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The 97. Infanterie-Division, initially raised as the 97. leichte Infanterie-Division on 10 December 1940 in Wehrkreis VII around Bad Tölz from elements of the 7. Infanterie-Division and the 3. Infanterie-Division (mot.), was a light infantry formation of the Heer whose tactical emblem, the Spielhahnfeder, earned it the nickname Spielhahnjäger-Division. Under early commanders including Generalmajor Walter Weiß, Generalleutnant Sigismund von Förster and Generalmajor Maximilian Fretter-Pico, the division prepared for the Eastern Front and crossed into the Soviet Union with the 17. Armee of Heeresgruppe Süd in June 1941, advancing through Magierów, breaking the Stalin Line and participating in the Kesselschlacht bei Uman before reaching Artemowsk and contributing to the destruction of the Soviet bridgehead at Isjum during the Battle of Kharkov in May 1942. Redesignated 97. Jäger-Division on 6 July 1942 while serving under Generalleutnant Ernst Rupp, its principal combat units became Jäger-Regiment 204, Jäger-Regiment 207 and Artillerie-Regiment 81, supported by Aufklärungs-Abteilung 97, Pionier-Bataillon 97 and Panzerjäger-Abteilung 97. During the 1942 summer offensive the division crossed the Don and Manytsch, captured Armawir and the vital oilfields of Maikop, then pushed into the western Caucasus until halted in the Pschisch valley. After the Stalingrad disaster it withdrew fighting into the Kuban-Brückenkopf, enduring heavy defensive battles at Abinskaja, Krymskaja and Moldawanskoje before evacuating across the Kerch Strait to the Crimea and later holding sectors of the Wotan-Stellung near Melitopol and the Dnepr crossings. Continuing its long retreat through Ukraine, Moldavia and Romania, the division was redeployed in autumn 1944 to the Vistula-San line near Kielce and then to eastern Slovakia, where it fought costly defensive actions around Kaschau. In early 1945 it contested the Upper Silesian industrial region and Ratibor under Generalleutnant Friedrich-Carl Rabe von Pappenheim before falling back into the Protectorate. On 1 January 1945 it still mustered over 10 000 men; by May, under Generalmajor Robert Bader, remnants attempted to break westward toward American lines near Deutsch-Brod rather than surrender to the Red Army, but most columns were captured or dispersed. Highly decorated for its continuous front-line service, the division received more than 12 000 Eisernes Kreuz awards by late 1944 and produced 34 Ritterkreuzträger, eight of whom also earned the Eichenlaub, before its final dissolution in Soviet captivity.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Oberst Ernst Nobis (1901-1963) was born on 18 October 1901 in Graz, Austria, and entered the Österreichisches Bundesheer in 1928 with the Steirisches Alpenjägerregiment Feldmarschall Daun Nr. 9, later completing officer training and being commissioned Leutnant in 1933 before transfer into the Wehrmacht as Oberleutnant after the Anschluss. He served initially on the staff of Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 138 of the 3. Gebirgs-Division during the Polish campaign, earning the Eisernes Kreuz II. Klasse and promotion to Hauptmann, then took command of a battalion in Infanterie-Regiment 204 of the 97. Infanterie-Division on the Eastern Front. On 10 December 1941, when two Soviet regiments supported by tanks, Katyushas and aircraft broke into the German lines northeast of Troizkoje, Hauptmann Nobis independently assumed command of the hard-pressed I. Bataillon in addition to his own II. Bataillon and successfully prevented a breakthrough, for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 21 January 1942. Rapid preferential promotions followed to Major i. G. and then Oberstleutnant i. G.; in July 1942 he assumed command of the newly formed Jäger-Regiment 204 of the 97. Jäger-Division, leading Kampfgruppe Nobis during the advance into the Caucasus. On 4 December 1942, recognizing the danger of a strong Soviet battlegroup that had approached close to the German main line of resistance, Oberstleutnant Nobis assembled an ad-hoc force of roughly 400–500 men drawn from the 7. Kompanie z.b.V. 800, small elements of Jäger-Regiment 207, the 1./Pionier-Bataillon 97, his own regimental staff and parts of the Stabskompanie, then attacked and completely shattered the enemy formation under heavy fighting, thereby stopping a Soviet drive toward the Pschisch and preventing the rolling-up of the German defenses west of the river. For this decisive action he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 5 December 1942 as the 151st recipient, and was promoted to Oberst shortly afterward despite severe wounds sustained in the preceding battles. After further staff and attaché duties, including a brief posting as military attaché to Finland in 1944 and command of the Heeresschule für Stabsoffiziere at Güstrow in the final weeks of the war, Nobis spent time as a prisoner of war, later rejoined the rebuilt Austrian Bundesheer in 1956 as a civilian instructor and staff officer, rose to Hofrat, and died of a heart attack in Vienna on 7 March 1963 while still in service.
Hauptmann der Reserve Bruno Kohnz (1914-1945) was born on 6 October 1914 in Ochtendung and entered military service in 1936 with Infanterie-Regiment 80 before transferring during mobilization to Infanterie-Regiment 208 and later to what became Jäger-Regiment 207 of the 97. Jäger-Division. Rising through the ranks as a reserve non-commissioned officer he saw extensive combat on the Eastern Front including the Caucasus campaign where on 21 December 1942 as Oberfeldwebel der Reserve and Zugführer of the 11. Kompanie he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for leading nineteen men in a daring assault that overran three heavily fortified Soviet bunker positions on the Rippe ridge near Tuapse capturing some three hundred prisoners together with numerous weapons and thereby breaking a key defensive line. Promoted subsequently to Leutnant der Reserve he further distinguished himself on 20 January 1943 near Grigorjewskaja when while recovering from wounds at a main dressing station he suddenly faced an unexpected Soviet attack of six to seven hundred men; gathering only twenty-four available drivers radio operators messengers and lightly wounded comrades he organized an improvised counter-attack that against overwhelming numerical superiority succeeded in repelling the enemy and restoring the divisional front for which action he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 6 March 1943 as the 207th recipient. Continuing to serve with Jäger-Regiment 207 he advanced to the rank of Hauptmann der Reserve and fought through the subsequent defensive battles in the southern sector until he was killed in action on 4 April 1945 near Leobschütz in Upper Silesia at the age of thirty.
Oberst Karl Langesee (1910-1989) was born on 18 September 1910 in Vilsbiburg, Lower Bavaria, and entered military service in 1928 with the Infanterie-Regiment 20. Promoted to Leutnant in April 1935, he served at the outbreak of war as Oberleutnant and Chef of the 1./Infanterie-Regiment 62, taking part with this company in the Polish campaign and the Western campaign. In October 1940 he transferred to the Infanterie-Regiment 207, later redesignated Jäger-Regiment 207 of the 97. Jäger-Division, and as Kommandeur of the II. Bataillon he participated in the Russian campaign, distinguishing himself particularly in the heavy defensive fighting around Isjum during the winter of 1941/42, for which he received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 28 February 1942. On 10 August 1942, as Hauptmann and Kommandeur of the II. Bataillon/Jäger-Regiment 207, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz for the actions of his Bataillon during the fighting at the Soviet bridgehead over the Donez near Izyum from 22 to 25 June 1942, when the Regiment reached the Donez at Kamenka, captured forty embrasured emplacements, thrust onward to Kapitalowka and Dibrowa, took the forest on both sides of Morossowka, destroyed enemy forces on the west bank of the Oskol around Gorochowatka, and constructed a defensive position while the right wing, with Langesee’s Bataillon playing a key role, held off all attacks and destroyed eight enemy tanks. Promoted to Major on 1 January 1943, he earned the Eichenlaub on 15 March 1943 as Major and Kommandeur of the II. Bataillon/Jäger-Regiment 207 for leading a counterthrust in January 1943 to relieve an encircled Romanian Kampfgruppe; although himself enveloped, he smashed through the enemy in fierce fighting, linked up with another Bataillon of his Regiment, held off a far superior force for three days and nights without resupply or artillery support, then led both Bataillone in a masterful breakout without further casualties, and subsequently defended the new position against an entire Soviet division for a full week, during which the enemy suffered over one thousand dead. Later promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 November 1943 and to Oberst on 1 August 1944, he commanded the Divisionsgruppe 125 and from 1 November 1944 the Grenadier-Regiment 748 before the war’s end. He died on 4 March 1989 in Augsburg.
Oberstleutnant Friedrich Höhne (1915-1962) was born on 27 April 1915 in Krampfer, Brandenburg, and died on 14 March 1962 in Bad Reichenhall, Bavaria. He entered military service in 1933 with the Infanterie-Regiment 19 and was promoted to Leutnant in 1935. In 1938, as Oberleutnant and Kompaniechef, he transferred to the Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 99, with which he took part in the Polish campaign and the Western campaign. At the end of 1940 he was promoted to Hauptmann and became a Kompaniechef in the 97. leichte Division, later redesignated the 97. Jäger-Division. From 26 November 1941 he commanded the III. Bataillon of the Jäger-Regiment 204. In March 1942, during fighting in the northern Donets region, Hauptmann Höhne and his Bataillon conducted an eight-day defense of Elisawetowka against strong Soviet forces attempting to break through into the assembly area of the 60. Infanterie-Division (mot). By holding firm he prevented a hostile advance toward Drashkowka and the vital road and railway line Konstantinowka–Sslawjansk that served as a lifeline for the left wing of the 17. Armee. For this achievement he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 3 May 1942. Promoted to Major on 1 December 1942, he continued to distinguish himself as Bataillon commander during the Caucasus fighting. Notable actions included the destruction of two enemy batteries during the capture of Schirwanskaja on 14 August 1942, the seizure of fourteen artillery pieces the following day, hard mountain combat south of Roshet, the storming of the Gaiman mountain southeast of Chadyschenskaja between 26 and 29 October 1942, the destruction of the 9th Soviet brigade in the Orenburg valley, and further successful engagements around Schaumian, Bereshnoi and Krymskaja. In mid-April 1943 his Bataillon sealed off and cleared a Soviet penetration in the Kuban bridgehead. These accomplishments led to the award of the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 8 June 1943 as the 253rd recipient. From July 1943 Höhne commanded the Jäger-Regiment 204, was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 1 December 1944, and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 1 February 1945. At the end of the war he fell into American captivity but was soon released.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
General der Artillerie Maximilian Fretter-Pico (1892-1984) was born on 6 February 1892 in Karlsruhe and entered the Imperial German Army on 20 September 1910 as a Fahnenjunker in the Feldartillerie-Regiment „Großherzog“ (1. Badisches) Nr. 14. He served throughout the First World War, rising to Hauptmann by October 1918, and remained in the Reichswehr after the war. Promoted to Oberst in 1937 and Generalmajor on 1 March 1941, he assumed command of the 97. leichte Infanterie-Division in April 1941. On 31 August 1941, during the advance in the East, the division’s objective was a bridgehead around Bezuly; Fretter-Pico personally accompanied the foremost infantry waves, reached the objective, and then independently ordered a further thrust to seize the commanding heights at Pidgora despite open flanks. The heights were taken by nightfall, enabling the rapid exploitation of the success, for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 26 December 1941. He then took command of the XXX. Armeekorps, was promoted to Generalleutnant in February 1942 and to General der Artillerie on 1 June 1942, becoming its Kommandierender General. Awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 19 September 1942, he distinguished himself through flexible and determined leadership in the winter battles of 1942/43 between the Don and Donez, the defensive fighting near Izyum in summer 1943, and the prevention of Soviet breakthrough attempts southwest of Dnepropetrovsk in November and December 1943. On 5 December 1943 he smashed a major Soviet offensive with seven rifle divisions and a tank corps by means of a bold nocturnal counterattack, and on 19 December he again halted a breakthrough attempt with a daring counterstroke of his own; for these achievements he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 16 January 1944 as the 368th recipient. He later commanded the 6. Armee and the Armeegruppe Fretter-Pico before ending the war as Befehlshaber of Wehrkreis IX. Captured by American forces in April 1945 and released in 1947, he died on 4 April 1984 in Kreuth am Tegernsee at the rank of General der Artillerie.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/97th_J%C3%A4ger_Division
