703rd Infantry Division
The 703rd Infantry Division was a fictitious infantry division of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The troops designated as the 703rd Infantry Division never came close to the strength of an actual division.
Operational history
[edit]The 703rd Infantry Division was one of the four fictitious infantry divisions that the Wehrmacht pretended to have formed in the occupied Netherlands, the others being the 63rd, 219th, and 249th Infantry Divisions.[1]
The designation 703rd Infantry Division was given to the forces in the area of the fortress Ijmuiden in the occupied Netherlands. The Zandvoort local group received the designation Grenadier-Regiment 219, the local group Katwijk, formerly the 787th Turkic battalion, received the name Grenadier-Regiment 495, and the 24th ships cadre battalion became Grenadier-Regiment 579. The 703rd "division" was part of the 25th Army.[2] At the end of the war, the 703rd Division surrendered to British Army troops. The division had been commanded throughout its short lifespan by Hans Hüttner.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ Tessin, Georg (1977). "Aufstellung von Tarn-Divisionen in den Niederlanden". Die Waffengattungen - Gesamtübersicht. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 1. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 100–101. ISBN 3764810971.
- ^ Tessin, Georg (1977). Die Landstreitkräfte 631-800. Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945 (in German). Vol. 12. Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag. pp. 147–148. ISBN 3764810971.
- ^ Mitcham, Samuel W. (2007). "703rd Infantry Division". German Order of Battle: 291st-999th Infantry divisions, named infantry divisions, and special divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books. ISBN 0811734374.