The 24. Infanterie-Division was established on 15 October 1935 in Chemnitz within Wehrkreis IV, drawing primarily Saxon personnel and initially comprising Infanterie-Regiment 31, Infanterie-Regiment 32, Infanterie-Regiment 102, and Artillerie-Regiment 24. At the outbreak of World War II, led by Generalleutnant Friedrich Olbricht, the division took part in the Polish Campaign under the 8. Armee, distinguishing itself during the heavy fighting along the Bzura River. In the Western Campaign of 1940, the unit fought in Luxembourg, crossed the Meuse, pierced the Weygand Line, and advanced toward the Cher under Generalleutnant Hans von Tettau. With the launching of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the division crossed the Soviet border as part of Heeresgruppe Süd, taking part in encirclement operations at Uman and Kiev. Transferred to the 11. Armee under General der Infanterie Erich von Manstein, it played a pivotal combat role in the Crimean campaign, participating in the ferocious assault across Severnaya Bay during the grueling siege of Sevastopol in mid-1942 where it suffered over thirty percent casualties. In August 1942, the formation was dispatched north to join Heeresgruppe Nord, where it halted Soviet counteroffensives near Lake Ladoga during the Siniavino battle before enduring protracted defensive warfare during the siege of Leningrad. In the restructuring of late 1942, Infanterie-Regiment 102 was disbanded, while Infanterie-Regiment 31 and Infanterie-Regiment 32 were redesignated as Grenadier-Regiment 31 and Grenadier-Regiment 32. Commanders such as Generalmajor Kurt Versock, Generalleutnant Hans Freiherr von Falkenstein, and Oberst Harald Schultz guided the division through costly retreats through Pskov and northern Latvia. Cut off in autumn 1944 alongside the 16. Armee and 18. Armee, the unit held out through the ferocious defensive battles of the Kurland Pocket until surrendering to the Red Army on 9 May 1945.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
Oberst Kurt Walter (1908-1944) was born on 27 February 1908 and entered military service in 1927 as an Unteroffiziersanwärter with Infanterie-Regiment 11, receiving promotion to Leutnant on 1 October 1938 and assuming active duty. At the outbreak of war he held the rank of Oberleutnant and served as Chef of the 13. Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 32, participating in the campaigns in Poland, the West, and later the Soviet Union. He advanced to Hauptmann and then Major, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 26 September 1939, the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 8 July 1941, two Anerkennungsurkunden des Oberbefehlshabers des Heeres on 8 March and 15 July 1942, mention in the Wehrmachtbericht on 22 June 1942, and the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 17 August 1942 while serving with II./Infanterie-Regiment 32. The action that brought him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes occurred in September 1942 south of Lake Ladoga, when his division launched an attack northward toward Gaitolovo aimed at linking with the 121. Infanterie-Division to sever a Soviet penetration; as Kommandeur of II./Grenadier-Regiment 32, Walter’s Bataillon formed the spearhead of the advance, forced a corridor through determined enemy resistance, and achieved the link-up on 24 September, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz on 25 September 1942. Promoted thereafter to Oberstleutnant, he assumed command of Grenadier-Regiment 11 in April 1943. During the defensive battles near Smolensk in mid- to late 1943 his regiment played a decisive part in containing successive Soviet assaults and preventing a breakthrough toward Vitebsk, earning him the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz (345th award) on 5 December 1943. On 1 January 1944 he was promoted to Oberst. In the summer of 1944, amid the collapsing front, he formed Kampfgruppe Walter from scattered units southeast of Minsk and attempted to break westward through the forests, abandoning vehicles and non-marchable wounded; he was reported missing in action near Grodno on 3 August 1944.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)
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