206th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The German 206th Infantry Division (German designation "206. Infanterie-Division", nickname "Pique As", 'Ace of spades', after the divisional emblem), was a military unit that served during World War II. Like most German infantry units it had no motorization, and relied on leg and horse mobility. History. The 206th Infantry Division was raised on 17 August 1939 in Insterburg, East Prussia. It served during the invasion of Poland in 1939 as a reserve division for Army Group North. The 206th Infantry Division participated in Operation Typhoon as part of the XXIII Corps under the Ninth Army . At this time, the division was under the command of Lieutenant General Hugo Höfl. At the time of the Soviet Rzhev-Vyazma strategic offensive operation (8 January – 20 April 1942), Operation Mars, the division now led by Lieutenant General Alfons Hitter was again serving in XXIII Corps under the Ninth Army in the Molodoi Tud sector of the Rzhev salient. Here it came under attack by the Soviet 39th army of the Kalinin Front. The division is known to have used Marder Is from January 1943 to December 1943. In mid-1944, the division, still under the command of Lieutenant General  Alfons Hitter, was one of those defending the Vitebsk salient as part of 3rd Panzer Army's LIII Corps. The Soviet offensive, Operation Bagration, which commenced on 22 June, saw the entire corps encircled within a matter of days, after Soviet breakthroughs around the city. While the Oberkommando des Heeres, after realising the situation was hopeless, reluctantly authorised a breakout operation by the other three divisions involved, the 206th was ordered to stay in Vitebsk and fight to the last man. By 26 June, Soviet forces had fought their way into the city, and General Gollwitzer, LIII Corps' commander, ordered  the 206th to withdraw in defiance of the OKH orders. It was too late, however, and almost all the soldiers of the division were killed or taken prisoner. Its commander, Hitter, went on to join the NKFD in Soviet captivity. Commanders. From: 1 September 1939 Generalleutnant Hugo Höfl 10 July 1942 Generalleutnant Alfons Hitter 13 July 1943 Generalmajor Carl André 14 September 1943 Generalleutnant Alfons Hitter Component units. On formation: Changes to composition: By late 1943 the division was formed: References. Glantz, David M. (2000). Zhukov's Greatest Defeat:The Red Army's epic disaster in Operation Mars. London, Ian  Allan, 2000. .