334th Infantry Division (Germany)

80th Infantry Division
334th Infantry Division
756th Mountain Infantry Regiment

The German 334th Infantry Division ("334. Infanterie-Division") was created in November 1942. It was unusual because its three regiments were raised in three different military districts ("Wehrkreise"), and because it was composed of a mix of two infantry regiments and one mountain regiment, the 756th Mountain Infantry Regiment. It was promptly dispatched to Tunisia, where it was subordinated to the 5th Panzer Army in the attempt to reverse Axis fortunes in North Africa. It was isolated and surrendered to the British several days before the general Axis surrender in Tunisia.

The division was reconstituted in France in 1943, from the elements of an 80th Infantry Division in the process of being formed. The component 756th Regiment was reconstituted as infantry rather than mountain troops. The division was transferred to Italy in late 1943 and fought there until the war's end, taking heavy casualties throughout the period and eventually surrendering to the Americans.

See also

* Phalange Africaine
* North African Campaign
* Division (military), Military unit
* Wehrmacht, List of German divisions in WWII

References

* Pipes, Jason. " [http://www.feldgrau.com/InfDiv.php?ID=227 334.Infanterie-Division] ". Retrieved April 4, 2005.
* Wendel, Marcus (2004). " [http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=3911 334. Infanterie-Division] ". Retrieved April 4, 2005.
* Willauer, Jim (2004). " [http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=3912 Gebirgs-Infanterie Regiment 756] ". Retrieved April 4, 2005.
* " [http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanteriedivisionen/334ID-R.htm 334. Infanterie-Division] ". German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved April 4, 2005.