The 11th Infantry Regiment

Set up on the 1st January, 1921 as 11. (Saxon) infantry regiment in Leipzig with three battalions: I. Battalion in Freiberg, in Leipzig, II and III of battalion as well as all regiment units in the prince Johann-Georg-Kaserne in Leipzig. On the 1st October, 1934 named infantry regiment Leipzig and on the 16th October, 1935 renamed in infantry regiment 11. Out of the regiment the 4th division and from 1934 the 14th infantry division was formed.

The regiment was used in 1923 against the disturbances breaking out in Leipzig.

In 1938 I. Battalion became under command of the 32 infantry regiment, with the mobilization again returned to the 14 ID.

At the beginning of August, 1939 the regiment was carried to a so-called Schanzeinsatz to Upper Silesia, as preparations for the Poland campaign.

Poland

With the first attack order on the 26th August, 1939 the III battalion already pushed ahead about the Polish border, before it could be recalled.

On the 1st September, 1939 the regiment from the Rosenberg area pushed forward in the direction of Tschenstochau on Polish ground. With Klepaczka it came to the first fight with Polish unities. Here lieutenant Baunack died as the first officer of the regiment of the 9th company by a stomach wound. He was buried in the place in the eastern side of a barn. The regiment pushed ahead along Tschentstochau to Lublin where it arrived on the 18th September. In Poland the Regiment marched for 450 kms west.

Then the regiment was loaded in trains and was transported by railway to Krefeld. Here soldiers had a short holiday in the homeland and al the materials were repaired

Holland/Belgium

On the 10th May, 1940 the regiment crossed the Dutch border at Karken near the Dutch town or Roermond.

On the 11th May, 1940 the Albert's channel was crossed in Belgium. On the 17th May Leuven was reached. Now 1^st battalion was motorized and marched up to Brussels.

The city was handed over to the commander of the Regiment, major Weiss.

It went Further to Flanders, crossing the Lys up to Paschendaele where the Regiment hit on difficult resistance. After the surrender of the Belgian army the regiment penetrated to the channel in direction of Dunkirk.

On the 4th June, 1940 the English Channel was reached at Malo of the Bains. The regiment persevered here some days and, finally, marched up on the 10th July, 1940 in the area Orleans. From the 29th September the return transportation took place to Leipzig.

On the 15th October, 1940 the regiment was motorized and the covered parts was delivered to the 122nd infantry division.

On the 11th July, 1941 the transfer took place to East Prussia in the area to the south of Bischofsburg.

Russia

By the attack on the Soviet Union the regiment pushed forward on both sides of the road Suwalki - Kalwaria to Lithuania. On the 25th June Njemen was crossed, Vilnius was reached on the 26th. Next it went in the direction of Minsk where the trap was closed around the Russian groups in this area. At the end of June, 1941 the regiment reached Welisch in the area of Drissa. In July and August, 1941 battles southeast from Newel followed in September the fighting for Cholm. From the 20th September the regiment lay near Demidow in peace what was also urgently necessary with the stamped losses. Then from the 3rd October it went on in direction of north, since the mud period entered and made every movement till the middle of November impossible.

On the 28th November, 1941 the regiment reached the most eastern point of its action with Dimitrow on the Moscow Volga channel, approximately 60 kms to the north of Moscow. The strains which had had to produce the ordinary soldiers for this success were unthinkable and, nevertheless, only the beginning. All forces were exhausted and now started the winter which met the troop because of Hitler's prohibition, to hand out winter clothes, completely unprepared. On the 6th December, 1941 the red army lined up to the counter attack, the regiment had to withdraw.

Moreover, frostbites in big number weakened the regiment. At the end of January the regiment landed in the region northwest from Gshazk. Here the regiment could hold its positions till the beginning of March. At the beginning of March the regiment was pulled from the front and was moved near Rshew where it was thrown from the trains directly in the battle. The regiment was used northwest of Rshew,near Mulodi Tud and remained there the majority of 1942. From the 4th to the 17th July, 1942 the regiment participated in a limited attack enterprise in the direction of Belyi (the "Zydlitz" undertake). In July and August, 1942 the regiment was used in the battle space to the north of the Volga and to the east of Rshew. The III battalion was used farther south and, was destroyed entirely. On the 15th October, 1942 the infantry regiment was renamed in grenadier's regiment (mot) 11.

Grenadier's regiment (mot) 11 appeared on the 15th October, 1942 from the infantry regiment (mot) 11 and the 14th infantry division subordinates. The regiment was used in the battle space Rshew. With the difficult fighting in this area the regiment suffered so high losses that it had to be summarized on the 20th December, 1942 to a company "Staiger". The minimal strength still amounted to 20 officers and to 494 non-commissioned officers and teams. Then in December, 1942 these remainders of the regiment were pulled from the front and were replaced by the grenadier's regiment 18. The remaining 210 men of the regiment were moved into the area of Sytschewka and there the regiment with its two battalions was refreshed again.

From the 1st March the evacuation of the Rshew curve, the so-called "buffalo's movement" followed. At the end of March the regiment reached the area Smolensk and went over here again to rest. Here the III battalion was also set up again. From May 1^st, 1943 the regiment became demotorised. Again the regiment was used in the Smolensk area. The difficult fighting brought the regiment farther to the west in the area Roslaw, from where it was transported by railway to the north in the area to the west of Demidow. Farther it was westward in direction of Witebsk from October 1943 the regiment got stuck in the difficult nine-month battles for the city. The regiment was pulled back from the front at the end of March, 1944 together with the division army group reserve. After the large-scale Russian attack on the 22nd June, 1944 the regiment was used against the broken wedges of the red army near Boguschewskoja. With these attacks the regiment and with him the whole division was smashed. Only some units could escape to the west.

On the 29th July, 1944 the I. and II battalion where rebuild by renaming the 1069 grenadier's regiment. Now the regiment was used in the area northeast and to the west of Grodno, later then at Ossowiec and, finally, in Ostrolenka.

Here the regiment transferred to the west bank of the Narwa and covered prepared positions which were made by the East Prussian civilian population. After the Russian major offensive from middle of January, 1945 the regiment could still hold its positions for the moment, however, it had to retreat on the 18th January. On the 24th January the old imperial border was crossed near Ortelsburg. On the 26th January Bischofsburg was reached, at the beginning of February, Wormditt in Braunsberg on 9th February. The remainders of the regiment were pushed on the Frischen Nehrung southwest by cape Balga. Parts of the regiment could still escape on ships to the west wile the majority went into Russian captivity.