The 123. Infanterie-Division was a standard infantry formation of the German Wehrmacht that saw extensive, grueling frontline combat on the Eastern Front throughout World War II. Established on 5 October 1940 at the Regenwurmlager training grounds near Meseritz in Wehrkreis III as part of the 11. Welle, the division drew personnel from the 23. Infanterie-Division, 257. Infanterie-Division, and 3. Infanterie-Division (mot.). Its combat backbone comprised Infanterie-Regiment 415, Infanterie-Regiment 416, Infanterie-Regiment 418, and Artillerie-Regiment 123, alongside organic support units such as Pionier-Bataillon 123 and Panzerjäger-Abteilung 123. Following border security duties in East Prussia, the division entered Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 under II. Armeekorps within 16. Armee of Heeresgruppe Nord. Spearheading advances toward Sebesch, the formation was heavily committed around Lake Ilmen and the Valdai Hills. Its original commander, General der Infanterie Walter Lichel, was mortally wounded in combat in August 1941 and was succeeded by Generalleutnant Erwin Rauch. In early 1942, the division became completely encircled in the brutal Demyansk Pocket, enduring relentless Soviet assaults, frostbite, and supply shortages while playing an instrumental defensive role until an overland relief corridor was pierced in April 1942. The division held positions in the salient until the Demyansk perimeter was evacuated during Unternehmen Ziethen in March 1943. After brief service near Kholm, the formation transferred to Heeresgruppe Süd in October 1943, under commanders including Generalleutnant Erwin Menny and Generalmajor Louis Tronnier. Deployed into intense defensive clashes in the Zaporizhzhia and Nikopol bridgeheads along the lower Dnieper bend, the exhausted division suffered catastrophic attrition under massive Soviet winter offensives. Decimated in heavy combat around Kryvyi Rih, the 123. Infanterie-Division was formally dissolved on 1 March 1944, with its surviving remnants consolidated into Divisionsgruppe 123 within Korpsabteilung F.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Oberst Walther Sievers (1902-1982) was born on 15 June 1902 in Halstenbeck and died on 12 July 1982 in Bad Pyrmont. Serving as a reserve officer in the Heer, he rose through the ranks from Oberleutnant der Reserve to Hauptmann der Reserve, Oberstleutnant der Reserve and finally Oberst. He received the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 15 May 1940 and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 22 July 1941. As Oberleutnant der Reserve in the 9./Infanterie-Regiment 415 he was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 2 January 1942, followed by the Ostmedaille on 23 August 1942. In mid-December 1942, during the fighting south of Lake Ilmen near the Demyansk corridor, Hauptmann der Reserve Sievers, as Kommandeur of the III./Infanterie-Regiment 415, threw back strong Soviet forces supported by tanks that had broken into the German lines and successfully defended against further attacks. On 11 December his battalion was encircled on the northern front of the corridor; he formed a hedgehog position together with elements of the III./Grenadier-Regiment 161 in the strongpoint Schwebekopf and held off all assaults until the encirclement was broken on 13 December by the I./Grenadier-Regiment 161. For these actions he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 19 December 1942. He later received the Ehrenblattspange des Heeres on 15 November 1943. As Oberstleutnant der Reserve and Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 415 of the 123. Infanterie-Division, Sievers distinguished himself in the bridgehead over the Dnieper at Zaporozhye in October and early November 1943, mastering multiple critical situations during some of the hardest fighting in that sector. For this leadership he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 29 January 1944 as the 379th recipient. He ended the war as Oberst.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
Oberst der Reserve Albert Graf von der Goltz (1893-1944) was an aristocratic German officer whose distinguished military path culminated in frontline command during World War II. Entering military service in 1913 as Fahnenjunker in 1. Brandenburgische Dragoner-Regiment Nr. 2, he earned the Eisernes Kreuz 1914 II. und I. Klasse before returning as Hauptmann der Reserve in 9. Infanterie-Regiment. Advancing steadily to Major der Reserve and later Oberstleutnant der Reserve, he achieved renown for exceptional tactical determination on the Eastern Front. On 7 May 1942, as commander of I. Bataillon / Infanterie-Regiment 415 within 123. Infanterie-Division, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for resolute leadership, stabilizing critical defensive sectors and repelling ferocious Soviet assaults around Lake Ilmen and the Demyansk Pocket. By autumn 1943, leading mountain troops under 3. Gebirgs-Division, his initiative proved pivotal during the grueling defensive battles southeast of Zaporizhzhia. Facing overwhelming enemy formations, his tenacious direction of Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 144 and Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 138 successfully held ruptured frontlines, earning him mention in the Wehrmachtbericht on 3 October 1943 and the 316th Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 2 November 1943. Promoted to Oberst der Reserve on 1 December 1943, his accolades also included the Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz II. und I. Klasse, the Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42, and the Verwundetenabzeichen in Gold. While commanding Gebirgs-Jäger-Regiment 138 during the heavy withdrawal near Novy Bug on 14 March 1944, he suffered severe wounds resulting in the loss of his right arm, succumbing two days later in a Lazarett at Odessa.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/123rd_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
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