| 376th Infantry Division | |
|---|---|
| German:376. Infanterie-Division | |
 Division insignia | |
| Active |
|
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Kempten |
| Engagements | World War II |
The376th Infantry Division (German:376. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of theGerman Army duringWorld War II, active from 1942 to 1944 in two separate instances.
The division was first formed in March 1942 in France and was sent to theEastern Front, where it surrendered near the end of theBattle of Stalingrad. Reformed in the Netherlands in February 1943, the second 376th was also sent to theEastern Front where it was destroyed in fighting in Romania in August 1944.
The 376th Infantry Division, part of the nineteenth wave of infantry divisions formed during the war, was formed nearAngoulême in southwestern France on 21 March 1942 under the command ofGeneralleutnant[Note 1]Alexander Edler von Daniels. The division nominally fell within the responsibility ofWehrkreis VII (military district VII) and had a home station atKempten. It included three infantry regiments: the 672nd, 673rd, and 767th, drawn respectively from the337th,335th, and327th Infantry Divisions ofArmy Group D. Its artillery regiment, the 376th, included four battalions, at least one from each of the latter divisions.[1][3]
The division was sent to theEastern Front and assigned to the6th Army in June. The division fought inCase Blue nearKharkov, in theDon bend, and inStalingrad, first as part ofVIII Army Corps in July and August and then withXI Army Corps between September and November. Following the encirclement of 6th Army in the Stalingrad pocket duringOperation Uranus, the 376th was transferred toXIV Army Corps in December and back to VIII Corps in January 1943. Daniels surrendered the division without authorization from army headquarters in late January, though remnants fought on as part ofIV Army Corps until the final surrender of the army on 2 February. Most of its men died either in Stalingrad or as prisoners of war.[1][3]
The division began reforming in the Netherlands by an order of 17 February under the command ofOberstHans Kissel, initially as akampfgruppe with the strength of a reinforced grenadier regiment on 23 March. It was formed from convalescents and recruits, and partially from veterans of themountain divisions that had fought inLapland. Between 1 April and 20 June, it was expanded to division strength.Generalleutnant Arnold Szelinski assumed command on 1 April when its expansion began.[1] The 376th was assigned toLXXXIII Army Corps of Army Group D in April and May, and directly subordinate to the army group from June to October.[3]
The division was sent to the Eastern Front in November as part ofXI Army Corps in the8th Army. It included an artillery regiment of three battalions armed with captured Soviet guns. It fought atKirovograd during the final stages of theBattle of the Dnieper before being transferred toXXXXVII Panzer Corps in January 1944. The division suffered heavy losses, resulting in the disbandment of the 767th Grenadier Regiment while the remaining Grenadier regiments had been reduced to two battalions each. Among its casualties was Szelinski, who was killed in action atKremenchug on 9 December; he was replaced byOberst Otto Schwarz, subsequently promoted toGeneralmajor[Note 2] andGeneralleutnant, on 11 December. The 376th was reinforced by the remnants of the167th Infantry Division with the 315th and 331st Regimental Groups, Division Group 167, on 15 January 1944. It subsequently fought atDubăsari on theDniester during theDnieper–Carpathian Offensive.[1][3]
Akampfgruppe from the division joined IV Corps by April, followed by the rest of the division in May; the 376th was part of the corps for the rest of its existence. Division Group 167 became the 315th Grenadier Regiment on 27 July. The division was destroyed during theSecond Jassy–Kishinev Offensive in August after being encircled with IV Corps as the German troops withdrew from Romania. Among those captured was Schwarz, who spent the next decade as a prisoner of war. Soldiers of the division who had been on leave or in hospital at the time joined the15th and76th Infantry Divisions;[1] the division was officially disbanded on 9 October.[3]
The following officers commanded the division:[1]
