12th Luftwaffe Field Division (Germany)

12.Luftwaffen-Feld-Division 12th Luftwaffe Field Division
Active	1942 – May 1945
Country	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Type	Division
Role	Infantry
Size	4,000 - 12.000 men
Engagements	World War II Siege of Leningrad Riga Offensive (1944) Courland Pocket East Pomeranian Offensive

12.Luftwaffen-Feld-Division was formed at the end of 1942 from Flieger-Regiment 12 and assigned to Army Group North in early 1943.^[1] It was transferred to the German Army on 1 November 1943.^[1] To better distinguish it in post-war literature, the division is called 12.Feld-Division(L); however, an official renaming did not occur.^[2] The division suffered heavy losses during the retreat from Leningrad.^[1] It took part in the retreat to Latvia and in the battles of the Courland Pocket.^[1] In April 1944 the 13th Luftwaffe Field Division was incorporated in the division. It was withdrawn to East Prussia where it surrendered in the area of Danzig/Gotenhafen in May 1945.^[1]

Order of Battle

12. Feld-Division (L) 1944:

• Jäger-Regiment 23 (L)
• Jäger-Regiment 24 (L)
• Jäger-Regiment 25 (L)
• Artillerie-Regiment 12 (L)
• Füsilier-Battaillon 12 (L)
• Panzerjäger-Abteilung 12 (L)^{[lower-alpha 1]}
• Pioneer-Battaillon 12 (L)^{[lower-alpha 2]}
• Nachrichten-Abteilung 12 (L)^{[lower-alpha 3]}
• Feldersatz-Battaillon 12 (L)^{[lower-alpha 4]}
• Divisionseinheiten 12 (L)^{[lower-alpha 5]}

Commanders

• Generalleutnant Herbert Kettner, 1942 - 15 November 1943
• Generalmajor Gottfried Weber, 15 November 1943 - 15 November 1944
• Oberst Wolfgang Kretzschmar, 15 November 1944 - 27 December 1944
• Generalmajor Gottfried Weber, 27 December 1944 - 10 April 1945
• Generalleutnant Franz Schlieper, 10 April 1945 to May 1945

Notes

References

Luftwaffe Field Divisions 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd