26th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 26th Infantry Division (ID ), from September 17, 1944 26 people Grenadier Division, was a military major unit of the Wehrmacht.
Division history
Areas of application
- Germany: September 1939 to May 1940
- France: May 1940 to June 1941
- Eastern Front, Central Section: June 1941 to September 1944
- Poland: September 1944
The 26th ID was set up on 1 April 1936 in Cologne in Military District VI and was during the general mobilization in August 1939, part of the first wave formation.
The Division was involved in the western campaign, however, was little involved in combat operations. On the Eastern Front in 1941 she was involved in the assault on Moscow, as part of the 9th Army in the Battle of Rzhev and the winter offensive of 1941/42. From mid-December 1941, the 9th Army had to gradually recede in southwestern direction due to the strong enemy pressure from Kalinin. The 29th and 31st Soviet Army opened large-scale attacks on the German defensive belt. In the section of the 26th ID led to heavy losses. On December 31, 1941, Soviet troops broke north of Rzhev by the main line of the 256th and 206th ID and conquered the town Stariza. Included German regiments northwest of Stariza went on in all-round defense. On 4 January 1942, the front of the 9th Army collapsed in the space around Mologino ( Мологино ), while the sixth and ID 26 ID created new defensive positions with Rzhev as the cornerstone and the winter 1941/1942 survived only with the greatest difficulty.
The division took part in 1943 in the Battle of Kursk and was completely destroyed during the Soviet summer offensive of 1944 Kovel in Ukraine. The survivors retreated to Poland, where they formed the core staff of 26 people Grenadier Division.
Structure
The Artillery Regiment 26 was divided into Divisions I to III and in addition had the I. Abtlg. / AR 62 in the lower position.
People
Awards
A total of 16 members of the 26th ID received the Knight's Cross and 100 were awarded the German Cross in Gold. Knight's Cross: