The
352nd Infantry Division (
352. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. A western front unit, the 352nd became notable for its tenacious defense of
Omaha BeachOmaha Beach is the code name for one of the main landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6 1944, during World War II....
on
D-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, 6 June 1944.
The 352nd was formed in November 1943 in France, commanded by Generalleutnant
Dietrich KraissDietrich Kraiss was a German Generalleutnant during World War II, awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.Kraiss was born in Stuttgart...
from 6 November 1943 until it was destroyed in July 1944.
The
352nd Infantry Division (
352. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German
WehrmachtWehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. A western front unit, the 352nd became notable for its tenacious defense of
Omaha BeachOmaha Beach is the code name for one of the main landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6 1944, during World War II....
on
D-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
, 6 June 1944.
Divisional history
The 352nd was formed in November 1943 in France, commanded by Generalleutnant
Dietrich KraissDietrich Kraiss was a German Generalleutnant during World War II, awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.Kraiss was born in Stuttgart...
from 6 November 1943 until it was destroyed in July 1944. Organizationally, the 352nd was better off than most German divisions in 1944. At that time, as a result of severe personnel losses, German infantry divisions were generally reduced to 6 infantry battalions. The 352nd, however, retained its full complement of nine battalions.
While the 352nd did have men who had fought on the Eastern Front, the majority of the men were teenagers, 17 & 18 years old. Of the 333 officers assigned, fully 50% were without any combat experience and the division was short about 30% of the needed NCOs. 1455 of division were Russian "volunteers". There had never been any battalion or regimental training. Of the 12,021 men of the division, only 6800 were combat troops, detailed to defend a 53km front. The 352nd was not considered to be a crack division by anyone's imagination.
The 352nd began its coastal duty by improving the beach obstacles, emplacing mined stakes and timber structures. This involved not only cutting and hauling timber from miles inland but also driving stakes and piles deep in the sand. To fully cover the sector, they needed 10 million mines, but a scant 10,000 were available. The first band of obstacles - about 250 yards out from the waterline at high tide - consisted of
Belgian Gates, reinforced iron frames with iron supports that were built atop rollers. Next came a band of mined stakes and log ramps, meant to tear the bottoms out of landing craft or tip them over. Finally, there was a row of metal obstacles, including hedgehogs, made of iron rails. Although the Germans had attached mines to many of the obstacles, few of them were waterproofed, and corrosion had long since taken a toll on many of the explosive devices.
The soldiers of the 916th and 726th regiments occupied slit trenches, eight concrete bunkers, 35 pillboxes, six mortar pits, 35
NebelwerferThe Nebelwerfer was a World War II German series of weapons designed to deliver chemical weapons. They were initially developed by and assigned to the Wehrmacht's Chemical Troops . They were primarily intended to deliver poison gas and smoke shells, although a high-explosive shell was developed...
(multi-barrel rocket launcher) sites and 85 machine-gun nests. The defenses were clustered in strongpoints.
The 916th Grenadier Regiment saw action during D-Day
Operation OverlordOperation Overlord was the code name for the invasion of western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation began on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy Landings when an airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault...
, opposing the
1stThe 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army —nicknamed “The Big Red One” after its shoulder patch; and also nicknamed "The Fighting First"—is the oldest division in the United States Army, and has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917.-Assigned:* 1st Infantry Brigade** 16th...
and
29thThe 29th Infantry Division is an infantry division of the United States Army based in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. It is a formation of the United States Army National Guard and contains units from Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina....
U.S. divisions at
Omaha BeachOmaha Beach is the code name for one of the main landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6 1944, during World War II....
. The 352nd made a good account of itself, causing many casualties and defending the bluffs above the beach for several hours before being overwhelmed. The 916th retreated in the morning hours of June 7 after the Commander Col. Ernst Goth couldn't hold the positions retaken in the night from the 6th to 7 June any longer.
The rest of the division saw heavy fighting in the
bocageBocage is a Norman word which has entered both the French and English languages. It may refer to a small forest, a decorative element of leaves, a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture, or a type of rubble-work, comparable with the English use of 'rustic' in relation to garden...
(or hedgerow) country defending St. Lo against the Americans.
The 352nd was destroyed in the fighting following the invasion, and on 30 July the 352nd was declared
abgekämpft, meaning the division was no longer fit for combat. The division was reconstituted as the
352nd Volksgrenadier Division in September, and fought in the
Battle of the BulgeThe Ardennes Offensive was a major German offensive , launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes Mountains region of Belgium , France and Luxembourg on the Western Front...
. Thereafter, it fought defensively around
TrierTrier is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle River. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC. Trier is not the only city claiming to be Germany's oldest, but it is the only one that bases this assertion on having the longest history as a city, as opposed to a mere...
and the
MoselleMoselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
until it was destroyed once again in mid-March 1945, with only a small remnant escaping across the
RhineThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
at
WormsWorms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over title of "Oldest City in Germany"...
. It was partially reconstituted one last time as a battlegroup in mid-April, and ended its career near
DarmstadtDarmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The city of Darmstadt was founded by the Counts of Katzenelnbogen in 1330, though settlement in the area is known to have been present as early as the late 11th century...
.
Major
Werner PluskatWerner Pluskat was a German Major, commander of the 352nd Artillery of the German 352nd Infantry Division during Allied invasion in Normandy 1944....
, who was featured in
Cornelius RyanCornelius Ryan, was an Irish-American journalist and author mainly known for his writings on popular military history, especially his World War II books: The Longest Day: June 6, 1944 D-Day , The Last Battle , and A Bridge Too Far .-Early life:He was born in Dublin and educated at Synge Street...
's
The Longest DayThe Longest Day is a book by Cornelius Ryan published in 1959, telling the story of D-Day, the first day of the World War II invasion of Normandy...
was in the 352nd Artillery (Artillerie Abteilung) and fired his guns on Omaha Beach until he ran out of ammunition.
His forward observer was on WN62 - Resistance point 62
http://www.omaha-beach.org/The%20Beach/TheBeach.html- above the beach, east of the U.S. Cemetery nowadays and location of the 1st Infantry Division memorial.
Order of battle
The 352nd's order of battle on the eve of the Allied Invasion was as follows (NB: artillery component is also shown):
- 914. Grenadier Regiment
- 2 x 15 cm sIG 33
- 6 x 7.5 cm leIG
- 3 x 7.5 cm PaK
Pak may refer to:* Pakistan * Pakistan-administered Kashmir, abbreviated PAK* Pak, Afghanistan, a village in Badakhshan Province* Pak Protector, a race in Larry Niven's Ringworld and Known Space book series...
40
- 915. Grenadier Regiment
- 2 x 15 cm sIG 33
- 6 x 7.5 cm leIG
- 3 x 7.5 cm PaK 40
- 916. Grenadier Regiment
- 2 x 15 cm sIG 33
- 2 x 7.5 cm leIG
- 3 x 7.5 cm PaK 40
- 352. Panzerjäger
Panzerjäger are German armoured fighting vehicles of the Second World War.-Origin of the name:The designation "Panzerjäger" is derived from the branch of service going by the same name. "Jäger" was the common labeling for highly mobile infantry troops in German armies...
Abteilung
- 14 x Marder II
The Marder II was a German tank destroyer of World War II based on the Panzer II chassis.-History:During the very first days of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the Germans were shocked to encounter Soviet T-34 medium tanks and KV heavy tanks...
and Marder IIIThe Marder III is the name for a series of World War II German tank destroyers built on the chassis of the Panzer 38. German word "Marder" means "marten" in English...
variant Panzerjäger
- 10 x StuG III Ausf. G assault guns
- 9 x FlaKPanzer 38
The Flakpanzer 38 was a German self-propelled anti-aircraft gun used in World War II.- Design:...
Self-Propelled Flak
- 352. Artillerie Regiment
- 1-9.Batterie - 36 x 10.5 cm leFH 16
- 10-12.Batterie - 12 x 15 cm sFH 18
- 352. Pioniere Battalion
- 20 x Flammenwerfer
- 6 x Granatwerfer
- 352. Fusilier
Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...
Battalion (1. Kompanie was bicycle mounted)
- Feld-Ersatz
Ersatz is a German word literally meaning substitute or replacement. Although it is used as an adjective in English, Ersatz can only function in German as a noun on its own, or as a part in compound nouns such as Ersatzteile or Ersatzspieler...
Battalion
- 6 x 8 cm Granatwerfer 34
- 1 x 5 cm PaK 38
- 1 x 7.5 cm PaK
- 1 x 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze
- 1 x Infanterie Geschütz
- 2 x Flammenwerfer
- Supply Train / Signals Troops
See also
- Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between ten to thirty thousand soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions make up a corps...
, Military unit, List of German divisions in WWII
- Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht was the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe ....
External links