255th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
| 255th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
| German: 255. Infanterie-Division | |
 | |
| Active | 26 Aug 1939 – 2 Nov 1943 (255th Infantry Division) 2 Nov 1943 – Feb 1944 (Division Group 255) |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  Heer (Wehrmacht) |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname(s) | "Green Dot division" |
| Engagements | Battle of France German-Soviet War Battle of Moscow Third Battle of Kharkov Operation Citadel Battle of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Wilhelm Wetzel Walter Poppe |
The 255th Infantry Division (German: 255. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.
History
The 255th Infantry Division was formed on 26 August 1939, the day of German mobilization, as part of the fourth Aufstellungswelle in Döbeln in Wehrkreis VI (Dresden).[1] The initial commander of the 255th Infantry Division was Wilhelm Wetzel, who assumed his post on 26 August 1939.[2]
The division spent the first months of the war in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, until it was called to the Battle of France in April 1940. After German victory in that campaign, the 255th Infantry Division was on occupation duty in Belgium in June, in the Nantes region between July and August, and in the Bordeaux sector between September 1940 and February 1941.[2]
In March 1941, the 255th Infantry Division was called to occupied Poland in preparation for Operation Barbarossa. The division crossed into the Soviet Union in June and subsequently fought at Brest, Pinsk, Gomel, Smolensk, and Vyazma. At the end of the year, the division assisted in the defense against the Soviet winter campaign of 1941–42.[2]
On 12 January 1942, the 255th Infantry Division changed commanders for the only time in its history, with Walter Poppe replacing Wetzel. Poppe would hold his command post until the dissolution of the division. In early 1942, the division fought in the Gzhatsk sector before a transfer to the southern part of the Eastern Front after Germany's February 1943 defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad. It fought in the Third Battle of Kharkov and Operation Citadel.[2] In August 1943, the 255th Infantry Division absorbed the survivors of the battered 332nd Infantry Division.[2]
On 2 November 1943, the 255th Infantry Division was formally downgraded to a Kampfgruppe strength formation, dubbed Division Group 255, as a result of the large casualties sustained.[2] In February 1944, Division Group 255 was trapped in the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket and subsequently destroyed.[2]
The division was known by the nickname Green Dot division due to its divisional insignia,[2] which showed a green dot on a white square.[3]: 28
Superior formations
| Year | Month | Army Corps | Army | Army Group | Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1939 | September – December | In the Protectorate. | |||
| 1940 | January – April | ||||
| May | Army reserves. | 6th Army | Army Group B | Netherlands | |
| June | Army Group reserves. | Belgium | |||
| July – August | VI | 4th Army | Nantes | ||
| September – October | 7th Army | Army Group C | Bordeaux | ||
| November – December | Army Group D | ||||
| 1941 | January – February | ||||
| March | Army reserves. | 17th Army | Army Group B | General Government | |
| April | IX | ||||
| May | XXXXIV | 4th Army | |||
| June | XXIV | 2nd Panzer Army | Army Group Center | Brest | |
| July | LIII | Pinsk | |||
| August | 2nd Army | Gomel | |||
| September | VIII | 9th Army | Smolensk | ||
| October | XXVII | Vyazma | |||
| November | Army reserves. | Mozhaysk | |||
| December | Army Group reserves. | Moscow | |||
| 1942 | January | VII | 4th Panzer Army | Mozhaysk | |
| February – April | XX | Gzhatsk | |||
| May – December | 3rd Panzer Army | ||||
| 1943 | January | ||||
| February | 4th Army | ||||
| March | VII | 2nd Army | Sumy | ||
| April | LII | Army Detachment Kempf | Army Group South | Kharkiv | |
| May – June | Army Detachment Kharkiv | ||||
| July – August | 4th Panzer Army | Belgorod | |||
| September | XXIV | Dnieper | |||
| October | XXXXVIII | 8th Army | |||
| November | XXIV | 4th Panzer Army | Dnieper (Kiev) | ||
| December | Downgraded to Division Group 255. | ||||
| 1944 | January – February | ||||
Noteworthy individuals
- Wilhelm Wetzel, divisional commander between August 1939 and January 1942.
- Walter Poppe, divisional commander between January 1942 and February 1944.
References
- ^ a b Tessin, Georg (1973). "255". 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. 234–238. ISBN 3764808721.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). "255th Infantry Division". German Order of Battle. Volume One. 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. pp. 303–304. ISBN 9780811734165.
- ^ Hartmann, Theodor (1970). Wehrmacht Divisional Signs, 1938–1945. Almark Publications. ISBN 0855240067.