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600th Infantry Division

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600th (Russian) Infantry Division
German: 600. (russische) Infanterie-Division
RLA chevron
ActiveDecember 1944 – May 1945
Country Nazi Germany
Branch Heer (Wehrmacht)
RoleInfantry
SizeDivision
EngagementsWorld War II
Military unit

The 600th (Russian) Infantry Division was a military division that was formed by the German Army during the World War II. It drew its men from Russian prisoners of war and forced laborers.

History

The division was established on 1 December 1944 and was also known as the 1st Infantry Division of the Russian Liberation Army. The division was built up in Münsingen and was formally part of the Ersatzheer, the reserve army of the Wehrmacht, during the build-up period. On 28 January 1945, when construction was completed, the command was handed over to the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (KONR), which was granted the status of ally. In Andrey Vlasov, the army of the KONR, the VS KONR, had its own commander-in-chief and thus an independent position with regard to the Wehrmacht.

At the beginning of May the division stopped in the Czech village of Kozojedy, about 50 kilometres east of Prague. Here, Bunyachenko was approached by representatives of the Czech resistance, who prepared an uprising in Prague to expel the Germans from the city. The uprising broke out on May 5 and was assisted by the 1st Division the next day without the knowledge of Vlasov. In the fighting with German troops, around 300 soldiers from the division were killed. Although thanks to the Russians most of the city could be freed, their help aroused the anger of the Czech Communists, who demanded that they surrender to the Red Army.

On 7 May, the division withdrew westward from Prague. The next day Germany capitulated. The division finally tried to surrender to the Americans, who, in spite of international law, extradited the Russians to the Soviet Union, where the soldiers ended up in Gulag camps. Bunyachenko was hanged after a trial, just like the other KONR leaders, on 1 August 1946.

Commanders

See also

Sources

Numbered infantry divisions of the German Army (1935–1945)
1st – 99th
1st – 9th
10th – 19th
20th – 29th
30th – 39th
40th – 49th
50th – 59th
60th – 69th
70th – 79th
80th – 89th
90th – 99th
100th – 199th
100th – 119th
121st – 129th
130th – 149th
150th – 159th
160th – 169th
170th – 189th
190th – 199th
200th – 299th
200th – 209th
210th – 219th
220th – 229th
230th – 239th
240th – 249th
250th – 259th
260th – 269th
270th – 279th
280th – 289th
290th – 299th
300th – 399th
300th – 309th
310th – 329th
330th – 339th
340th – 349th
350th – 359th
360th – 369th
370th – 379th
380th – 389th
390th – 399th
400th – 719th
400th – 499th
500th – 599th
600th – 699th
700th – 709th
710th – 719th
See also: List of German divisions in World War II, Aufstellungswelle
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