The 16. Infanterie-Division was formed on 1 October 1934 in Münster under the cover name Kommandant von Münster as a first-wave division of Wehrkreis VI, receiving its initial personnel cadre from the Reichswehr’s Infanterie-Regiment 18 and comprising Infanterie-Regiment 60, 64 and 79 together with Artillerie-Regiment 16. Mobilized on 25 August 1939, it first secured the western frontier before advancing through Luxembourg and Belgium in May 1940, fighting at Stonne and Sedan and later serving as reserve of the 16. Armee during the second phase of the Westfeldzug. On 6 August 1940 the division was divided at Sennelager into the new 16. Panzer-Division and the 16. Infanterie-Division (mot.), the latter built around Infanterie-Regiment 60, a new Infanterie-Regiment 156, Kradschützen-Bataillon 165 and Artillerie-Regiment 146 under the former staff of the disbanded 228. Infanterie-Division. After occupation duty in France the motorized division took part in the Balkanfeldzug of April 1941, thrusting toward Sarajevo, then joined Panzergruppe 1 of Heeresgruppe Süd for Unternehmen Barbarossa, breaking the Stalin Line near Lubar, advancing via Uman, Kriwoi Rog and the Dnepr to the Kiev encirclement and winter positions east of Kursk. In summer 1942 it fought at Voronezh, crossed the Don and, as the first German formation to enter Asia, reached the vicinity of Maikop before racing across the Kalmückensteppe to the most easterly point attained by any Wehrmacht unit near Astrachan, earning the nickname Windhund-Division. After the winter retreat to the Mius front it was redesignated 16. Panzergrenadier-Division on 23 June 1943, continued defensive battles in the Donets Basin and at the Dnepr, and was largely destroyed near Uman during the Dnepr-Carpathian Offensive of March 1944; its remnants were withdrawn to France and rebuilt as the 116. Panzer-Division.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER
General der Panzertruppe Gerhard Graf von Schwerin (1899-1980) was born on 23 June 1899 in Hanover into a Prussian aristocratic family with long military traditions. At age 15 he entered the cadet school and joined the 2. Garde-Regiment zu Fuß as Fähnrich, later transferring to the 2. Grenadier-Regiment. During World War I he served on both Eastern and Western fronts as company commander and battalion adjutant, was wounded on 26 September 1918, and received the Eisernes Kreuz first and second class. Discharged in 1920, he briefly worked in business before rejoining the Reichswehr in 1923, rising through the ranks and attending the Kriegsakademie. In World War II he commanded units in France, North Africa with Kampfgruppe Schwerin capturing Mechili, and on the Eastern Front. As Oberst and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment (motorisiert) 76 of the 20. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert) he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 17 January 1942 for holding his isolated Kampfgruppe near Mga-Cory against superior Soviet forces for three days, enabling the fall of Schlüsselburg. Promoted to Generalmajor, he took command of the 16. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert) in November 1942, leading it through the Caucasus retreat and destroying the Soviet 4th Guards Mechanized Corps at Fedorenko gorge, for which he received the Eichenlaub on 17 May 1943. As Generalleutnant commanding the redesignated 16. Panzergrenadier-Division he guided it through heavy fighting during the withdrawal from the Mius positions and the Zaporozhye bridgehead battles, earning the Schwerter on 4 November 1943, the 41st such award, presented by Hitler. Later he led the 116. Panzer-Division in Normandy and Aachen, then the LXXVI. Panzerkorps in Italy, reaching General der Panzertruppe in April 1945 before capture by British forces. Released in 1947, he advised Chancellor Adenauer on rearmament in 1950 and later the FDP, dying on 29 October 1980 in Rottach-Egern.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Oberstleutnant Karl Torley (1913-1943) was born on 16 October 1913 in Iserlohn and entered military service in 1935 with Infanterie-Regiment 60, receiving promotion to Leutnant on 1 January 1938. As a Zugführer he took part in the Western Campaign of 1940 and the subsequent Balkan Campaign, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 24 May 1940 and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 24 June 1940. At the opening of the campaign against the Soviet Union he held the rank of Oberleutnant and commanded 2. Kompanie of I. Bataillon, Infanterie-Regiment (motorisiert) 60 of the 16. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert). On 30 July 1941, when Soviet forces in battalion strength twice attacked the vital supply and medical hub of Talnoje, Torley and his Kompanie successfully repulsed both assaults, thereby securing the village and the German rearward services located there; for this action he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 23 November 1941. In 1942 he assumed command of I. Bataillon of the same regiment. On 28 August 1942 his Bataillon assaulted the fortified village of Jaschkul in the Kalmyk steppe; after fierce close combat that failed to clear the place completely, Torley directed a carefully prepared night attack that finally ejected the Soviet garrison, securing important underground water wells and the local road junction that facilitated further German advances eastward and improved lateral communications. For this leadership he received the 132nd Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 11 October 1942 while still a Hauptmann. Promoted to Major on 1 February 1943, Torley was killed in action near Kalynivka (Kalinkowa) on the Mius on 19 July 1943 and was posthumously advanced to Oberstleutnant.
Hauptmann Werner Baumgarten-Crusius (1919-1995) was born on 29 January 1919 in Dresden and died on 4 November 1995 in Frankfurt am Main. He entered service on 2 November 1937 as Fahnenjunker in the 3. Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 10, attended the Kriegsakademie in München, and was promoted to Leutnant in 1939. As Zugführer he took part in the campaigns in Poland and France, later becoming Ordonnanz-Offizier and Adjutant in Infanterie-Regiment 156 (motorisiert) of the 16. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert), with which he fought in the Balkans and during Operation Barbarossa. Promoted to Oberleutnant in autumn 1941, he assumed command of the 5. Kompanie and distinguished himself in the defence of the Stützpunkt Panskoj on the Donets near Kursk during the winter battles of 1941/42. Facing an estimated three enemy battalions, he held the strongpoint firmly, enabling neighbouring units to restore their front and drawing enemy forces away from adjacent sectors, for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 22 February 1942 as Chef 5. Kompanie, II. Bataillon, Infanterie-Regiment 156 (motorisiert). In early 1943 he became Führer of the I. Bataillon of Grenadier-Regiment 156 (motorisiert) and was promoted to Hauptmann. On 18 February his Bataillon, acting with Panzer-Abteilung 116, closed a breakthrough near Stepanowskij, smashed leading elements of the 33rd Rifle Division and cut off the Soviet 4th Guards Tank Corps. On the night of 19/20 February, when the corps attempted to break out eastwards through the Fedorenko gorge while attacking Stepanowskij from the east, Baumgarten-Crusius met the assault head-on with limited panzer support, repulsed simultaneous attacks and launched a decisive double-pincer counter-attack that destroyed the corps, earning him the Eichenlaub (199th award) to the Ritterkreuz on 27 February 1943. After serving as Taktiklehrer and undergoing staff training he returned in December 1944 as Kommandeur of I./Panzergrenadier-Regiment 156 for the Ardennen-Offensive, was captured by American forces near Verdenne on 25 December 1944 and released on 14 September 1945.
Hauptmann Günter Klappich (1917-1943) was born on 2 October 1917 in Dortmund and entered military service in 1937 with the Infanterie-Regiment 60, which later became motorized. At the outbreak of war he was promoted to Leutnant and took part in the campaign in France, receiving the Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse on 18 May 1940 and the 1. Klasse on 9 September 1940 along with other decorations for wounds and assault actions. From June 1941 he fought on the Eastern Front. As Oberleutnant and Chef der 11. Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment (mot) 60 he distinguished himself during the advance toward Voronezh in early July 1942. On 3 and 4 July he led a surprise attack that seized the town of Staryi Oskol with only light losses and captured the two bridges over the Oskol river intact, enabling neighboring units to advance along the eastern bank the following day and close a pocket of Soviet forces on the western side. For this uncommon personal courage he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 July 1942. Later appointed Führer of the III. Bataillon of Grenadier-Regiment 60 (motorisiert) within the 16. Infanterie-Division (mot), he again excelled in January 1943 during the critical defensive fighting east of Rostov as Heeresgruppe A withdrew from the Caucasus. Ordered to clear Soviet forces that had crossed the Manytsch, he directed his battalion, supported by Panzers, in a determined assault on the strongly held village of Ssamodurowka under extreme winter conditions. Leading from the front through intense fire from anti-tank guns and mortars, he penetrated the eastern edge, fought house by house to the center, and then broke through to the western outskirts despite a sudden threat of envelopment by an enemy motorized column. The capture of the village yielded the staff of a motorized brigade whose interrogation revealed plans for a major Soviet offensive against the Rostov bridgeheads. Exhausted but undeterred, Klappich organized the defense against repeated counterattacks from west, northwest and east, using artillery in direct fire from the forward lines and personally rallying his men to hold the key position. These actions paralyzed the initial thrust of Soviet armored forces toward Rostov and allowed German command to prepare effective countermeasures. A few days later, on 22 January 1943, Oberleutnant Klappich fell in action during an attack on Werch-Podpolnyi near Rostov. On 8 June 1943 he was posthumously awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz as the 254th recipient and promoted to Hauptmann in recognition of his leadership and bravery.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
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