The 23. Infanterie-Division of the German Wehrmacht, nicknamed Grenadierkopf and bearing an insignia based on the monogram of Frederick II of Prussia, was formed on 15 October 1935 in Potsdam as part of Wehrkreis III and mobilized in August 1939 as a first-wave division consisting of Infanterie-Regiment 9 (Potsdam), Infanterie-Regiment 67, and Infanterie-Regiment 68 along with standard artillery, reconnaissance, engineer, and anti-tank elements. It participated in the invasion of Poland in 1939 as a reserve of the 4th Army, then took part in the 1940 campaign in the West, advancing through France under commanders including Generalleutnant Walter Graf von Brockdorff-Ahlefeldt and later Generalleutnant Heinz Hellmich. In 1941 it was transferred to the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa, fighting in heavy engagements such as the battles around Roslavl, Smolensk, and Viazma, enduring the brutal winter conditions and Soviet counteroffensives while suffering significant casualties. In July 1942 the division was reorganized and redesignated as the 26. Panzer-Division, which served in occupation duties in the West before deploying to Italy in 1943, where it fought against the Allied invasion at Salerno and in subsequent defensive actions up the peninsula, including involvement in the Padule di Fucecchio massacre, before surrendering near Bologna in May 1945. Meanwhile, a new 23. Infanterie-Division was raised in October/November 1942 using replacement troops and the original regimental numbers (now designated as Grenadier-Regimenter to differentiate them), which returned to combat on the Eastern Front, seeing action in defensive battles, withdrawals, and counterattacks through 1943-1945 under various commanders including Generalleutnant Paul Gurran and others, ultimately being destroyed or surrendering in the East Prussia pocket in early 1945 as the Red Army overran German positions. Notable personnel from the original division, particularly from Infanterie-Regiment 9, included figures later associated with the 20 July 1944 plot against Hitler, reflecting the unit's ties to traditional Prussian military circles.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
General der Infanterie Werner Freiherr von und zu Gilsa (1889-1945) was a German officer in the Wehrmacht during World War II, born in Berlin into a noble family of barons, who entered the Royal Prussian Army in 1908 as a Fähnrich in the Garde-Füsilier-Regiment, served with distinction in World War I in staff and field roles earning both classes of the Iron Cross along with other decorations, and continued his career in the Reichswehr before rising through Wehrmacht ranks. As Oberst and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 9 he led his unit with outstanding bravery through the Polish campaign and, during the 1940 western offensive, personally directed a bold thrust by his III. Bataillon that seized intact Maas bridges near Charleville after breaking through a key enemy bridgehead position, an action that enabled the swift advance of Gruppe Haase and earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5 June 1940. From 1 April 1941 he commanded the 216. Infanterie-Division, which was transferred to the Eastern Front in winter 1941/42; there, as Generalmajor, he orchestrated the outstanding defense of the Festen Platz Suchinitschi during the German retreat from Moscow, holding the fortified position against heavy Soviet pressure in the central sector and securing the 68th award of the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz on 24 January 1942. Promoted to General der Infanterie on 1 July 1943, he later commanded the LXXXIX. Armeekorps during the Battle of the Scheldt, served briefly in the Führerreserve, and ended the war as the last Kampfkommandant of Dresden from mid-March 1945, where he opened Wehrmacht facilities to civilians before suicide on 8 May 1945 in Leitmeritz as the Red Army advanced.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23rd_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
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