232nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 232nd Infantry Division (German: 232. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.
Operational history
[edit]
The 232nd Infantry Division was formed on 26 June 1944 in Wehrkreis IX as a division of the twenty-seventh Aufstellungswelle. It was formed at Wildflecken military exercise base from the Wildflecken Shadow Division, which had also been used to replenish the 715th Infantry Division early in the month of June 1944. The 232nd Infantry Division initially consisted of the Grenadier Regiments 1043, 1044 and 1045, as well as the Artillery Regiment 232.[1] The division's only commander throughout its service was Eccard von Gablenz.[2]
In August 1944, the division was deployed in the reserves of Armee-Abteilung Ligurien in the Italian theater.[1] By February 1945, the division fought in the Apennine Mountains as part of LI Mountain Corps.[2] At this point, Ernest Fisher notes the division was "originally intended only for rear area duty", and thus its troops comprised "either older men or convalescents intercepted en route to their former units on the Eastern front. In reserve were a fusilier battalion and elements of a mountain battalion."[3]
The 232nd Infantry Division surrendered to American forces in the area between Brescia and Milan.[1]
Noteworthy individuals
[edit]- Eccard Freiherr von Gablenz, divisional commander of the 232nd Infantry Division.[2]
Literature
[edit]- v. Gablenz, Eccard Freiherr (1947). Einsatz der 232. Infanterie-Division in Italien.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Tessin, Georg (1977). "232. Infanterie-Division". Die Landstreitkräfte 201-280. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 8. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 147–150. ISBN 3764810971.
- ^ a b c Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). "232ND INFANTRY DIVISION". German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in WWII. Stackpole Books. pp. 296–297. ISBN 9780811746540.
- ^ Ernest F. Fisher Jr., The Mediterranean Theater of Operations: Cassino to the Alps (Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, 1977), p. 432
- ^ Alfoldi, Laszlo M. (1978). World War II, 1939-1945: The Eastern and Balkan Fronts, the Axis Forces in Europe. Vol. 16. U.S. Army Military History Institute.