Operational history
The division was formed on 26 August 1939 in Hanover. After mobilisation it was posted to the Westwall on the border with France. It took part in the invasion of France in 1940, advancing through Belgium. On 28 May 1940 soldiers of the division carried out the Oignies massacre; the 487th Infantry Regiment used civilians as human shields during fighting near the village of Oignies in Nord Pas-de-Calais, then rounded up and shot 80 French civilians in front of the town hall, as well as captured British, French, and Moroccan troops who were too severely wounded to march to the rear. [1] [2] The incident is one of several war crimes committed by the Wehrmacht during the 1940 campaign.
From July 1940 to May 1941, it was responsible for guarding a part of the English Channel coast. In June 1941 it was a part of Operation Barbarossa, as part of Army Group Centre. It remained with this Army Group until it was encircled and destroyed in July 1944. Shortly afterwards it was officially dissolved. [3]
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The 18th Infantry Division was formed on 1 October 1934 as Infantry Command III in Liegnitz and renamed the 18th Infantry Division on 15 October 1935. Mobilized in August 1939, it participated in the Invasion of Poland and in 1940 in the Battle of France. After the French campaign, the division was motorized and redesignated 18th Motorized Infantry Division on 1 November 1940 serving on the Eastern Front for the remainder of the war. In June 1943, the division was redesignated 18th Panzergrenadier Division.
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Nazi Germany 