{{Infobox military unit | unit_name = 293rd Infantry Division | native_name = 293. Infanterie-Division | image = | caption = | country = {{flag|Nazi Germany}} | type = Infantry | allegiance = Wehrmacht | branch = Army | dates = June 1940 – September 1944 | command_structure = | size = Division | garrison = Berlin, Wehrkreis III | nickname = Bear | motto = | colors = | march = | mascot = | battles = World War II | notable_commanders = }}
The '''293rd Infantry Division''' was a German infantry division in World War II. It was formed on 2 February 1940 and was sent to Belgium in June of 1940 then sent to the English channel in France in July in preparation of Operation Sea Lion. In November it was assigned to Nantes then sent to Poland in march 1941. It took part in operation Barbarossa and it fought at Brest-Litovsk, Pinsk, Kiev, and Bryansk and defended against the Soviet counter offensive in late 1941 and early 1942. It occupied a section near Mzensk from February to September 1942. It fought in the battle of Kursk and Bryansk and took heavy casualties in September at Kharkov. With such losses it was downgraded to Division-Gruppe 293 in November 1943. It was eventually destroyed at Jassy, Romania in August and September 1944. The remnants of the division served as the basis of the 359th Infantry Division and the '''Divisions-Gruppe 293'''.
==Noteworthy individuals==
=== Commanding officers === *''Generalleutnant'' Josef Rußwurm, February – 4 June 1940 *''Generalleutnant'' Justin von Obernitz, 4 June 1940 – 19 February 1942 *''Generalleutnant'' Werner Forst, 19 February 1942 – 10 January 1943 *''Generalleutnant'' Karl Arndt, 10 January 1943 – 20 November 1943
=== Others ===
* Willi Stoph, served in the enlisted ranks of the 293rd Infantry Division's artillery regiment; later head of government of East Germany (1964–1973).<ref>{{Cite book |author=Rogers |first=Steven |title=Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History |publisher=ABC Clio |year=2014 |isbn=9781598849806 |editor-last=Zabecki, David T. |volume=3 |pages=1244–1245 |chapter=Stoph, Willi (1914–1999)}}</ref>
== References == <references />
==Literature== * Tessin, Georg (1974). ''Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945.'' Neunter Band. Die Landstreitkräfte 281–370. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück. {{ISBN|3-7648-0872-1}}.
==External links== *[http://www.axishistory.com/axis-nations/3540-293-infanterie-division Axis history] *[http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Infanteriedivisionen/293ID-R.htm Lexikon der Wehrmacht] {{Numbered infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht}}{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
Category:Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Category:Military units and formations established in 1940 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1943
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