1942 the defensive front of the 2nd Army gave way south of Orel along the 2nd Panzer Army boundary. The attacking Soviet armies could now swing to the north and threaten Orel from the south and the east. To halt this drive Army Group Center shifted forces to the area, and the 258th Infantry division was taken out of line and assigned to the new 2nd Panzer Army front forming south of Orel. Here the division stabilized the front in its sector, but the Soviet incursion had formed a large salient around the city of Kursk. In July 1943 the division attacked the Kursk salient as part of the German summer offensive, that was hoped would wrest the initiative from the Soviet armies and return the wehrmacht to winning ways. However the attack on Kursk proved a costly failure, and the 258th suffered heavy casualties attempting to break through the deep Soviet defenses. The Soviets countered with an offensive of their own, eliminating the German bulge at Orel, and forcing them to retreat to a shorter line. The division was then shifted to the south and subsequently retreated with Army Group South to the Dnieper line, where it fought in the Nikopol bridgehead. After the collapse of Army groups positions along the Dnieper, the division retreated gradually through the Ukraine, finally ending up on the defensive in Romania, where the front temporarily stabilized. Here on 20 August the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front, renewing the attack, crashed through the Romanian and German defenses, encircling the entire German 6th Army. By the end of the month the German pockets were eliminated and the 258th Division was totally destroyed in these actions. The division was not rebuilt. Commanders Generalleutnant Walter Wollmann 26.August.1939 – 1.August.1940 Generalleutnant Waldemar Henrici 1.August.1940 – 2.October.1941 Generalmajor Karl Pflaum 2.October.1941 – 18.January.1942 Generalleutnant Hans-Kurt Höcker 18.January.1942 – 1.October.1943 Generalleutnant Eugen-Heinrich Bleyer 1.October.1943 – 4.September.1944 Oberst Rudolf Hielscher 4.September.1944 – unknown Organisation 1939 Infantry Regiment 458 (I, II, III) Infantry Regiment 478 (I, II, III) Infantry Regiment 479 (I, II, III) Reconnaissance Battalion 258 Artillery Regiment 258 (I, II, III, IV) Engineer Battalion 258 Anti-tank Battalion 258 Signals Battalion 258 Division services 258 1942 Grenadier Regiment 458 (I, II, III) Grenadier Regiment 478 (I, II, III) Grenadier Regiment 479 (I, II, III) Bicycle Detachment 258 Artillery Regiment 258 (I, II, III, IV) Engineer Battalion 258 Anti-tank Battalion 258 Signals Battalion