On 25 November 1942 the Soviets simultaneously launched attacks against the eastern, western and northern flanks of the German Rzhev salient, known as Operation Mars. North of the Osuga River, the 102nd successfully repelled repeated assaults by 20,000 infantry and over 100 tanks of three Soviet 31st Army divisions (The 31st Army led its attack with the 88th, 336th, and 239th Rifle Divisions, supported by the 332d and 145th Tank Brigades). Soviet infantry clad in winter white advanced in echelon, their ranks interspersed with supporting tanks. German artillery, machine guns, and small arms fire tore gaping holes in the ranks of the assaulting infantry as antitank weapons picked off the accompanying tanks. For three days and at a cost of more than half of their riflemen and most of their tanks, the Soviets hurled themselves in vain at the 102nd Division's prepared defenses. Faced with this determined resistance, the 31st Army's assault collapsed, and, despite Zhukov's and Konev's exhortations, it could not be revived.[1] In 1943 it was involved in Operation Citadel (the Battle of Kursk) and its aftermath, losing much of its strength in a series of fierce defensive battles around Orel; by October it was listed as assigned to the Second Army and reduced to Kampfgruppe level. In January 1944, the division was assigned to the Ninth Army, covering its southern flank in the Pripet Marshes. It avoided the disastrous encirclement and destruction of much of the Ninth Army around Bobruisk in late June during the Soviet Operation Bagration, and was then assigned back to the Second Army, holding a line of defence along the River Narew.
The Soviet army's East Prussian Offensive, from 13 January 1945 onwards, broke the under-strength division, which was pushed north and trapped in the Heiligenbeil pocket, being reassigned to the Fourth Army. In February it held the perimeter near Mehlsack, before being assigned to defend Braunsberg until it fell on 20 March. A few troops broke through westwards and eventually surrendered to the Americans in Schleswig-Holstein: the other encircled divisional elements in the kessel (cauldron) were eventually taken over by the 28th Jäger Division, being involved in the final defence of the Kahlholzer Haken peninsula at Balga.
^David M. Glantz: Counterpoint to Stalingrad. Operation Mars (November–December 1942): Marshal Zhukov's Greatest Defeat, June 1997, 7-8 (online) 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine; see also: David Kahn, An Intelligence Case History: The Defense of Osuga, 1942, Aerospace Historian, Vol. 28, No. 4, 242–252.
^German Order of Battle, 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in WWII. p. 114.
^"Infanterie-Division (12. Welle), German Army, 22.06.1941". niehorster.org. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
102nd, infantry, division, wehrmacht, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, 102nd, infantry, division, weh. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 102nd Infantry Division Wehrmacht news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The 102nd Infantry Division was a German military infantry division during World War II It served on the Eastern Front fighting in the Rzhev salient and the Battle of Kursk It was destroyed during the latter stages of the Soviet Red Army s East Prussian Offensive in 1945 102nd Infantry Division102 Infanterie DivisionDivisional insigniaActive15 December 1940 1945Country Nazi GermanyBranchArmyTypeInfantrySizeDivisionGarrison HQCaselEngagementsWorld War IICommandersNotablecommandersJohannes FriessnerOtto HitzfeldWerner von Bercken Contents 1 Organisation and history 2 Organization 3 Commanders 4 ReferencesOrganisation and history editThe division was formed on 15 December 1940 in Wehrkreis II Mecklenburg Pomerania in the 12th mobilisation wave using elements of the 8th Infantry Division and the 28th Infantry Division The division fought on the Eastern Front for much of its existence it was part of the Ninth Army assigned to Army Group Centre On 25 November 1942 the Soviets simultaneously launched attacks against the eastern western and northern flanks of the German Rzhev salient known as Operation Mars North of the Osuga River the 102nd successfully repelled repeated assaults by 20 000 infantry and over 100 tanks of three Soviet 31st Army divisions The 31st Army led its attack with the 88th 336th and 239th Rifle Divisions supported by the 332d and 145th Tank Brigades Soviet infantry clad in winter white advanced in echelon their ranks interspersed with supporting tanks German artillery machine guns and small arms fire tore gaping holes in the ranks of the assaulting infantry as antitank weapons picked off the accompanying tanks For three days and at a cost of more than half of their riflemen and most of their tanks the Soviets hurled themselves in vain at the 102nd Division s prepared defenses Faced with this determined resistance the 31st Army s assault collapsed and despite Zhukov s and Konev s exhortations it could not be revived 1 In 1943 it was involved in Operation Citadel the Battle of Kursk and its aftermath losing much of its strength in a series of fierce defensive battles around Orel by October it was listed as assigned to the Second Army and reduced to Kampfgruppe level In January 1944 the division was assigned to the Ninth Army covering its southern flank in the Pripet Marshes It avoided the disastrous encirclement and destruction of much of the Ninth Army around Bobruisk in late June during the Soviet Operation Bagration and was then assigned back to the Second Army holding a line of defence along the River Narew The Soviet army s East Prussian Offensive from 13 January 1945 onwards broke the under strength division which was pushed north and trapped in the Heiligenbeil pocket being reassigned to the Fourth Army In February it held the perimeter near Mehlsack before being assigned to defend Braunsberg until it fell on 20 March A few troops broke through westwards and eventually surrendered to the Americans in Schleswig Holstein the other encircled divisional elements in the kessel cauldron were eventually taken over by the 28th Jager Division being involved in the final defence of the Kahlholzer Haken peninsula at Balga Organization editStructure of the division 2 3 Hauptquartier Headquarters Wehrkreis VIII Casel 232 Infanterieregiment 232nd Infantry Regiment 1 Battalion 1st Battalion 2 Battalion 2nd Battalion 3 Battalion 3rd Battalion 233 Infanterieregiment 233rd Infantry Regiment 1 Battalion 1st Battalion 2 Battalion 2nd Battalion 3 Battalion 3rd Battalion 235 Infanterieregiment 235th Infantry Regiment 1 Battalion 1st Battalion 2 Battalion 2nd Battalion 3 Battalion 3rd Battalion 104 Artillerieregiment 104th Artillery Regiment 1 Battalion 1st Battalion 2 Battalion 2nd Battalion 3 Battalion 3rd Battalion 4 Battalion 4th Battalion 102 Aufklarung Battalion 102nd Reconnaissance Battalion 102 Panzer Zerstorer Bataillon 102nd Tank Destroyer Battalion 102 Ingenieur Bataillon 102nd Engineer Battalion 102 Signal Bataillon 102nd Signal Battalion 102 Divisions Versorgungsgruppe 102nd Divisional Supply Group Commanders editLieutenant General John Ansat 10 December 1940 1 February 1942 Lieutenant General Albrecht Baier 1 February 1942 10 March 1942 Major General Werner von Rasfeld 10 March 1942 1 May 1942 Colonel General Johannes Friessner 1 May 1942 19 January 1943 General Otto Hitzfeld 19 January 1943 5 November 1943 Lieutenant General Werner von Bercken 5 November 1943 March 1945 References edit David M Glantz Counterpoint to Stalingrad Operation Mars November December 1942 Marshal Zhukov s Greatest Defeat June 1997 7 8 online Archived 2016 03 04 at the Wayback Machine see also David Kahn An Intelligence Case History The Defense of Osuga 1942 Aerospace Historian Vol 28 No 4 242 252 German Order of Battle 1st 290th Infantry Divisions in WWII p 114 Infanterie Division 12 Welle German Army 22 06 1941 niehorster org Retrieved 2019 02 03 Portals nbsp Military of Germany nbsp World War II Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 102nd Infantry Division Wehrmacht amp oldid 1177587531, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
