The 6. Infanterie-Division, nicknamed the Westphalian Division and garrisoned in Bielefeld, was formed in October 1934 from the cover designation Infanterieführer VI during the expansion of the German armed forces and was mobilized on 26 August 1939 with an initial structure that included Infanterie-Regiment 18 based in Bielefeld, Infanterie-Regiment 37 in Osnabrück, Infanterie-Regiment 58 in Herford, Artillerie-Regiment 6, and various divisional support units such as the Aufklärungs-Abteilung 6. The division took part in the Invasion of Poland in 1939 and the subsequent campaign in France in 1940 before being transferred to the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa in 1941, where it saw extensive combat in the advance into the Soviet Union and later defensive actions amid mounting casualties. In December 1940 portions of its regiments were transferred to form elements of other divisions, while in late 1942 its infantry regiments were redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 18, Grenadier-Regiment 37, and Grenadier-Regiment 58 in line with army-wide changes; by October 1943 it underwent reorganization as an Infanterie-Division neuer Art, which reduced the regiments to two battalions each after heavy losses and created a new Division-Füsilier-Bataillon 6 from the existing reconnaissance detachment. The division was largely destroyed during the Soviet Operation Bagration in June and July 1944 and was officially dissolved on 18 July 1944, though a successor 6. Grenadier-Division was quickly formed on 25 July 1944 at Sennelager by incorporating remnants of the original unit together with personnel from the 552nd Grenadier Division; this formation retained the core regiments and artillery and was renamed the 6. Volksgrenadier-Division on 9 October 1944. It suffered final destruction during the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive in January 1945, was briefly reconstituted as the 6. Infanterie-Division on 10 March 1945 using elements of Shadow Division Dresden, and ultimately surrendered on 8 May 1945 after serving under various commanders including Generalleutnant Horst Großmann and Generalleutnant Hans-Walter Heyne during its later phases.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Oberst Georg Freiherr von Boeselager (1915-1944) was a German nobleman and Wehrmacht cavalry officer born on 25 August 1915 near Kassel who was killed in action on 27 August 1944 near Łomża in German-occupied Poland at the age of 29. As Oberleutnant and Chef of the 1./Divisions-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 6 he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 18 January 1941 for his actions during the Battle of France, when on 9 June 1940 he and a small group of men from his Schwadron swam across the Seine near Les Andelys to establish a bridgehead on the far bank which he then expanded by seizing the village of Villers, and on 16 June 1940 he led his Schwadron in a decisive flank attack that captured a French battery impeding the advance of the Vorausabteilung. Promoted to Rittmeister, he received the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz on 31 December 1941 for his outstanding performance during Operation Barbarossa, most notably on 4 October 1941 when his Schwadron together with attached bicycle elements ruthlessly advanced to capture the locality of Komarj and secured a bridgehead over the Lebasmuna stream, thereby blocking the Bjeloj-Cholm road and obstructing the Soviet withdrawal route from the Bjeloj area toward the Dnieper positions, in addition to his consistent excellence in reconnaissance and river crossings earlier in the campaign. As Oberstleutnant and Führer of the 3. Kavallerie-Brigade he was posthumously awarded the Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz on 28 November 1944 for the brigade’s distinguished success in the heavy defensive fighting between the Bug and Narew rivers during August 1944, where it excelled through relentless attack momentum and hardness under his leadership at the front; he met his death while personally leading an assault against a heavily fortified Soviet position near Łomża on the Narew River.
General der Infanterie Horst Großmann (1891-1972) was born on 19 November 1891 in Sybba, Kreis Lyck, East Prussia, and entered military service on 27 September 1911 as Fahnenjunker in the 8. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 175 of the Prussian Army. Promoted to Leutnant in 1913, he served on the Eastern Front at the outbreak of the First World War in battles including Gumbinnen, Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes before transferring to the Western Front, rising to Oberleutnant and eventually Regimentsadjutant; for his wartime service he received both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz, the Ritterkreuz des Königlichen Hausordens von Hohenzollern mit Schwertern, the Hamburger Hanseatenkreuz, the Kreuz für Verdienste im Kriege and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz. After the war he joined the Reichswehr, held staff and company commands, served as a teacher at the Infanterieschule in Dresden, commanded a battalion of Infanterie-Regiment 22 and, as Oberst from October 1938, led Lehrgruppe B at the Kriegsschule Potsdam. At the start of the Second World War he served in the Führerhauptquartier as deputy to Erwin Rommel during the Polish campaign before taking command of Infanterie-Regiment 84 of the 8. Infanterie-Division on 15 October 1939, leading it through the Western Campaign. During Operation Barbarossa the regiment advanced via Brjansk and Wjasma toward Moscow; as Oberst and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 84 he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 23 August 1941 for storming Grodno and holding its bridgehead against Soviet counter-attacks, then in early August achieving an eight-kilometre penetration of the Soviet line, seizing the Dnieper bridge at Ratschino and the heights at Watschkowo, and holding these positions despite being wounded, thereby blocking the enemy’s retreat across the river. In December 1941 he briefly led the 102. Infanterie-Division before assuming command of the 6. Infanterie-Division in the Rzhev sector in January 1942, being promoted Generalmajor and later Generalleutnant. Awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 11 February 1943, he earned the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (292nd award) on 4 September 1943 as Generalleutnant and Kommandeur of the 6. Infanterie-Division for the division’s successes in the opening days of Unternehmen Zitadelle on the northern face of the Kursk salient. Subsequently he temporarily commanded the LV. and XXXV. Armeekorps, attended a course for commanding generals, and from August 1944 led the VI. Armeekorps, being promoted General der Infanterie and appointed its Kommandierender General in November 1944. Captured by British forces in May 1945, he remained a prisoner until July 1947 and died in Rüsselsheim on 4 May 1972.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
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