Für den interessierten Leser an dieser Stelle der Werdegang des Infanterie Regiments 333 aus dem Lexikon der Wehrmacht. Wer sich die Spannung behalten möchte, der sollte vorerst nur bis zur Markierung lesen.Gliederung der 225. Infanterie-Division 1939:
Infanterie-Regiment 333
Infanterie-Regiment 376
Infanterie-Regiment 377
Artillerie-Regiment 225
Pionier-Bataillon 225
Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 225
Aufklärungs-Abteilung 225
Infanterie-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung 225
Infanterie-Divisions-Nachschubführer 225
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| 225. ID, Marschierender Soldat |
Im Januar 1940 wurde das Regiment in den Raum des Truppenübungsplatzes Sennelager verlegt. Am 9. Februar 1940 wurden die 4., 8. und 12. Kompanie in MG-Kompanien umgewandelt, die 15. (Pionier-) Kompanie wurde an das Pionier-Bataillon 240 abgegeben. Nach intensiver Ausbildung des Regiments verlegte es Anfang März 1940 in den Raum Dortmund. Am 13. April 1940 fand zusammen mit dem IR 377 eine Übung im Ortskampf statt.
Am 10. Mai 1940 verlegte das Regiment mit der Bahn nach Kranenburg. Hier wurde ausgeladen und über Nimwegen und Mook über die Maas nach Holland hineinmarschiert. Am 14. Mai wurde Tilburg erreicht, am 16. Mai Rosendaal. Bei Rosendaal erfolgte die Bereitstellung für den Angriff auf die Festung Antwerpen. Am 18. Mai 1940 begann der Angriff auf die Festung. Im Feuerschutz der Artillerie gelang es der Infanterie, den vorgelagerten Panzergraben zu überwinden. Am nächsten Tag hatte sich der Gegner abgesetzt, die 225. Infanterie-Division rückte in Antwerpen ein. Nachdem die Division bis zum 22. Mai in Antwerpen gelegen hatte, marschierte das Regiment über Mechelen bis zum 24. Mai nach Gastrode. Das III. Bataillon wurde zur Bewachung von Gefangenen nach Termonde verlegt. Über Gent marschierte die Division nach Nevele. Dort wurde es zum Angriff auf den Gent-Lys-Kanal bereitgestellt. Das III. Bataillon kehrte zum Regiment zurück. Am 26. Mai 1940 begann der Angriff des Regiments auf Nevele. Am 27. Mai konnte das Regiment den Ort Poesle nehmen. Am 28. Mai 1940 war der Kampf um den Kanal und die Stadt zu Ende, Belgien hatte kapituliert. Das Regiment marschierte weiter nach Westen. Am 29. Mai wurde Brügge erreicht. Hier blieb das Regiment zur Durchführung von Gefangenen-Aufgaben vorerst liegen. Am 5. Juni wurde an die Nordseeküste zwischen der Schelde-Mündung nördlich von Antwerpen bis nach Breskens verlegt. Am 13. Juni verlegte das Regiment dann weiter in den Raum Arras - Albert - Baupaume, Derbis zum 19. Juni bezogen werden konnte. Am 7. Juli 1940 wurde wieder an die Küste verlegt, dieses mal in den Raum zwischen der Schelde-Mündung und der belgisch-französischen Grenze.
Im Oktober 1940 wurde die Division durch die 164. Infanterie-Division abgelöst und verlegte in den Raum Charleville - Rethel - Vouziers. Auch hier wurde wieder intensive Ausbildung betrieben. Am 10. Juni 1941 verlegte die Division von der Küste ins Landesinnere in den Raum um Amiens. Am 22. Oktober 1941 hatte das Regiment 14 Unteroffiziere zu stellen, die zu Fronteinheiten an die Ostfront versetzt wurden, um die hohen Verluste dort auszugleichen. Am 25. Oktober 1941 wurde der 1. Zug der 13. Kompanie an die 319. Infanterie-Division abgegeben.
Ab dem 24. Dezember 1941 wurde die 225. Infanterie-Division und mit ihr das Regiment beschleunigt nach Osten verlegt. Über Amiens verlegte das Regiment mit der Bahn nach Hamburg und Danzig. Von hier aus ging es mit dem Schiff nach Riga. Beim dortigen Eintreffen herrschten -30°C. Die Soldaten marschierten immer noch in ihren leichten Sommeruniformen, die sie in Frankreich trugen. Der Temperaturunterschied betrug 50°C!! Die französischen Beute-LKW erwiesen sich als absolut unzuverlässig und unbrauchbar. Das Regiment wurde zusammen mit der II. Abteilung des Artillerie-Regiments 225 der 269. Infanterie-Division unterstellt. Das Regiment wurde am Wolchow bei Winjagolowo eingesetzt. Hier hatte es schwere Abwehrkämpfe zu bestehen. Am 16. Februar 1942 erfolgte ein russischer Großangriff, der zurückgeschlagen werden konnte. Am 1. März 1942 wurde das Regiment der 96. Infanterie-Division unterstellt. Im Mai 1942 wurde das Regiment wieder der Division unterstellt und am Oranienbaumer Kessel eingesetzt. Am 10. Mai 1942 hatte das Regiment noch eine Sollstärke von 40%. Das Regiment war direkt an der Küste eingesetzt und somit linkes Flügelregiment der Division. Am Oranienbaumer Kessel kam es zu langanhaltenden Stellungskämpfen.
Bis zum 15. Juni 1942 hatte das Regiment folgende Verluste: 448 Gefallene, 1050 Verwundete und 89 Vermißte. Dazu kamen 130 Männer mit Erfrierungen 3. Grades. Am 15. Oktober 1942 wurde das Regiment in Grenadier-Regiment 333 umbenannt.
Organisation of the 225th Infantry Division in 1939:Infantry Regiment 333
Infantry Regiment 376
Infantry Regiment 377
Artillery Regiment 225
Pioneer Battalion 225
Anti-tank Detachment 225
Reconnaissance Detachment 225
Infantry Division Intelligence Detachment 225
Infantry Division ?Transport? Company 225 (today “Logistics”)
Set up on the 26th August 1939 as a regiment of the 3rd wave (older soldiers and reservists) by the Hamburg Landwehr Command in the WK X: HQ in Friedrichstadt and Büsum, the 1st and 2nd Battalions in the Büsum area and the 3rd Battalion in the Husum area. The Regiment was under the command of the 225th Infantry Division. On the 31st of August 1939 the Regiment was transferred by rail to the Aachen-Düren area. The Regiment moved into bunker positions in the North Schleiden area south of Aachen. On the 26th of October the Regiment was removed from the front and transferred to the non-combat area of Stolberg-Mausbach-Vicht-Zweifall.
In January 1940 the Regiment was transferred to the area of the Sennelager military training ground. On the 9th of February the 4th, 8th and 12th Companies were changed to Machine-gun Companies, the 15th (Pioneer) Company was absorbed by the Pioneer Battalion 240. After intensive training of the regiment it transferred to the Dortmund area at the beginning of March 1940. On the 13th of April 1940 joint training in urban warfare with the 377th Infantry Regiment took place.
On the 10th of May 1940 the Regiment transferred by train to Kranenburg. Here they unloaded and marched into Holland by Nimwegen and Mook over the Maas. On the 14th of May they reached Tilburg on the 16th of May Rosendaal. Near Rosendaal they carried out the preparations for the attack on the Fortress of Antwerp. On the 18th of May began the attack on the fortress. Under the cover of artillery fire the infantry succeeded in getting over the anti-tank trenches in front of the fortress. The next day the enemy had withdrawn, and the 225th Infantry Division entered Antwerp. After the Division had remained in Antwerp until the 22nd of May, the Regiment marched till the 24th of May through Mechelen to Gastrode. The 3rd Battalion was deployed to guard the prisoners of war taken at Termonde (Dendermonde). The Division marched through Ghent to Nevele. There it prepared for the attack on the Ghent-Lys Canal. The 3rd Battalion returned to the Regiment. On the 26th of May began the Regiment’s attack on Nevele. On the 27th of May the Regiment was able to take the village of Poesle (?). On the 28th of May 1940 the fight for the canal and the town at an end, Belgium had capitulated. The Regiment marched further westwards. On the 29th of May they reached Bruges. Here the Regiment was initially stationed to carry out duties concerning prisoners of war. On the 5th of June they were transferred to the North Sea coast between the mouth of the Schelde North of Antwerp and Breskens. On the 13th of June the Regiment then moved further into the Arras-Albert-Bapaume area, and could move into Derbis (?) on the 19th of June. They moved again to the coast on the 7th of July 1940, this time in the area between the mouth of the Schelde and the Belgian-French border.
In October 1940 the Division was relieved by the 164th Infantry Division and transferred to the Charleville-Rethel-Vouziers area. Intensive training was carried out here too. On the 10th of June 1941 the Division transferred inland from the coast to the area around Amiens. On the 22nd of October 1941 the Regiment had to provide 14 non-commissioned officers who were sent to front-line units on the Eastern Front in order to make up for the high losses there. On the 25th of October the 1st Platoon of the 13th Company was absorbed by the 319th Infantry Division.
From the 24th of December 1941 the 225th Infantry Division and with it the Regiment was hurriedly sent eastwards. The Regiment moved by rail via Amiens to Hamburg and Danzig (Gdansk). From here they continued by ship to Riga. When the arrived there the temperature was -30oC. The soldiers were still marching in their light summer uniforms which they had worn in France. The difference in temperature was 50oOC!! The commandeered French lorries proved to be totally unreliable and unusable. Together with the 2nd Detachment of the 225th Artillery Regiment the Regiment was put under the command of the 96th Infantry Division. The Regiment was deployed at Wolchow near Winjagolowo. Here it had to survive hard defensive fighting. On the 16th of February 1942 a major offensive was launched, which they were able to repel. On 1st March 1942 the Regiment was put under the command of the 96th Infantry Division. In May 1942 the Regiment was put back under the control of the Division and deployed to the Oranienbaum cauldron. On the 10th of May 1942 the Regiment was still at 40% strength. The Regiment was deployed directly at the coast, thus becoming the Regiment on the Division’s left flank. The Oranienbaum cauldron became the site of long drawn-out static warfare.
Up to the 15th of June 1942 the Regiment had the following losses: 448 killed, 1050 wounded and 89 missing. In addition there were 130 men with 3rd degree frostbite. On the 15th of October 1942 the Regiment was re-named the Grenadier Regiment 333.
FRA
IT
If any reader would like a translation into English, please let me know!
AntwortenLöschenI am catching up with posts after computer problems, and started filling gaps as I went, but this is a very large one!
Thomas - as I was reading forward, I thought that you had stopped translating a few posts ago and I stepped in. Hope you weren't meaning to go back and do these, and hope you don't mind my offering to fill in the odd gap!
Hi vf,
AntwortenLöschenactually I did not stop translating; I switched to send emails rather than creating comments, mainly for reasons of having cleaner commtens.
But I also skipped this one so far, so feel free to translate! I think there are sonme readers (like Robert) that really are very interested in the details of military history and will well appreciate it.
Best regards,
Thomas
Glad you don't mind my efforts. I will have a look at this longer piece once I have myself caught up.
AntwortenLöschenMy own first language is English, and I may have some research to do about military terms, but I have my sources...
Good to know to have a native english speaker with us! In fact, it turned out that it is not trivial to correctly translate the naming of the military ranks. As a consequence, I stopped translating military grades but instead use the german word, since it is often misleading.
AntwortenLöschenWe still are in search for a survey of the military ranks. Although there is a good article available at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_rank), this covers modern times and not the time back then. So sometimes there is still some guessing (e.g. the title "Rittmeister" does not exist any more). Feel free to add comments in case a translation should be suspicious or errorneous :-)
I am submitting my trial translation in chunks. Hope this is useful!
AntwortenLöschenFor the interested reader at this point here is the background of Infantry Regiment 333 from the “Lexicon der Wehrmacht”. If you want remain in suspense, you should for the moment read only as far as the “Stop” sign.
Organisation of the 225th Infantry Division in 1939:
AntwortenLöschenInfantry Regiment 333
Infantry Regiment 376
Infantry Regiment 377
Artillery Regiment 225
Pioneer Battalion 225
Anti-tank Detachment 225
Reconnaissance Detachment 225
Infantry Division Intelligence Detachment 225
Infantry Division ?Transport? Company 225 (today “Logistics”)
Set up on the 26th August 1939 as a regiment of the 3rd wave (older soldiers and reservists) by the Hamburg Landwehr Command in the WK X: HQ in Friedrichstadt and Büsum, the 1st and 2nd Battalions in the Büsum area and the 3rd Battalion in the Husum area. The Regiment was under the command of the 225th Infantry Division. On the 31st of August 1939 the Regiment was transferred by rail to the Aachen-Düren area. The Regiment moved into bunker positions in the North Schleiden area south of Aachen. On the 26th of October the Regiment was removed from the front and transferred to the non-combat area of Stolberg-Mausbach-Vicht-Zweifall.
--STOP—
In January 1940 the Regiment was transferred to the area of the Sennelager military training ground. On the 9th of February the 4th, 8th and 12th Companies were changed to Machine-gun Companies, the 15th (Pioneer) Company was absorbed by the Pioneer Battalion 240. After intensive training of the regiment it transferred to the Dortmund area at the beginning of March 1940. On the 13th of April 1940 joint training in urban warfare with the 377th Infantry Regiment took place.
AntwortenLöschenOn the 10th of May 1940 the Regiment transferred by train to Kranenburg. Here they unloaded and marched into Holland by Nimwegen and Mook over the Maas. On the 14th of May they reached Tilburg on the 16th of May Rosendaal. Near Rosendaal they carried out the preparations for the attack on the Fortress of Antwerp. On the 18th of May began the attack on the fortress. Under the cover of artillery fire the infantry succeeded in getting over the anti-tank trenches in front of the fortress. The next day the enemy had withdrawn, and the 225th Infantry Division entered Antwerp. After the Division had remained in Antwerp until the 22nd of May, the Regiment marched till the 24th of May through Mechelen to Gastrode. The 3rd Battalion was deployed to guard the prisoners of war taken at Termonde (Dendermonde). The Division marched through Ghent to Nevele. There it prepared for the attack on the Ghent-Lys Canal. The 3rd Battalion returned to the Regiment. On the 26th of May began the Regiment’s attack on Nevele. On the 27th of May the Regiment was able to take the village of Poesle (?). On the 28th of May 1940 the fight for the canal and the town at an end, Belgium had capitulated. The Regiment marched further westwards. On the 29th of May they reached Bruges. Here the Regiment was initially stationed to carry out duties concerning prisoners of war. On the 5th of June they were transferred to the North Sea coast between the mouth of the Schelde North of Antwerp and Breskens. On the 13th of June the Regiment then moved further into the Arras-Albert-Bapaume area, and could move into Derbis (?) on the 19th of June. They moved again to the coast on the 7th of July 1940, this time in the area between the mouth of the Schelde and the Belgian-French border.
In January 1940 the Regiment was transferred to the area of the Sennelager military training ground. On the 9th of February the 4th, 8th and 12th Companies were changed to Machine-gun Companies, the 15th (Pioneer) Company was absorbed by the Pioneer Battalion 240. After intensive training of the regiment it transferred to the Dortmund area at the beginning of March 1940. On the 13th of April 1940 joint training in urban warfare with the 377th Infantry Regiment took place.
AntwortenLöschenOn the 10th of May 1940 the Regiment transferred by train to Kranenburg. Here they unloaded and marched into Holland by Nimwegen and Mook over the Maas. On the 14th of May they reached Tilburg on the 16th of May Rosendaal. Near Rosendaal they carried out the preparations for the attack on the Fortress of Antwerp. On the 18th of May began the attack on the fortress. Under the cover of artillery fire the infantry succeeded in getting over the anti-tank trenches in front of the fortress. The next day the enemy had withdrawn, and the 225th Infantry Division entered Antwerp. After the Division had remained in Antwerp until the 22nd of May, the Regiment marched till the 24th of May through Mechelen to Gastrode. The 3rd Battalion was deployed to guard the prisoners of war taken at Termonde (Dendermonde). The Division marched through Ghent to Nevele. There it prepared for the attack on the Ghent-Lys Canal. The 3rd Battalion returned to the Regiment. On the 26th of May began the Regiment’s attack on Nevele. On the 27th of May the Regiment was able to take the village of Poesle (?). On the 28th of May 1940 the fight for the canal and the town at an end, Belgium had capitulated. The Regiment marched further westwards. On the 29th of May they reached Bruges. Here the Regiment was initially stationed to carry out duties concerning prisoners of war. On the 5th of June they were transferred to the North Sea coast between the mouth of the Schelde North of Antwerp and Breskens. On the 13th of June the Regiment then moved further into the Arras-Albert-Bapaume area, and could move into Derbis (?) on the 19th of June. They moved again to the coast on the 7th of July 1940, this time in the area between the mouth of the Schelde and the Belgian-French border.
In October 1940 the Division was relieved by the 164th Infantry Division and transferred to the Charleville-Rethel-Vouziers area. Intensive training was carried out here too. On the 10th of June 1941 the Division transferred inland from the coast to the area around Amiens. On the 22nd of October 1941 the Regiment had to provide 14 non-commissioned officers who were sent to front-line units on the Eastern Front in order to make up for the high losses there. On the 25th of October the 1st Platoon of the 13th Company was absorbed by the 319th Infantry Division.
AntwortenLöschenFrom the 24th of December 1941 the 225th Infantry Division and with it the Regiment was hurriedly sent eastwards. The Regiment moved by rail via Amiens to Hamburg and Danzig (Gdansk). From here they continued by ship to Riga. When the arrived there the temperature was -30oC. The soldiers were still marching in their light summer uniforms which they had worn in France. The difference in temperature was 50oOC!! The commandeered French lorries proved to be totally unreliable and unusable. Together with the 2nd Detachment of the 225th Artillery Regiment the Regiment was put under the command of the 96th Infantry Division. The Regiment was deployed at Wolchow near Winjagolowo. Here it had to survive hard defensive fighting. On the 16th of February 1942 a major offensive was launched, which they were able to repel. On 1st March 1942 the Regiment was put under the command of the 96th Infantry Division. In May 1942 the Regiment was put back under the control of the Division and deployed to the Oranienbaum cauldron. On the 10th of May 1942 the Regiment was still at 40% strength. The Regiment was deployed directly at the coast, thus becoming the Regiment on the Division’s left flank. The Oranienbaum cauldron became the site of long drawn-out static warfare.
Up to the 15th of June 1942 the Regiment had the following losses: 448 killed, 1050 wounded and 89 missing. In addition there were 130 men with 3rd degree frostbite. On the 15th of October 1942 the Regiment was re-named the Grenadier Regiment 333.
I thought I had already posted this last section, but maybe something went wrong.
Please feel free to correct any military terms which I might not have expressed correctly.