The 6th Luftwaffe Field Division

Luftwaffe Field Division

The Luftwaffe Field Divisions were German military formations which fought during World War II.-History:...

 was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 formation which fought during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

History and organisation

The division was formed in 1942 in the area of Third Air Command (Berlin), with the following organisation:

• I.-IV. Bataillon
• Panzerjäger-Abteilung
• Artillerie-Abteilung
• Flak-Abteilung
• Radfahr-Kompanie
• Pionier-Kompanie
• Luftnachrichten-Kompanie
• Versorgungseinheiten

The division had barely completed training when it was assigned to Army Group Centre

Army Group Centre

Army Group Centre was the name of two distinct German strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created on 22 June 1941, as one of three German Army formations assigned to the invasion of the Soviet Union...

 on the Eastern Front

Eastern Front (World War II)

The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...

, where it participated in the Battle of Velikiye Luki

Battle of Velikiye Luki

The Velikiye Luki offensive operation was executed by the forces of the Red Army's Kalinin Front against the Wehrmacht's 3rd Panzer Army during the Winter Campaign of 1942-1943 with the objective of liberating the Russian city of Velikiye Luki as part of the northern pincer of the Rzhev-Sychevka...

. In common with other Luftwaffe Field Divisions, it was handed over to the Heer

German Army

The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...

in the autumn of 1943 and reorganised on the following lines:

• Jäger-Regiment 52 (L)
• Jäger-Regiment 53 (L)
• Jäger-Regiment 54 (L)
• Füsilier-Bataillon 6 (L)
• Artillerie-Regiment 6 (L)
• Divisionseinheiten 6 (L)

In the summer of 1944, the 6th Luftwaffe Field Division was holding a salient

Salients, re-entrants and pockets

A salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemy's line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant...

 east of Vitebsk

Vitebsk

Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...

 as part of Third Panzer Army's LIII Corps. The commencement of the Soviet Operation Bagration on 22 June 1944 saw the entire corps surrounded within days, after Soviet forces managed to break through defensive lines to the north and south. By 26 June the corps commander, General Gollwitzer, ordered the division, along with the 246th Infantry Division which was attempting to keep open an escape route across the Dvina

Dvina

Dvina may refer to:* Daugava river, also known as "Western Dvina", a river in Russia, Belarus, and Latvia.* Northern Dvina, a river in northern Russia.* R-12 Dvina, a theatre ballistic missile from the Soviet Union....

, to break out to the second defensive line, but it was too late; the encircled divisions were only able to proceed some 12 miles before they were surrounded and destroyed by the Soviet 39th Army. The few troops who reached German lines were incorporated in Korps-Abteilung

Korpsabteilung

A Korpsabteilung was a division size infantry formation established by the German Wehrmacht during World War II.-History:...

 H.

Commanders

• Major-General Ernst Weber (September 1942)
• Lieutenant-General Rüdiger von Heyking (25 November 1942)
• Major-General Rudolf Peschel
  Rudolf Peschel
  Rudolf Peschel was a highly decorated Generalleutnant in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
  
   (5 November 1943)

See also

• Division (military)
  Division (military)
  A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
  
  , Military unit, List of German divisions in WWII
• Luftwaffe
  Luftwaffe
  Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
  
  , Wehrmacht
  Wehrmacht
  The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...