The 228th Infantry Division (german: 228. Infanterie-Division) was an

infantry division A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Histo ...

of the German Heer 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 opposing ...

. It was formed in

Wehrkreis I 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 ...

( East Prussia) in August 1939 and was dissolved in August 1940.

Operational history

The 228 Infantry Division was one of the divisions deployed in the immediate leadup to the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

and was part of the third '' Aufstellungswelle''. It was first formed on 16 August 1939 in Elbing and designated a training division, but had this label removed on 26 August and thus designated a full division. For the Invasion of Poland, 228th Infantry Division, under command of Hans Suttner, was one of the two constituent infantry divisions of XXI Army Corps (

Nikolaus von Falkenhorst Paul Nikolaus von Falkenhorst (17 January 1885 – 18 June 1968) was a German general and a war criminal during World War II. He planned and commanded the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in 1940, and was commander of German troops during ...

) under 3rd Army and

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...

, the other one being 21st Infantry Division (

Kuno-Hans von Both __NOTOC__ Kuno-Hans von Both (9 April 1884 – 22 May 1955) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of both the Pour le Mérite of the German Empire and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. He was also awar ...

). Both the 21st and 228th Divisions were stationed in the southwest of East Prussia and were to move in a southwesterly direction towards

Grudziądz Grudziądz ( la, Graudentum, Graudentium, german: Graudenz) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its prov ...

and the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

in order to link up with the forces of 4th Army. 228th Infantry Division remained with XXI Army Corps only for the first few days of the campaign, for the action in the

Danzig Corridor The Polish Corridor (german: Polnischer Korridor; pl, Pomorze, Polski Korytarz), also known as the Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia (Pomeranian Voivodeship, easter ...

, including the

Battle of Grudziądz Battle of Grudziądz was a military engagement between German and Polish forces during the early days of the Invasion of Poland in September 1939. It started on 1 September and ended with a German victory on 4 September. German historiography has ...

against the Polish 4th and

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

Infantry Divisions. The German forces were victorious, but their Polish counterparts managed to withdraw to the southeast in an orderly fashion. 228th Infantry Division was then removed from XXI Army Corps when Falkenhorst's units were transferred via East Prussia to another active front sector. Although 228th Infantry Division was initially intended to see combat in the Battle of France in 1940, this did not come to pass, as the German victory of the French came sooner than expected. The division was dissolved on 1 August 1940 in

Munsterlager Munster Training Area (German: ''Truppenübungsplatz Munster'') is a military training area in Germany on the Lüneburg Heath. It comprises two separate areas with different purposes: Munster North (''Munster-Nord'') (size: ) and Munster South ( ...

. Most of its staff members went to form the staff of the newly formed 16th Motorized Infantry Division.

Noteworthy individuals

* Hans Suttner: Divisional commander of 228th Infantry Division from August 1939 to March 1940. * Karl-Ulrich Neumann-Neurode: Divisional commander of 228th Infantry Division from March 1940 until August 1940. *

Henning von Tresckow Henning Hermann Karl Robert von Tresckow (; 10 January 1901 – 21 July 1944) was a German military officer with the rank of major general in the German Army who helped organize German resistance against Adolf Hitler. He attempted to assassina ...

: Staff officer in 228th Infantry Division's preparation for the Invasion of Poland in 1939. Later a member of the German resistance and involved in the 20 July 1944 plot.

References

{{Numbered infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1940 Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II