Ritterkreuzträger of 93. Infanterie-Division

The 93. Infanterie-Division was formed on 17 September 1939 at the Truppenübungsplatz Jüterbog in Wehrkreis III as a unit of the 5. Welle and initially equipped with captured Czech matériel, consisting primarily of Infanterie-Regiment 270, Infanterie-Regiment 271 drawn largely from the SA-Standarte Feldherrnhalle, Infanterie-Regiment 272, and Artillerie-Regiment 193 under the long-term command of General der Pioniere Otto Tiemann. During the Phoney War the division manned positions near the Maginot Line in the Saarbrücken sector, then on 15 June 1940 broke through French defenses south of the city, crossed the Seille and Meurthe rivers, and advanced into the Moselle region before remaining in France for occupation and coastal duties until mid-1941. Transferred to Heeresgruppe Nord for Unternehmen Barbarossa, the division marched through Latvia and Estonia toward Leningrad, taking part in the siege operations around the Oranienbaum pocket until April 1942 and then shifting to the Volkhov front for prolonged defensive fighting. In August 1942 Infanterie-Regiment 271 received the honorary title Feldherrnhalle for its distinguished service in France and the Soviet Union; the regiment was detached in February 1943 to help form the Panzergrenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle, after which the 93. Infanterie-Division was reorganized as a Division neuer Art with Grenadier-Regiment 270 and the newly created Grenadier-Regiment 273. From late 1943 the division conducted stubborn defensive actions in the Newel and Pleskau sectors, withdrew through Latvia into the Courland Pocket in 1944 under successive commanders including Generalleutnant Karl Löwrick and Generalleutnant Erich Hofmann, and was evacuated by sea early in 1945 to the Samland peninsula in East Prussia. There the remnants of the 93. Infanterie-Division, now under Generalmajor Kurt Domansky, were destroyed by the Red Army in March 1945 during the final battles for Königsberg and the Hela peninsula, with survivors entering Soviet captivity.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberst Walter Scheunemann (1909-1949) was born on 26 March 1909 in Bankau, West Prussia, and entered the Preußische Schutzpolizei on 4 October 1930 before transferring on 1 August 1935 as Unteroffizier into the Heer and assignment to Infanterie-Regiment 50, with which he took part in the Poland campaign. Promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 February 1940, he joined Infanterie-Regiment 272 of the 93. Infanterie-Division and from 20 May 1940 served as Chef of the 9. Kompanie in its III. Bataillon. On 5 August 1940 he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his decisive role, together with Oberstleutnant Löwrick, in capturing Werk 789 in the Maginot Line obstacle zone south of Cappel, an action that enabled German penetration of the fortified belt and compelled the local French forces to withdraw. After further service on the Eastern Front he was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 April 1942 while near Leningrad and later to Major. As Kommandeur of the I. Bataillon of Grenadier-Regiment 272 he distinguished himself repeatedly in the heavy fighting of the I. Armee-Korps at the Wolchow, completing a special mission in exemplary fashion, leading an improvised formation of more than Bataillon strength that earned special recognition from the commanders of the 291. Infanterie-Division and the I. Armee-Korps, and fighting effectively with his battalion at Urizk near Leningrad on 22 July 1942, as well as in the battles south of the Ilmensee. These achievements led to the award of the 202nd Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 6 March 1943. From December 1943 he commanded Grenadier-Regiment 270 near Cholm, rose to Oberstleutnant and then Oberst on 1 September 1944, and spent the final months of the war in the OKH-Reserve, briefly leading elements of Infanterie-Division “Döberitz.” He died in Göttingen on 29 December 1949.



Generalleutnant Karl Löwrick (1894-1945) was born on 8 November 1894 in Podlechen in the Kreis Rastenburg of East Prussia and entered military service as a Kriegsfreiwilliger in Artillerie-Regiment 1 during the First World War, where he earned the Eisernes Kreuz II. and I. Klasse. After the war he transferred to the police, rising to Polizei-Leutnant, before rejoining the Wehrmacht in 1935 as Hauptmann. On 25 September 1939, as Major, he took command of the III. Bataillon of Infanterie-Regiment 272 and led it in the Westfeldzug. For his personal devotion and leadership on 14 June 1940 during the heavy fighting for the Maginotlinie south of Saarbrücken, where he inspired his Bataillon to capture the heavily fortified Cappel Position in a timely manner and himself stormed a bunker at the head of his men, later securing further objectives under fierce flanking fire, he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5 August 1940 as Oberstleutnant and Kommandeur of III./Infanterie-Regiment 272. From August 1941 he commanded Infanterie-Regiment 272 on the Eastern Front, was promoted to Oberst on 1 April 1942, and temporarily led Infanterie-Regiment 43 as well. In the fierce defensive battles south of Cholm at the end of February 1943, as Kommandeur of Grenadier-Regiment 272, he halted a Soviet attack from the rear by directing two guns in direct fire at 500 metres against enemy forces at a forest edge, then days later threw back strong Soviet penetrations in a counterthrust using light AA machine guns, thereby stabilising the front; for these actions he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 17 May 1943 as the 247th recipient. He later commanded the 93. Infanterie-Division from October 1943, was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 June 1944, and then took over the 542. Volksgrenadier-Division. Löwrick was killed on 8 April 1945 in a plane crash near Pillau while still serving as its Kommandeur.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/93rd_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht)