The 293. Infanterie-Division was formed in February 1940 as part of the 8. Welle (wave). It was disbanded in November 1943 after suffering heavy losses on the Eastern Front. The division staff formed the staff of the 359. Infanterie-Division and the remnants formed Divisions-Gruppe 293 which was assigned to Korps-Abteilung A.

Commanders

Generalleutnant Josef Rußwurm (? Feb 1940 - 4 June 1940)
Generalleutnant Justin von Obernitz (4 June 1940 - 19 Feb 1942)
Generalleutnant Werner Forst (19 Feb 1942 - 10 Jan 1943)
Generalleutnant Karl Arndt (10 Jan 1943 - 20 Nov 1943)

Operations Officers (Ia)

Hauptmann Otto Petersen (Feb 1940-1 Apr 1941)
Oberstleutnant Otto Rauser (1 Apr 1941-30 Jan 1942)
Oberstleutnant Franz von Klocke (30 Jan 1942-15 Jul 1943)
Oberstleutnant Kurt Tarbuk (15 Jul 1943-20 Nov 1943)

Area of operations

Germany (Feb 1940 - May 1940)
Belgium & France (May 1940 - June 1941)
Eastern front, central sector (June 1941 - Nov 1943)

Holders of high awards

Holders of the Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army (5)
- Bründel, Carl, 20.08.1941 (216), Oberstleutnant, Kdr. Pz.Jäg.Abt. 293
- Humboldt, Hermann, 08.03.1942 (811), Oberfeldwebel, Zugführer i. d. 3./Inf.Rgt. 510
- Redlich, Heinz, 07.11.1943 (2432), Leutnant, Kp.Fhr. 3./Gren.Rgt. 510
- Schulz, Karl-Ernst, 27.10.1943 (2355), Leutnant, stellv. Rgt.Adj. Gren.Rgt. 511
- Werner, Eberhard, 05.11.1943 (2409), Oberleutnant, Battr.Chef 9./Art.Rgt. 293
Holders of the German Cross in Gold (41)
Holders of the Honor Roll Clasp of the Heer (2)
- Dubik, Manfred, 25.10.1943, Gefreiter, 1./Pz.Jäg.Abt. 293
- Schulze, Werner, 28.11.1941, Hauptmann, II./Inf.Rgt. 510
Holders of the Knight's Cross (6)
- Arndt, Karl 23.01.1942 Oberst Kdr Inf.Rgt 511
- Dix, Kurt 31.03.1943 Feldwebel KpTruppführer 3./Gren.Rgt 510
- Herwig, Hans-Erich 25.01.1943 Oberleutnant d.R. Chef 7./Gren.Rgt 511
- Kopp, Karl 15.11.1941 Feldwebel Zugführer i. d. 11./Inf.Rgt 512
- Pilarski, Hubert 04.08.1943 Oberfeldwebel Zugführer i. d. 8./Gren.Rgt 511
- Schulze, Werner 01.03.1942 Major d.R. Kdr II./Inf.Rgt 510
Unit-Level Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army for Shooting Down Aircraft (1)
- Grenadier-Regiment 512
-- Date/Place of Downing: 11.01.1943 bei Perestrjasch
-- Award Date: 16.08.1943 (336)

Order of battle

Infanterie-Regiment 510
Infanterie-Regiment 511
Infanterie-Regiment 512
Artillerie-Regiment 293
Pionier-Bataillon 293
Feldersatz-Bataillon 293
Panzerjäger-Abteilung 293
Aufklärungs-Abteilung 293
Nachrichten-Abteilung 293
Nachschubführer 293

Notable members

Willi Stoph (Armeegeneral in the Nationale Volksarmee, Minister for National Defense (19 Jan 1956-14 July 1960) and Chairman of the Council of Ministers/Council of State (1964-1989) of the German Democratic Republic; served as a Gefreiter in Artillerie-Regiment 293 from 1940-1942)

Sources used

Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -