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The 17th Infantry Division was a infantry division of Nazi Germany, active before and during the World War II. Formed in 1934, it took part in most of the campaigns of the Wehrmacht and was decimated in January of 1945. Reconstituted in Germany, it surrendered to the Allies in May of that year.

Note: A German 17th Infantry Division also existed in the army of the German Empire before 1914 and took part in the First World War.

History

The unit was formed in October of 1934 in Nuremberg under the designation Wehrgauleitung Nürnberg. Shortly after its creation it took a cover name Artillerieführer VII. Although created as en cadre division from the very beginning, both names were intended to suggest a much smaller units, as Germany was at the time restricted by the Treaty of Versailles which was to limit its rearmament. After Adolf Hitler renounced the treaty and officially announced the creation of Wehrmacht in October of 1935, the unit was renamed to 17th Infantry Division.

The organic regimental units of this division were formed by the expansion of the 21st Bavarian Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division of the Reichswehr. The division participated in the annexation of Austria in March of 1938. During the Polish September Campaign it was reinforced by the infamous Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and attached to the German Eighth Army of Gen. Johannes Blaskowitz. Under command of Gen. Herbert Loch, the division took part in heavy fights in Silesia, then in the vicinity of Łódź. At Pabianice it faced elements of the Polish 28th Infantry Division and the Wołyńska Cavalry Brigade. During the war against Poland, the division was involved in a number of atrocities.

Claims of War Crimes

Soldiers from the German 17th Infantry Division were accused of having taken part in atrocities during World War II. In a war crime investigation after World War II, authorities in Communist Poland established that between September 3, 1939 and September 4, 1939, in the town of Złoczew, circa 200 people died . However, no members of this division were charged for any crimes concerning these events or any other war crimes as they could not be directly tied to events. Both ethnic Poles and Polish citizens of Jewish background were killed in this event. Of the dead, only 71 victims were later identified; the rest were refugees, and establishing their identities was impossible. German investigators refused to prosecute those accused of being responsible, citing that there was not enough evidence to prove that any units of the division took part in the massacre.

After the Invasion of Poland

After the war against Poland, the unit was withdrawn to Germany and then took part in the battle of France, as part of XIIIth Corps. Afterwards, in the summer of 1940, the division trained for taking part in the abortive invasion of England. In 1941 it participated in Operation Barbarossa as part of Army Group Center. In the fall of 1941 it took part in the Battle of Moscow. After sustaining heavy losses, it was withdrawn to France in June, 1942. The division returned to the Eastern Front in April, 1943, fighting around river Mius, Nikopol, Uman, Kishinev and Jassy. In August, 1944 the unit was shifted to Poland and fought to contain Soviet bridgeheads on the Vistula river, around Warka and Radom. It remained in this sector until it was heavily damaged in the course of the Soviet Vistula-Oder offensive in January, 1945. The division was then reconstituted from its remnants and fought in April and May of 1945 in the area around Görlitz. At the end of the war it was located in the Riesengebirge mountains (today Karkonosze).

Order of battle

• Infanterie-Regiment 21
• Infanterie-Regiment 55
• Infanterie-Regiment 95
• Artillerie-Regiment 17
• Aufklärungs-Abteilung 17
• Panzerjäger-Abteilung 17
• Pionier-Bataillon 17
• Nachrichten-Abteilung 17

References and footnotes

1. Literally artillery commander No. 7, a covert name for the commander of artillery of former 7th Infantry of the Reichswehr who took command of the newly-formed unit of the Wehrmacht and after whom the unit was named in order to conceal its size.
2. Witold Kulesza – Zbrodnie Wehrmachtu w Polsce – wrzesień 1939. Biuletyn Instytu Pamięci Narodowej nr. 8-9(August-September) 2004.

External links

• Pipes, Jason. "" Retrieved November 30, 2005.
• Polish IPN Bulletin, Issue 8-9(August-September) 2004.

• German infantry divisions
• German World War II divisions
• World War II crimes