German 112th Infantry Division
| German 112th Infantry Division 112. Infanterie-Division |
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|---|---|
Divisional insignia of the 112th Infantry Division
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| Active | 1940–43 |
| Country |
 Nazi Germany
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| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | |
The 112th Infantry Division (German: 112. Infanteriedivision) was a German Army infantry division active in World War II.
The division was formed in December 1940 from elements of 34th Infantry division and 33rd infantry division, as part of the 12th wave of German mobilization.
The 112th Infantry Division remained in OKH reserve during the opening phase of operation Barbarossa, and was committed to the southern wing in the second half of July during the battle of Smolensk. Here elements of the Soviet 21st Army had pushed back forward German elements and advanced up to 80 kilometers in to the German rear.
In the beginning of August the 112th division is manning defensive positions on the Army group southern flank, as part of 2nd Armies XII Corps. As Guderian's 2nd Panzer group starts its wheel from Smolensk to the south on 8 August, 2nd Army, on its right flank, is slow to join in because of poor weather, ammunition shortages, and the hesitancy of General Weichs, its Army commander.
On 12 August the 2nd Army finally launches its attack south-east of Bobrusk, cracks the defenses of the Soviet 21st Army, and in three days fighting encircles the bulk of the soviet 63rd Rifle corps in a pocket at Shlobin.
Lacking in mobile units, the 112th division, still part of XII Army Corps, forms the eastern pincer of the attack breaking through successive defensive lines and eventually linking up with 267th Infantry division coming from the other way, near the village of Ljuschowskaja and the Saltanovka railway station, on the Shlobin - Gomel railine. Stretching a thin barrier across the Soviet Corps escape route, the 112th Division spends the next 3 days fending off repeated, and increasingly desperate escape attempts. By 20 August General Feldt’s 1st Cavalry Division had captured Gormel, and 2nd army tallied its accomplishments, totalling 78,000 prisoners, 700 guns, and 144 tanks, many of these from the Shobin pocket.
By the tail end of October the encirclement battles around Briansk were over, the 112th crossed the Oka river south of Belev, inching its way forward slowly through the mud, but the advance was breaking down due to deteriorating road conditions and supply difficulties. The long eastern flank of 2 panzer group was a problem, and Generaloberst Guderian shifted the 112th division as part of the LIII corps to his right to shore up the protection there
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