The 347th Infantry Division was formed in September 1942 as a static division of two regiments of fortress infantry. Under the command of
Generalleutnant Friedrich Bayer, the following month it was sent to the Netherlands to the coastline near
Amsterdam and its original two regiments later each received an infantry battalion of
volunteer troops from
Turkestan and the
Caucasus. It remained here for several months until after the
Invasion of Normandy. Now commanded by
Generalleutnant Wolf Trierenberg, the division was then transferred to France to reinforce
Army Group B which was engaged in the fighting in Normandy. It gradually retreated into Belgium and was involved in the fighting along the
Siegfried Line. By September it had been reduced to a
Kampfgruppe and the following month it received reinforcements in the form of training battalions from the 526th Replacement Division. The 880th Infantry Regiment was also attached to the division. It continued to be engaged on the Western Front, including the
Battle of Hürtgen Forest. The division was then involved in the defense of
Saarbrücken. In March 1945, a new divisional commander,
Generalleutnant Maximilian Siry took over from Trierenberg but his time in command was brief. On 10 April he became trapped and surrendered to Allied troops. Trierenberg returned to command the division, which was now in
Thuringia. It was designated a
Volksgrenadier division on 7 May 1945 and surrendered to Allied forces the following day. ==Commanders==