The 223rd Infantry Division (german: 223. Infanterie-Division) was an infantry division of the German

Heer Heer may refer to: People * Jeet Heer, Canadian author and journalist * Jeffrey Heer (born 1979), American computer scientist and entrepreneur * Kamal Heer (born 1973), Punjabi singer and musician * Oswald Heer (1809–1883), Swiss botanist and ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Operational history

The 223rd Infantry Division was formed on 26 August 1939 as part of the third wave of deployment in the

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

area in

Wehrkreis IV The military districts, also known in some English-language publications by their German name as Wehrkreise (singular: ''Wehrkreis''), were administrative territorial units in Nazi Germany before and during World War II. The task of military distr ...

(

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

). The division initially consisted of the Artillery Regiment 223 and the Infantry Regiments 344, 385 and 425. The initial divisional commander was Paul-Willi Körner. In September 1939, the division became part of Army Group C ( Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb), which guarded the German border to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The divisional emblem were two black short-thrusting swords crossed on a blue shield. In November 1939, the division was transferred east into occupied Poland, where it served on occupation duty in the newly formed Wehrkreis XXI ( Posen) until February 1940. The 223rd Infantry Division was then once more transferred to the western frontier in preparation for the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

and served with I Army Corps under 6th Army between March and May 1940. It briefly served in the

OKH The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat at ...

reserve in the

Lower Rhine region The Lower Rhine region or Niederrhein is a region around the Lower Rhine section of the river Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany between approximately Oberhausen and Krefeld in the East and the Dutch border around Kleve in the West. As ...

. The division took part in the invasions of Belgium and France in May and June, and remained in occupied France after the fighting concluded. It remained in the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

area until late 1941. On 6 May 1941,

Rudolf Lüters Rudolf Lüters (May 10, 1883 – December 24, 1945) was a German general who served in the Wehrmacht, during the Second World War. Biography He joined the army on November 2, 1902 as Fahnenjunker and participated in the First World War where ...

became the division's commander. During this time, it served at times with X Army Corps under 6th Army, XXXXIII Army Corps under 9th Army, LIX Army Corps under 7th Army and Higher Command XXXI under 7th Army. In November 1941, the division was transferred to the Eastern Front and became part of Army Group North. Here, the division took part in the German defensive efforts against the Soviet Red Army's Winter campaign of 1941–42. It joined the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of L ...

and also participated in the Battle of Lake Ladoga from August to September 1942. In June 1942, the division had been weakened by the dissolution of two of its infantry regiments. On 20 October 1942,

Christian Usinger __NOTOC__ Christian Usinger (21 August 1894 – 2 April 1949) was a German general during World War II who commanded the I Army Corps. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Usinger surrendered to the Soviet Fo ...

became the divisional commander. The 223rd Infantry Division was redeployed to the Eastern Front's southern sector in 1943. It fought at the Battle for Velikiye Luki and the

Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Army Group South of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February and 15 March 1943. Known to ...

before it was destroyed at the

Second Battle of Kiev The Second Battle of Kiev was a part of a much wider Soviet offensive in Ukraine known as the Battle of the Dnieper involving three strategic operations by the Soviet Red Army and one operational counterattack by the Wehrmacht, which took plac ...

. The division was formally dissolved on 23 November 1943 and most surviving personnel became part of the 275th Infantry Division.

Noteworthy individuals

* Paul-Willi Körner, divisional commander starting 26 August 1939. *

, divisional commander starting 6 May 1941. *

, divisional commander starting 20 October 1942.

References

{{Subject bar, portal1=Military of Germany, portal2=World War II Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943