The 269. Infanterie-Division was formed on 26 August 1939 as part of the 4. Welle (wave). After manning the West Wall during the Polish campaign, the division took part in the invasions of Belgium and France in 1940. The division served on the Eastern Front from June 1941 seeing combat in Courland, before Leningrad and at Lake Logoda. Transferred to Norway in December 1942, it performed coastal defense, occupation and security duties in the area of Bergen. After moving to France in late 1944, the division fought in the Vosges and the Colmar pocket. In January 1945, a regiment of the division supported the 198. Infanterie-Division and the Panzer-Brigade 106 Feldherrnhalle in Operation “Sonnenwende” (Solstice), an unsuccessful attack on Strasbourg launched from the Colmar pocket. Deployed to the Eastern Front in late January 1945, the division defended the approaches to Breslau before moving southeast of the city in an unsuccessful bid to eliminate the Soviet bridgehead on the Oder at Ohlau. Reduced to a Kampfgruppe, the division – less some elements that remained in Breslau – withdrew into the Erz Mountains of Saxony where it surrendered to the Red Army in May 1945.

Commanders

General der Artillerie Ernst-Eberhard Hell (26 Aug 1939 - 12 Aug 1940)
Generalleutnant z.V. Wolfgang Edler Herr und Freiherr von Plotho (12 Aug 1940 - 1 Apr 1941)
General der Infanterie Ernst von Leyser (1 Apr 1941 - 1 Sep 1942)
Generalleutnant Kurt Badinski (1 Sep 1942 - 25 Nov 1943)
Generalleutnant Hans Wagner (25 Nov 1943 - 8 May 1945)

Operations Officers (Ia)

Major Hans-Joachim Ehlert (26 Aug 1939-1 Jun 1940)
Major Hans-Jürgen Freiherr von Ledebur (1 Jun 1940-10 Aug 1942)
Oberstleutnant Gerhard Wagner (10 Aug 1942-20 Aug 1944)
Major Alfred Schwutke (20 Aug 1944-10 Mar 1945)
Major Wolfdietrich Hiersemenzel (10 Mar 1945-1945)

Area of operations

Germany (Sep 1939 - May 1940)
France (May 1940 - June 1940)
Denmark (June 1940 - June 1941)
Eastern front, northern sector (June 1941 - Dec 1942)
Norway (Dec 1942 - Oct 1944)
France (Oct 1944 - Jan 1945)
Poland & Eastern Germany (Jan 1945 - May 1945)

Order of battle (1939)

Infanterie-Regiment 469
Infanterie-Regiment 480
Infanterie-Regiment 490
Aufklärungs-Abteilung 269
Artillerie-Regiment 269
- I. Abteilung
- II. Abteilung
- III. Abteilung
- IV. Abteilung
Pionier-Bataillon 269
Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 269
Nachrichten-Abteilung 269
Versorgungseinheiten 269

Order of battle (1942)

Grenadier-Regiment 469
Grenadier-Regiment 480
Grenadier-Regiment 490 (1)
Schnelle Abteilung 269
Artillerie-Regiment 269
- I. Abteilung
- II. Abteilung
- III. Abteilung
- IV. Abteilung (2)
Pionier-Bataillon 269
Nachrichten-Abteilung 269
Versorgungseinheiten 269

Order of battle (1943-1945)

Grenadier-Regiment 469
Grenadier-Regiment 480
Radfahr-Abteilung 269 (3)
Artillerie-Regiment 269
- I. Abteilung
- II. Abteilung
- III. Abteilung
- IV. Abteilung (4)
Pionier-Bataillon 269
Panzerjäger-Abteilung 269
Nachrichten-Abteilung 269
Feldersatz-Bataillon 269
Versorgungseinheiten 269

Notable members

Simon-Casimir Prinz zur Lippe (Oberstleutnant, Division Adjutant [IIa], Aug 1942-Feb 1944)

Footnotes

1. Disbanded on 2 December 1942.
2. Transferred to Artillerie-Regiment 169 of the 69. Infanterie-Division on 10 December 1942.
3. Redesignated Aufklärungs-Abteilung 269 on 20 April 1943 and Füsilier-Bataillon 269 on 27 January 1944.
4. On 25 Oct 1944, III./Artillerie-Regiment 274 of the 274. Infanterie-Division was transferred to the 269. Infanterie-Division and redesignated IV./Artillerie-Regiment 269.

Sources used

Jeffrey J. Clarke & Robert Ross Smith - Riviera to the Rhine: The United States Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations
Rolf Hinze – To the Bitter End: The Final Battles of Army Groups North Ukraine, A, Centre, Eastern Front, 1944-45
Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945

Reference material on this unit

Helmut Römhild - Geschichte der 269. Infanterie Division