German 22nd Air Landing Infantry Division
Encyclopedia
The 22nd Infantry Division was a German infantry division in World War II
.
; the rest of the division stayed in garrison on the Siegfried Line
in case of a preemptive French attack. The division retrained as 22. Luftlande-Division (Air Landing Division) for rapid tactical deployment to captured enemy airbases and performed in that role during the invasion of the Netherlands
suffering heavy losses, and afterward advanced into France
operating as ordinary ground infantry
. Though planned for use in its air-landing role for the Battle of Crete
, it was replaced by another division at the last minute. It joined Army Group South in Operation Barbarossa
(1941), attacking from Romania
and, operating exclusively as ordinary ground infantry, helped storm Sevastopol in the Crimea
(1942).
The unit was thereafter transferred to Crete
for garrison duty and mop-up operations in the Aegean
, playing a major role in the Battle of Leros
. During September 1943, forces of the unit committed numerous atrocities in Viannos
. On 26 April 1944 the divisional commander, Generalmajor Heinrich Kreipe
, was abducted
by a British
Special Operations Executive
team led by Major Patrick Leigh Fermor
and Capt Bill Stanley Moss
. Kreipe's car was ambushed at night on the way from the divisional headquarters at Ano Archanes
to the Villa Ariadne at Knossos
and he was taken cross-country over the mountains to the south coast where he and his captors were picked up by a British vessel near Rodakino on 14 May. This operation was later portrayed in the book Ill Met by Moonlight
(1950) written by Moss
based on his wartime diaries, later adapted as a film of the same name.
Withdrawn to the mainland in autumn 1944, the 22. Infanterie-Division spent the rest of the war in anti-partisan
operations in southeastern Europe
, was renamed 22. Volksgrenadier-Division in March 1945, and surrendered to Yugoslav forces at the end of the war in May.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
History
Created as 22. Infanterie-Division in 1935, one regiment participated in the invasion of PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
; the rest of the division stayed in garrison on the Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
in case of a preemptive French attack. The division retrained as 22. Luftlande-Division (Air Landing Division) for rapid tactical deployment to captured enemy airbases and performed in that role during the invasion of the Netherlands
Battle of the Netherlands
The Battle of the Netherlands was part of Case Yellow , the German invasion of the Low Countries and France during World War II. The battle lasted from 10 May 1940 until 14 May 1940 when the main Dutch forces surrendered...
suffering heavy losses, and afterward advanced into France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
operating as ordinary ground infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
. Though planned for use in its air-landing role for the Battle of Crete
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete was a battle during World War II on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany launched an airborne invasion of Crete under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur...
, it was replaced by another division at the last minute. It joined Army Group South in Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
(1941), attacking from Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and, operating exclusively as ordinary ground infantry, helped storm Sevastopol in the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
(1942).
The unit was thereafter transferred to Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
for garrison duty and mop-up operations in the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, playing a major role in the Battle of Leros
Battle of Leros
The Battle of Leros was the central event of the Dodecanese Campaign of the Second World War, and is widely used as an alternate name for the whole campaign. Leros was occupied by British forces on 15 September 1943...
. During September 1943, forces of the unit committed numerous atrocities in Viannos
Holocaust of Viannos
The Holocaust of Viannos refers to a mass extermination campaign launched by Nazi forces against the civilian residents of around 20 villages located in the areas of east Viannos and west Ierapetra provinces on the Greek island of Crete during World War II. The killings, with a death toll in...
. On 26 April 1944 the divisional commander, Generalmajor Heinrich Kreipe
Heinrich Kreipe
Karl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe was a German general, who served in World War II. He is most famous for his spectacular abduction by British and Cretan resistance fighters from occupied Crete in April 1944....
, was abducted
Kidnap of General Kreipe
The Kidnap of General Kreipe was a Second World War operation by the Special Operations Executive, an organisation of the United Kingdom. The mission took place on the German occupied island of Crete in May 1944....
by a British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
team led by Major Patrick Leigh Fermor
Patrick Leigh Fermor
Sir Patrick "Paddy" Michael Leigh Fermor, DSO, OBE was a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Cretan resistance during World War II. He was widely regarded as "Britain's greatest living travel writer", with books including his classic A Time of...
and Capt Bill Stanley Moss
W. Stanley Moss
Ivan William "Billy" Stanley Moss MC , was a British army officer in World War II, and later a successful writer, broadcaster, journalist and traveller. He served with the Coldstream Guards and the Special Operations Executive . He was a best-selling author in the 1950s, based both on his novels...
. Kreipe's car was ambushed at night on the way from the divisional headquarters at Ano Archanes
Archanes
Archanes is a former municipality in the Heraklion peripheral unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Archanes-Asterousia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 4,548 . It is also the archaeological site of an ancient Minoan settlement in...
to the Villa Ariadne at Knossos
Knossos
Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
and he was taken cross-country over the mountains to the south coast where he and his captors were picked up by a British vessel near Rodakino on 14 May. This operation was later portrayed in the book Ill Met by Moonlight
Ill Met by Moonlight
Ill Met by Moonlight , also known as Night Ambush, is a film by the British writer-director-producer team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the last film they made together through their Archers production company...
(1950) written by Moss
W. Stanley Moss
Ivan William "Billy" Stanley Moss MC , was a British army officer in World War II, and later a successful writer, broadcaster, journalist and traveller. He served with the Coldstream Guards and the Special Operations Executive . He was a best-selling author in the 1950s, based both on his novels...
based on his wartime diaries, later adapted as a film of the same name.
Withdrawn to the mainland in autumn 1944, the 22. Infanterie-Division spent the rest of the war in anti-partisan
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...
operations in southeastern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, was renamed 22. Volksgrenadier-Division in March 1945, and surrendered to Yugoslav forces at the end of the war in May.
Commanders
- Generalleutnant Adolf StraußAdolf StraußAdolf Strauß was a German Generaloberst . He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
(15 Oct 1935 - 10 Nov 1938) - Generalleutnant Hans Graf von SponeckHans Graf von SponeckHans Graf von Sponeck or Hans Emil Otto Graf Sponeck was a German General-Leutnant during World War II who was imprisoned for disobeying orders and later executed. He was the father of Hans von Sponeck....
(10 Nov 1938 - 10 Oct 1941) - General der Infanterie Ludwig WolffLudwig Wolff (general)Ludwig Wolff was a highly decorated General der Infanterie in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the XXXIII. corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
(10 Oct 1941 - 1 Aug 1942) - General der Infanterie Friedrich-Wilhelm MüllerFriedrich-Wilhelm MüllerFriedrich-Wilhelm Müller was a General in the German army in World War II. He is notorious for having been the most brutal commander of occupied Crete, where he earned the nickname "The Butcher of Crete." After the war, he was tried by a Greek military court for war crimes, convicted and...
(1 Aug 1942 - 15 Feb 1944) - Generalmajor Heinrich KreipeHeinrich KreipeKarl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe was a German general, who served in World War II. He is most famous for his spectacular abduction by British and Cretan resistance fighters from occupied Crete in April 1944....
(15 Feb 1944 - 26 Apr 1944) - Generalleutnant Helmut FriebeHelmut FriebeHelmut Friebe was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the LXIV. Armeekorps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful...
(1 May 1944 - 15 April 1945) - Generalmajor Gerhard Kühne (16 April 1944 - 15 May 1945)
May 1940 - Fall Gelb
- Divisionstab
- Infanterie-Regiment 16
- Infanterie-Regiment 47
- Infanterie-Regiment 65
- Artillerie-Regiment 22
- Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 22
- Aufklärungs-Abteilung 22
- Feldersatz-Bataillon 22
- Nachrichten-Bataillon 22
- Pionier-Bataillon 22
July 1944 - Crete
- Divisionstab
- Grenadier-Regiment 16
- Grenadier-Regiment 47
- Grenadier-Regiment 65
- Artillerie-Regiment 22
- Panzerjäger-Abteilung 22
- Aufklärungs-Abteilung 22
- Flak-Bataillon 22
- Nachrichten-Bataillon 22
- Pionier-Bataillon 22
- Feldersatz-Bataillon 22
See also
- Airborne forcesAirborne forcesAirborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
- Division (military)Division (military)A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
, Military unit, List of German divisions in WWII - HeerGerman ArmyThe German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
, WehrmachtWehrmachtThe Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...