The 710th Infantry Division (german: 710. Infanterie-Division) was a German Army infantry division in

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 ...

. Formed in May 1941, it spent the majority of the war in occupation duties in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

before being transferred to the Italian Front in late 1944. It participated in fighting against the Soviet Union in Hungary before it withdrew into Austria and surrendered to the Americans in May 1945.

History

The 710th Infantry Division was formed on 2 May 1941, largely from older personnel, under the command of ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...

'' Theodor Petsch. It was smaller than a conventional infantry division and lacked much of the support weaponry that would typically be found in such a unit. The division served occupation duties in Norway, firstly at

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

and then at

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

. It later performed similar duties in Denmark until December 1944, at which stage it was transferred to the Italian Front. The following month it was attached to I SS Panzer Corps, which had moved to Hungary after the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

. The division, expanded with additional artillery and tank destroyer units, was involved in the fighting against Soviet troops during

Operation Spring Awakening Operation Spring Awakening (german: Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) was the last major German offensive of World War II. The operation was referred to in Germany as the Plattensee offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton defensive operati ...

and the subsequent withdrawal through Hungary and into Austria. Now under the command of '' Generalmajor'' Walter Gorn, it surrendered to a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

unit on 8 May 1945.

Notes

Footnotes Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:710th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II