Ritterkreuzträger of 78. Infanterie-Division / 78. Sturm-Division / 78. Grenadier-Division / 78. Volksgrenadier-Division

The 78. Infanterie-Division was established in August 1939 in Wehrkreis V (Stuttgart) as part of the second mobilization wave. After serving in the Western Campaign in France, the formation participated in Operation Barbarossa under Heeresgruppe Mitte, advancing through Smolensk toward the defensive lines outside Moscow. Surviving the brutal winter of 1941–1942 and enduring the attritional meat-grinder battles at Rzhev, the division earned a reputation as a stubborn frontline unit. Recognizing its combat capability, the Oberkommando des Heeres reorganized it on 30 December 1942 into an experimental assault formation designated as 78. Sturm-Division. This specialized elite reorganization heavily reinforced its infantry regiments—Sturm-Regiment 14, Sturm-Regiment 195, and Sturm-Regiment 215—with mechanized transport, heavy infantry guns, Sturmgeschütz assault guns from Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 189, and heavy anti-tank units like schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 519. In July 1943, under Generalleutnant Hans Traut, the division formed the spearhead of the northern pincer during Unternehmen Zitadelle (Battle of Kursk), clashing violently with heavily fortified Soviet positions at Ponyri. Following the retreat from Kursk, the division anchored the defenses around the strategic highway hub of Orsha during the harsh winter of 1943–1944. However, the Soviet summer offensive of 1944, Operation Bagration, brought total catastrophe. Encircled east of Minsk alongside the remnants of 4. Armee, the division was shattered, with Generalleutnant Hans Traut captured on 12 July 1944. Surviving cadres reconstituted as 78. Grenadier-Division and subsequently 78. Volksgrenadier-Division, ending its combat existence in Czechoslovakia in May 1945.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Leutnant Josef Schreiber (1919-1945) was born on 24 December 1919 in Mindersdorf, Baden, and volunteered for the Wehrmacht on 14 August 1938, joining the 7. Kompanie of Infanterie-Regiment 14 in Konstanz. Promoted to Unteroffizier on 11 October 1940, he served on the Eastern Front from 1941 and earned the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 18 September 1941 after temporarily leading a Zug and repelling a Soviet counterattack. He remained Zugführer in the 4. Kompanie as the unit became Sturm-Regiment 14 of the 78. Sturm-Division. On 8 March 1943, during a nine-hour Soviet assault by the 70th Army south of Orel near Dmitrowsk, Schreiber’s Zug of two Gruppen defended Hill 266.0 overlooking the Nessa valley. The Soviets attacked the height up to regimental strength eleven times during the night, yet Schreiber’s men repulsed every assault and held the vital position. For this defence he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 31 March 1943 as Feldwebel and Zugführer of the 4./Sturm-Regiment 14. Promoted to Oberfeldwebel on 1 July 1943, he returned to the 7. Kompanie and took part in Unternehmen Zitadelle. On 11 July 1943 his Zug of twenty-five men captured fifteen bunkers and ninety prisoners in the Trossna depression. After the Kompaniechef was killed he assumed command of the depleted 7. Kompanie of only thirty men, later returning as Zugführer to the 4. Kompanie where successive counterattacks drove out penetrating Soviet forces. These actions earned him the Eichenlaub on 5 October 1943 as Oberfeldwebel and Zugführer of the 7./Sturm-Regiment 14 (309th award). Late in 1944 he was posted as instructor to Kriegsschule V in Posen; during the fighting around the city he was listed missing in action on 1 February 1945 and posthumously promoted to Leutnant.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/78th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)