German 16th Infantry Division
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16th Infantry Division
16th Motorized Infantry Division Windhund
16th Panzergrenadier Division Windhund
16th Panzer Division
116th Panzer Division Windhund
Created as 16th Infantry Division in 1935. Participated in the invasion of Poland (1939) and France (1940). Split later in 1940, resulting in two independent lineages:
16th Panzer Division: Served as a reserve in Romania during the Balkans campaign (1941). Participated in Operation Barbarossa with Army Group South (1941). Encircled and destroyed at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-1943. Rebuilt in the west, and fought in Sicily and south Italy during the Italian Campaign (1943). Returned to the Russian Front (1943). Severely mauled near Kiev, and withdrawn to Poland for rehabilitation (1944). Returned to the east in 1945, and surrendered to Soviets and Americans in Czechoslovakia.
16th Motorized Infantry Division: Nicknamed Windhund ("Greyhound"). Participated in the Balkans campaign (1941). Joined Operation Barbarossa with Army Group South (1941). Advanced on the Caucasus, with elements coming to within 20 miles of Astrakhan — the most easterly point reached by any German unit during the war (1942). Participated in defensive operations after the Soviets broke up the front of the southern sector. Upgraded to 16th Panzergrenadier Division in 1943. Suffered heavily in the continuing retreats, and transferred to France for rest and refitting. Reorganized as the 116th Panzer Division (with number changed since 16th Panzer Division was already taken by its sibling), absorbing the 179th Reserve Panzer Division in the process (1944). Fought in the Battle of Normandy, and almost completely destroyed in the Falaise Gap. Defended the Siegfried Line at Aachen in that reduced condition. Withdrawn for refitting and then recommitted, but failed to save the city. Participated in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and then in the Battle of the Bulge, again sustaining heavy casualties (1944). Caught in the Wesel Pocket, but managed to escape across the Rhine (1945). Surrendered with the Ruhr Pocket in April, 1945.
[edit] See also
- 16th Luftwaffe Field Division (an unrelated unit with confusingly similar names)
- Panzergrenadier, Panzer, Panzer Division
- Division (military), Military unit
- Wehrmacht, List of German divisions in WWII
[edit] References
Note: The Web references may require you to follow links to cover the unit's entire history.
- Pipes, Jason. "16.Panzer-Division". Retrieved April 2, 2005
- Pipes, Jason. "116.Panzer-Division". Retrieved April 2, 2005
- Wendel, Marcus (2004). "16. Infanterie-Division". Retrieved April 2, 2005.
