The division was formed in June 1942 on the basis of the 203rd Security Brigade that was itself formed in December 1941. It operated in the
Army Group Centre Rear Area, of the occupied regions of the
Soviet Union behind
Army Group Centre's front lines. Its duties included security of
communications and
supply lines, economic exploitation and combatting irregular fighters (
partisans) in Wehrmacht's rear areas. The so-called anti-partisan operations in "bandit-infested" areas amounted to destruction of villages, plunder and enslavement of civilian population. In July 1942, the division took part in '"Operation Peter". The unit received specific instructions regarding the villages deemed "bandit-friendly" (those failing to meet agricultural quotas). The division was to appropriate livestock, deport the population for slave labour to Germany and burn the villages down. The unit suffered heavy losses during the Soviet
Red Army summer offensive
Operation Bagration in 1944. In October 1944 it was designated the 203rd Infantry Division, and continued to fight on the Eastern Front until Germany's surrender. == Commanders ==