Infantry Division Kurland
The Infantry Division Courland was an infantry division of the German army during World War II.
The division was initially known under various different names, subsequently as 388th Field Training Division, Field Training Division North and Field Training Division Courland.
History
388th Field Training Division
The 388th Field Training Division was formed on 9 September 1942 with two regiments to serve as a training formation for the recruits of Army Group North on the Eastern Front; the division's personnel was drawn from Wehrkreis I for the staff, from Wehrkreis VIII for Infantry Training Regiment 639 and from Wehrkreis II for Infantry Training Regiment 640. The division was formed without artillery or divisional support units. Each of the two regiments contained three battalions, of which each battalion contained three companies each with six light machine guns and one 50mm mortar. Two of the battalions were additionally equipped with a company of nine heavy machine guns and three 80mm mortars each, whereas the respective third battalion of both regiments contained a pioneer platoon, a signals platoons, an infantry support sections and a Panzerjäger section.On 3 December 1943, orders were issued to expand the division in the timeframe until 1 April 1944 with four regiments. However, the expansion was never fully implemented and three battalions instead passed on to other formations. On 15 March 1944, the 388th Field Training Division received the Grenadier Field Training Battalion 391 from the 391st Field Training Division. The 388th Field Training Division was redesignated "Field Training Division North" on 19 May 1944.
Throughout the division's history, it was commanded by Johann Pflugbeil, whose advanced age and limited abilities as a field commander had already lead to several previous appointments to less prestigious and combat-ready formations, such as Landwehr Command Breslau or the 221st Security Division.