The 8. Infanterie-Division was formed on 1 October 1934 in Oppeln under the cover name Artillerieführer III from elements of the 7. (Preußisches) Infanterie-Regiment of the Reichswehr 3. Division and officially designated on 15 October 1935 as part of Wehrkreis VIII, earning the nickname Schlesische Division. Mobilized in August 1939 with Infanterie-Regiment 28, Infanterie-Regiment 38, Infanterie-Regiment 84 and Artillerie-Regiment 8, it advanced under VIII. Armeekorps of 14. Armee in the Invasion of Poland through southern Poland toward Krakow and the San River. In the 1940 Westfeldzug it operated with 4. Armee through Belgium and northern France, participating in the entry into Paris on 14 June before occupation duties. Transferred to Heeresgruppe Mitte for Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, it fought in the battles around Brjansk and Wjasma toward Moscow. Withdrawn in November 1941 to France, it was reorganized on 1 December 1941 as 8. leichte Infanterie-Division after transferring Infanterie-Regiment 84, converting the remaining regiments into Jäger formations equipped for rough terrain. Redeployed to the northern Eastern Front in March 1942, it helped relieve the Demjansk pocket. On 30 June 1942 it became the 8. Jäger-Division with Jäger-Regiment 28 and Jäger-Regiment 38, remaining in the northern sector through 1943 defensive actions along the Lovat and Redya rivers and withdrawals from the Demjansk area. In early 1944 it conducted further retreats near Novgorod and Pskov into the Panther Line before transfer in May 1944 to the southern sector under 8. Armee for fighting in the Carpathians, Hungary and Slovakia. Commanders included General der Kavallerie Rudolf Koch-Erpach, General der Infanterie Gustav Höhne, Generalleutnant Gerhard Graf von Schwerin and Generalleutnant Friedrich-Jobst Volckamer von Kirchensittenbach. The remnants surrendered to the Red Army near Brünn in Moravia in May 1945 after failed attempts to reach American lines.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
General der Infanterie Gustav Höhne (1893-1951) was born on 17 February 1893 in Kruschwitz and entered military service on 27 March 1911 as Fahnenjunker in the 1. Ermländische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 150 of the Prussian Army. During the First World War he was wounded several times and received both classes of the Iron Cross, the Ritterkreuz des Königlichen Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern, the Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber and the Hanseatenkreuz of Hamburg, ending the conflict as Oberleutnant and adjutant. He remained a professional officer in the Reichswehr and later Wehrmacht, rising to command of Infanterie-Regiment 28 by 1938. In the Polish campaign of 1939 and the subsequent Western campaign of 1940 he led this regiment with distinction, earning the clasps to both Iron Crosses; on 1 August 1940 he was promoted to Generalmajor and on 25 October 1940 assumed command of the 8. Infanterie-Division. At the start of Operation Barbarossa his division achieved a rapid and operationally decisive success by capturing the fortress of Grodno on 23 June 1941, exploiting an intact bridge over the Niemen to cross the river and seize the stronghold in unexpectedly short time; for this action, which materially aided the advance of the right wing of the army, Höhne received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 June 1941 as Generalmajor and Kommandeur of the 8. Infanterie-Division. He continued to lead the formation through the hard defensive fighting of the winter of 1941/42; the unit was successively reorganized as the 8. leichte Infanterie-Division and then the 8. Jäger-Division, which he still commanded when promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 August 1942. On 28 November 1942 he took over the so-called Gruppe Laux (later known by his name) in the Demjansk sector with the task of holding the vital corridor to the salient; under his leadership the troops successfully withstood a major Soviet offensive intended to crush the pocket and maintained the link until the orderly evacuation of the Demjansk area early in 1943. For this determined and skilful defence of the Demjansk corridor Höhne was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (238th award) on 17 May 1943 as Generalleutnant and Kommandierender General of Korps “Höhne”. Promoted to General der Infanterie on 1 May 1943, he later commanded the VIII. Armeekorps and, from late 1944 until the end of the war, the LXXXIX. Armeekorps on the Western Front. Captured by Allied forces in 1945, he was released in 1947 and died on 1 July 1951 in Oberursel.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
General der Infanterie Gustav Höhne (1893-1951) was born on 17 February 1893 in Kruschwitz and entered military service on 27 March 1911 as Fahnenjunker in the 1. Ermländische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 150 of the Prussian Army. During the First World War he was wounded several times and received both classes of the Iron Cross, the Ritterkreuz des Königlichen Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern, the Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber and the Hanseatenkreuz of Hamburg, ending the conflict as Oberleutnant and adjutant. He remained a professional officer in the Reichswehr and later Wehrmacht, rising to command of Infanterie-Regiment 28 by 1938. In the Polish campaign of 1939 and the subsequent Western campaign of 1940 he led this regiment with distinction, earning the clasps to both Iron Crosses; on 1 August 1940 he was promoted to Generalmajor and on 25 October 1940 assumed command of the 8. Infanterie-Division. At the start of Operation Barbarossa his division achieved a rapid and operationally decisive success by capturing the fortress of Grodno on 23 June 1941, exploiting an intact bridge over the Niemen to cross the river and seize the stronghold in unexpectedly short time; for this action, which materially aided the advance of the right wing of the army, Höhne received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 June 1941 as Generalmajor and Kommandeur of the 8. Infanterie-Division. He continued to lead the formation through the hard defensive fighting of the winter of 1941/42; the unit was successively reorganized as the 8. leichte Infanterie-Division and then the 8. Jäger-Division, which he still commanded when promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 August 1942. On 28 November 1942 he took over the so-called Gruppe Laux (later known by his name) in the Demjansk sector with the task of holding the vital corridor to the salient; under his leadership the troops successfully withstood a major Soviet offensive intended to crush the pocket and maintained the link until the orderly evacuation of the Demjansk area early in 1943. For this determined and skilful defence of the Demjansk corridor Höhne was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (238th award) on 17 May 1943 as Generalleutnant and Kommandierender General of Korps “Höhne”. Promoted to General der Infanterie on 1 May 1943, he later commanded the VIII. Armeekorps and, from late 1944 until the end of the war, the LXXXIX. Armeekorps on the Western Front. Captured by Allied forces in 1945, he was released in 1947 and died on 1 July 1951 in Oberursel.
Oberleutnant Karl Hausmann (1912-1997) was born on 10 January 1912 in Neuweistritz near Habelschwerdt in Silesia, Germany, and entered military service in the Heer during the Second World War, rising through the ranks as a dedicated infantryman. By early 1942 he had attained the rank of Oberfeldwebel and was serving as Führer of the 3. Kompanie of Jäger-Regiment 28, which formed part of the 8. Leichte-Infanterie-Division (later redesignated 8. Jäger-Division) and had been transferred to the northern sector of the Eastern Front in the Demjansk area. It was for outstanding leadership and personal bravery displayed while commanding his Kompanie in the intense fighting on the Eastern Front that he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 May 1942. In recognition of his earlier combat achievements he had already received the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse, the Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse and the Infanterie-Sturmabzeichen. Following the bestowal of the Ritterkreuz, Hausmann continued his service and was subsequently promoted to the officer rank of Oberleutnant. After the war he lived quietly in Bavaria until his death on 27 July 1997 in Edling. His career exemplifies the path of a long-serving non-commissioned officer who rose to commissioned rank through proven front-line leadership within the light infantry formations of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8th_J%C3%A4ger_Division_(Wehrmacht)
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