Ritterkreuzträger of 170. Infanterie-Division

The 170. Infanterie-Division was formed on 1 December 1939 in Munsterlager within Wehrkreis X as a unit of the 7. Aufstellungswelle from Ersatz- und Ausbildungseinheiten and was brought to full strength in January 1940 by the addition of Feldersatz-Bataillone 28 and 30. After training under harsh winter conditions it took part in Unternehmen Weserübung from 9 April 1940, crossing the Danish border near Flensburg and Tondern to occupy the Jutland peninsula with minimal resistance. Following brief occupation duty in Denmark the division moved through the Netherlands and Belgium into northern France during the Westfeldzug, reaching the Paris area by mid-June 1940 without significant combat and later performing coastal defence duties in Normandy. In spring 1941 it transferred to Romania as a Lehrtruppe within the 11. Armee. With the start of Unternehmen Barbarossa on 22 June 1941 the division crossed the Pruth, advanced through Bessarabia, broke the Stalin-Linie at the Dniester, and fought across the Bug and Dnieper rivers before participating in the Schlacht am Asowschen Meer. It then forced the Perekop Isthmus onto the Crimea, captured Feodosia and Kerch, and endured heavy fighting around Sevastopol. In May 1942 it contributed to Unternehmen Trappenjagd that cleared the Kerch Peninsula and in June–July played a key role in the final assault on the fortress of Sevastopol, helping secure the Sapun Heights. Transferred north in August–September 1942 to the Heeresgruppe Nord sector before Leningrad, the division was immediately committed against Soviet offensives, sealing off the 2nd Shock Army west of Gaitolovo and suffering heavy losses that cancelled Unternehmen Nordlicht. It remained in static trench warfare south of Leningrad through 1943, absorbing remnants of Luftwaffen-Feld-Divisionen in early 1944. Forced to retreat during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive of January 1944, it held the Narva line for months within the Armeeabteilung Narwa. In late June 1944 it was rushed by rail to Molodechno to reinforce the collapsing Heeresgruppe Mitte during Operation Bagration, conducted a fighting withdrawal through Vilnius and Lida into East Prussia, and in January 1945 was driven into the Heiligenbeil Pocket. The bulk of the surviving elements of the 170. Infanterie-Division, whose order of battle by 1944 included Grenadier-Regimenter 391, 399 and 401 together with Artillerie-Regiment 240, were destroyed or captured by Soviet forces on the Hela Peninsula in April–May 1945, while smaller sea-evacuated groups surrendered to British troops near Kiel.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCHWERTERTRÄGER


Generalmajor Franz Griesbach (1892-1984) was born on 21 December 1892 in Brück in Brandenburg and died on 24 September 1984 in Lage. He entered military service on 1 April 1914 as an Einjährig-Freiwilliger in the Infanterie-Regiment „Prinz Louis Ferdinand von Preußen“ (2. Magdeburgisches) Nr. 27 and fought on the Western Front during the First World War, where he was wounded several times, buried by artillery fire and suffered gas poisoning. He received the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 22 December 1914 and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 23 August 1917, rising to Leutnant der Reserve before being discharged in 1919. In civilian life he worked as a teacher until he was reactivated in 1939 as Hauptmann and Chef of the 6. Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 12. Promoted to Major, he took command of the I. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 391 within the 170. Infanterie-Division on the Eastern Front. During the fighting in the Crimea in January 1942 he led his battalion with exceptional skill and personal bravery in the capture of key hills and the town of Feodosia, continuing to direct operations even after being wounded; for these actions he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 March 1942 as Major and Kommandeur of the I. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 391. Shortly afterwards he assumed command of Infanterie-Regiment 399, later redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 399 of the same division, and was promoted to Oberstleutnant and then Oberst. In early 1943, during the Second Battle of Lake Ladoga, Soviet forces achieved a deep penetration near Krasny Bor south of Lake Ladoga. On his own initiative Oberst Griesbach launched a determined counter-attack with his battle-weary troops, personally leading from the front, sealing off the breach and destroying or capturing large numbers of enemy personnel and weapons, for which he received the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz on 17 May 1943 as Oberst and Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 399. In January 1944 near Leningrad his Kampfgruppe destroyed sixty-nine Soviet tanks near the village of Pelellja, recaptured the heights at Duderhof and conducted a successful counter-thrust at Gatschina, thereby preventing a major enemy breakthrough south of the city. These achievements earned him the Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub on 6 March 1944, still as Oberst and Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 399. On 15 February 1944 he was temporarily entrusted with the leadership of the 170. Infanterie-Division but was severely wounded by mortar fire the following day. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 August 1944 while still in hospital, he fell into Soviet captivity in April 1945 at a reserve hospital near Brandenburg an der Havel and was released in October 1949.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/170th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)