The 225th Infantry Division (german: 225. 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 ...

Operational history

The division was formed on 26 August 1939 as part of the third '' Aufstellungswelle'' in the

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

area of Wehrkreis X. It initially consisted of Artillery Regiment 225 as well as the Infantry Regiments 333 (Hamburg), 376 (

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

) and 377 ( Bremen). The division was formed from

Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortificatio ...

personnel from the regiments' areas. The division's initial commander was Ernst Schaumburg. The 225th Infantry Division was sent to Aachen and used for border guard duty while the bulk of German forces focussed on 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 ...

. The second battalion of Regiment 377 was given to the 555th Infantry Division on 29 January 1940. After the German victory in Poland, the 225th Infantry Division saw action in the western campaign, specifically in the invasion of the Netherlands. The division took part in the drive on

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. After the German victory in the west, the 225th Infantry Division remained on occupation duty until the end of 1941. The Artillery Regiment 225 joined 215th Infantry Division on 16 November 1941. In January 1942, it became one of the division that was quickly redeployed to the Eastern Front in response to the Soviet victory at the Battle of Moscow. The division became part of

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 ...

and remained under this army group for the rest of the war, with a brief exception in July 1944, when the division was attached to Army Group Centre before being transferred back to Army Group North. The 225th Infantry Division saw action in the Soviet winter offensives of 1941/42 and 1942/43, took part in the Siege of Leningrad, participated in the Battle of Demyansk from November 1942 to February 1943, and fought at Lake Ilmen between March and May 1942. At that time, the 333rd Grenadier Regiment (formerly Infantry Regiment 333 (Hamburg)) fought at the Oranienbaum Bridgehead, where it sustained massive casualties (448 dead, 1050 wounded, 89 missing) between 1 May and 15 June 1942. As a result of these irrecoverable losses, the 333rd Regiment was disbanded in January 1943. On 20 February 1944, the 225th Infantry Division absorbed most of the remnants of the 9th Luftwaffe Field Division. Over the course of the year 1944, the 225th Infantry Division was part of the German retreat through the Baltic. The division was trapped in the

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...

in October 1944 and eventually surrendered to Soviet forces in April 1945.

Noteworthy individuals

* Ernst Schaumburg, divisional commander starting 26 August 1939. * Friedrich-Karl von Wachter, divisional commander starting 1 July 1940. * Hans von Basse, divisional commander starting 1 June 1941. * Ernst-Walther Risse, divisional commander starting 25 September 1942.

Legacy

A memorial for the fallen soldiers of the 225th Infantry Division was erected in 1959 in Hamburg-Dammtor.

References

{{Authority control Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1939 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945