What was the BEST german infantry division?

Hopefully this will answer some of your questions fellas. It's a good site on the 352nd Infantry Division.
http://site27663.dellhost.com/Wehrmacht/HTML%20Pages/Unit%20History/unit%20history2.html

 

goddamn I hate it when I lose a source!

I'll have to give it to ya Herr General, as I have traweled the web and my bookmarks and found nothing ... sorry

 

There's only a slight confussion here. Happens all the time...

Thre were three divisions stationed in the Normandy part of the 'Atlantic Wall' part of Rommel's Army Group B and general Marck's Army Corps, 709th, 352nd and 716th infantry divisions. Both, the 709th and 716th divisions were denominated 'stationary divisions' which were to resist to the last man holding ground and were formed mostly by Soviet POWs from the Asian republics of the USSR; Mongolians, Siberians, Chinese, Kazakhstanians, etc.

352nd infantry division, in the other hand was a regular Army unit; formed from the remains of the veteran 268th and 321st infantry divisions destroyed in the eastern front, along with new Volkdeutsche recruits from Poland, Ukraine and Czechoslovakia and white Russian volunteers. It was commanded by lieutenant general Dietrich Kraiß and was comprised of: 914th, 915th and 916th infantry regiments and 352nd artillery regiment.

Though it had severe supply and training probelms, it was the strongest German division on June 6th 1944. It was the unit which gave the invading Allies heavy resistance, mainly because its ammount of veteran officers.

 

well my .02$ would be the 11th SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier Division Nordland

 

I would have to say the seasoned soldat of the 352nd Division, which after extensive action in the East, performed very well and very determined against Allied forces in Normandy.

 

The 5th SS Panzer 'Wiking' division certainly has to be up there. They usually faced overwhelming odds in their battles and generally gave better than they got. Although not an infantry division is was once classified as a panzer grenadier division. It was mainly through their efforts that a large number of other German units escaped from the encirclement at Chekassy in the Ukraine.

 

My opinion is the Panzerlehrdivision (Panzer Lehr Division).

 

I would have to agree that the Panzer-Lehr had a good combat record.

But I would also say that the 11th SS Panzergrenadier Division Nordland had one to! It is hard to say as most PzGr divisions had good combat records.

 

Are we talking about leg infantry, or all of infantry include motorized and armored? This makes a huge difference.

My pick of the infantry would be the 12th ID. It was called "the Buffalo Division" because of how hard-charging it was in Operation Barbarossa. The 12th was every bit as formidable in the West as in the East and fought with impressive skill in the defense of the West Wall in Aachen as well as the Bulge, winning the biggest tactical victory of the German Army in the West by destroying the US 106 ID. Unfortunately, its record of atrocities in Russia tarnished the luster of its courage and skill.

 

The Panzer-Lehr division seems promising, but after further reading on my part, it inefficiencies were shown. It was a hastily formed division which didn't see service until 1944. In combat it often fought close to destruction, and was never re-equipped properly. It had no great successes, it was heavily beaten in the action around Caen and during Operation Cobra, it also fared unsuccessfully in its attacks against Bastogne.

 

The 168th infantry division was good.

 

Yes, if you are talking about performance man-for-man, the best German infantry units were in the SS and/or Goerring's Fallschirmjaeger paratroopers. Most German infantry units were good - or at least better than their opponents - but these units in particular were notable for outstanding performance either on defense or offense, for their high morale and fighting spirit, and determination to complete the mission irregardless of losses. During the German airborne invasion of Crete in 1941, for example, General Kurt Student's fallschirmajaeger took over 5,000 dead before finally capturing the island from the British and Cretan troops (most of Crete's army had been lost during the battle for Greece earlier in the year). Many of the German paratroopers were simply slaughtered by British troops as they floated down (in broad daylight no less). The losses of the German parachutists alarmed even Hitler, who declared there would be no further large-scale German parachute operations in the war.

The SS divisions were known for their high fighting spirit, (as well as their frequent excess cruelty), and were held to a higher standard than troops of the Heer. But as the war went on, Himmler (head of the SS) had to lower standards and even began forming SS units composed of former Soviet troops.

 

I was always fond of the German 352nd myself.

 

Ditto.

 

I suppose it would be best to contact one of many German veterans still living, they would probably all tell you the one they were in.

I personally would go with the LW 1st Fallshirm Div comprising the famous 1-4 Fallshirm rgt's. their equipment was not of the best caliber but the men were that is fact.

 

*Bump* what about the 352nd they're the onesies who defended the beaches of Omaha? Now granted they only managed to defend the beach for only a day, but the way that they defended Omaha beach was impressive.

 

That's a six year old bump Smiley, but fair enough, let's give it a go .

 

The Volksgrenadier Divisions which destroyed the 106th nwere the 18th and 62nd VGD. The 12th VGD fought against the 99th Infantry Division and had a tough time near Losheimgraben. By then the infantry was full of barely trained soldiers and under qualified NCOs and Officers. .

How much of the tribute for the 352nd was because of the casualties inflicted at Omaha Beach? Don't forget that only half of the Germans at Omaha Beach were from the 352nd Division. The rest were from the 716rh ID, including the defenders of WN 62. The 716th is often contrasted,with the 352nd, but there was little to differentiate their performance on Omaha Beach. The 352nd was formed from a cadre,of 1000 survivors of the 321st(?) and a lot of young soldiers. Fewer than one in ten was an East front veteran, and that proportion fell after 6 June 1944. 352nd continued, but was made up of battle groups from other formations.

At any point in time some German infantry divisions were better than others. But, performance was also a function of good leadership, resources and training. Success with modest casualties in 1939 and 1940 probably left the German infantry better in 1941 than before. Sustained heavy casualties, long periods in action and no opportunities to rest and train eroded the quality of the best. Whatever the reputation and performance of of the 12th or 352nd Divisions at any time, by Dec 1944 their infantry bore little resemblance to their predecessors. .

One admirable aspect of the German army was how well and how consistently the ordinary infantry fought, despite limited resources. . .

 

Thanks for pointing that out Sheldrake. I should have known that. Guess I learned something new today.

 

It is an interesting topic, and one that deserves to be pursued despite the efforts of those who would divert the debate into the Heer or SS Panzer truppen!

The main reason I know about the 12th VGD is because I take people to the battlefields there. . There are some interesting accounts from the Bulge from the 12th VGD.

.Other notable German infantry performances include:-

5th Mountain Division at Monte Cassino in Jan 1944 against the FEC and Gemmano in September 1944 against 8th Army.
44th Infantry Division at Monte Cassino Jan 1944 against II US Corps
462 Infantry Division defending Metz against 3rd Army

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