302nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

302nd Infantry Division
Active	November 1940 – August 1944
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Heer
Type	Infantry
Size	Division
Garrison/HQ	Neustrelitz, Germany
Nickname(s)	"Dieppe Division"
Engagements	World War II Dieppe Raid Eastern Front Third Battle of Kharkov Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive
Commanders
15 Nov 1940 – 26 Nov 1942	Lieutenant General Konrad Haase
26 Nov 1942 – 12 Nov 1943	Lieutenant General Otto Elfeldt
12 Nov 1943 – 25 Jan 1944	Lieutenant General Karl Rüdiger
25 Jan – Jul 1944	Lieutenant General Erich von Bogen
Jul - 25 Aug 1944	Colonel Wilhelm Fischer

The 302nd Infantry Division (German: 302. Infanteriedivision) was a German Army infantry division in World War II.

History

The 302nd Infantry Division was raised in November 1940 from men in Military District 3 and was used mostly as a French-occupying force, with some elements remaining in Germany. Its first combat situation was Luis Mountbatten's Dieppe Raid of 1942. The 302nd's actions during the raid led to it being nicknamed the "Dieppe division".^[1]

Actions in the Eastern front

In January 1943, the division was sent to the Eastern Front to aid in the Kharkov offensive, where it fought in Luhansk (then known as Voroshilovgrad). Between April and September the division switched to defensive tactics along the Mius-Front. It defended the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia between October and December before withdrawing to the Nikopol bridgehead, where Lieutenant General Rüdiger was wounded-in-action. The division retreating west to the Dnieper in April. Rüdiger's replacement, Lieutenant General Bogen was captured by Soviet troops in July. Colonel Fischer, the 302nd Artillery Regiment's commander, took his place. The division met its end on August 25 when the Soviets succeeded in encircling it during its withdrawal from the Dnieper. During the encirclement Fischer was wounded and soon after captured.

Aftermath

Decimated during the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive, the division was disbanded and those few survivors were transferred to the 15th and 75th Infantry Divisions.^[1]

Elements

1940 570th Infantry Regiment 571st Infantry Regiment 572nd Infantry Regiment 302nd Artillery Regiment 302nd Anti-tank Battalion 302nd Reconnaissance Battalion 302nd Engineer Battalion 302nd Supply Battalion 302nd Divisional Supply detachment

1943 570th Infantry Regiment 571st Infantry Regiment 572nd Infantry Regiment 302nd Artillery Regiment 302nd Mobile Battalion 302nd Bicycle unit 302nd Engineer Battalion 302nd Intelligence Department 302nd Infantry Division supply troops 302nd Medical Company 302nd Ambulance Train

1944 570th Grenadier Regiment 572nd Grenadier Regiment Division Group 125 Regiment Group 420 Regiment Group 421 302nd Divisional fusilier battalion 302nd Artillery Regiment 302nd Mobile Battalion 302nd Engineer Battalion 302nd Field Replacement Battalion 302nd Intelligence Department 302nd Infantry Division Supply Troops 302nd Medical Company 302nd Ambulance train

Sources

References

1. Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry divisions in World War II. Stoddart.

See also

• Division (military), Military unit, List of German divisions in WWII
• Heer, Wehrmacht