12th Infantry Division ( Wehrmacht ) The 12th Infantry Division ( German : " 12 . Infanteriedivision " ) - later known as the 12th Volksgrenadier Division - was a German military unit that fought during World War II . The division was formed in 1934 . It participated in the invasion of Poland at the start of the Second World War and took part in the 1940 assault on France and the Low Countries . In the Soviet Union , the division joined Operation Barbarossa . Subsequently the division took part in Operation Bagration where the entire division was captured by the Soviets . The division was re - activated in September 1944 , where it was sent to the newly created Western Front . History and organisation . Formation . The division was formed in 1934 from Pomerania ' s Mecklenburger population , with its homestation being in Schwerin . In order to hide Germany ' s remilitarisation - a breaking of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles - the unit was codenamed " Infanterieführer II " to disguise its size . It did not assume its bona - fide designation until the creation of the Wehrmacht was announced in October 1935 , where it was redesignated as the " 12th Infantry Division " . Alongside the name change , " Lieutenant General " Wilhelm Ulex was placed in charge of the division , before being replaced by " Major General " Albrecht Schubert the following October . Schubert was promoted to " Lieutenant General " in March 1938 . In November , the command over the 89th Infantry Regiment ' s 1st Battalion was given to Helmuth Beukemann . In July 1939 , the division was moved to Koenigsburg , East Prussia as Germany prepared for the upcoming invasion of Poland , ordered into the 1st Army ' s I Army Corps . Actions 1939 - 41 . The 12th Infantry took part in the invasion of Poland to a distinguished capacity at the start of the Second World War . Entering from Tannenberg , the division crossed both the Narew and Bug rivers and into eastern Poland . Because of his skill in command , Helmuth Beukemann was made the commander of a regiment of the 164th Infantry Division in January 1940 . During the 1940 assault on France and the Low Countries , the division helped beat back an Anglo - French assault on an associated Panzer column in the hopes of relieving troops besieged in Belgium during their full - on retreat . Following the campaign , the division remained stationed in the region until May 1941 in an occupational capacity , when it was ordered to return to East Prussia . Actions in the Soviet Union . In June 1941 the division joined Operation Barbarossa under Army Group North as an element of the 16th Army . It took part in Army Group North ' s capture of the Latvian city of Daugavpils ( " Dvinsk " , in Russian ) , sweeping north - eastward to Leningrad where it was finally stopped in its tracks during the siege effort . During the early months of 1942 , the II Army Corps was subject to a Soviet counteroffensive to relieve Leningrad , resulting in five army divisions ( the 12th , included ) and the SS - Totenkopf division being encircled along with several other elements of the 16th Army and 3rd SS Division Totenkopf in the Demyansk Pocket . With support from Hermann Göring , planes containing supplies were flown in to aid the divisions while they were in the pocket for smoe 81 days between 8 February and 20 March . Göring would later gloat about his success in freeing the pocket during the Battle of Stalingrad later that year , when a similar airlift concept was applied . While liberated , the 12th Infantry had left the pocket in a much - weakened state , and was in dire need of reconstitution . In 1943 , with the German Army on the retreat , the division fought in the Belarussian city of Vitebsk , where Captain Siegfried Moldenhauer was awarded a Close Combat Clasp for his services as acting - commander of the 48th Grenadier Regiment ' s ( the 4th and 89th Infantry Regiments were redesignated " Grenadier " regiments in the course of the year , while the 27th became a " Fusilier Regiment " ) 1st Battalion . In January 1944 , Moldenhauer became the commander of the regiment ' s 2nd Battalion , and was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross by " Major General " von Lützow . Soon after , fighting near Mogilew led to the death of 1st Battalion ' s commander , Major Kurt Klinger - another Knights Cross recipient . Moldenhauer subsequently assumed command of that battalion as well . In June , it found itself facing the Soviet offensive in the Belorussian SSR , " Operation Bagration " . After an effective defence of the road into Mogilev , the 1st Battalion ' s commander , Major Kurt Klinger - another Knight ' s Cross recipient - was killed by enemy fire . Moldenhauer subsequently assumed command of that battalion as well . With the Soviet 49th Army crossing the Dnieper , the division was ordered to withdraw into the town , which it was to hold at all costs , and subsequently suffered catastrophic casualties in its defence , leading to a successful Soviet occupation on 28 June . The men under Moldenhauer ' s command managed to escape the encirclement through a small corridor to the east . The men under the command of Wilhelm Osterhold held the 2nd Battalion ' s rear to aide in its escape . The long , drawn out campaign took its toll on the 12 Infantry , with its genadier regiments consisting of two battalions , each . This deterioration of effectiveness led to its capitulation during the Soviets ' Summer Offencive in July 1944 , soon after Army Group Centre ' s collapse in Operation Bagration . None of the division ' s men escaped capture ; its commanding officer " Lieutenant General " Rudolf Bamler , who had only been in command for a few weeks , was also captured , but later chose to work for the Soviets . Re - activation . The division was re - activated in September 1944 , where it was sent to the newly created Western Front . Again placed under the command of " Colonel " Gerhard Engel , the division - at some point being redesignated the " 12th Volksgrenadier Division " ( German : " 12 . Volksgrenadier - division " ) - was at a strength of some 12 , 800 men . With Allied forces approaching the Siegfried Line , the division was made a line division against the Siegfried Line near Aachen . On September 15 , elements of the division arrived at the command post of LXXXI Corps where ; in the evening they were given orders by the 7th Army to continue the defence of Aachen and to launch a counterattack on the building Allied forces crossing the Ruhr , by first staging near Eschweiler . The following day , elements of the 9th Panzer Division were added to the 12th Volksgrenadier , which was now well - equipped - at least in comparison to other , starving divisions . It then proceeded to take command of the immediate area around Düren . A meeting between chiefs of staff of the 12th Volksgrenadier and the 9th Panzer Divisions took place on the evening to decide on how to plan their joint - attack on the river Mausbach set for the following day . The division later saw action in the Western Front in the Ardennes as part of the 6th Panzer Army ' s I SS - Panzer Corps , where it took part in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest . On January 1 , " Lieutenant General " Engel was seriously wounded by Allied forces , and " Colonel " Rudolf Langhaeuser assumed termporary command until Engel ' s return in February . When the offensive failed , the 6th Panzer Army left for Hungary , leaving the division behind to fight off the approaching Americans . The division was encircled near Wuppertal with Army Group B within the Ruhr Pocket . On April 12 , " Major General " Koenig assumed command of the division , having also assumed command of the 272nd Volksgrenadier Division . As the Pocket collapsed , Koenig was captured at Wuppertal on April 18 .