Army (Heer) Infanterie Rgt. 82 officer ‘Waffenrock’ dress tunic Major E. Pflesser

Description

Stunning and well preserved Waffenrock for officers with white branch color for an officer of the German infantry. The tunic is complete with all of its original insignia, period sewn on the garment. Besides some small moth nips on the bottom of the jacket, it remains void of major damages or defects. The left breast shows a variety of medal loops . The shoulder boards indicate this was an officer with the rank of Major within Infanterie-Regiment 82. Inside the pocket the name label is still visible from Major E. Pflesser, dated 1937. The tunic was made by local tailor L. Sgoff, in Frankfurt am Mainz.

The infantry regiment 82 was part of the 31st infantry divsion.

The 31st Infantry Division was formed on October 1, 1936 in Braunschweig, in Military District XI. During the mobilization for World War II, the division was mobilized on August 26, 1939 and moved to Silesia in the area north-east of Oppeln. On September 1, 1939, the division crossed the border and pushed north-east towards the Warta. After crossing the river, the division marched behind the 1st and 4th Panzer Divisions via Petrikau, Tomaszow-Maz. towards Warsaw. Shortly before Warsaw, the division was turned in the direction of Kutno to stop the Polish troops breaking out from there. The division then turned back towards Warsaw and remained in the encirclement of the city until it surrendered. After the end of the Polish campaign, the division was transferred back to its home garrisons and then transferred to the Lower Rhine.

On May 10, 1940, the division crossed the Belgian border and advanced to Liège. The division then crossed the Meuse and on May 15 was southeast of Brussels. On May 19, the division reached the French border north of Lille. With the beginning of the “Battle of France”, the second phase of the western campaign, the division crossed the Aisne and reached the Seine before Rouen on June 14th. After crossing the river, the division marched to the Loire and crossed it. After the end of the western campaign, the division remained as an occupying force on the demarcation line and was transferred to Normandy at the end of July.

In September 1940 the division then moved to Poland. At the beginning of the Russian campaign, the division pushed north of Brest-Litovsk, took part in the battle of Bialystock and Minsk and finally marched to the Dnieper. The division crossed the river south of Zhlobin and then advanced across the Ssosh into the Smolensk and Bryansk areas. During the attack on Moscow, the front protected the flank of the 2nd Panzer Army between Oka and Upa northwest of Tula. She had to mourn heavy losses. In December 1941, the division took part in the retreat of the German units and withdrew to the area south-west of Yukhnov. Heavy defensive fighting continued there until July 1942, with the division dying at Krasnoye, Kuligi, Tovarkova and Makarovka. In mid-August 1942 the division was transferred to Vorya, where the division fought at Alferovo, Pavlovskoye and Temkino. The trench warfare lasted until January 1943. The division was then transferred to the Yuchnov-Rosslavl runway in the Barsuki area. The division remained here until March 1943. This was followed by the retreat via Spass-Demensk to the area north of Kirov. In July 1943, the division took part in Operation “Zitadelle”, the Battle of Kursk, attacking from Voronets via Gnilez to the south-west. After the first Russian breakthroughs at Orel in the greater Orel area, the division had to join the German retreat. This led the division north of Ssewsk over the Dessna to the Ssosh south of Gomel. Position battles broke out between Retschitza, Star-Kamenka and Tschaussy over the next few days. In June 1944 the division was annihilated in Army Group Center. The remains were used to form the 31st Grenadier Division.