62nd Infantry Division was a division of the second
Aufstellungswelle (wave of deployment), from trained reservists after general mobilization was declared on 26 August 1939. The division was assembled at
Kanth near
Breslau. The first commander was
Walter Keiner. The divisional insignia was a golden cross on top of a horizontal upward-facing crescent. As a result, it received the unofficial nickname 'Moonshine Division' ().
1939 For the
Invasion of Poland that started on 1 September 1939, 62nd Infantry Division started out in the reserves of
Army Group South (
Gerd von Rundstedt), but did not see combat during the campaign. The 62nd Infantry Division served with distinction during the
encirclement of Kiev and distinguished itself with several days of very intense combat near
Boryspil. During the fighting at Boryspol, 405 officers and soldiers were killed and another 487 wounded, with an additional 166 missing, all in the period of just 19 September until 24 September. The division was briefly transferred to the reserves during September 1941 as a result of the high casualties. Overall, the division had suffered 553 dead, 1,027 wounded and 182 missing over the course of September 1941, accounting for a casualty rate of 13% when compared to the divisional strength on 31 August. With the German capture of Kiev in late September, the partisan activity in northern and eastern Ukraine saw an uptick and posed an increased threat to the ever-growing rear area that Army Group South had to control. Three infantry divisions were pulled away from frontline duty to assist rearguard actions, among them the 62nd Infantry Division. The division had little prior experience in anti-partisan warfare before being assigned its task (although it had received and confirmed the
Barbarossa decree). Initially, no immediate major actions were undertaken against civilians even when the division was faced by direct attacks by partisan units. This number came in addition of another 27 executions in the meantime, for a total of 49 suspected partisans killed between 10 November and 13 November. The commander of the battalion, Faasch, noted these 49 executions as the fulfillment of an army-ordered reprisal, although it is not clear what order he might have referred to. The Battalion II/164, now part of 190th Infantry Regiment, was subsequently deployed again against partisans. On 23 November, a Jewish family of 23 was murdered by members of the seventh company of II/164 without a specified reason. A few days later, eight suspected partisans were summarily executed in Welibowka. On 30 November, the 62nd Infantry Division was instructed to prepare for its replacement in the area by Ersatzbrigade 202. One last act of reprisal against the locals was committed on 1 December, when thirty suspected bandits were summarily executed in forest north of Ssalowka. The lack of a report about a skirmish indicates that the alleged bandits had been taken prisoner without a firefight. The village was put to the torch. The 62nd Infantry Division reported in
Poltava on 8 December and was formally returned to the Army Group reserves for frontline combat on 21 December. In May 1942, the division joined
VIII Army Corps and then was moved to
LI Army Corps in June, both under 6th Army. In this function, the 62nd Infantry Division participated in the major Axis victory at the
Second Battle of Kharkov (12–28 May 1942) and the first phase of the subsequent Axis
summer offensive ("Case Blue") of 1942. In August, the division was reassigned to XXIX Army Corps, which was under the command of the
Eighth Italian Army starting in September. In December, the division joined
Armeeabteilung Hollidt.
1943 In March 1943, the 62nd Infantry Division was assigned to III Army Corps under
1st Panzer Army. It was moved to another corps within that army,
XXX Army Corps, in April and remained there until September. In October, the 62nd Infantry Division was moved to
LII Army Corps, before transfer to
LVII Army Corps in November. Both of these corps were part of 1st Panzer Army when 62nd Infantry Division was assigned to them.
1944 LVII Army Corps, which 62nd Infantry Division was a part of, was moved from 1st Panzer Army to 6th Army in January 1944. As part of LVII Army Corps under 6th Army, the 62nd Infantry Division was mostly destroyed. The severely decimated division was merged with the 123rd Infantry Division from 13 March 1944 to form the so-called
Korps-Abteilung F, which withdrew to Bessarabia and took up new positions on the Dniester to defend Romania. Korps-Abteilung F was again renamed the 62nd Infantry Division on 20 July 1944 and deployed as part of
XXXXIV Army Corps under
Army Group South Ukraine, but was then destroyed in the Soviet
Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive in late August. In November 1944,
62nd Volksgrenadier Division was formed. == Noteworthy Individuals ==