The 97th Jäger Division was a light infantry Division of the German Army during World War II. It can trace its origins to the 97th Light Infantry Division which was formed in December 1940. It was then redesignated the 97th Jäger Division in July 1942.
The division fought in the Battle of Kursk and suffered heavy losses. It was then transferred to the lower Dnieper river area and fought well during the retreat through Ukraine. It was transferred to Slovakia in October 1944 and surrendered to the Red Army near Deutschbrod in May 1945.[1][2]
Iron Cross 1st Class issued to a soldier of 81st Artillery Regiment, which was part of the 97th Division
The main purpose of the German Jäger Divisions was to fight in adverse terrain where smaller, coordinated units were more facilely combat-capable than the brute force offered by the standard infantry divisions. The Jäger divisions were more heavily equipped than mountain divisions, but not as well armed as a larger infantry division. In the early stages of the war, they were the interface divisions fighting in rough terrain and foothills as well as urban areas, between the mountains and plains. The Jägers (hunters in German), relied on a high degree of training and slightly superior communications, as well as their not inconsiderable artillery support. In the middle stages of the war, as the standard infantry divisions were downsized, the Jäger structure of divisions with two infantry regiments became the standard table of organization.[3]
Historyedit
On 1 January 1945, the 97th Jäger Division (then part of Army Group Heinrici under Army Group A) had a strength of 10,113 men.[4]: 504
^ abcdWendal, Marcus. "Heer Units". Axis History. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
^"97. Jäger-Division". Lexikon der Wehrmacht (in German). Retrieved 4 January 2009.
^Mcoy, Breaker (2009). . Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
^Lakowski, Richard (2008). "Der Zusammenbruch der deutschen Verteidigung zwischen Ostsee und Karpaten". In Müller, Rolf-Dieter (ed.). Die Militärische Niederwerfung der Wehrmacht. Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg (in German). Vol. 10/1. München: Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt. pp. 491–681. ISBN9783421062376.
Further readingedit
Ernst Ludwig Ott – Die Spielhahnjäger 1940–1945: Bilddokumentation der 97. Jäger Division (German)
Ernst Ott – Jäger am Feind: Geschichte und Opfergang der 97.Jäger Division 1940–1945 (German)
Ernst Ludwig Ott – Spielhahnjäger tapfer und Pflichtbewußt bis zum Ende: Fortsetzung bzw. Ergänzung der Div.Geschichte der 97. Jäger Division (German)
External linksedit
Photographs from personnel of Schlächterei-Kompanie 97 on the Eastern Front
April 10, 2024
97th, jäger, division, some, this, article, listed, sources, reliable, please, help, improve, this, article, looking, better, more, reliable, sources, unreliable, citations, challenged, removed, november, 2016, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, lig. Some of this article s listed sources may not be reliable Please help improve this article by looking for better more reliable sources Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed November 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message The 97th Jager Division was a light infantry Division of the German Army during World War II It can trace its origins to the 97th Light Infantry Division which was formed in December 1940 It was then redesignated the 97th Jager Division in July 1942 97th Jager DivisionInsignia of the 97th Jager DivisionActive1941 1945Country Nazi GermanyBranchArmyTypeInfantryRolelight infantrySizeDivisionNickname s Spielhahn DivisionSpielhahnfederEngagementsWorld War II Odessa OffensiveCommandersNotablecommandersWalter Weiss The division fought in the Battle of Kursk and suffered heavy losses It was then transferred to the lower Dnieper river area and fought well during the retreat through Ukraine It was transferred to Slovakia in October 1944 and surrendered to the Red Army near Deutschbrod in May 1945 1 2 Contents 1 Background 2 History 3 Commanders 4 Area of operations 5 Order of battle 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksBackground edit nbsp Iron Cross 1st Class issued to a soldier of 81st Artillery Regiment which was part of the 97th DivisionThe main purpose of the German Jager Divisions was to fight in adverse terrain where smaller coordinated units were more facilely combat capable than the brute force offered by the standard infantry divisions The Jager divisions were more heavily equipped than mountain divisions but not as well armed as a larger infantry division In the early stages of the war they were the interface divisions fighting in rough terrain and foothills as well as urban areas between the mountains and plains The Jagers hunters in German relied on a high degree of training and slightly superior communications as well as their not inconsiderable artillery support In the middle stages of the war as the standard infantry divisions were downsized the Jager structure of divisions with two infantry regiments became the standard table of organization 3 History editOn 1 January 1945 the 97th Jager Division then part of Army Group Heinrici under Army Group A had a strength of 10 113 men 4 504 Commanders editGeneraloberst Walter Weiss 15 December 1940 15 January 1941 General der Infanterie Sigismund von Forster 15 January 1941 15 April 1941 General der Artillerie Maximilian Fretter Pico 15 April 1941 27 December 1941 Generalleutnant Ernst Rupp 1 January 1942 30 May 1943 Generalmajor Friedrich Wilhelm Otte 30 May 1943 3 June 1943 General der Infanterie Ludwig Muller 3 June 1943 12 December 1943 Generalleutnant Friedrich Carl Rabe von Pappenheim 13 December 1943 17 April 1945 Generalmajor Robert Bader 17 April 1945 8 May 1945 1 Area of operations edit nbsp The 97th JD Memorial to the Victims of Wars KrzanowiceAs 97th Light DivisionGermany Dec 1940 June 1941 Eastern front southern sector June 1941 July 1942 As 97th Jager DivisionEastern front southern sector July 1942 October 1944 Slovakia October 1944 May 1945 see Battle of the Dukla Pass 1 Order of battle editJager Regiment 204 Jager Regiment 207 Reconnaissance Battalion 97 Artillerie Regiment 81 Pionier Battalion 97 Panzerjager Battalion 97 Signals Battalion 97 Feldersatz Battalion 81 Versorgungseinheiten 97 1 Schlachterei Kompanie 97References edit a b c d Wendal Marcus Heer Units Axis History Retrieved 4 January 2009 97 Jager Division Lexikon der Wehrmacht in German Retrieved 4 January 2009 Mcoy Breaker 2009 German Army 101st Light Division 101st Jager Division 1941 42 Archived from the original on 29 June 2009 Retrieved 3 April 2009 Lakowski Richard 2008 Der Zusammenbruch der deutschen Verteidigung zwischen Ostsee und Karpaten In Muller Rolf Dieter ed Die Militarische Niederwerfung der Wehrmacht Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg in German Vol 10 1 Munchen Deutsche Verlags Anstalt pp 491 681 ISBN 9783421062376 Further reading editErnst Ludwig Ott Die Spielhahnjager 1940 1945 Bilddokumentation der 97 Jager Division German Ernst Ott Jager am Feind Geschichte und Opfergang der 97 Jager Division 1940 1945 German Ernst Ludwig Ott Spielhahnjager tapfer und Pflichtbewusst bis zum Ende Fortsetzung bzw Erganzung der Div Geschichte der 97 Jager Division German External links editPhotographs from personnel of Schlachterei Kompanie 97 on the Eastern Front Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 97th Jager Division amp oldid 1205397854, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
