The Division Nr. 490 was established on 1 November 1944 in Neumünster within Wehrkreis X as a replacement and training formation to succeed the Division Nr. 190, which had been transferred to the Netherlands the previous September. Functioning primarily as an Ersatz- und Ausbildungsdivision, it oversaw the training and replacement of personnel drawn from various units in northern Germany and Denmark. Its initial commander was Generalmajor Ernst Wißelinck, who held the post from formation until early April 1945, after which Generalmajor Hermann-Heinrich Behrend assumed command. By 10 March 1945 the division’s structure included the Grenadier-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Regiment 30 based in Lübeck with Bataillone 6, 46, 469, 490 and Landesschützen-Bataillon 666; the Grenadier-Ersatz-Regiment 520 located at Tingleff in Denmark comprising Bataillone 26, 333, Landesschützen-Bataillon II./10 and 655; the Artillerie-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Regiment 225 in Neumünster with Abteilungen 20, 30 and 58; the Pionier-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Bataillon 20 at Hamburg-Harburg; the Fahr-Ersatz- und Ausbildungs-Abteilung 10 in Neumünster; and the Kraftfahr-Ausbildungs-Abteilung 10 at Wentorf together with related Ersatz elements in Hamburg-Alsterdorf. On 27 March 1945, within the framework of the Westgoten-Bewegung, the division was advanced to the Weser River line and subordinated to the LXXXVI. Armeekorps of the 1. Fallschirmarmee under Oberbefehlshaber Nordwest. Feldpost numbers were issued at this time to the Grenadier-Ersatz-Regimenter 30 and 480 as well as Artillerie-Ersatz-Abteilungen 20 and 30, while the regiment remaining in Denmark did not receive them. The newly mentioned Grenadier-Regiment 480 appears to have been formed from mobilised personnel of the Heeres-Unteroffizier-Schule für Infanterie 10 at Eutin and the ROB-Lehrgang Lübeck. In the closing weeks of the war the division engaged in defensive fighting in north-western Germany. On 18 April 1945 the Wehrmachtbericht specifically praised the 490. Infanterie-Division under Oberst Behrend for its exemplary steadfastness in heavy combat, noting also the personal bravery of Oberstleutnant Knaust as a regimental commander. Behrend, already a recipient of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes with Eichenlaub, was awarded the Schwerter on 26 April 1945 for the division’s performance, which included a successful counter-attack that recaptured the airfield at Sage and extricated the formation from near-encirclement by American forces. The division continued operations in the Teutoburger Wald and the Sage area until the final German surrender in May 1945, after which its personnel entered captivity. Throughout its brief existence the Division Nr. 490 exemplified the improvised nature of late-war German reserve formations, converting training cadres into front-line combat units amid the collapse of the western front.
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SCHWERTERTRÄGER
Generalmajor Hermann-Heinrich Behrend (1898-1987) was born on 25 August 1898 in Perleberg and entered military service on 1 June 1915 as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in the Füsilier-Regiment „Kaiser Wilhelm“ Nr. 90, later transferring to the Infanterie-Regiment „Herzog Karl von Mecklenburg-Strelitz“ (6. Ostpreußisches) Nr. 43 where he fought on the Eastern Front of the First World War, earning promotion to Unteroffizier on 29 March 1916, Fähnrich in 1917 for bravery, and Leutnant the same year along with the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 9 June 1917 and I. Klasse on 4 November 1918. After leaving service in 1920 he rejoined the Reichswehr in 1924, advancing through the ranks as Oberleutnant in 1926, Hauptmann in 1933 and Major in 1939 before taking command of the I. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 489 at the start of the Second World War. During the campaign in the West he received the Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz, and on the Eastern Front on 22 June 1941, as Major and Kommandeur of I./Infanterie-Regiment 489 in the 269. Infanterie-Division, he decided to attack ahead of schedule under cover of morning fog and artillery dust, thrusting deep into the fortified Soviet lines southeast and east of Tauroggen, thereby enabling Kampfgruppe Badinski of the 1. Panzer-Division to break through and seize the eastern part of the town, an action that earned him the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 15 July 1941. Promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 September 1941 and later to Oberst on 1 March 1943, he commanded Grenadier-Regiment 154 of the 58. Infanterie-Division; in early February 1944 west of Luga the regiment was isolated by a full Soviet division and partisans, yet Behrend held out for three days, led a counter-thrust that took most of the village of Potschap, then guided his force under cover of darkness across the Pljussa River to rejoin German lines on 13 February, for which he received the Eichenlaub (421st award) on 6 March 1944. In April 1945, after promotion to Generalmajor on 17 April, he assumed command of the 490. Infanterie-Division in northwestern Germany; during the defence of the Fladder Canal he personally destroyed an Allied tank with a Panzerfaust, and when the division was encircled he led a successful breakout in which fourteen Sherman tanks were destroyed, mostly by Panzerfaust, actions that brought him the Schwerter on 26 April 1945 (148th award). His last rank was Generalmajor; he was captured by British forces on 8 May 1945, released in 1947, and died in Soltau on 19 June 1987.
Source :
https://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2018/05/foto-490-infanterie-division.html
https://www.feldgrau.com/ww2-german-490th-infantry-division/
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/DivisionNr/DivisionNr490-R.htm
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