45th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)

45. Infanterie-Division
German 45th Infantry Division
Active 1 April 1938 – 8 May 1945
Country Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Branch Heer
Type Division
Role Infantry
Engagements World War II

With the annexation in 1938 of Austria by Nazi Germany, what was once the 4th Austrian Division was incorporated into the Wehrmacht (German Army) and re-designated the 45th Infantry Division.[1] In the 1939 Polish Campaign, the division was on the right wing of von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Sud (Army Group South).

On 22 June 1941, the 45th Infantry Division began Operation Barbarossa by starting the 9-day long siege of the Brest Fortress.[2] In March 1942 the Red Army defeated the division at Livny, Russia and captured the archive of the division. That was the first time the Red Army learned about the defense of Brest Fortress[3] It suffered heavy casualties attacking in the battle for Kursk. Rebuilt but virtually destroyed at Bobruisk during operation Bagration. Rebuilt as 45th Volksgrenadier division in the autumn of 1944 in Poland. Fought at Warsaw and Radom in 1945, retreating through Silesia to Koniggratz, Czechoslovakia where it surrendered.[4]

Commanding officers

References

  1. Samuel W. Mitcham : German Order of Battle: 1st–290th Infantry divisions in World War II ISBN 0811734161, Page89. Books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  2. Christian Ganzer: German and Soviet Losses as an Indicator of the Length and Intensity of the Battle for the Brest Fortress (1941). In: The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, Volume 27, Issue 3, p. 449-466.
  3. Бешанов В.В. ”Бресткая крепость” Минск, 2004 (in Russian) page 130
  4. German Order of Battle, Samuel Mitcham, Stackpole, ISBN 0811734161


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