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The 44th Infantry Division was formed on 1 April 1938 in Vienna, about two weeks after the Anschluss of Austria. It first saw combat at the start of the war in the Invasion of Poland, and also May and June 1940 in the Battle of France. After a 9-month period of coastal defence the division was transferred East, and on 22 June 1941 the division invaded the Soviet Union as part of Army Group South. It remained in the east after the failure of operation Barbarossa, reverting to the defensive for the winter and proved to be a bulwark against the Soviet winter offensives near Izum and Karkov. Refurbished the division participated in the German summer offensive, and was subsequently destroyed with the 6th Army at Stalingrad in January 1943. The division was rebuilt as Reichsgrenadier-Division Hoch- und Deutschmeister in Belgium when Hitler ordered the Stalingrad divisions should be reconstructed. By the summer of 1943 it was back up to strength and was sent to fight in Italy, where it was heavily engaged at Monte Cassino. It withdrew up the Italian peninsular during 1944 and briefly clashed again with American forces attacking the Gothic line. Withdrawn to refit, it was instead sent to oppose the Soviet breakthrough in Hungary. The division joined the efforts to recapture Budapest with the 6th SS Panzer Army, and was subsequently nearly destroyed near lake Balaton. The remnants of the division retreated into Austria, near its home station, until the final days of the war, when it marched west and surrendered to the American forces near Linz. ==Organization== The unit was established on 1 April 1938 shortly after the annexation of Austria from elements of the Austrian army. The organisation followed the typical structure of pre-war infantry division, with 3 infantry regiments of 3 battalions each, and artillery regiment of 3 battalions, and antitank, reconnaissance, pioneer, signals battalions and division services. The usual establishment called for around 15.000 men.〔http://niehorster.orbat.com/011_germany/40_organ_army/div-inf_1-welle.html〕 In January 1940 the Feldersatz Battalion was detached and became the 3rd battalion, 443rd infantry regiment, 164th infantry division, part of the 7th Wave of 14 divisions.〔Nafziger p89〕 The German Army continued to expand, in February 1940 the 10 divisions of the 8th wave were created. The 44th gave up 2nd battalion 143 Infantry Regiment which became 1st battalion 523rd Infantry Regiment, 297 Infantry Division. The battalion was replaced. In September 1940, one third of the division was detached to form the 137th Infantry Division of the 11th wave. The German Army formed new divisions by detaching one-third of two existing divisions, then raising the remaining parts from new recruits. In this manner only one-third of the two old and one newly created divisions were new recruits. Like all the divisions lost in the Battle of Stalingrad, it was reformed using other formations and usually a cadre of specialists who had been evacuated by air before the 6th Army's surrender. On 17 February 1943, the division was reformed with the 887th and 888th Grenadier Regiments in Belgium. On 1 June 1943, the 134th Grenadier Regiment was added, and the division renamed Reichsgrenadier-Division Hoch- und Deutschmeister, along with the 80th Panzerjager, 46th Pioneer, 64th Signals, and 44th Divisional support units. From August to November 1943, schwere Panzer-Kompanie/Tigergruppe Meyer, equipped with eight Tiger I tanks,〔see http://www.alanhamby.com/unithist.shtml#MEYER and also http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/schwPzAbt/Meyer-R.htm (German text)〕 was attached to the division for the disarmament of Italian formations in northern Italy After a brief rest it was transferred to Hungary and fought the Red Army while retreating into Austria. It managed to avoid capture by the Red Army and surrendered to US forces at Hohenfurth on 10 May 1945. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「44th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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