81st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 81st Infantry Division was a military major unit of the Wehrmacht in the German Reich.
History
1939-1941
The division was established as a division of the 6th installation shaft on the military training area Neuhammer by the Military District VIII on 1 December 1939. Some departments were contributed from the military districts III and IV. The division was on leave from August 1940.
In February 1941, the reconvening was.
Before use in Russia, the three infantry regiments each have a 13 light artillery company, which were submitted by the 225th Infantry Division received.
1942
In 1942, the 81st Infantry Division in the defense of the boiler of Demyansk and held the section between Michalkino and Jasswy.
Until well into October, took the position battles; then followed the attempt to win by counter- attacks on the ground. Here, the division suffered significant losses, so that the operation had to be stopped in mid-November. A battalion was wiped out and was reorganized.
1943
In January 1943, the Division began to clear the boiler; they moved into the room Staraya Russa and from there into the area northwest of Novgorod.
The division arrived on the Volkhov in the use and participated with parts of the Third Ladoga battle.
In November 1943, the 81st Infantry Division was thrown into the room Pustoschka Newel to successfully seal off here the breakthrough Russian attack associations at the interface between Army Group North and Army Group Center by counterattacks.
1944-1945
After fighting position, the division came at the Soviet offensive on February 27, 1944 again in fierce defensive battles and suffered heavy losses, but their section could claim until June 1944.
After the start of the Soviet summer offensive codenamed Operation Bagration, the division end of June (today Dvina ) transported by rail hastily into the front portion of the Daugava River to be used in the north of Army Group Center against the unerupted Russian units. The division but had to withdraw after losses behind the Dvina, because it was no longer able to build a new main line.
During that began on 22 June, Russian summer offensive to the collapse of Army Group Centre resulted, the front was pushed back to Daugavpils in the northern section. The end of July, the division fought in the area southeast of Dvinsk, to Skrudaliena was reached. As a Russian breakthrough in Riga threatened, the Division was moved into the room Birsen. From there, they should take the beginning of August to counter-attack, but the attack came the Soviet previously. In the defensive fighting, the division suffered such heavy losses that they dissolve the Grenadier Regiment 161 of 18 August 1944, and had to merge with the 189 Grenadier Regiment. Even the fusilier battalion was disbanded, but reorganized on October 4, 1944.
The division was cut off with the Army Group North in the Kurland kettle and capitulated on 8 May 1945 at Tukkum.
Insinuation and use spaces
Structure
- Infantry Regiment 161
- Infantry Regiment 174
- Infantry Regiment 189
- Grenadier - Regiment 161
- Grenadier - Regiment 174
- Grenadier - Regiment 189
- Fusilier Battalion 61
- Artillery Regiment 181
- Engineer Battalion 181
- Anti-Tank Division 181
- Tank Destroyer Division 181
- News department 181
- Division supply officer 181