266th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

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The 266th Infantry Division (German: 266. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German Heer during World War II.

History[]

The 266th Infantry Division was formed on 20 May 1943 at Münsingen military base in Wehrkreis V. It was assembled using recruits from all over southern Germany as a static (i.e. non-motorized) division. The battalions and detachments initially reported to the division headquarters on 15 June and deployment was completed by 1 August. The 266th Infantry Division initially consisted of the Grenadier Regiments 897, 898, and 899, as well as the Artillery Regiment 266.[1] The infantry regiments were equipped with two battalions each, and the artillery regiment's detachments were equipped with Beutewaffe howitzers of Soviet origin. The only commander throughout the division's history was , who has appointed upon the unit's formation.[2]

Upon deployment to occupied France, Grenadier Regiment 898 as well as the second detachment of Artillery Regiment 266 to the .[1]

The division was largely destroyed by Allied forces, including the 4th U.S. Armored Division, during the battles at Saint-Malo in July 1944.[2] Small parts of the 266th Division escaped into the besieged Atlantic pockets in Brittany.[1] With the fall of Brest on 19 September, the last remnants of the division were neutralized.[2] The 266th Infantry Division was formally dissolved on 29 September 1944.[1]

War crimes[]

In northern Finistère at the beginning of August 1944, the 266th artillery regiment began a punitive operation in Saint-Pol-de Léon. On August 4, fifteen inhabitants were taken out of the city on a truck. Five days later, their exhumed bodies were found with their hands tied and their skulls caved in; one had been scalped. The sole woman, partially undressed, had large marks on her thighs and legs. Continuing to the West, the unit left behind dead bodies and burned farms: eighteen were killed in Plounévez-Lochrist, five in Tréflez and thirty-three in Plouvien on August 8 and 9.[3]

Superior formations[]

Organizational chart of the 266th Infantry Division[1]
Year Month Army Corps Army Army Group Area
1943 July In assembly. Münsingen
August – December LXXIV 7th Army Army Group D Brittany
1944 January – April
May – June Army Group B
July LXXIV (partially)

II Parachute (partially)

Brittany (partially)

Saint-Malo (partially)

August – September XXV None. Army Group D Brittany

Noteworthy individuals[]

  • , divisional commander between 20 May 1943 and August 1944.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Tessin, Georg (1973). "266". Die Landstreitkräfte 201–280. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). 8. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 281–283. ISBN 3764808721.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). "266th Infantry Division". German Order of Battle. Volume One. 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. pp. 314–315. ISBN 9780811734165.
  3. ^ https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_VING_130_0103--rapes-committed-by-the-german-army-in.htm
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