon (102nd Tank Destroyer Battalion)
• 102. Ingenieur-Bataillon (102nd Engineer Battalion)
• 102. Signal-Bataillon (102nd Signal Battalion)
• 102. Divisions-Versorgungsgruppe (102nd Divisional Supply Group)

Commanders

• Lieutenant-General John Ansat (10 December 1940 – 1 February 1942)
• Lieutenant-General Albrecht Baier (1 February 1942 – 10 March 1942)
• Major-General Werner von Räsfeld (10 March 1942 – 1 May 1942)
• Colonel-General
  Johannes Frießner
  (1 May 1942 – 19 January 1943)
• General Otto Hitzfeld (19 January 1943 – 5 November 1943)
• Lieutenant-General Werner von Bercken (5 November 1943 – March 1945)

References