20th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

20th Infantry Division
20th Motorized Infantry Division
20th Panzergrenadier Division

The German 20th Infantry Division was established in 1934 under the cover name Reichswehrdienststelle Hamburg, and did not assume its bona-fide designation until the creation of the Wehrmacht was announced in October 1935. In the autumn of 1937 it was upgraded to a fully motorized division. (Most German divisions during the World War II era had no transport for the infantry and used horses to tow their artillery; German industry could not turn out sufficient motor transport while also trying to meet other military requirements.)

As the 20th Motorized Infantry Division the unit took part in the invasion of Poland as part of Heinz Guderian's XIX Corps. During that campaign the motorized divisions were found to be somewhat unwieldy, so afterward the 20th and other motorized divisions were reorganized to reduce their size by about a third, leaving them with six motorized infantry battalions organized into two regiments, plus ordinary divisional support units.

In May 1940 the division took part in the invasion of France, and remained there on occupation duty until April 1941, except for one brief period on reserve in Germany. In June 1941 it joined Operation Barbarossa under Army Group Centre. In September it was transferred to Army Group North, and it spent most of 1942 on the Volkhov Front. In December it was transferred back to Army Group South for the relief attempt at the Battle of Velikiye Luki.

In July 1943 it was redesignated as 20th Panzergrenadier Division; by that time it had been given an assault gun battalion to support its infantry. It remained on the Eastern Front for the remainder of the war, switched frequently between army groups in the role of a mechanised "fire brigade", and ended the war fighting along the Oder River in Silesia.

Commanding officers

20th Infantry Division

• Generalleutnant Maximilian Schwandner, 1 October 1934 – 10 November 1938

20th Infantry Division (mot.)

• General der Infanterie Mauritz von Wiktorin, 10 November 1938 – 10 November 1940
• General der Infanterie Hans Zorn, 10 November 1940 – 12 January 1942
• Generalleutnant Erich Jaschke, 12 January 1942 – 3 January 1943
• Generalmajor Georg Jauer, 3 January 1943 – 23 July 1943

20th Panzergrenadier-Division

• Generalleutnant Georg Jauer, 23 July 1943 – 01 September 1944
• Oberst Dr. Walter Kühn, (i.V.) 01 Sep 1944 – September 1944
• Generalleutnant Georg Jauer, September 1944 – 1 January 1945)
• Generalmajor Georg Scholze, 1 January 1945 – 23 April 1945

See also

• Panzergrenadier, Infantry
• Division (military), Military unit
• Heer (1935–1945), Wehrmacht, List of German divisions in WWII

References

• Guderian, Heinz (1952). Panzer Leader (abridged). First Ballantine Books Edition, 1957. New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-25329-9. 
• Pipes, Jason. "20.Infanterie-Division". Retrieved May 10, 2005.
• Wendel, Marcus (2004). "20. Infanterie-Division (mot)". Retrieved May 10, 2005.
• "20. Infanteriedivision". German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved May 10, 2005.
• "20. Panzergrenadierdivision", comprehensive website about "The 20th".
• Burkhard Müller-Hillebrand (1969) (in German). Das Heer 1933-1945. Entwicklung des organisatorischen Aufbaues. Vol. III: Der Zweifrontenkrieg. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende. Frankfurt am Main: Mittler. p. 286. 
• Georg Tessin (1970) (in German). Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg, 1939 - 1945. Vol. IV: Die Landstreitkräfte 15 -30. Frankfurt am Main: Mittler.