History of the “Iron Cross Silesian Division”
Background
The main purpose of the German Jäger Divisions was to fight in adverse terrain where smaller, coordinated units were more facilely combat capable than the brute force offered by the standard infantry divisions. The Jäger divisions were more heavily equipped than mountain division, but not as well armed as a larger infantry division. In the early stages of the war, they were the interface divisions fighting in rough terrain and foothills as well as urban areas, between the mountains and the plains. The Jägers (hunters in German) relied on a high degree of training, and slightly superior communications, as well as their considerable artillery support. In the middle stages of the war, as the standard infantry divisions were down sized, the Jäger model with two infantry regiments came to dominate the standard tables of organization.
In 1943, Adolf Hitler declared that all infantry divisions were now Grenadier Divisions except for his elite Jäger and Mountain Jäger divisions.
Organization and History
The 28th Jäger Division was the longest serving infantry unit of the German Wehrmacht formed on October 1st 1936 in Breslau, Silesia, now modern day Western Poland. Units designated as “Jäger”, the German word for hunter, were specially trained soldiers that operated in a light infantry role, meaning they were trained in skirmishing tactics and were regarded as the elite of the Wehrmacht, functioning both as support infantry for armored or mechanized units, as well as front line spearhead soldiers to break or weaken enemy forces before the main bulk of the army would advance, and were often equipped with minimal equipment, but the most state of the art weapons.
Originally designated the 28th Infantry Division, it was comprised of the 83rd Infantry Regiment and the 52nd Supplemental Battalion, which as a whole were comprised of battalions from the 49th, 30th, and the “Hirschberg Hunters”. These were a mix of veteran fighters from WWI, which this, coupled with the eventual nine year service of the 28th, earned it the nickname the Eiserneskreuz, or Iron Cross Division. Under the command of Hans von Obstfelder, the 28th Division formed the Military District VIII with headquarters in Hirschberg in the Rhineland, now modern day western Germany. In early November of 1938 the 28th Infantry Division was strengthened with additional battalions from the 51st, 49th, and 7th Infantry and moved to the northern border of Silesia. On September 1st 1939 the 28th Infantry Division supported by the 64th Artillery spearheaded over the southern Polish border in Operation Case White. The division pushed from Katowice north to Krakow, Vistula, and Wisloka. The division also fought in skirmishes in San Sokolow, Osuchy, Brest, until stopping at Lemberg. The city of Lemberg marked the end of the Polish campaign for the Division and it was later transferred to the area of Aachen in the west in October of 1939 as part of border security.
The Western Campaign began in 1940 and the Division attached to the 4th Army passed into Belgium in May. It was during this campaign that the transition from infantry to light infantry began. By June 4th 1940, the 28th Infantry Division had crossed over the French border to the Meuse River and stopped in Lille, Northern France where it remained until late August 1941 when the Division then passed back through Belgium to northern Poland with the 15th Army, preparing for Hitler’s arguably biggest tactical mistake of the entire war. June 22nd 1941, attached to the massive 9th Army, the division crashed into the Soviet Union starting Operation Barbarossa and breaking Germany’s Alliance with the Motherland. The Division pushed from Lida to the area of Smolensk where the Division had to endure heavy defensive battles until September 1941. At the beginning of the march on Moscow, the Division made it to the east of Yartsevo, near the Volga River, where the unit sustained devastating losses and was withdrawn and stationed once again back in Northern France. Now attached to the 1st Army on November 20th, 1941, the 28th Infantry Division was strengthened by the addition of the 526th, 252nd, and 235th Infantry Regiments preparing for another campaign.
December 1st 1941 the 28th Infantry Division was re-designated as the 28th Light Infantry Division, and in February 1942 the Division, under the 11th Army, relocated back to the eastern front to fight in Crimea, most notably at the battle of Sevastopol in May of 1942. On July 1st 1942 while still located in Crimea, the Division was renamed the 28th Jäger Division, organized with 3 battalions of the renamed 83rd Jäger Regiment and 3 battalions of the 49th Jäger Regiment, as well as subsequent 28th Support Battalions. September of 1942 the Division, part of Army Group North, fought through Volkhov to Leningrad where attached to the 18th Army, Finnish and Italian forces along with the Division laid siege that lasted almost two years until January of 1944.
March of 1944 the Division, now attached to the 16th Army, was pushed to the south, back towards what is now Latvia, to a city called Opotschka, marking the beginning of the end for the famed Iron Cross Division. From Opotschka, June of 1944 the division was pushed to Kovel in northwestern Ukraine. The 16th Army managed to advance north into modern day Belarus to the city of Minsk in July 1944, but was then pushed back into Prussia, now modern day Poland, by September of that year. The Division was faltering, it had been absorbed back into the 4th Army, now part of the last of the German Eastern Front, and on April 12th 1945, Colonel Hans Tempelhoff surrendered the 28th Jäger Division to Soviet forces. The legendary Iron Cross Division, the longest serving of Germany’s Light Infantry Divisions was disbanded after nine years.
Feldpost
Regimentsstab: 25424
1. Kompanie: 08992B
Organization
Commanding Officers
28. Infanterie-Division
The main purpose of the German Jäger Divisions was to fight in adverse terrain where smaller, coordinated units were more facilely combat capable than the brute force offered by the standard infantry divisions. The Jäger divisions were more heavily equipped than mountain division, but not as well armed as a larger infantry division. In the early stages of the war, they were the interface divisions fighting in rough terrain and foothills as well as urban areas, between the mountains and the plains. The Jägers (hunters in German) relied on a high degree of training, and slightly superior communications, as well as their considerable artillery support. In the middle stages of the war, as the standard infantry divisions were down sized, the Jäger model with two infantry regiments came to dominate the standard tables of organization.
In 1943, Adolf Hitler declared that all infantry divisions were now Grenadier Divisions except for his elite Jäger and Mountain Jäger divisions.
Organization and History
The 28th Jäger Division was the longest serving infantry unit of the German Wehrmacht formed on October 1st 1936 in Breslau, Silesia, now modern day Western Poland. Units designated as “Jäger”, the German word for hunter, were specially trained soldiers that operated in a light infantry role, meaning they were trained in skirmishing tactics and were regarded as the elite of the Wehrmacht, functioning both as support infantry for armored or mechanized units, as well as front line spearhead soldiers to break or weaken enemy forces before the main bulk of the army would advance, and were often equipped with minimal equipment, but the most state of the art weapons.
Originally designated the 28th Infantry Division, it was comprised of the 83rd Infantry Regiment and the 52nd Supplemental Battalion, which as a whole were comprised of battalions from the 49th, 30th, and the “Hirschberg Hunters”. These were a mix of veteran fighters from WWI, which this, coupled with the eventual nine year service of the 28th, earned it the nickname the Eiserneskreuz, or Iron Cross Division. Under the command of Hans von Obstfelder, the 28th Division formed the Military District VIII with headquarters in Hirschberg in the Rhineland, now modern day western Germany. In early November of 1938 the 28th Infantry Division was strengthened with additional battalions from the 51st, 49th, and 7th Infantry and moved to the northern border of Silesia. On September 1st 1939 the 28th Infantry Division supported by the 64th Artillery spearheaded over the southern Polish border in Operation Case White. The division pushed from Katowice north to Krakow, Vistula, and Wisloka. The division also fought in skirmishes in San Sokolow, Osuchy, Brest, until stopping at Lemberg. The city of Lemberg marked the end of the Polish campaign for the Division and it was later transferred to the area of Aachen in the west in October of 1939 as part of border security.
The Western Campaign began in 1940 and the Division attached to the 4th Army passed into Belgium in May. It was during this campaign that the transition from infantry to light infantry began. By June 4th 1940, the 28th Infantry Division had crossed over the French border to the Meuse River and stopped in Lille, Northern France where it remained until late August 1941 when the Division then passed back through Belgium to northern Poland with the 15th Army, preparing for Hitler’s arguably biggest tactical mistake of the entire war. June 22nd 1941, attached to the massive 9th Army, the division crashed into the Soviet Union starting Operation Barbarossa and breaking Germany’s Alliance with the Motherland. The Division pushed from Lida to the area of Smolensk where the Division had to endure heavy defensive battles until September 1941. At the beginning of the march on Moscow, the Division made it to the east of Yartsevo, near the Volga River, where the unit sustained devastating losses and was withdrawn and stationed once again back in Northern France. Now attached to the 1st Army on November 20th, 1941, the 28th Infantry Division was strengthened by the addition of the 526th, 252nd, and 235th Infantry Regiments preparing for another campaign.
December 1st 1941 the 28th Infantry Division was re-designated as the 28th Light Infantry Division, and in February 1942 the Division, under the 11th Army, relocated back to the eastern front to fight in Crimea, most notably at the battle of Sevastopol in May of 1942. On July 1st 1942 while still located in Crimea, the Division was renamed the 28th Jäger Division, organized with 3 battalions of the renamed 83rd Jäger Regiment and 3 battalions of the 49th Jäger Regiment, as well as subsequent 28th Support Battalions. September of 1942 the Division, part of Army Group North, fought through Volkhov to Leningrad where attached to the 18th Army, Finnish and Italian forces along with the Division laid siege that lasted almost two years until January of 1944.
March of 1944 the Division, now attached to the 16th Army, was pushed to the south, back towards what is now Latvia, to a city called Opotschka, marking the beginning of the end for the famed Iron Cross Division. From Opotschka, June of 1944 the division was pushed to Kovel in northwestern Ukraine. The 16th Army managed to advance north into modern day Belarus to the city of Minsk in July 1944, but was then pushed back into Prussia, now modern day Poland, by September of that year. The Division was faltering, it had been absorbed back into the 4th Army, now part of the last of the German Eastern Front, and on April 12th 1945, Colonel Hans Tempelhoff surrendered the 28th Jäger Division to Soviet forces. The legendary Iron Cross Division, the longest serving of Germany’s Light Infantry Divisions was disbanded after nine years.
Feldpost
Regimentsstab: 25424
1. Kompanie: 08992B
Organization
- Jäger-Regiment 49
- Jäger-Regiment 83
- Artillerie-Regiment 28
- Feldersatz-Battalion 28
- Pionier-Battalion 28
- Panzerjäger-Abteilung 28
- Aufklärungs-Abteilung 28
- Divisions-Einheiten 28
Commanding Officers
28. Infanterie-Division
- Generalleutnant Hans von Obstfelder (Creation – 21 May 1940)
- Generalleutnant Johann Sinnhuber (21 May 1940 – 1 July 1943)
- General Friedrich Schulz (1 May 1943 – 24 November 1943)
- Major-General Hubertus Lamey (25 November 1943 – January 1944)
- General Hans Speth (January 1944 – 27 April 1944)
- Lieutenant-General Gustav Heistermann von Ziehlberg (28 April 1944 – 19 November 1944)
- Major-General Ernst König (20 November 1944 – 11 April 1945)
- Colonel Hans Tempelhoff (12 April 1945)
- Oberleutnant Erwin Frankenfeld – Jäger-Regiment 49
- Hauptmann der Reserve Bernard Kranz – Jäger-Regiment 83
References
- "28. Jägerdivision" (in German). www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Archived from the original on 17 June 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2007.
- Berger, Florian. The Face of Courage: The 98 Men Who Received the Knight's Cross and the Close-Combat Clasp in Gold. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2011.
- Kranz, Bernhard. Geschichte Der Hirschberger Jäger: 1920 Bis 1945. Bad Salzuflen: Kamaradschaft Ehem. Hirshberger Jäger, H. Rauschenbusch, 1975.
- McCoy, Breaker (2009). German Army 101st Light Division, 101st Jager Division 1941 - 42.
- Mitcham, Samuel W., Jr. German Order of Battle Volume Two. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2007.
- Müller-Hillebrand, Burkhard (1969). Das Heer 1933-1945. Entwicklung des organisatorischen Aufbaues (in German). Vol. III: Der Zweifrontenkrieg. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende. Frankfurt am Main: Mittler. p. 286.
- Tessin, Georg (1970). Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg, 1939 - 1945 (in German). Vol. IV: Die Landstreitkräfte 15 -30. Frankfurt am Main: Mittler.
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