The 352.Infanterie-Division was an infantry division in the German Wehrmacht during World War II serving on the Western Front.  Raised in late 1943 and subsequently destroyed several times through the war, the unit would be best known for its defense of what would become Omaha Beach during the D-Day Invasion of northern France on 06 June 1944.  The Division fought in France, in Holland during Operation Market Garden, in Luxembourg during the Ardennes Offensive and to the end of the War within Germany.  

In our reenacting unit, we portray 5.Kompanie, II.Bataillon of the 916.Grenadier Regiment.

For reenacting purposes, we will use the following symbols to identify our unit:

The survivors from the 546.Grenadier-Regiment formed the cadre for the 1st and 2nd bataillons of the 916.Grenadier-Regiment of the 352.Infanterie-Division.

Because most of the members of the 352nd were Ostfront veterans, they were hardened soldiers - from the officers down to the Obergrenadiers.  A large number of Volksdeutsch recruits were also a part of the Division.  These Volksdeutsch recruits included Polish and Czech Germans, Alsatians (French Germans), and Russians (White-Russians, or POA).  Also, since the core of the Division came from Russia, about 1,500 foreign auxiliary men (Hiwis) served in the Division (Stewart Bryant).  

At its inception on 04 Dec 1943, the 352 Infanterie-Division was to be formed organically and from other units, as shown in its first Kriegsgliederung (Divisional Organization Charts) from the AOK.7 Kriegsgliederung Stand 7.12.1943 (Ref. T312-1599).  Supporting information and compositions was also taken from the Kriegstagebuch der 352.Inf.-Div. Ia vom 20.11.43-9.12.1943 (Ref. T315-2148).

At its creation, the Division would have 9,876 men.  The plan to form the Division included the following components:

By the time of D-Day in June 1944, the Division would have increased it strength to 12,734 men,  which was over slightly over 100% manpower for a Type 44 Division.  Many of its heavy weapons consisted of captured Russian, Belgian and French weapons.  The image below is a Kriegsgliederung of what the composition of the Division likely was on 6.6.44.  It was composed using a number of different source material:

• Kriegsgliederung 352. Inf-Div. Stand 1.2.44 (Ref. T312-R1566) 

• Kriegsgliederung 352. Inf-Div. Stand 1.3.44 (Ref. T312-R1566) 

• Kriegsgliederung 352. Inf-Div. Stand 6.6.44 (Ref. T312-R1570) - this source information is somewhat suspect, as it was created after D-Day by the Allied captors of the Division's Chief of Staff Oberstleutnant Fritz Ziegelmann.  It appears to have been drawn after interrogations of and statements made by Ziegelmann - the images drawn are not per per the manual, "Model for Tactical Symbols of the Army" (Ref. H. Dv. 272/2a).

On 6.6.44, the Division's final and largest composition would consist of:

• H.Dv.272.  Muster Für Taktische Zeichen Des Heeres.  24.März 1941.
• T312 R1559
• T312 R1566 S165
• T312 R1570 S645
• T315 R2148
• TM-E 30-451.  “Handbook on German Military Forces.”  War Department.  15 March 1945.

352. PANZERJÄGER ABTEILUNG

352. PIONIERE BATAILLON

The Pioniere Bataillon (combat engineer battalion) had three companies (the third bicycle mounted), with 37 machine guns, 20 flame throwers and six mortars.  The  Pioniere Bataillon also contained motorized rear area signal headquarters.

352. FÜSILIER BATAILLON

Type 44 Divisions eliminated the motorized and better armed Aufklärungsabteilung (Recon Battalion) and replaced it with a bicycle-mounted Füsilier Bataillon.  The Füsilier Bataillon was light infantry and was the Type 44 Division's light recon element.  

The 1. Company of 352.Füs.Btl was bicycle mounted.   This battalion was located in the rear, away from the beaches and was more mobile than a regular infantry battalion.  They were equipped  the same as a regular infantry battalion, with 

• 60 light machine guns (disposition assumed), 

• 3 heavy machine guns (disposition assumed) and 

• 12 8 cm mortars (disposition assumed).  

In a defensive position, like the 352.ID was, the Füsilier Bataillon would be mobile enough to move to protect the Division's most vulnerable flanks and to serve as recon and quick reinforcement. 

As it happened on D-Day, the 352.Füs.Btl was detached and assigned to Kampfgruppe Meyer (GR915), whose mission was to reinforce and counterattack reported airborne forces on the Isigny-Carentan road.  

FELDERSATZ

FORMATION AND ORDERS

Originally slated to be sent to the East Front (Ostfront), the Division was trained to fight defensively and was armed with defensive tactics in mind. Officers and NCOs prepared the young men for fighting on the Ostfront - they were trained to be outnumbered, outgunned, surrounded, to never give up ground and to never surrender.  However, as the threat of a cross-Channel invasion by the Western Allies became more imminent, the 352nd was placed on the Atlantikwall under LXXXIV.Armeekorps (under General Erich Marcks), which was part of Armeegruppe B (under Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel), which fell under Oberbefehlshaber West (O.B. West, under Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt).  

Rundstedt was nominally in charge of protecting the Atlantic coast from and Allied Invasion, however most of the work in preparing the defenses was carried out by Rommel.  Despite the fact that much of the German leadership believed that the main Allied invasion would take place at the Pas-de-Calais, Rommel was convinced that Normandy would be the location of the invasion and put pressure on his commanders to increase the defenses at Normandy.  

The Norman coast stretches over 100 km.  Rommel placed the 352.Inf-Div in the Bayeux Zone, a 47km stretch of coast from roughly the Carentan area on the western edge to the Arromanches area in the east.  This placed the 352nd between the 709.Infanterie-Division to the west and 716.Infanterie-Division to the East.  The 700-numbered Divisions were "static" coastal defense units, considered immobile because of a near complete lack of transportation vehicles and horses.  They were manned by older men and had a large contingent of East Front "Hiwis" or Hilfswilliger (auxiliary volunteers) - often enough to make up several "Ost" battallions.  Most of these Divisions were undermanned by 1941 standards, consisting of only two infantry regiments (rather than the standard three) and had no recon bataillon.  Some of these divisions had fewer than a dozen vehicles.  Artillery in these divisions could not be moved.  

Unlike the Division's neighboring units - the 709th and 716th Infantry Divisions - the 352nd was considered a mobile combat unit.  Like most German units by 1944, the 352.ID was responsible for an unreasonably large area of territory to defend.  According to LXXXIV.Armeekorps orders, it's primary missions were:

• To man costal artillery and beach defenses (GR916 and GR914)

• To serve as a reserve division for the LXXXIV.Armeekorps, and

• To provide one regiment as tactical reserve for LXXXIV.Armeekorps (GR915)

Because most  of Germany's resources and support went to the Ostfront, the 352nd had to deal with ration and supply problems from its conception, but it did enjoy the higher quality food and leisure time in France that their counterparts in the East never saw. By June 1944, the Division was nearly at 100% of its allotted strength.  

ATLANTIKWALL

THE 352nd IN BATTLE IN FRANCE

Aerial reconnaissance photos of the Normandy coastline on 3 June, days before the invasion, indicate that elements of an unidentified infantry unit have relocated to positions along the Calvados coast, just east of the Vire estuary.  Allied intelligence suspects it to be the 352nd Infantry Division, although the 352nd had thought to have been located further south.  No reports have been received from resistance groups in France as to the 352nd relocating to the coastline. 

In fact, a French resistance group did try to notify the Allies of the 352nd's presense on the beaches weeks before via carrier pigeons.  Two pigeons were sent with the same message (to increase the chances of delivery), but the Germans manning the Atlantikwall along the coast, aware that resistance groups used carrier pigeons, managed that day to shoot both birds carrying the message as they were flying out to the English Channel.  

Allied intelligence decided that major commands should be notified of the unaccounted German strength in the area.  Unfortunately, notification took more than 48 hours to be delivered to the pertinent commands.  By the time General Bradley, commander of the U.S. First Army, received this intelligence, he and his command have already put out to sea - just four hours before the naval bombardment is to begin.  The U.S. 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions, under Bradley's command will not know until it's too late that their beach (codenamed "Omaha") has been fortified and reinforced by a fully manned German Infantry Division.

The following excerpts are from U.S. soldiers fighting the 352nd in Normandy:

THE 352nd IN BATTLE IN HOLLAND

Volksgrenadier-Divisions are slightly different than regular Infanterie-Divisions.  These Divisions had only six infantry battalions instead of the standard nine battalions of a full Infanterie-Division; this was already a common occurrence in most other Infantry Divisions at the time.  Volksgrenadier-Divisions emphasized defensive strength rather than offensive strength.  Standard infantry weapons typically consisted of light machine guns, light automatic weapons, and the Panzerfaust (single shot anti-tank weapons).  The Züge (platoons) and Gruppen (groups) of Volksgrenadier-Divisions were formed around hardened veterans to inspire and properly lead whatever personnel was used to fill out the Division.  The bulk of these Divisions were commonly filled out with "jobless" Wehrmacht personnel from the Kriegsmarine (Navy) and Luftwaffe (Air Force), wounded soldiers returning to duty, as well as men and boys considered too old or young for peacetime military service.

The 352.Volksgrenadier-Division itself was made up of several "jobless" Kriegsmarinemänner (Navy men).  Their morale was high, but their limited experience as infantry in ground operations showed in their poor fighting and maneuvering ability.  The newly reformed Division had the same three Infanterieregimenter - 914., 915., and 916. Grenadier-Regiements. 

On November 7, 1944, the division was relocated to the Bitburg area in the Eifel.  It arrived there on 16 November 1944 and became the reserve of O.B. West.  The Division engaged the enemy on the Sauer river.  Parts of the Division were relocated to the Schweich, Herforst and Speicher areas.  On November 24, the division received orders to relieve the 353.Inf-Div in the Vianden-Echternach area.

THE ARDENNES OFFENSIVE (DIE WACHT AM RHEIN)

This newly reformed Volksgrenadier-Division, now under Oberst Erich Schmidt as of 6 October 1944, was a part of LXXXV. Armeekorps, and fell under 7.Armee.  The 7.Armee was under the command of General der Panzertruppe Erich Brandenburger.   The 7.Armee made the southern most push during the Ardennes Offensive ("Die Wacht am Rhein" or better known as the Battle of the Bulge) towards Luxembourg.  The main objective of the southern push was to reach Luxembourg and protect the flank from any Allied counterattacks.  

The 7.Armme makeup consisted of:

The 352.VGD was deployed for the Ardennes offensive between Vianden and Echternach, flanked by the 276.Volksgrenadier-Division and 5. Fallschirmjager-Division.  The 352nd was at near full strength, but only had six Hetzer tank-destroyers in its Panzerjagerabteilung.  Because it was near 100% strength and morale was high, Oberst Schmidt considered it fit for battle. 

The three Infantry Divisions of 7.Armee made good progress initially. especially considering no motorization of any kind, pushing west 4 miles before meeting stiff resistance from the U.S. VIII Corps on 22 December 1944.  The 5.Fallschirmjäger-Div. managed to get 12 miles west on the inner flank of the push.  

The 352.Volksgrenadier-Division's major engagements in the Offensive occurred  in and around Diekirch and Ettelbruck. 

The push in the south, although stopped initially, managed to move again by the second week of the offensive and posed a threat to Allied lines.  There was no armored support for 7.Armee, so the advance was stopped fairly easily by American troops.  

Oberst Schmidt was wounded while leading an assault at Diekirch.  Command of the division was taken over by Generalmajor Bazing.

The U.S. counteroffensive to relieve Bastogne began on 22 December.  The U.S. 80th Division hit the 915.VGR in its flank on the  Ettelbruck-Pratz road, which forced the Division to go onto the defensive.  As it withdrew from the road, it had to abandon most of its heavy equipment.

While falling back on 23 December 1944, there was heavy fighting in Merzig and a large portion of the Division was captured or destroyed there.  Only when the U.S. 80th Infantry Division was reinforced with armor from the U.S. 702nd Tank Battalion were the Germans defeated on the southern front of the Offensive.

Ultimately, the Ardennes Offensive, Germany's last offensive gamble, failed.  Again, the 352nd was destroyed.   

THE 352nd IN BATTLE IN GERMANY

After the defeat in the Ardennes, what was left of the 352.Volksgrenadier-Division was recalled to Germany to be refit and resupplied.  It was officially placed under the command of General Bazing (who had taken over during the Ardennes Offensive when Oberst Schmidt was injured).  It was refitted with men from the 66.Volksgrenadier-Regiment, 99.Sicherheits-Regiment and what was left of the 9.Infanterie-Division.  Its next deployment  was to defend the area around Trier (Germany) and Moselle (France).  Fighting and Allied bombing effectively destroyed what was left of the Division again.  Only a small remnant of the Division (a single Kampfgruppe) escaped across the Rhine at Worms in March 1945 as American forces advanced.

The 352.Volksgrenadier-Division was partially reconstructed one last time as a small battle group in mid-April and deployed to defend Darmstadt, south of Remagen.  Its last battles were during the Allies' Rhineland Campaign, as they pushed towards the south to reach the Elbe.  Despite being destroyed numerous times, the 352.Volksgrenadier-Division survived as a fighting unit until the War.  The Division laid down its arms in the Rhineland, surrendering to American forces near Nürnberg in May 1945. 

SOURCES