The 5th Infantry Division (5. Infanterie-Division), later redesignated the 5th Light Infantry Division (5. leichte Infanterie-Division) and finally the 5th Jäger Division (5. Jäger-Division), known as the “Ulmer-Infanterie-Division” after its strong association with the city of Ulm, was formed in October 1934 under the cover name Wehrgauleitung Ulm / Kommandant von Ulm and officially activated as a standard infantry division in 1935. Its troops were garrisoned primarily in Konstanz, Ulm, and Freiburg, with an initial organization comprising Infanterie-Regimenter 14, 56, and 75, Artillerie-Regiment 5, I./Artillerie-Regiment 41, and supporting units. Mobilized on 25 August 1939 as a 1st-wave division, it remained on the Western Front in the Oberrhein sector during the 1939 Polish campaign and saw only light action in the 1940 Battle of France with the Second Army before performing occupation duties in France until March 1941. In April 1941 the division moved to East Prussia and participated in Operation Barbarossa with Army Group Center, enduring heavy fighting around Vyazma until the end of the year; it was then withdrawn to France in late 1941/early 1942 for refit and reorganization as the 5. leichte Infanterie-Division (with Infanterie-Regiment 14 detached), returned to the Eastern Front in 1942, fought at Demyansk (March–April) and around Staraya Russa until late 1943, and was reorganized and redesignated the 5. Jäger-Division in July 1942 to operate as a lighter, more mobile formation suited to difficult terrain. It continued on the Eastern Front through the retreats via Vitebsk, Kovel, and the Narew in 1944, defended in Pomerania near Neustettin and Dramburg in early 1945, and fought its final actions around Freienwalde on the Oder during the Battle of Berlin before surrendering to the Red Army at Wittenberge on 8 May 1945. Long-serving commanders included Generalleutnant Wilhelm Fahrmbacher, General der Infanterie Karl Allmendinger (who oversaw much of the 1940–1943 period), and General der Infanterie Helmut Thumm, among others.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Generalmajor Horst Niemack (1909-1992) was a German officer who served
in the Wehrmacht from the late 1920s through the end of World War II,
rising from cavalry roots to command armored reconnaissance and infantry
units before later serving as a Brigadegeneral der Reserve in the
Bundeswehr, and he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, the
Eichenlaub, and the Schwerter through repeated demonstrations of bold
leadership in critical combat situations. As Rittmeister and Kommandeur
of the Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 within the 5. Infanterie-Division, he
received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 13 July 1940 for his
decisive actions during the Western Campaign; specifically, at midday on
11 June 1940 he led his unit in a daring thrust into the rear of enemy
forces at Damery on the Marne river when a frontal advance proved
impossible, an aggressive envelopment that demoralized the opposing
troops and enabled friendly forces to cut off major enemy elements while
swiftly reaching the river line. For his outstanding leadership of the
same Aufklärungs-Abteilung 5 during the opening phase of Operation
Barbarossa under the 5. Infanterie-Division / V. Armeekorps / 9. Armee /
Heeresgruppe Mitte, he was awarded the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des
Eisernen Kreuzes on 10 August 1941 (the 30th such award); on 22 June
1941, commanding the divisional Vorausabteilung, he took a calculated
detour off the main road to cut through Serijai and reach the Niemen
river at Krikstonjai, and on 27 June he thrust toward the Niemen at
Orla, where his Reiterschwadron advanced via Szczara through Korole into
the area northeast of Piaski while the rest of the Abteilung moved via
Korole, seizing Hill 132 south of Korole in addition to the assigned
objectives and helping to seal off the escape routes of Soviet forces
trapped in the Bialystok-Grodno pocket. Finally, as Oberst and
Kommandeur of the Panzer-Füsilier-Regiment „Großdeutschland“ of the
Panzer-Grenadier-Division „Großdeutschland“ / LVII. Armeekorps / 8.
Armee / Heeresgruppe Süd, he received the Schwerter on 4 June 1944 (the 69th such award) for repelling a major Soviet assault east of the
Sereth that began on 2 May 1944; when a group of 34 enemy tanks suddenly
appeared near his command post and threatened a vital crossroads,
Niemack had only his staff, communications platoon, and some drivers
available, yet he personally led this small force into close combat,
destroying eight tanks including personally dispatching the Soviet
command tank and its leader, an action that broke the momentum of the
enemy attack in that sector and earned him the distinction as one of the
earliest recipients of the Swords. These successive awards reflected
Niemack’s consistent pattern of taking personal initiative at decisive
moments across the Western and Eastern Fronts, later culminating in his
command of the Panzer-Lehr-Division in early 1945.
General der Infanterie Karl Allmendinger (1891-1965) was born on 3 February 1891 in Abtsgmünd in the Kingdom of Württemberg and entered military service on 1 October 1910 as an Einjährig-Freiwilliger, later joining the Füsilier-Regiment „Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn“ (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122, where he was promoted to Leutnant in 1913 and fought as Zugführer and later Oberleutnant during the First World War on both the Western and Eastern Fronts, earning both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz among other decorations. After the war he continued in the Reichswehr, rising through staff and regimental commands, and by the outbreak of the Second World War served as Chef des Generalstabes of the V. Armeekorps during the campaign in the West. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 August 1940, he assumed command of the 5. Infanterie-Division on 25 October 1940 and led it into the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. On 22 June 1941, near Lazdijai, he personally directed a difficult attack that captured the town and a key hill, then led the division’s Vorausabteilung forward to establish a vital bridgehead over the Niemen River at Seirijai, an achievement of great operational importance to the 9. Armee for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 17 July 1941. The division was later redesignated 5. Jäger-Division; as Generalleutnant and its commander he directed it during Operation Michael from 27 September to 9 October 1942, successfully broadening the German corridor to Demyansk and contributing decisively to the encirclement and destruction of strong Soviet forces southeast of Lake Ilmen, actions that earned him the 153rd Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 13 December 1942. He later commanded the V. Armeekorps in the Crimea and briefly led the 17. Armee during the evacuation of Sevastopol before being transferred to the Führerreserve in July 1944; captured by American forces in May 1945 and released in December 1947, he lived quietly in Ellwangen until his death on 2 October 1965.
General der Infanterie Hellmuth Thumm (1895-1977) was born on 25 August 1895 in Ravensburg in the Kingdom of Württemberg and entered military service on 8 August 1914 as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in the 7. Württembergisches Infanterie-Regiment “Kaiser Friedrich, König von Preußen” Nr. 125, receiving promotion to Leutnant in 1915 while serving on the Western Front, where he earned both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, the Goldene Militärverdienstmedaille of Württemberg, and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz before brief British captivity in 1918. Retained in the Reichswehr after the war, he advanced steadily through the ranks, becoming Oberstleutnant by 1938 and taking command of I./Infanterie-Regiment 56 of the 5. Infanterie-Division at the outbreak of the Second World War. He led the regiment through the Westfeldzug of 1940 and into Operation Barbarossa, where, as Oberstleutnant and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 56, he decisively broke through Soviet border positions near Ladzdijai on 22 June 1941 by committing his reserve battalion against intact enemy lines on the left flank, securing the town and enabling the division’s Aufklärungs-Abteilung to reach and cross the Niemen River, actions that earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 June 1941 and a mention in the Wehrmachtbericht. Promoted to Oberst, he continued to command the unit after its conversion into Jäger-Regiment 56 of the 5. Jäger-Division and distinguished himself further in the fighting around the Demyansk pocket in 1942, particularly during Operation Brückenschlag, in which his troops captured Kotschanovo and Syzyche, and during Operation Michael, which widened the corridor to the encircled forces, leading to the award of the Eichenlaub (166th) to his Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942. He later commanded the 5. Jäger-Division as Generalmajor and Generalleutnant through heavy defensive battles in the East before assuming leadership of the LXIV. Armeekorps in Alsace in late 1944, rising to General der Infanterie on 1 January 1945; relieved of command on 20 January 1945 after withdrawing Hitlerjugend units from the front contrary to orders, he was captured in Welzheim on 19 April 1945, released in 1947, and died there on 13 July 1977 after publishing a history of his former division.
General der Infanterie Karl Allmendinger (1891-1965) was born on 3 February 1891 in Abtsgmünd in the Kingdom of Württemberg and entered military service on 1 October 1910 as an Einjährig-Freiwilliger, later joining the Füsilier-Regiment „Kaiser Franz Josef von Österreich, König von Ungarn“ (4. Württembergisches) Nr. 122, where he was promoted to Leutnant in 1913 and fought as Zugführer and later Oberleutnant during the First World War on both the Western and Eastern Fronts, earning both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz among other decorations. After the war he continued in the Reichswehr, rising through staff and regimental commands, and by the outbreak of the Second World War served as Chef des Generalstabes of the V. Armeekorps during the campaign in the West. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 August 1940, he assumed command of the 5. Infanterie-Division on 25 October 1940 and led it into the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. On 22 June 1941, near Lazdijai, he personally directed a difficult attack that captured the town and a key hill, then led the division’s Vorausabteilung forward to establish a vital bridgehead over the Niemen River at Seirijai, an achievement of great operational importance to the 9. Armee for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 17 July 1941. The division was later redesignated 5. Jäger-Division; as Generalleutnant and its commander he directed it during Operation Michael from 27 September to 9 October 1942, successfully broadening the German corridor to Demyansk and contributing decisively to the encirclement and destruction of strong Soviet forces southeast of Lake Ilmen, actions that earned him the 153rd Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 13 December 1942. He later commanded the V. Armeekorps in the Crimea and briefly led the 17. Armee during the evacuation of Sevastopol before being transferred to the Führerreserve in July 1944; captured by American forces in May 1945 and released in December 1947, he lived quietly in Ellwangen until his death on 2 October 1965.
General der Infanterie Hellmuth Thumm (1895-1977) was born on 25 August 1895 in Ravensburg in the Kingdom of Württemberg and entered military service on 8 August 1914 as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in the 7. Württembergisches Infanterie-Regiment “Kaiser Friedrich, König von Preußen” Nr. 125, receiving promotion to Leutnant in 1915 while serving on the Western Front, where he earned both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, the Goldene Militärverdienstmedaille of Württemberg, and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz before brief British captivity in 1918. Retained in the Reichswehr after the war, he advanced steadily through the ranks, becoming Oberstleutnant by 1938 and taking command of I./Infanterie-Regiment 56 of the 5. Infanterie-Division at the outbreak of the Second World War. He led the regiment through the Westfeldzug of 1940 and into Operation Barbarossa, where, as Oberstleutnant and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 56, he decisively broke through Soviet border positions near Ladzdijai on 22 June 1941 by committing his reserve battalion against intact enemy lines on the left flank, securing the town and enabling the division’s Aufklärungs-Abteilung to reach and cross the Niemen River, actions that earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 June 1941 and a mention in the Wehrmachtbericht. Promoted to Oberst, he continued to command the unit after its conversion into Jäger-Regiment 56 of the 5. Jäger-Division and distinguished himself further in the fighting around the Demyansk pocket in 1942, particularly during Operation Brückenschlag, in which his troops captured Kotschanovo and Syzyche, and during Operation Michael, which widened the corridor to the encircled forces, leading to the award of the Eichenlaub (166th) to his Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942. He later commanded the 5. Jäger-Division as Generalmajor and Generalleutnant through heavy defensive battles in the East before assuming leadership of the LXIV. Armeekorps in Alsace in late 1944, rising to General der Infanterie on 1 January 1945; relieved of command on 20 January 1945 after withdrawing Hitlerjugend units from the front contrary to orders, he was captured in Welzheim on 19 April 1945, released in 1947, and died there on 13 July 1977 after publishing a history of his former division.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_J%C3%A4ger_Division_(Wehrmacht)
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