The 606th Infantry Division (German: 606. Infanterie-Division), also known as the Division for special deployment 606 (German: Division z.b.V. 606) was a short-lived infantry division of the Heer, the ground forces of Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht. It was active in April 1945.
| 606th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
| German: 606. Infanterie-Division | |
| Active | 7 November 1944 – May 1945 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  Heer (Wehrmacht) |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Nickname(s) | Division z.b.V. 606 |
History
editThe 606th Division was initially founded on 7 November 1944 as the "Division for special purposes 606" (German: Division z.b.V. 606) in the German-occupied Netherlands using elements of the former 344th Infantry Division. During its service in the Netherlands, the 606th Division was placed subordinate to the LXXXVI Corps of 1st Parachute Army between November and December 1944,[1]: 282 and subsequently under II Parachute Corps in January 1945.[2]: 75 In February 1945, the division was deployed to the Oder river on the Eastern Front, as part of CI Army Corps of 9th Army, leaving behind some elements that were integrated into the 180th Infantry Division. The 606th Division saw combat at Küstrin,[1]: 282 where it also took control of various disparate German forces that had been swept up in the chaos of the final months of the war, such as the Panzer Replacement and Training Detachment 3, the Emergency Battalions Potsdam, Spandau and Brandenburg and the Police Battalion Bremen.[3]: 361
On 11 April 1945, less than a month from the end of the war, the division was officially redesignated "606th Infantry Division" (German: 606. Infanterie-Division); it was intended to use elements of the 541st Volksgrenadier Division to replenish the division, though it is not entirely clear how far this increase in forces was completed before the end of the war with Germany's surrender on 8/9 May 1945.[1]: 282 The designation of the 606th Division as an infantry division was not universally replicated in all German sources.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c Tessin, Georg (1975). Die Landstreitkräfte 501–630. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945 (in German). Vol. 11. Biblio.
- ^ McCroden, William T.; Nutter, Thomas E. (2019). German Ground Forces of World War II Complete Orders of Battle for Army Groups, Armies, Army Corps, and Other Commands of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS, September 1, 1939 to May 8, 1945. Savas Beatie. ISBN 9781611211092.
- ^ Nafziger, George F. (2000). The German Order of Battle: Infantry in World War II. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 1853673935.
- ^ Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). "606th Special Purposes Division". German Order of Battle: 291st–999th Infantry Divisions, Named Infantry Divisions, and Special Divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780811734370.