German Order of Battle [01] German Order of Battle: 290th Infantry Divisions in WWII by Samuel W. Mitcham Jr

Author:Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. [Mitcham, Jr., Samuel W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: World War 2, Formations
ISBN: 9780811746540
Publisher: Stackpole Books
Published: 2016-04-19T16:00:00+00:00

A happy (and possibly inebriated) member of the Afrika Korps takes a drink, 1941. The tropical helmets were soon discarded in favor of the soft service cap.

HITM ARCHIVE

Commanders of the 134th Infantry Division included Lieutenant General Conrad von Cochenhausen (October 5, 1940), Colonel Hans Schlemmer (December 13, 1941), Colonel Rudolf Bader (February 1943), Schlemmer (July 1943), Colonel Rudolf Bader (February 1944), and Philipp (June 1, 1944).

Sources: General von Cochenhausen committed suicide on December 13, 1941. Schlemmer was promoted to major general on February 10, 1942, and to lieutenant general January 1, 1943.

Carell 1966: 344; Carell 1971: 597; Halder, Kriegstagebuch, Volume III: 340; Hartmann: 22; Werner Haupt, Geschichte der 134. Infanterie-Division (1971); Keilig: 17, 61; Kursietis: 140; Nafziger 2000: 165–66; Lexikon; Seaton: 224; Tessin, Vol. 7: 16–17; OB 43: 147; OB 44: 205; OB 45: 180.

SPECIAL EMPLOYMENT DIVISION STAFF 136

Composition: I and II Battalions, directly under Staff, 136th Infantry Division

Home Station: Paris (?), France

This unit was created in France on April 25, 1944, from the staff of Ostruppen 721. It was a special field administrative staff with responsibility for helping control and support eight companies of German troops with stomach problems. The 136th was sent to the Antwerp area in late May, where it was given the task of defending a sector of the Belgian coast with two battalions of troops—each with two companies each. All the infantrymen were limited duty soldiers suffering from stomach ailments. In September 1944, it retreated into Holland, where it was taken out of the line and disbanded on October 30, 1944.

The commander of Special Employment Division 136 for most of its existence was Major General Count Christoph zu Stolberg-Stolberg (April 25, 1944–September 4, 1944).

Notes and Sources: Count zu Stolberg-Stolberg also served as commandant of Antwerp. He was captured by the British on September 4, 1944.

Keilig: 335; Nafziger 2000: 165; Tessin, Vol. 7: 23; OB 45: 180.

137TH INFANTRY DIVISION

Composition: 447th Infantry Regiment, 448th Infantry Regiment, 449th Infantry Regiment, 137th Artillery Regiment, 137th Reconnaissance Battalion, 137th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 137th Engineer Battalion, 137th Signal Battalion, 137th Field Replacement Battalion, 137th Divisional Supply Troops

Home Station: Krumau, Wehrkreis XVII

Created in Troop Maneuver Area Doellersheim on October 10, 1940, this division was formed around regimental-sized cadre units provided by the 44th and 262nd Infantry Divisions. The 18th Infantry Division also sent smaller elements. The new division completed its unit training in March 1941, and was sent to Poland in April. It crossed into Russia with Army Group Center in June 1941 and remained with that army group throughout its existence. It fought in the battles of the Bialystok, Smolensk, and the Yelnya Bend, in the final drive on Moscow, and against the 1941–42 Russian winter offensive, where it suffered such heavy casualties that its 449th Infantry Regiment had to be disbanded. Later it fought at Juchnow (1942), Spass-Demensk (1942), Kursk (1943), and the battles of the central Dnieper. Badly understrength after over two years of almost continuous action, during which five of its original nine infantry battalions had suffered such

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