101st Jäger Division
Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:44 pm
Hi all,
here's some basic info on 101st Jäger Division.
101st Jäger Division was a German Infantry Division of World War II. It was formed in July 1942, by the redesignation of the 101st Light Infantry Division, which was itself formed in December 1940. It took part in the Battle of Kharkov, then the Caucasus campaign and the retreat into the Kuban, where it suffered heavy losses, fighting both the Red Army and partisans.
The division was then involved in the battles around the Strait of Kerch, before being evacuated. The 101st was then transferred to the lower Dnieper River in late 1943. It was part of the 1st Panzer Army that was surrounded in March 1944, and during the breakout formed the rear guard for the XLVI Panzer Corps. The division then retreated across the Ukraine, and in October 1944 was moved to Slovakia and took part in the Battle of the Dukla Pass. During the last year of the war it fought in Hungary and Austria, and by the end of the war it had been reduced to the size of a Kampfgruppe.
Order of battle
Jäger Regiment 228
Jäger Regiment 229
Radfahr Battalion 101
Artillery Regiment 85
Pionier Battalion 101
Panzerjäger Battalion 101
Signals Battalion 101
Reserve Battalion 101
Versorgungseinheiten 101
Notable members
Willi Heinrich the author of The Willing Flesh, which was turned into the movie The Cross of Iron, served as a company officer in Jäger Regiment 228.
Does anybody know of a good book covering them? I'd also be interested to see some photos of the Jägers in southern Russia, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria.
I'm curious if anyone has ever done an impression based on this unit. Seeing as 'Band of Brothers' was so successful in generating interest in the US 101st, could it be said that 'Cross of Iron' could ever do the same for their German counterparts?
Having developed a Tunisian campaign gebirgsjaeger impression, I'd be quite interested to put all of that tropical kit to good use in southern Russia .
here's some basic info on 101st Jäger Division.
101st Jäger Division was a German Infantry Division of World War II. It was formed in July 1942, by the redesignation of the 101st Light Infantry Division, which was itself formed in December 1940. It took part in the Battle of Kharkov, then the Caucasus campaign and the retreat into the Kuban, where it suffered heavy losses, fighting both the Red Army and partisans.
The division was then involved in the battles around the Strait of Kerch, before being evacuated. The 101st was then transferred to the lower Dnieper River in late 1943. It was part of the 1st Panzer Army that was surrounded in March 1944, and during the breakout formed the rear guard for the XLVI Panzer Corps. The division then retreated across the Ukraine, and in October 1944 was moved to Slovakia and took part in the Battle of the Dukla Pass. During the last year of the war it fought in Hungary and Austria, and by the end of the war it had been reduced to the size of a Kampfgruppe.
Order of battle
Jäger Regiment 228
Jäger Regiment 229
Radfahr Battalion 101
Artillery Regiment 85
Pionier Battalion 101
Panzerjäger Battalion 101
Signals Battalion 101
Reserve Battalion 101
Versorgungseinheiten 101
Notable members
Willi Heinrich the author of The Willing Flesh, which was turned into the movie The Cross of Iron, served as a company officer in Jäger Regiment 228.
Does anybody know of a good book covering them? I'd also be interested to see some photos of the Jägers in southern Russia, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria.
I'm curious if anyone has ever done an impression based on this unit. Seeing as 'Band of Brothers' was so successful in generating interest in the US 101st, could it be said that 'Cross of Iron' could ever do the same for their German counterparts?
Having developed a Tunisian campaign gebirgsjaeger impression, I'd be quite interested to put all of that tropical kit to good use in southern Russia .