Country Nazi Germany Type Infantry Engagements World War II | Branch Army Size Division | |
 | ||
Active 1 April 1938 – 8 May 1945 | ||
With the annexation in 1938 of Austria by Nazi Germany, what was once the 4th Austrian Division was incorporated into the Wehrmacht (German Army) and re-designated the 45th Infantry Division. In the 1939 Polish Campaign, the division was on the right wing of von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Sud (Army Group South).
On 22 June 1941, the 45th Infantry Division began Operation Barbarossa by starting the 9-day long siege of the Brest Fortress. In March 1942 the Red Army defeated the division at Livny, Russia and captured the archive of the division. That was the first time the Red Army learned about the defense of Brest Fortress It suffered heavy casualties attacking in the battle for Kursk. Rebuilt but virtually destroyed at Bobruisk during operation Bagration. Rebuilt as 45th Volksgrenadier division in the autumn of 1944 in Poland. Fought at Warsaw and Radom in 1945, retreating through Silesia to Koniggratz, Czechoslovakia where it surrendered.