61st Infantry Division ( Wehrmacht ) The German 61st Infantry Division was a combat division of the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War . Combat history . Poland . The 61st Infantry division was created just before the outbreak of conflict and took part in the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 as part of von Küchler ' s 3rd Army under Army Group North . It engaged in heavy fighting at the Battle of Mława , afterwards crossing the Narew River near Pułtusk . Fighting its way across the Bug River , it approached the Polish capital at Warsaw on 18 September and remained in the vicinity until the end of the campaign . France 1940 . In December 1939 the division was shifted to the west and subsequently took part in the attack on Belgium on 10 May 1940 as a unit of 4th Army Corps . During the advance into Belgium the 61st divisions 151st Infantry Regiment linked up with German airborne troops assaulting Fort Eben - Emael on 11 May , the Belgian defenders surrendered the fortifications on the same day . The division also participated in the Dunkirk during the invasion of France . Loses in the western campaign were 348 killed , 1052 wounded , 106 missing The division served occupation duty in Brittany afterward . The attack on the Soviet Union . In early 1941 it was transferred to East Prussia , and in June it joined in the invasion of the Soviet Union as part of 18th Army ( again commanded by von Küchler and once again under Army Group North ) . The division participated in the occupation of Tallinn and the Moonsund Archipelago . Attack on the Moonsund Archipelago . After the fall of Tallinn the Germans had to clear the Baltic Islands to get full and unhindered use of the sea lanes . Units of the 61st division were transported by the Navy to Saaremaa , the southern Island , see Operation Beowulf . The island was defended by 3rd Independent Brigade of the 8th Army of the Leningrad front , plus coastal artillery , and naval units . there were also a small number of fighter planes on the airport . Most of the 60 - mile - long island was cleared by 21 September by the 176th & 151st Infantry Regiments , except for the Sorve Peninsula . Here The Russian forces dug in and resisted stubbornly until 5 October . With the southern Island finally cleared the attack was extended to Hiiumaa , the northern Island on 12 October . Within 2 weeks the island was cleared and the Germans claimed 16 . 000 prisoners and to have captured 100 artillery pieces . The way was open now for the Soviet Navel forces in the north to be bottled up in the Gulf of Finland , and the 61st Infantry was now available for redeployment . It took part in the Siege of Leningrad and remained in the area until January 1944 , after which the Soviet Krasnoye Selo – Ropsha and Kingisepp – Gdov offensives forced it back into Estonia where it fought in the Battle of Narva , particularly in the Narva Offensive ( 18 – 24 March 1944 ) . Held in reserve , it was one of only two divisions considered " fully combat effective " by the Army Group North in July of that year . The division was redesignated as 61st Volksgrenadier Division in October 1944 , and continued fighting in the East under Army Groups North and Center . Evacuated to East Prussia , the division fought in the so - called Heiligenbeil pocket , caught between the advancing Soviets and the Frisches Haff . Once the " cauldron " collapsed in March 1945 the division was written off as a loss and its remaining assets were taken over by the 21st Infantry Division while the division staff was withdrawn to Königsberg , all falling into Soviet hands at the end of the war . Organization . Established in August 1939 as part of the second wave . It was mobilised in Wehrkreis 1 , East Prussia , with its headquarters at Insterburg < br > The division had a standard early war infantry establishment . It had three infantry regiments of three infantry battalions , a gun company and an antitank company each . It had an artillery regiment of four battalions , containing in total nine batteries of 105mm light Field Howitzers and 3 batteries of 150mm heavy Field Howitzers . It also had a full reconnaissance battalion , which included 3 armoured cars . Its equipment was German , with a personnel establishment of 15 , 500 men . For mobility it had over 500 trucks , as well as other motor vehicles and motorcycles . It also had nearly 5 , 000 horses , and its soldiers marched into battle on foot . < br > In February 1940 the division gave up and infantry battalion and some artillery for the creation of the 291st Infantry division of the 8th wave , these units were recreated . The 61st Infantry Division consisted of the following units in May 1940 : In November 1940 the division gave up an Infantry battalion from each Infantry Regiment for the formation of the 336th infantry division of the 14th wave . The battalions were replaced . The division suffered very heavy casualties in the Russian campaign , especially in infantry , so by the summer of 1942 three of its infantry battalions were officially disbanded , each Infantry Regiment now only having two battalions . Also the anti - tank battalion and the reconnaissance were merged to produce a schnelle ( fast ) battalion . By 1943 the division ' s composition had been somewhat altered to the following : Once officially designated a Volksgrenadier Division in 1944 , the unit was composed of the following : Commanders . The following officers commanded the 61st Infantry Division : Personnel . Thirty - seven of the division ' s personnel were Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross recipients , including commanders Siegfried Haenicke , Werner Hühner , Gottfried Weber ( when commander of the 1st battalion of the 162nd Infantry Regiment ) , and Günther Krappe .