The 328. Infanterie-Division was formed on 18 December 1941 as a so-called Walküre-Einheit of the seventeenth wave from training and replacement personnel of the Ersatzheer across Wehrkreise I, II and III, assembling initially at Mielau with Infanterie-Regiment 547, Infanterie-Regiment 548 and Infanterie-Regiment 549, each of two battalions, plus Artillerie-Regiment 328 with two detachments and supporting Divisionseinheiten 328. Under successive commanders Generalleutnant Albert Fett, Generalleutnant Wilhelm Behrens and then Generalleutnant Joachim von Tresckow (with a brief interval under Generalleutnant Karl Böttcher in May 1943), the division marched on foot from Suwałki into the rear of Heeresgruppe Mitte and fought around Rzhev and Zubtsov in 1942, suffering heavy losses that led to its temporary withdrawal. In October 1942 the remnants were transferred to occupied France for rebuilding, where the remaining regiments were redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 548 and Grenadier-Regiment 549, each expanded to three battalions, and a new Grenadier-Regiment 569 was raised, bringing the formation to nine infantry battalions while Artillerie-Regiment 328 was strengthened. The division took part in Case Anton, the occupation of Vichy France, and assumed control of the Marseille sector. Redeployed to the Eastern Front in June 1943 under 1. Panzerarmee of Heeresgruppe Süd, it engaged in defensive fighting near Izium, Kharkiv and Kursk before being largely destroyed during the retreat to the Dnieper. On 2 November 1943 the division was dissolved; its remnants formed Divisions-Gruppe 328 attached to the 306. Infanterie-Division and were later redesignated Grenadier-Regiment 549, which was destroyed in Romania in August 1944. A second, short-lived 328. Infanterie-Division „Seeland“ was raised on 9 March 1945 in occupied Denmark from Genesenden-Bataillone D under Generalleutnant Ernst Richter with Grenadier-Regiment 593, 594 and 595, but it never reached combat readiness before the German surrender.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Hauptmann Rolf Rocholl (1918-1943) was born on 8 December 1918 in Berlin and entered military service in 1936 as a Fahnenjunker in Panzer-Regiment 5. Promoted to Leutnant on 1 September 1938 and assigned to the 8. Kompanie, he served with the 3. Panzer-Division during the Polish and French campaigns. Subsequently transferred to the 5. leichten Division, which was sent to North Africa and redesignated the 21. Panzer-Division on 1 August 1941, he distinguished himself in the fighting of 1941–42 and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 25 March 1942. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 June 1942, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 28 July 1942 as Oberleutnant and Führer of the 2. Kompanie, I. Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 5. During the 21. Panzer-Division’s attack toward the Via Balbia linking Gazala and Tobruk, he led a reinforced force that discovered a strong British position on Hill 201 west of Acroma, heavily defended by artillery and Flak. After a hard fight he captured the height, enabling the division to block the road and complete the encirclement of the Gazala line. Following the retreat to the Mareth Line he returned to Germany in April 1943 and was appointed Kommandeur of the III. Bataillon, Grenadier-Regiment 569 of the 328. Infanterie-Division on the Eastern Front. In the fierce defensive battles along the Donez in August 1943 his personal leadership proved decisive in holding a commanding hill position and preventing a Soviet breakthrough in the sector. On 23 August 1943 near Isjum, while leading a counterattack, he was fatally wounded by two shots to the chest. Posthumously he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 31 August 1943 as the 287th recipient.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/328th_Infantry_Division
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