The 329. Infanterie-Division was formed in December 1941 as a “Walküre”-Division (1) under the 17. Welle (wave). It was reinforced in November 1944 by the remnants of the disbanded Jäger-Regiment 42 (L), a former component of the 21. Feld-Division (L). It surrendered to the Red Army in Courland in May 1945.

Commanders

Generalleutnant Helmuth Castorf (30 Dec 1941 - 7 Mar 1942)
Generalmajor Bruno Hippler (7 Mar 1942 - 22 Mar 1942)
General der Infanterie Dr. Johannes Mayer (22 Mar 1942 - 9 Aug 1943)
Generalleutnant Paul Winter (9 Aug 1943 - ? Sep 1943)
General der Infanterie Dr. Dr. Ing. Johannes Mayer (22 Mar 1942 - 9 Aug 1943) (2)
Generalmajor der Reserve Werner Schulze (16 July 1944 - 20 Oct 1944)
Generalleutnant Konrad Menkel (20 Oct 1944 - 1 Jan 1945)
Generalmajor der Reserve Werner Schulze (1 Jan 1945 - ? 1945)
Generalleutnant Konrad Menkel (? 1945 - 8 May 1945)

Area of operations

Eastern front, northern sector (Dec 1941 - Mar 1944)
Eastern front, central sector (Mar 1944 - June 1944)
Eastern front, northern sector (June 1944 - Oct 1944)
Kurland pocket (Oct 1944 - May 1945)

Nicknames

Hammer-Division

Holders of high awards

Holders of the Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army (9)
- Eberle, Rudolf, 15.01.1944 (2737), Major, Ib 329. Inf.Div.
- Gehrke, Erich, 17.04.1944 (3141), Hauptmann, Btl.Fhr. I./Gren.Rgt. 553
- Hofmann, Herbert, 17.04.1944 (3143), Oberleutnant, Chef 5./Gren.Rgt. 551
- Kackert, Peter, 27.09.1944 (4044), Unteroffizier, VB i. d. 12./Art.Rgt. 329
- Reitz, Werner, 07.09.1944 (3859), Oberleutnant, Ord.Offz. Stab/Gren.Rgt. 551
- Vesper, Heinz, 17.09.1941 (3918), Hauptmann, Kdr. I./Gren.Rgt. 552
- Wiese, Hubert, 25.08.1944 (3770), Oberst, Kdr. Gren.Rgt. 552
- Wulfert, Hermann, 17.04.1944 (3146), Unteroffizier, Gruppenführer i. d. 1./Gren.Rgt. 553
- Zache, Richard, 17.02.1944 (2864), Leutnant, Zugführer i. d. 14./Gren.Rgt. 552
Holders of the Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army for Shooting Down Aircraft (1)
- Füchtenhans, Theo, 01.05.1944 (490), Obergefreiter, 8./Gren.Rgt. 551
Holders of the German Cross in Gold (46)
Holders of the German Cross in Silver (2)
- Pellen, Johann, 18.08.1944, Oberfeldwebel, 7./Gren.Rgt. 551
- Wolf, Friedrich, 12.07.1944, Major d.R., Div.Nachsch.Tr. 329
Holders of the Honor Roll Clasp of the Heer (43)
Holders of the Knight's Cross (15) (11 RK + 3 EL + 1 SW)
Unit-Level Commendation Certificate of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army for Shooting Down Aircraft (1)
- 6./Grenadier-Regiment 552
-- Date/Place of Downing: 20.05.1944 bei Pustoschka
-- Award Date: 01.08.1944 (508)

Order of battle (1941)

Infanterie-Regiment 551
Infanterie-Regiment 552
Infanterie-Regiment 553
Artillerie-Regiment 329
Divisionseinheiten 329

Order of battle (1944)

Grenadier-Regiment 551
Grenadier-Regiment 552
Jäger-Regiment 42 (L)
Artillerie-Regiment 329
Divisionseinheiten 329

Footnotes

1. Four divisions were formed in December 1941 under the code word “Walküre” from elements of the Ersatzheer as reinforcements for the Eastern Front.
2. Johannes Mayer went to college prior to WW1 already and studied theology because he was a son of a pastor. With the outbreak of WW1 he volunteered for the infantry. Between the world wars he went to college again and achieved two doctor titles : Dr. rer. pol. [Volkswirtschaftslehre / political economy] and Dr. Ing. [Ingenieurswesen / engineering].

Sources used

Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945
Unit insignia illustration courtesy of Wikimedia

Reference material on this unit

Herbert Franzen - 329. Infanterie-Division: Erinnerungen aus dem Kampfgeschehen 1942-1945
Klaus Pape - 329. Infanterie-Division: Cholm – Demjansk – Kurland