The 16. Luftwaffen-Feld-Division was formed on 1 December 1942 by the XIII. Fliegerkorps. It was transferred to the Heer on 1 November 1943 and redesignated 16. Feld-Division (L). It was deployed in the Hague-Haarlem area of the Netherlands as an occupation force. In June 1944, the division was sent to Normandy under the control of Heeresgruppe B and was placed in the front lines on 2 July. The British launched an offensive the day after the division arrived and, by late July, it had been effectively destroyed in the defense of Caen. The division was formally dissolved on 4 August 1944. Its remaining infantry was allocated to the 21. Panzer-Division while other elements were used to form the 16. Infanterie-Division.

Commanders

Oberst Otto Lachemair (1 Dec 1942 - ? Nov 1943)
Generalleutnant Karl Sievers (5 Nov 1943 - 30 July 1944)

Operations Officers (Ia)

Hauptmann Otto Wilhelm (Dec 1942 - 1 Nov 1943)
Oberstleutnant Hans Bickel (1 Nov 1943 - 20 Jan 1944)
Oberstleutnant Dietmar Eckert (20 Jan 1944 - Aug 1944)

Area of operations

Germany (Dec 1942 - Feb 1943)
Netherlands (Feb 1943 - June 1944)
France (June 1944 - Aug 1944)

Order of battle

Stab der Division
Jäger-Regiment 31 (L)
Jäger-Regiment 32 (L)
Jäger-Regiment 46 (L)
Divisions-Füsilier-Bataillon 16 (L)
Artillerie-Regiment 16 (L)
Panzerjäger-Abteilung 16 (L)
Pionier-Bataillon 16 (L)
Nachrichten-Abteilung 16 (L)
Feldersatz-Bataillon 16 (L)
Versorgungstruppen 16 (L)

Soldiers of 16. Feld-Division (L) near a factory in Colombelles, France

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Soldiers of 16. Feld-Division (L) at a medical station under a bride in Colombelles, France

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Sources used

Antonio Muñoz - Göring’s Grenadiers: The Luftwaffe Field Divisions, 1942-1945
Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -