708. Infanterie Division

 

The division was raised in May 1941 as a static division and was soon sent to defend the coast of the Biscay.1 Its organization looked as follows at the end of July 19442:

The 360. Rgt was actually composed of Cossacks. It had been formed in April 1944 from the previous two Cossack battalions 622 and 623.3 The Div.Füs.Btl was the former II./Inf.Rgt. 748.4 On 1 April it was reported that the division was 541 men below authorized strength.5 On 4 August it was reported that the division had a strength of 8 123.6 It seems that the Cossack regiment did not move to Normandy.

Equipment of the artillery batteries was7:

1./Art.Rgt. 708 four French 10,5 cm howitzers
2./Art.Rgt. 708 four French 10,5 cm howitzers
3./Art.Rgt. 708 four French 10,5 cm howitzers
4./Art.Rgt. 708 four French 10,5 cm howitzers
5./Art.Rgt. 708 four Russian 7,62 cm guns
6./Art.Rgt. 708 four Russian 7,62 cm guns
7./Art.Rgt. 708 four Russian 7,62 cm guns
8./Art.Rgt. 708 four Russian 12,2 cm howitzers
9./Art.Rgt. 708 four Russian 12,2 cm howitzers

When the division began to move towards Normandy the US forces had already broken out. This meant that the division would frequently find its appraoch routes to be in enemy hands.

On 2 August the division was marching in several groups8:

I. Group (towards Angers):

2./Pz.Jäg.Kp. AOK 1 (a GHQ unit)
14./Gren.Rgt. 728
One platoon of the Flak company

II. Group (towards Niort):

Div.Stab
Nachr.Abt. (mot. Teile)
1/2 plut ur Flak-Kp.

III. Group (towards Angers):

Füs.Btl.
14./Gren.Rgt. 748
One (Sf) platoon of the Flak company

IV. Group (towards Niort):

Rear services

Also the staff of the artillery regiment plus batteries 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 were moving out of the Royan area, as was the staff company of Gren.Rgt. 728, the staff of I./Gren.Rgt. 728 and companies 1./Gren.Rgt. 728 and 2./Gren.Rgt. 7289

On 4 July the Füs.Btl. and two Pz.Jäg.Kp. were located between Laval and Angers. Just north of Angers were three battalions, one artillery battery and one engineer company. The division staff and rear services were south of Angers.10

This meant that the division's route to Normandy was soon to be cut by advancing US forces. On 5 August the US 313th Infantry Regiment appeared outside Laval and two days later elements of the US 5th Armoured Division reached the area south of Le Mans.11

On 5 August combat elements of the divsision had reached the following positions12:

Laval:

Füs.Btl. 708
14./Gren.Rgt. 708

le Lion d'Angers:

1./Pz.Jäg.Abt. 708

In the area Le Mans - Sillé le Guillaume - Sablé sur Sarthe:

I./Gren.Rgt. 728
III./Gren.Rgt. 728
14./Gren.Rgt. 728
I./Gren.Rgt. 748
III./Gren.Rgt. 748
14./Gren.Rgt. 748
2./Art.Rgt. 1708
3./Art.Rgt. 1708
4./Art.Rgt. 1708
Sich.Rgt. 1

The rest of the division seems to have been south of the Loire.

On 7 August the Gren.Rgt. 728, Pi.Btl 708 and 3./Art.Rgt. 1708 were located east of Mayenne. Around Evron one battalion from Sich.Rgt. 1 and the 3./Art.Rgt. 1708 were found. In St. Suzanne and southeast of the town the I./Gren.Rgt. 748, III./Gren.Rgt. 748, Füs.Btl. 708, 3./Art.Rgt. 1708 and 4./Art.Rgt. 1708 were deployed.12 This meant that the weak division was spread out over a sector of 40 km.

Possibly large parts of Gren.Rgt. 748 were surrounded at Le Mans and destroyed.14 Elements of it, under command of Col. Viebahn, broke out of encirclement.15

Probably the remaining parts of the division never arrived in Normandy. On 6 August it was reported that 29 of the 37 trains had departed. 21 trains had unloaded.16 On 7 August only 25 of the 37 trains needed to transport the division had unloaded.17 Most of the artillery regiment remained in the area of 1. Armee during August.18

It seems that the division employed about 5 000 men in Normandy, while the rest remained south of the Loire and retreated towards the Vosges in eastern France. Those elements committed to the battle in Normandy, units with poor mobility employed over a vast Front against a numerically superior and motorized enemy with air superiority, seem to have been largely destroyed. Probably losses amounted to at least 4 000, mainly in the form of prisoners.

 

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Notes:

1

G. Tessin, Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS (Mittler & Sohn, Frankfurt am Main and Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1966-1975).

2

Anlagen zum KTB LXXXI. A.K. Ia, Gliderung der 708. Inf.Div., T314, R1593, F969.

3

Ibid.

4

Ibid.

5

WFST/Op. (H)/West Nr.004662/44 g.Kdos, den 3. Mai 1944, Fehlstellen der Divisionen im Bereich OB West, Stand 1.4.44, T77, R1421, F000237f.

6

Anlagen zu KTB AOK 1 Qu, Anlage zu Gen.Kdo. LXXX. A.K. IIb 1325/44 geh. 4.8.44, T312, R29, F7537182. Strength refer to Iststärke.

7

Anlagen zum KTB LXXXI. A.K. Ia, Gliderung der 708. Inf.Div., T314, R1593, F969.

8

See AOK 7 Ia Nr. 4151/44 g.Kdos. den 2.8.44, T312, R1569, F000357 and AOK 7 Ia Nr. 4176/44 g.Kdos. den 3.8.44, T312, R1569, F000361.

9

Ibid.

10

OB West Ia Nr. 6403/44 .Kdos, T311, R28, F7035149.

11

See M. Blumenson, Breakout and Pursuit (Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, Washington D.C. 1961) p. 426f.

12

KTB LXXXI. A.K. Ia, Lagekarten, T 314, R1594, F000001ff.

13

Ibid.

14

Ibid, see Lagekarte 9.8.44, 24.00.

15

See B. Gerloch, Bericht über die Kämpfe der 708. Inf.Division in der Zeit vom 10.8 - 19.8.44 in der Normandie, MS # B-230, p. 2 and KTB LXXXI. A.K. Ia, Lagekarte 11.8.44, T 314, R1594, F000016.

16

See OB West Ia Nr. 6435/44 g.Kdos, 4.8.44, T311, R28, F7035146 and OB West Ia Nr. 6555/44 g.Kdos, 6.8.44, T311, R28, F7035219.

17

OB West Ia Nr. 6610/44 g.Kdos, 7.8.44, T311, R28, F7035267.

18

K. Hold, Organsation und Gliederung der 1: Armee in der Zeit vom 11.8.44 - 14.2.45, MS # B-732, Chart depicting Gliederung AOK 1 10.8 - 16.8.