285th_Security_Division_(Wehrmacht)

285th Security Division (Wehrmacht)

285th Security Division (Wehrmacht)

Military unit

The 285th Security Division (285. Sicherungs-Division) was a rear-security division in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. The unit was deployed in German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, in the Army Group North Rear Area.

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Operational history

The division was formed in 1941, prior the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa. It operated in the occupied Baltic States and Northern Russia behind Army Group North's front lines.[1] Its duties included security of communications and supply lines, economic exploitation and combatting irregular fighters (partisans) in Wehrmacht's rear areas.[2]

The division was subordinated to Franz von Roques, commander of Army Group North Rear Area. Along with other security and police forces in the occupied territories, the division participated in war crimes against prisoners of war and civilian population. For the period from 22 June to 1 December 1941, the division reported 1,500 enemies "killed in battle" or shot as "partisans", for the loss of seven dead and eleven wounded.[3]

See also

References

Citations

  1. [1]
    Keller 2012, p. 53.
  2. [2]
    Shepherd 2003, p. 70.
  3. [3]
    Messerschmidt 2004, p. 395.

Bibliography

  • Keller, Bastian (2012). Der Ostfeldzug: Die Wehrmacht im Vernichtungskrieg: Planung, Kooperation, Verantwortung. Hamburg: Diplomica-Verlag. ISBN 978-3842882676.
  • Messerschmidt, Manfred (2004). "Forward Defence: The 'Memorandum of the Generals' for the Nuremberg Court". In Hannes Heer; Klaus Naumann (eds.). War of Extermination: The German Military In World War II. Berghahn Books. ISBN 1-57181-232-6.
  • Shepherd, Ben H. (2003). "The Continuum of Brutality: Wehrmacht Security Divisions in Central Russia, 1942". German History. 21 (1): 49–81. doi:10.1191/0266355403gh274oa.

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