lace w:st="on">Paris</st1lace></st1:City> region where it's recruits doubled as occupation troops. In early May he was transferred to 5./ Grenadier Regiment 868, part of the new 355. Infanteriedivision. The division was created in the south of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">France</st1lace></st1:country-region> from several reserve units. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o></o>lace w:st="on">Crimea</st1lace>. At this time the <st1lace w:st="on">Crimea</st1lace> was not a combat zone and the division settled into security duties on the peninsula. On 12th August the division was ordered to move north to <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Kharkov</st1lace></st1:City> where fierce fighting had been raging since the launch of the Soviet offensive (Operation Rumyantsev) on 3rd August. lace w:st="on">Kharkov</st1lace></st1:City> where it was assigned to XXXXII Korps, 8. Armee. The previous day 1st Guards Army had launched an attack from it's bridgehead over the River Donets. This had created a ten kilometre gap in 161. Infanteriedivision's defences and threatened to cut the Kharkov-Lozovaya rail line. The 355. Infanteriedivision arrived at this critical moment and it's counter attacks halted the Soviet advance just short of the rail line. The division took over a large part of (the very stretched) 161. Infanteriedivision's sector. This enabled XXXXII Korps to stabilise the front in this sector.lace w:st="on">Kharkov</st1lace></st1:City> was abandoned to the Soviets on 23rd August after days of ferocious fighting. The combat continued unabated all along Army Group's south front and made the German position east of <st1lace w:st="on">Dnieper</st1lace> increasingly untenable and a general retreat to the Dneiper became inevitable. Before this could begin however, Deyß was killed in action on 28th August 1943 while still in defensive positions to the south of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Kharkov</st1lace></st1:City>.
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