The 15. Flak-Division was an anti-aircraft warfare division of the German Luftwaffe that played a significant tactical role on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. Formed officially on 1 March 1942 in Ploesti, Romania, from the existing staff of the Stab/Flak-Brigade III, the division was initially established to secure key logistical points and oil fields in Southeastern Europe before being rapidly deployed to active military theaters. In May 1942, the formation transferred to Southern Russia, establishing its headquarters at Mariupol to directly support the operations of the 17. Armee. As the German summer offensive progressed, the division provided vital ground-to-air defense and direct fire support for the 1. Panzer-Armee during its aggressive drive into the Caucasus, establishing operational command centers at locations such as Maikop. During this intensive campaign, the 15. Flak-Division commanded several key mobile regiments, including the Stab/Flak-Regiment 4, Stab/Flak-Regiment 7, Stab/Flak-Regiment 104, and was supported by the dedicated signal unit Luftnachrichten-Abteilung 135. Throughout its operational service, leadership of the formation transitioned through several high-ranking officers: Generalmajor Gerhard Hoffmann served as its first commander from March 1942 until November 1942, followed by Generalleutnant Eduard Muhr who held command through April 1944. Subsequent leadership was assumed by Oberst Hans Simon, Oberst Ernst Jansa, Generalmajor Theodor Herbert, Oberst T. Peters, Generalmajor Hans-Wilhelm Doering-Manteuffel, and finally Oberst Friedrich-Franz Rittner in the closing months of the war. Between late 1943 and mid-1944, the division found itself deeply engaged in heavy defensive combat across Southern Russia, Ukraine, and Bessarabia under Heeresgruppe Süd and Heeresgruppe Südukraine, continuously shielding retreating German ground forces from overwhelming Soviet air superiority and mechanized armors. Following the collapse of the frontline in Northern Romania in August 1944 during the Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, the division suffered severe casualties but successfully absorbed surviving remnants of disrupted units while conducting a fighting withdrawal into Hungary. Subordinated to the I. Flakkorps, the 15. Flak-Division remained locked in fierce defensive engagements throughout the Hungarian campaign, including the defensive actions around Stuhlweißenburg, where it ultimately surrendered at the war's conclusion in May 1945.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Oberwachtmeister Fritz Petersen (1909-1946) was born on 29 November 1909 in Münster and after several voluntary military exercises entered the Flakartillerie in 1939, serving from the outset with the 6. Batterie of Flak-Regiment 4; he took part in the Westfeldzug of 1940 and from June 1941 fought on the Eastern Front, where as Geschützführer he distinguished himself in anti-tank combat with his 8.8 cm Flak gun. By the end of August 1942 his personal tally stood at 36 enemy tanks destroyed, and during the heavy defensive battles around Rzhev he personally knocked out seven tanks on 5 August, five on 10 August and a further four on 12 August, bringing his Eastern Front total to at least 31 by the close of that month; for these sustained and decisive actions he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 16 November 1942 while holding the rank of Wachtmeister in the 6. Batterie, II. Abteilung, Flak-Regiment 4 (mot.) of the 9. Armee. Continuing in the same role, he added still more successes in subsequent defensive fighting on the central sector of the Eastern Front, and by early 1944 his battery and personal score had risen to 50 tanks and 41 aircraft destroyed; the recommendation for the Eichenlaub noted that in one particularly critical engagement he destroyed eight enemy tanks in a single day after already accounting for four the previous day, an achievement that helped prevent the encirclement of small German formations, and at the time of the citation he had accounted for 42 tanks while participating in the destruction of 41 aircraft. Consequently, on 26 March 1944 he received the 438th Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz as Wachtmeister still serving with the 6. Batterie of Flak-Regiment 4 under the 18. Flak-Division. His promotions progressed from Gefreiter in 1939 through Unteroffizier to Wachtmeister by the time of the Ritterkreuz and finally to Oberwachtmeister in 1944, the highest rank he attained. In addition to the Ritterkreuz and Eichenlaub he had earlier been awarded the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse on 23 July 1940 as Obergefreiter and the Eisernes Kreuz I. Klasse on 16 February 1942 as Unteroffizier, together with the Erdkampfabzeichen der Luftwaffe, the Flakkampfabzeichen der Luftwaffe and the Ostmedaille. Petersen died on 1 September 1946 in St. Mauritz near Münster at the age of thirty-six.
Source :
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Flak-Divisionen/15FlakD.htm
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