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.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
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