29th June 1943
Barlog 8726

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FPN 24044

(Stab u. 2.-5. Schwadron Aufklarungs-Abteilung 30)

The 30th Infantry Division was a large unit of the German Wehrmacht.

The division was formed on 1st October 1936 in Wehrkreis X (Hamburg) in Lübeck from the Infantry Regiment 6.

On 26th August 1939, the division was mobilised as part of the first wave of formation, and was given the I./IR. 26 and the III./IR. 6 as well as a field replacement battalion 30 through new formation. A squadron of the 13th Cavalry Regiment from Lüneburg and the 3rd Company of the 52nd Machine Gun Battalion were also placed under its command. The II. Division of the 66th Artillery Regiment was transferred to the Army Artillery.

At the beginning of the war of aggression against Poland, the division attacked on 1st September 1939 on the left open wing of Army Group South as part of the X. Army Corps under General of Artillery Wilhelm Ulex from the area northeast of Breslau in the general direction of Lodz. In the next few days there were battles in the Kalisch area, during the Warta crossing at Warta, and also at Kol. Baiin, Niewiesz and Uniejew. At the Bzura it suffered heavy losses when it had to repel fierce counterattacks and breakout attempts by the encircled Polish troops in order to prevent a breakthrough through the HKL of the 8th Army. Its commander, Major General Kurt von Briesen, personally led his last battalion held in reserve into battle, was seriously wounded and lost his right forearm.

The division, henceforth known as the 'Briesen Division', went on to pursue the defeated enemy into the area north of Łowicz.

After the fighting in Poland ended, the division was transferred to the Eifel to secure the border. The cavalry squadron was transferred and the 30th Field Replacement Battalion was transferred to the 170th Infantry Division.

In the winter of 1939/40, the division took over the security of the border at the Limburg tip between Viersen and Mönchengladbach.

For the Western campaign in May 1940, the division was placed under the command of the 30th Bicycle Squadron from Lübeck and, until 15th May 1940, the Reconnaissance Division (motorised) from Königsberg, which had been brought in by the High Command of the Army.

The 30th Infantry Division attacked in the formation of the 6th Army through southern Holland and Belgium, crossed the Meuse between Venlo and Roermond , crossed the Albert Canal north of Leuven, took part in the attack across the Dendre, broke through the Scheldt position at Audenarde, forced the crossing of the Lys and the Roulers Canal and led its final attack across the Yser southeast of Ypres.

The division was now placed under the Army High Command as a reserve, marched after the advancing army and took over the occupation of Paris from 16th June, where it remained until August 1940.

The division then moved to the area between Caen and Lisieux to take part in the preparations for 'Operation Sea Lion' - the planned landing in England. After these preparations were aborted, the division became an occupation force between Leyden, The Hague and Utrecht until April 1941 .

In May 1941 the division was relocated to Insterburg in East Prussia. From there the division took part in the attack on the Soviet Union on 22nd June 1941. The 30th Infantry Division was assigned to Army Group North and was tasked with overcoming the Soviet border fortifications south of the Memel. First Lieutenant Weiss from the 30th Pioneer Battalion created gaps in the wire obstacles so that the division's infantry regiments could move up. The Red Army's resistance only began after the grenadiers approached their fortified positions, which could not be eliminated despite strong artillery support and assault guns. The Red Army soldiers allowed themselves to be overrun by the first wave of German attacks and then took up the fight in ambush using sniper activity and targeted attacks on rear units, officers, supply troops and messengers. North of Daugavpils (Dünaburg), the division crossed the Daugava and advanced into the Opochka area. In July and August, it took part in the pursuit battles southeast of the Dno and turned east to attack via Staraya Russa to the Lovat. In August 1941, the 30th Infantry Division broke into the Soviet defensive positions of the important transport hub of Staraya Russa, but IR 6 and IR 26 failed to completely take the deep defensive system. The defence was taken over by Leningrad workers' militias, who defended themselves in close combat. The 30th Infantry Division suffered a number of losses due to the detonation of wooden mines, which the engineers were unable to detect. On 6th August 1942, the fighting shifted to the burning eastern part of the city, where bitter house-to-house fighting ensued. In January 1942, the Soviet 34th Army broke through the divisional border between the 290th Infantry Division and the 30th Infantry Division and opened a series of heavy battles in the area around Lake Seliger .

This marked the beginning of the attack on the Valdai Heights and, from September, the positional battles north of Demyansk between Lushno and Lychkova. The defensive battle developed between the German divisions that had been surrounded in the Demyansk pocket since February 1942, including the 30th Infantry Division.

In the Demyansk pocket, the division primarily held the north-eastern section of the pocket front. After the Demyansk combat area had been evacuated, it took over the defense of Staraya Russa, where it took part in the subsequent defensive battles. Its defense front extended to Lake Ilmen and later to Shimsk.

With the start of the Soviet winter offensive in January/February 1944 between Leningrad and Lake Ilmen, the positions had to be evacuated and the retreat to the 'Panther Position' began. The division was now fighting defensively east of Ostrow and Opochka, and later south of Pleskau. From July to October 1944, the retreat battles continued into the Baltic States. The division fought in the 'Marienburg' position, fought at the Embach and withdrew via Riga to Courland in October.

The division experienced the 1st Battle of Courland north of Vainode and east of Prekuln. In the 2nd Battle of Courland the soldiers fought northeast of Preekuln, after which they were relocated southeast of Libau. In the last months of the war in 1945 the division fought on the Barta sector west of Skuodas and southeast of Prekuln.

After the surrender, the division initially marched towards the then German border to Krottingen, until it was taken prisoner by Soviet troops in early June.

Source: Wikipedia

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