View source for 16th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

{{Short description|Infantry division of the Nazi German Army}}
{{multiple issues|
{{more citations needed|date=April 2014}}
{{More footnotes|date=May 2014}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = 16th Infantry Division<br />16th Motorized Infantry Division<br />16th {{Lang|de|Panzergrenadier|italic=no}}-Division
| image                         = 116th Panzer-Division logo.svg
| image_size                    = 125px
| caption                       = 116th Panzer Division, 1944–45
| dates                         = October 1934 – 8 May 1945
| country                       = {{flag|Nazi Germany}}
| branch                        = [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Army]]
| type                          = [[Panzer]]
| role                          = [[Armoured warfare]]
| size                          = [[Division (military)|Division]]
| command_structure             = 
| garrison                      = 
| garrison_label                = 
| nickname                      = 
| motto                         = 
| colors                        = 
| march                         = 
| mascot                        = 
| battles                       = World War II
*[[Battle of France]]
*[[Operation Barbarossa]]
*[[Battle of Stalingrad]]
*[[Allied invasion of Sicily]]
*[[Allied invasion of Italy]]
* [[Dnieper–Carpathian offensive|Dnieper-Carpathian Offensive]]
*[[Operation Overlord|Battle of Normandy]]
*[[Falaise Gap]]
*[[Battle of Aachen]]
*[[Battle of Hurtgen Forest]]
*[[Battle of the Bulge]]
*[[Ruhr Pocket]]
| notable_commanders            = [[Gotthard Heinrici]]<br>[[Gerhard von Schwerin]]
<!-- Insignia -->| identification_symbol         = [[File:Ww2 GermanDivision Panzer 16.svg|50px]]
| identification_symbol_label   = 16th Panzer Division
| identification_symbol_2       = 
| identification_symbol_2_label = 
| identification_symbol_3       = 
| identification_symbol_3_label = 
| identification_symbol_4       = 
| identification_symbol_4_label = 
}}

The '''16th Infantry Division''' of the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] was formed in 1934. On 26 August 1939 the division was mobilized for the [[invasion of Poland]] (1939). It participated in the [[Battle of France]] in August 1940. The division was then split, resulting in two independent units: The '''[[16th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|16th Panzer Division]]''' and the 16th Motorized Infantry Division. Then later, from 1944 onward, combined with other non 16th elements, was known as the [[116th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|116th Panzer Division]].

==16th Panzer Division==
{{main|16th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)}}
The 16th Panzer Division served as a reserve in [[Romania]] during the [[Balkans]] campaign in 1941. It then participated in [[Operation Barbarossa]] with [[Army Group South]], also in 1941.

A ''kampfgruppe'' of 16th Panzer Division, led by Count Strachwitz, reached the outskirts of Stalingrad on 23 August 1942, brushing aside the sole Soviet defences, anti-aircraft guns manned by female factory workers<ref>{{cite book |first1=David M. |last1=Glantz |first2=Jonathan |last2=House |title=The Stalingrad Trilogy |volume=2. "Armageddon in Stalingrad, September-November 1942" |publisher=University Press of Kansas |location=Lawrence, Kansas |year=2009 |page=1 |isbn=978-0-70061-664-0}}</ref> (possibly the [[1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment]]). The 16th Panzer Division was encircled and ultimately destroyed at [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] during the winter of 1942–43.{{sfnp|Mitcham|2000|p=131}}

It was rebuilt for a campaign in the west, fought in [[Sicily]] and southern [[Italy]] during the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian Campaign]] in 1943 and returned to the [[Eastern Front (WWII)|Russian Front]] later in the year. Severely mauled near [[Kiev]], it was withdrawn to [[Poland]] for rehabilitation in 1944. The 16th Panzer Division returned to the east in 1945, where it surrendered to the Soviets and Americans in [[Czechoslovakia]].{{sfnp|Mitcham|2000|p=132}}

==Motorized Division==
The 16th Motorized Infantry Division, nicknamed ''Windhund'' ("Greyhound"), participated in the [[Balkans]] campaign in 1941 along with the 16th Panzer Division (see above). It took part in [[Operation Barbarossa]] with Army Group South later in the year. It advanced on the [[Caucasus]] with elements coming to within 20 miles of [[Astrakhan]] on 14 September 1942 – the most easterly point reached by any German unit during the war.

It also participated in the [[Battle of Stalingrad]].<ref name=Adam>{{Cite book |last=Adam |first=Wilhelm |first2=Otto |last2=Ruhle |translator=Tony Le Tissier |title=With Paulus at Stalingrad |publisher=Pen and Sword Books Ltd. |year=2015 |ISBN=978-1-47383-386-9 |page=87}}</ref> The 16th Motorized Infantry Division participated in defensive operations after the Soviets broke up the front of the southern sector.

In June 1943, it was upgraded to 16th {{Lang|de|[[Panzergrenadier]]|italic=no}} Division. This upgraded formation was depleted in the continuous retreats and was transferred to France for rest and refitting.

==116th Panzer Division==
{{main|116th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)}}
In March 1944, it was reorganized as the [[116th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|116th Panzer Division]] (with the number changed since the 16th Panzer Division was already taken by its sibling), absorbing the [[179th Reserve Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|179th Reserve Panzer Division]] in the process. This new formation fought in the [[operation Overlord|Battle of Normandy]] and was almost destroyed in the [[Falaise Gap]].

It subsequently defended the [[Siegfried Line]] at [[Aachen]] in an understrength condition. The 116th Panzer Division was withdrawn for refitting and then recommitted, but was unable to hold the city of Aachen. It later participated in the [[Battle of Hurtgen Forest]] then in the [[Battle of the Bulge]], again sustaining heavy casualties. It was caught in the [[Wesel Pocket]], but got across the [[Rhine]], ultimately surrendering within the [[Ruhr Pocket]] in April, 1945.

==16th Volksgrenadier Division==
{{main|16th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht)}}
In parallel, a 16th Volksgrenadier Division was created in October 1944, which defended the [[Upper Rhine]] until March 1945, when it was forced to retreat deeper into Germany.

==War crimes==
The 16th Motorized Infantry Division has been implicated in the San Clemente di Caserta massacre, [[Campania]], on 4 October 1943, when 25 civilians were murdered.<ref name= "Clemente" >{{cite web |url=http://www.straginazifasciste.it/?page_id=38&id_strage=1202&lang=en |title=San Clemente di Caserta, Caserta, 4/10/1943 |website=Atlas of Nazi and Fascist Massacres in Italy |access-date=20 September 2018 |language=it }}</ref><ref name= "sixteenp" >{{cite web |url=http://www.straginazifasciste.it/?page_id=297&ricerca=94&lang=en |title=16. Panzer-Division |website=Atlas of Nazi and Fascist Massacres in Italy |access-date=20 September 2018 |language=it }}</ref>

== Organization ==
Structure of the division:<ref>{{Cite book |title=German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry Divisions in WWII |date=21 August 2007 |first=Samuel W. |last=Mitcham |location=Mechanicsburg, PA |publisher=Stackpole Books |page=45 |isbn=978-0-81174-654-0}}</ref>
* Headquarters
* 16th Reconnaissance Battalion
* 60th Infantry Regiment
* 64th Infantry Regiment
* 79th Infantry Regiment
* 16th Field Replacement Battalion
* 16th Engineer Battalion
* 16th Artillery Regiment
* 16th Anti-Tank Battalion
* 16th Signal Battalion
* 16th Divisional Supply Group

==Commanding officers==
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2020}}

=== 16th Infantry Division ===
* Generalleutnant [[Gerhard Glokke]] (October 1934 – 12 October 1937)
* Generalleutnant [[Gotthard Heinrici]] (12 October 1937 – 31 January 1940)
* Generalmajor [[Heinrich Krampf]] (1 February 1940 – 31 May 1940)
* Generalmajor [[Hans-Valentin Hube]] (1 June 1940 – 6 August 1940)

=== 16th Motorized Infantry Division ===
* Generalleutnant [[Friedrich-Wilhelm von Chappuis]] (12 August 1940 – 15 March 1941)
* Generalleutnant [[Sigfrid Henrici]] (15 March 1941 – Mid August 1941)
* Generalleutnant [[Johannes Streich]] (Mid August 1941 – Mid November 1941)
* Generalleutnant Sigfrid Henrici (Mid November 1941 – 13 November 1942)
* Generalmajor [[Gerhard Graf von Schwerin]] (13 November 1942 – 20 May 1943)
* Oberst [[Wilhelm Crisolli]] (20 May 1943 – 27 June 1943)

=== 16th Panzergrenadier Division ===
* General der Panzertruppen [[Gerhard Graf von Schwerin]] (27 June 1943 – January 1944)
* Generalmajor Günther von Manteuffel (January 1944 – March 1944)
* Generalmajor Karl Stingl (March 1944)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{Cite book |last1=Mitcham |first1=Samuel W. |year=2000 |title=The Panzer Legions |location=[[Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|Mechanicsburg]], PA |publisher=[[Stackpole Books]] |isbn=978-0-8117-3353-3}}
* {{cite book |first=Burkhard |last=Müller-Hillebrand |title=Das Heer 1933–1945. Entwicklung des organisatorischen Aufbaues |volume= III: Der Zweifrontenkrieg. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende |publisher=Mittler |location=Frankfurt am Main |year=1969 |page=286 |language=de}}
* {{cite book |first=Georg |last=Tessin |title=Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg, 1939–1945 |volume=IV: Die Landstreitkräfte 15–30 |publisher=Mittler |location=Frankfurt am Main |year=1970 |language=de}}

{{German Armoured Divisions of World War II}}{{Panzergrenadier divisions of the Wehrmacht}}{{Numbered infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht}}{{Nazi war crimes in Italy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:16th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)}}
[[Category:Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II|0*016]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1934]]
[[Category:1934 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:German units at the Battle of Stalingrad|1*16]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of Germany in Yugoslavia in World War II]]