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{{Short description|German World War II military unit}}
{{Short description|German World War II military unit}}
{{Infobox military unit
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name = '''101st Jäger Division'''
| unit_name = '''101st Jäger Division'''
|abbreviation =
| abbreviation =
|image =
| native_name = {{langx|de|101. Jäger-Division}}
|caption =
| image =
|dates = 1941–1945
| caption =
|country = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| dates = 1941–1945
|branch = [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Army]]
| country = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
|type = [[Infantry]]
| branch = [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Army]]
|role =
| type = [[Infantry]]
|size = [[Division (military)|Division]]
| role =
| size = [[Division (military)|Division]]
|command_structure =
|equipment =
| command_structure =
<!-- Commanders -->
| equipment = <!-- Commanders -->
|Past Commanders =
| Past Commanders =
|notable_commanders = [[Erich Marcks]]
| notable_commanders = [[Erich Marcks]]
<!-- Insignia -->
<!-- Insignia -->| identification_symbol =
| identification_symbol_2 = <!-- Culture and history -->
|identification_symbol =
| nickname =
|identification_symbol_2 =
| patron =
<!-- Culture and history -->
|nickname =
| motto =
|patron =
| colour =
|motto =
| march =
|colour =
| mascot =
|march =
| battles = [[World War II]]
* [[Kamenets–Podolsky pocket|Kamenets-Podolsky pocket]]
|mascot =
|battles = [[World War II]]
}}
}}


The '''101st Jäger Division''' was a light infantry [[Division (military)|Division]] of the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] in [[World War II]]. It was formed in July 1942 by the redesignation of the '''101st Light Infantry Division''', which was itself formed in December 1940. The [[Walloon Legion]] was briefly attached to this division from December 1941 to January 1942.<ref>{{Cite book|last=De Bruyne|first=Eddy|title=For Rex and for Belgium: Leon Degrelle and Walloon Political & Military Collaboration 1940-45}}</ref> The Division took part in the [[First Battle of Kharkov|Battle of Kharkov]], the [[Battle of the Caucasus]], and the retreat into the [[Kuban]], where it suffered heavy losses fighting both the [[Red Army]] and [[Soviet partisans|partisans]]. The division was then involved in the battles in the [[Kuban bridgehead]] before being evacuated.<ref>Command Magazine, ''Hitler's Army: The Evolution and Structure of German Forces'', Da Capo Press (2003), {{ISBN|0-306-81260-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-306-81260-6}}, p. 264</ref> The 101st was subsequently transferred to the lower [[Dnieper River]] in late 1943. It was part of the [[1st Panzer Army]] that was surrounded in March 1944; it formed the rear guard for the [[46th Panzer Corps|XLVI Panzer Corps]] during the breakout of the [[Kamenets-Podolsky pocket]]. The division then retreated across Ukraine. In October 1944, it was moved to [[Slovakia]] and took part in the [[Battle of the Dukla Pass]].
The '''101st Jäger Division''' ({{langx|de|101. Jäger-Division}}) was a light infantry [[Division (military)|Division]] of the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] in [[World War II]]. It was formed in July 1942 by the redesignation of the '''101st (Light) Infantry Division''' ({{langx|de|101. (leichte) Infanterie-Division|label=none}}), which was itself formed in December 1940. The [[Walloon Legion]] was briefly attached to this division from December 1941 to January 1942.<ref>{{Cite book|last=De Bruyne|first=Eddy|title=For Rex and for Belgium: Leon Degrelle and Walloon Political & Military Collaboration 1940-45}}</ref> The Division took part in the [[First Battle of Kharkov|Battle of Kharkov]], the [[Battle of the Caucasus]], and the retreat into the [[Kuban]], where it suffered heavy losses fighting both the [[Red Army]] and [[Soviet partisans|partisans]]. The division was then involved in the battles in the [[Kuban bridgehead]] before being evacuated.<ref>Command Magazine, ''Hitler's Army: The Evolution and Structure of German Forces'', Da Capo Press (2003), {{ISBN|0-306-81260-6}}, {{ISBN|978-0-306-81260-6}}, p. 264</ref> The 101st was subsequently transferred to the lower [[Dnieper River]] in late 1943. It was part of the [[1st Panzer Army]] that was surrounded in March 1944; it formed the rear guard for the [[46th Panzer Corps|XLVI Panzer Corps]] during the breakout of the [[Kamenets-Podolsky pocket]]. The division then retreated across Ukraine. In October 1944, it was moved to [[Slovakia]] and took part in the [[Battle of the Dukla Pass]].


During the last year of the war, it fought in Hungary and Austria; by the end of the war, it had been reduced to the size of a ''[[Kampfgruppe]]''.
During the last year of the war, it fought in [[Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Hungary]] and Austria; by the end of the war, it had been reduced to the size of a ''[[Kampfgruppe]]''.


==Background==
==Background==
The division was raised, as the 101st Light Infantry Division ({{langx|de|101. Leichte Infanterie-division}}), on 10 December 1940 near [[Prague]] in the [[Nazi Germany|German]]-dominated [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]]. Its home station was initially at [[Heilbronn]] and later at [[Karlsruhe]], both in [[Military district (Germany)|''Wehrkreis'' V]], located in the [[Baden-Württemberg]] region of Germany. Roughly one-third of the initial strength of the unit was transferred from the [[35th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|35th Infantry Division]],{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}} which had participated in the [[Battle of France|invasion of France and the Low Countries]] earlier that year, including fighting in Belgium and around [[Dunkirk]]. It had then served as part of the occupation forces on the Belgian coast.{{sfn|Mitcham|2007a|p=63}}
The main purpose of the German ''Jäger'' Divisions was to fight in adverse terrain where smaller, coordinated units were more combat effective than the brute force offered by the standard infantry divisions. The ''Jäger'' divisions were more heavily equipped than mountain divisions, but not as well armed as a regular 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''—which means ''hunters'' in German—relied on a high degree of training and somewhat superior communications, as well as their not inconsiderable artillery support. In the middle stages of the war, as the standard infantry divisions were downsized, the ''Jäger'' structure of divisions with two infantry regiments, became the standard table of organization.<ref name=mc>{{cite book|author=Mcoy, Breaker|title=German Army 101st Light Division, 101st Jager Division 1941 - 42|year=2009|url=http://www.quikmaneuvers.com/german_army_101st_light_division.html|access-date=2009-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629041521/http://www.quikmaneuvers.com/german_army_101st_light_division.html|archive-date=2009-06-29|url-status=dead}}</ref>


The principal fighting units of the four light infantry divisions raised during the 12th "wave" of recruitment for the German Army{{snd}}one of which was the 101st Light Infantry Division{{sfn|Mitcham|2008|p=442}}{{snd}}were two infantry [[regiment]]s of three [[battalion]]s each, an artillery regiment consisting of one motorised [[artillery battery|battery]] of [[15 cm sFH 18]] heavy field [[howitzer]]s and three battalions of [[10.5 cm leFH 18]] light howitzers, and a [[reconnaissance]] battalion consisting of a bicycle [[company (military unit)|company]] and a horse-mounted cavalry company. What motor vehicles they were issued with had usually been captured.{{sfn|Niehorster|2022b}} They were equipped as "pursuit" divisions.{{sfn|Mitcham|2008|p=442}} The division joined ''[[General der Infanterie]]'' [[Hans-Wolfgang Reinhard]]'s [[LI Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|LI Army Corps]] once established.{{sfn|McCroden|2019|p=652}}
The division was raised on 10 December 1940 near [[Prague]] in the [[Nazi Germany|German]]-dominated [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]]. Its home station was initially at [[Heilbronn]] and later at [[Karlsruhe]], both in [[Military district (Germany)|''Wehrkreis'' V]], located in the [[Baden-Württemberg]] region of Germany. Roughly one-third of the initial strength of the unit was transferred from the [[35th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|35th Infantry Division]],{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}} which had participated in the [[Battle of France|invasion of France and the Low Countries]] earlier that year, including fighting in Belgium and around [[Dunkirk]]. It had then served as part of the occupation forces on the Belgian coast.{{sfn|Mitcham|2007a|p=63}}


==Operations==
==Operations==
The division remained with LI Army Corps during the [[Axis invasion of Yugoslavia]] in April 1941, attacking from Austria into northern Yugoslavia as part of the [[2nd Army (Wehrmacht)|2nd Army]].{{sfn|Schreiber|Stegemann|Vogel|1995|p=491}}{{sfn|Mitcham|2008|p=392}} However, only some elements of the division were allocated to LI Army Corps on 5 April{{snd}}the day before the invasion began{{snd}}and the rest was not transferred to LI Army Corps control until 10 April,{{sfn|Niehorster|2022a}} by which time the very limited Yugoslav resistance had been completely broken.{{sfn|U.S. Army|1986|p=53}} With the Yugoslavs defeated, the division was transferred to [[LII Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|LII Army Corps]], which was part of the [[17th Army (Wehrmacht)|17th Army]]. After a brief period under [[LV Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|LV Army Corps]], part of the [[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|6th Army]] deployed in [[General Government|occupied Poland]], the division returned to LII Army Corps in time for the [[Operation Barbarossa|invasion of the Soviet Union]] in June.{{sfn|McCroden|2019|p=664}}
The division was committed to the [[Operation Barbarossa|invasion of the Soviet Union]] in 1941, and fought in Ukraine and the southern Soviet Union in that year. This included the battles of [[Battle of Uman|Uman]] and [[Battle of Kiev (1941)|Kiev]], and the [[First Battle of Kharkov]]. It then fought through the winter battles of 1941–1942. The division fought in the [[Second Battle of Kharkov]] in May 1942, and the [[Battle of Rostov (1942)|capture of Rostov]] in July of that year. It was then committed to the [[Battle of the Caucasus]] which raged from July 1942 until the retreat into the [[Kuban bridgehead]] in early 1943. In the latter operation, the division suffered heavy losses, both from the [[Red Army]] and [[Soviet partisans|partisans]].{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}}


The division was committed to the [[Operation Barbarossa|invasion of the Soviet Union]] in June 1941, as part of [[Army Group South]]. It fought in the [[Battle of Uman]] in Ukraine from mid-July to mid-August,{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}} during which Army Group South encircled and annihilated the [[Red Army]]'s [[6th Combined Arms Army|6th]] and [[12th Army (Soviet Union)|12th]] Armies.{{sfn|Nuzhdin |2015|p=450}} and was transferred to Army Group South reserve in mid August.{{sfn|McCroden|2019|p=664}} It transferred back briefly to LII Army Corps in September, before being re-allocated to LV Army Corps{{snd}}now with 17th Army{{snd}}later that month.{{sfn|McCroden|2019|p=664}} In early October, the division was briefly transferred [[XI Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|XI Army Corps]], before being transferred back to LV Army Corps and then to [[XVII Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|XVII Army Corps]] by early November.{{sfn|McCroden|2019|p=685}} During this period the division fought in the [[Battle of Kiev (1941)|Battle of Kiev]] and [[First Battle of Kharkov]].{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}} In early December, the division was transferred to the reserve of the 17th Army.{{sfn|McCroden|2019|p=394}}
The division was evacuated across the [[Kerch Strait]] and transported through [[Crimea]] to the lower [[Dnieper River]] in the latter part of 1943, where it fought at Nikolajew and [[Vinnytsia|Vinniza]]. In March 1944, the division was surrounded along with the [[1st Panzer Army]], and formed part of the [[rearguard]] when [[XXXXVI Panzer Corps]] conducted its successful breakout from encirclement. The division was praised for its conduct during the withdrawal across northern Ukraine, it fought in the [[Dnieper–Carpathian offensive|Carpathian campaign]], and was then withdrawn to the German client state of the [[Slovak Republic (1939–1945)|Slovak Republic]] in late 1944. It was deployed south in early in 1945, buy which time two of its ''Jäger'' battalions were made up of ''[[Osttruppen ]]''{{ndash}}recruited in the Soviet Union. The division fought rearguard actions during the withdrawal through Hungary and Austria. Reduced to ''[[kampfgruppe]]'' strength by the end of the war, it managed to surrender to US forces in the German-annexed [[Sudentenland]].{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}}


The division then fought through the winter battles of 1941–1942.{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}} In early January 1942, the division was transferred to LII Army Corps,{{sfn|McCroden|2019|p=987}} with which it had begun Operation Barbarossa.{{sfn|McCroden|2019|p=664}} At the end of that month, half the division was transferred to the [[XXXXIV Army Corps (Wehrmacht)|XXXXIV Army Corps]], while the remainder stayed with LII Army Corps. In late April, the remainder of the division transferred to the XXXXIV Army Corps.{{sfn|McCroden|2019|p=665}} The division fought in the [[Second Battle of Kharkov]] in May 1942, and the [[Battle of Rostov (1942)|capture of Rostov]] in July of that year. It was then committed to the [[Battle of the Caucasus]] which raged from July 1942 until the retreat into the [[Kuban bridgehead]] in early 1943. In the latter operation, the division suffered heavy losses, both from the [[Red Army]] and [[Soviet partisans|partisans]].{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}}
==Area of operations==

;As 101 Light Infantry Division
The division was evacuated across the [[Kerch Strait]] and transported through [[Crimea]] to the lower [[Dnieper River]] in the latter part of 1943, where it fought at Nikolajew and [[Vinnytsia|Vinniza]]. In March 1944, the division was surrounded along with the [[1st Panzer Army]], and formed part of the [[rearguard]] when [[XXXXVI Panzer Corps]] conducted its successful breakout from encirclement. The division was praised for its conduct during the withdrawal across northern Ukraine, it fought in the [[Dnieper–Carpathian offensive|Carpathians]], and was then withdrawn to the German-aligned [[Slovak Republic (1939–1945)|Slovak Republic]] in late 1944.{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}}
*Germany (Dec 1940 - June 1941)

*Eastern front, southern sector (June 1941 - July 1942)
On 1 January 1945, the 101st Jäger Division (then under [[Army Group Heinrici]] of [[Army Group A]]) had a strength of 8,510 men.<ref name="Lakowski 2008">{{Cite book |last=Lakowski, Richard |title=Die Militärische Niederwerfung der Wehrmacht |publisher=Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt |year=2008 |isbn=9783421062376 |editor-last=Müller, Rolf-Dieter |series=Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg |volume=10/1 |location=München |pages=491–681 |language=de |chapter=Der Zusammenbruch der deutschen Verteidigung zwischen Ostsee und Karpaten}}</ref>'''{{Rp|page=504}}''' It was deployed south in early in 1945, by which time two of its ''Jäger'' battalions were made up of USSR-recruited ''[[Osttruppen]]''. The division fought rearguard actions during the withdrawal through Hungary and Austria. Reduced to ''[[kampfgruppe]]'' strength by the end of the war, it managed to surrender to US forces in the German-annexed [[Sudetenland]].{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}}
;As 101 Jager Division
*Eastern front, southern sector (July 1942 - Oct 1944)
*Slovakia, Hungary & Austria (Oct 1944 - May 1945)


==Commanders==
==Commanders==
Line 60: Line 57:


==Order of battle==
==Order of battle==
The order of battle of the division was as follows:{{sfn|Mitcham|2007|pp=157–158}}
The order of battle of the division was as follows:{{sfn|Mitcham|2007b|pp=157–158}}
*228th ''Jäger'' Regiment
*228th ''Jäger'' Regiment
*229th ''Jäger'' Regiment
*229th ''Jäger'' Regiment
*85th Artillery Regiment
*85th Artillery Regiment
*101st Reconnaissance Battalion
*101st Reconnaissance Battalion
*101th Engineer Battalion
*101st Engineer Battalion
*101st ''[[Panzerjäger]]'' (Anti-tank) Battalion
*101st ''[[Panzerjäger]]'' (Anti-tank) Battalion
*101st Signals Battalion
*101st Signals Battalion
Line 73: Line 70:


==Notable members==
==Notable members==
*[[Willi Heinrich]], author of ''[[The Willing Flesh]]'', which was turned into the movie ''[[The Cross of Iron]]'', served as a company officer in ''Jäger Regiment 228''.
*[[Willi Heinrich]], author of ''[[The Willing Flesh]]'' (1956), which was turned into the movie ''[[The Cross of Iron]]'' (1977), served in the division.
*[[Hans Liebherr]], founder of the Liebherr Group.


==Footnotes==
==Footnotes==
Line 80: Line 76:


==References==
==References==
*{{cite book
| last1 = McCroden
| first1 = William T.
| editor-last1 = McCroden
| editor-first1 = William T.
| editor-last2 = Nutter
| editor-first2 = Thomas E.
| year = 2019
| title = German Ground Forces of World War II: Complete Orders of Battle for Army Groups, Armies, Army Corps, and Other Commands of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, September 1, 1939, to May 8, 1945
| publisher = Casemate Publishers
| location = California
| isbn = 978-1-61121-101-6
| url =
}}
*{{Cite book|last=Mitcham|first=Samuel W.|author-link=Samuel W. Mitcham|title=German Order of Battle, Volume One: 1st–290th Infantry Divisions in WWII|year=2007a|location=Mechanicsburg|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=978-0-8117-3416-5}}
*{{Cite book|last=Mitcham|first=Samuel W.|author-link=Samuel W. Mitcham|title=German Order of Battle, Volume One: 1st–290th Infantry Divisions in WWII|year=2007a|location=Mechanicsburg|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=978-0-8117-3416-5}}
*{{cite book|title=German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry divisions, and Special Divisions in World War II|last=Mitcham|first= Samuel |publisher=Stackpole Books|location=Mechanicsburg|year=2007b|isbn=0-8117-3437-4}}
*{{cite book|title=German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry divisions, and Special Divisions in World War II|last=Mitcham|first= Samuel |publisher=Stackpole Books|location=Mechanicsburg|year=2007b|isbn=0-8117-3437-4}}
*{{cite book|first=Samuel W.|last=Mitcham|author-link=Samuel W. Mitcham|title=The Rise of the Wehrmacht: The German Armed Forces and World War II|year=2008|publisher=ABC-CLIO|pages=66–67|isbn=978-0-275-99641-3}}
*{{cite web
| url = http://niehorster.org/011_germany/41-04/02-army.htm
| title = Balkan Operations Order of Battle German Forces 2nd Army 5th April 1941
| access-date = 2 October 2022
| publisher = Leo Niehorster
| year = 2022a
| last = Niehorster
| first = Leo
}}
*{{cite web
| url = http://www.niehorster.org/011_germany/41_organ_army/41_id_12x-welle.html
| title = Light Infantry Division (12th Wave)
| access-date = 2 October 2022
| publisher = Leo Niehorster
| year = 2022b
| last = Niehorster
| first = Leo
}}
* {{cite book |last1=Nuzhdin |first1=Oleg |title=Уманский "котёл": Трагедия 6-й и 12-й армий|trans-title=The Uman "Cauldron": The Tragedy of the 6th and 12th Armies |language=Russian|date=2015 |publisher=Яуза-каталог [Yauza-Catalog] |location=Moscow |isbn=978-5-906716-41-5}}
*{{cite book
| last1 = Schreiber
| first1 = Dr. Gerhard
| last2 = Stegemann
| first2 = Bernd
| last3 = Vogel
| first3 = Detlef
| year = 1995
| title = The Mediterranean, South-East Europe, and North Africa, 1939-1941 : from Italy's Declaration of Non-belligerence to the Entry of the United States into the War
| publisher = Oxford University Press
| location = [[Oxford]], United Kingdom
| isbn = 978-0-19-822884-4
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yxzsngEACAAJ
}}
*{{cite book
| author = U.S. Army
| url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/balkan/intro.htm
| title = The German Campaigns in the Balkans (Spring 1941)
| publisher = United States Army Center of Military History
| location = Washington, D.C.
| id = CMH Pub 104-4
| year = 1986
| oclc = 16940402
| orig-year = 1953
| access-date = 31 May 2014
| archive-date = 19 June 2009
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090619234443/http://history.army.mil/books/wwii/balkan/intro.htm
| url-status = dead
}}


<!--spacing, please do not remove-->{{Jäger divisions of the Wehrmacht}}{{Knight's Cross recipients of the 101st JD}}

<!--spacing, please do not remove-->
{{Infantry Divisions of the Wehrmacht}}
{{Knight's Cross recipients of the 101st JD}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Subject bar
| portal1=Military of Germany
| portal2=World War II
}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:101st Jager Division (Wehrmacht)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:101st Jager Division (Wehrmacht)}}

Latest revision as of 14:22, 21 October 2024

101st Jäger Division
German: 101. Jäger-Division
Active1941–1945
Country Nazi Germany
BranchArmy
TypeInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsWorld War II
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Erich Marcks

The 101st Jäger Division (German: 101. Jäger-Division) was a light infantry Division of the German Army in World War II. It was formed in July 1942 by the redesignation of the 101st (Light) Infantry Division (101. (leichte) Infanterie-Division), which was itself formed in December 1940. The Walloon Legion was briefly attached to this division from December 1941 to January 1942.[1] The Division took part in the Battle of Kharkov, the Battle of the Caucasus, and the retreat into the Kuban, where it suffered heavy losses fighting both the Red Army and partisans. The division was then involved in the battles in the Kuban bridgehead before being evacuated.[2] The 101st was subsequently transferred to the lower Dnieper River in late 1943. It was part of the 1st Panzer Army that was surrounded in March 1944; it formed the rear guard for the XLVI Panzer Corps during the breakout of the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket. The division then retreated across Ukraine. In October 1944, it was moved to Slovakia and took part in the Battle of the Dukla Pass.

During the last year of the war, it fought in Hungary and Austria; by the end of the war, it had been reduced to the size of a Kampfgruppe.

Background

[edit]

The division was raised, as the 101st Light Infantry Division (German: 101. Leichte Infanterie-division), on 10 December 1940 near Prague in the German-dominated Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Its home station was initially at Heilbronn and later at Karlsruhe, both in Wehrkreis V, located in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany. Roughly one-third of the initial strength of the unit was transferred from the 35th Infantry Division,[3] which had participated in the invasion of France and the Low Countries earlier that year, including fighting in Belgium and around Dunkirk. It had then served as part of the occupation forces on the Belgian coast.[4]

The principal fighting units of the four light infantry divisions raised during the 12th "wave" of recruitment for the German Army – one of which was the 101st Light Infantry Division[5] – were two infantry regiments of three battalions each, an artillery regiment consisting of one motorised battery of 15 cm sFH 18 heavy field howitzers and three battalions of 10.5 cm leFH 18 light howitzers, and a reconnaissance battalion consisting of a bicycle company and a horse-mounted cavalry company. What motor vehicles they were issued with had usually been captured.[6] They were equipped as "pursuit" divisions.[5] The division joined General der Infanterie Hans-Wolfgang Reinhard's LI Army Corps once established.[7]

Operations

[edit]

The division remained with LI Army Corps during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, attacking from Austria into northern Yugoslavia as part of the 2nd Army.[8][9] However, only some elements of the division were allocated to LI Army Corps on 5 April – the day before the invasion began – and the rest was not transferred to LI Army Corps control until 10 April,[10] by which time the very limited Yugoslav resistance had been completely broken.[11] With the Yugoslavs defeated, the division was transferred to LII Army Corps, which was part of the 17th Army. After a brief period under LV Army Corps, part of the 6th Army deployed in occupied Poland, the division returned to LII Army Corps in time for the invasion of the Soviet Union in June.[12]

The division was committed to the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, as part of Army Group South. It fought in the Battle of Uman in Ukraine from mid-July to mid-August,[3] during which Army Group South encircled and annihilated the Red Army's 6th and 12th Armies.[13] and was transferred to Army Group South reserve in mid August.[12] It transferred back briefly to LII Army Corps in September, before being re-allocated to LV Army Corps – now with 17th Army – later that month.[12] In early October, the division was briefly transferred XI Army Corps, before being transferred back to LV Army Corps and then to XVII Army Corps by early November.[14] During this period the division fought in the Battle of Kiev and First Battle of Kharkov.[3] In early December, the division was transferred to the reserve of the 17th Army.[15]

The division then fought through the winter battles of 1941–1942.[3] In early January 1942, the division was transferred to LII Army Corps,[16] with which it had begun Operation Barbarossa.[12] At the end of that month, half the division was transferred to the XXXXIV Army Corps, while the remainder stayed with LII Army Corps. In late April, the remainder of the division transferred to the XXXXIV Army Corps.[17] The division fought in the Second Battle of Kharkov in May 1942, and the capture of Rostov in July of that year. It was then committed to the Battle of the Caucasus which raged from July 1942 until the retreat into the Kuban bridgehead in early 1943. In the latter operation, the division suffered heavy losses, both from the Red Army and partisans.[3]

The division was evacuated across the Kerch Strait and transported through Crimea to the lower Dnieper River in the latter part of 1943, where it fought at Nikolajew and Vinniza. In March 1944, the division was surrounded along with the 1st Panzer Army, and formed part of the rearguard when XXXXVI Panzer Corps conducted its successful breakout from encirclement. The division was praised for its conduct during the withdrawal across northern Ukraine, it fought in the Carpathians, and was then withdrawn to the German-aligned Slovak Republic in late 1944.[3]

On 1 January 1945, the 101st Jäger Division (then under Army Group Heinrici of Army Group A) had a strength of 8,510 men.[18]: 504  It was deployed south in early in 1945, by which time two of its Jäger battalions were made up of USSR-recruited Osttruppen. The division fought rearguard actions during the withdrawal through Hungary and Austria. Reduced to kampfgruppe strength by the end of the war, it managed to surrender to US forces in the German-annexed Sudetenland.[3]

Commanders

[edit]

The following officers commanded the division:[19]

Order of battle

[edit]

The order of battle of the division was as follows:[3]

  • 228th Jäger Regiment
  • 229th Jäger Regiment
  • 85th Artillery Regiment
  • 101st Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 101st Engineer Battalion
  • 101st Panzerjäger (Anti-tank) Battalion
  • 101st Signals Battalion
  • 101st Field Replacement Battalion
  • 101st Divisional Supply Troops
  • 101st Pack Mule Battalion

Notable members

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ De Bruyne, Eddy. For Rex and for Belgium: Leon Degrelle and Walloon Political & Military Collaboration 1940-45.
  2. ^ Command Magazine, Hitler's Army: The Evolution and Structure of German Forces, Da Capo Press (2003), ISBN 0-306-81260-6, ISBN 978-0-306-81260-6, p. 264
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Mitcham 2007b, pp. 157–158.
  4. ^ Mitcham 2007a, p. 63.
  5. ^ a b Mitcham 2008, p. 442.
  6. ^ Niehorster 2022b.
  7. ^ McCroden 2019, p. 652.
  8. ^ Schreiber, Stegemann & Vogel 1995, p. 491.
  9. ^ Mitcham 2008, p. 392.
  10. ^ Niehorster 2022a.
  11. ^ U.S. Army 1986, p. 53.
  12. ^ a b c d McCroden 2019, p. 664.
  13. ^ Nuzhdin 2015, p. 450.
  14. ^ McCroden 2019, p. 685.
  15. ^ McCroden 2019, p. 394.
  16. ^ McCroden 2019, p. 987.
  17. ^ McCroden 2019, p. 665.
  18. ^ Lakowski, Richard (2008). "Der Zusammenbruch der deutschen Verteidigung zwischen Ostsee und Karpaten". In Müller, Rolf-Dieter (ed.). Die Militärische Niederwerfung der Wehrmacht. Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg (in German). Vol. 10/1. München: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. pp. 491–681. ISBN 9783421062376.
  19. ^ Mitcham 2007b, p. 158.

References

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