16th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
| 16th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
116th Panzer Division, 1944–45
|
|
| Active | October 1934 – 8 May 1945 |
| Country |
 Nazi Germany
|
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Panzer |
| Role | Armoured warfare |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements |
World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Gotthard Heinrici Gerhard von Schwerin |
| Insignia | |
| 16th Panzer Division |  |
World War II
The 16th Infantry Division of the German Army was formed in 1934. On 26 August 1939 the division was mobilized for the invasion of Poland (1939). It participated in the Battle of France in 1940. The division was then split, resulting in two independent units: The 16th Panzer Division and the 16th Motorized Infantry Division. The latter, from 1944 onward, combined with other non 16th elements, was known as the 116th Panzer Division.
The 16th Panzer Division served as a reserve in Romania during the Balkans campaign in 1941. It then participated in Operation Barbarossa with Army Group South, also in 1941. A kampfgruppe of 16th Panzer Division, led by Count Strachwitz, reached the outskirts of Stalingrad on 23 August 1942, brushing aside the sole Soviet defences, anti-aircraft guns manned by female factory workers (possibly the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment). The 16th Panzer Division was encircled and ultimately destroyed at Stalingrad during the winter of 1942–43.
It was rebuilt for a campaign in the west, fought in Sicily and southern Italy during the Italian Campaign in 1943 and returned to the Russian Front later in the year. Severely mauled near Kiev, it was withdrawn to Poland for rehabilitation in 1944. The 16th Panzer Division returned to the east in 1945, where it surrendered to the Soviets and Americans in Czechoslovakia.
The 16th Motorized Infantry Division, nicknamed Windhund ("Greyhound"), participated in the Balkans campaign in 1941 along with the 16th Panzer Division (see above). It took part in Operation Barbarossa with Army Group South later in the year. It advanced on the Caucasus with elements coming to within 20 miles of Astrakhan in 1942 — the most easterly point reached by any German unit during the war.
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Wikipedia