297th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
297th Infantry Division | |
---|---|
297. Infanterie-Division | |
Army | |
Type | Infantry |
Size | Division |
Engagements | World War II |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | General of the Artillery Max Pfeffer |
The 297th Infantry Division (
Operational history
The 297th Infantry Division was activated on 31 January 1940 and raised in March as part of the eighth wave of Wehrmacht divisions, assembled from the men of Military district "WK VII", which is now Bruck an der Leitha and the surrounding Lower Austrian areas, out of men from the 27th; 44th; 45th; 57th and 268th Infantry Divisions.[1][2] The divisions of the eighth wave were referred to by some as the "class of 1918", as they consisted largely of young men born in that year, who would be the ages of 21 and 22 upon being called-up.[3]
The division served as an OKH reserve division throughout the Western Campaign of 1940, later being re-stationed in Poland in July 1940 as the initial preparations for Operation Barbarossa were made.[2]
Barbarossa, Stalingrad and capitulation
The 297th Infantry Division attacked through Ukraine as part of
The division survived the hazards of the Soviet winter offensive, being moved around the 6th Army in January as the Wehrmacht prepared to continue their assault on the Soviet Union, helping to re-take
During the Battle of Stalingrad, some units within the division were seen to construct caves which would later be transformed into a field hospital and an equipment storage room.[5] The division fought in the ruined city until Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus' surrender in January 1943, with the 297th division's and IV Army Corps mutual commander, General Pfeffer, following suit into Soviet captivity on the 16th.[7] With the airfield lost to the Red Army, the division was so badly-beaten it could hardly be considered a proper fighting force.[6] Pfeffer's successor as division commander, Major General Moritz von Drebber, finally surrendered to the Red Army a mere nine days later.[2] A photograph of Drebber and several other Axis commanders was taken; one of the men photographed was Dr. Otto Renoldi, the chief surgeon for the 6th Army.[6] A chaplain for the division was executed by a Soviet officer when he bent over to treat a wounded man.[5]
Reformation and the Balkans
The division was recreated in
Commanders
The following officers commanded 297th Infantry Division:[2]
- Lieutenant General Max Pfeffer (5 Apr 1940 - 16 Jan 1943)
- Lieutenant General Moritz von Drebber (16 Jan 1943 - 25 Jan 1943)
- Lieutenant General Friedrich-Wilhelm Deutsch (1 Apr 1943 - 17 Feb 1944)
- Lieutenant General Otto Gullmann (17 Feb 1944 - 20 Feb 1944)
- Lieutenant General Albrecht Baier (20 Feb 1944 - 8 May 1945)
Sources
- ^ Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. p. 91.
- ^ a b c d e f g Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. pp. 16, 27, 83.
- ^ Dunn, Walter Scott (2003). Heroes or traitors: the German replacement army, the July plot, and Adolf Hitler. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 11.
- ^ Kamenir, Victor (2009). The Bloody Triangle: The Defeat of Soviet Armor in the Ukraine, June 1941. Zenith Imprint. p. 264.
- ^ a b c d Beevor, Antony (2007). Stalingrad. Penguin UK.
- ^ a b c Antill, Peter; Dennis, Peter (2007). Stalingrad 1942. Osprey Publishing. pp. 10–11, 73.
- ^ Hitler, Adolf; Heiber, Helmut (2003). Hitler and his generals: military conferences 1942-1945 : the first complete stenographic record of the military situation conferences, from Stalingrad to Berlin. Enigma Books. p. 1106.