562nd Grenadier Division (Germany)

The 562nd Grenadier Division was a German military unit during World War II.

Organisation and history

The division was formed in July 1944 at Stablack near Preußisch Eylau, East Prussia, in the 29th mobilisation wave, with the following organisation:

*Grenadier-Regiment Ostpreußen 3
*Grenadier-Regiment Ostpreußen 4
*Artillerie-Regiment Ostpreußen 2
*Divisionseinheiten Ostpreußen 2

In October 1944 it was reconstituted as the 562nd Volksgrenadier Division, with the following organisation:

*Grenadier-Regiment 1144
*Grenadier-Regiment 1145
*Grenadier-Regiment 1146
*Artillerie-Regiment 1562
*Füsilier-Kompanie 562
*Divisionseinheiten 1562

As part of the to LV Corps of the German Fourth Army, it fought on its home territory opposing the Red Army's East Prussian Offensive. The division was destroyed in the Heiligenbeil pocket in March 1945.

Commanders

*Major-General Johannes-Oskar Brauer (9 October 1944 – 22 January 1945)
*Major-General Helmut Hufenbach (22 January 1945 – 27 March 1945)

See also

* Division (military), Military unit, List of German divisions in WWII
* Heer, Wehrmacht

References

* " [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Volksgrenadierdivisionen/562VGD.htm] ". German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved June 11, 2007.