61st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
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61. Infanterie-Division German 61st Infantry Division |
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| Active | 16 August 1939 – 8 May 1945 |
| Country |
 Nazy Germany
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| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements |
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The 61st Infantry Division (German: 61. Infanterie-Division) was a combat division of the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War.
The 61st Infantry division was created just before the outbreak of conflict and took part in the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 as part of von Küchler's 3rd Army under Army Group North. It engaged in heavy fighting at the Battle of Mława, afterwards crossing the Narew River near Pułtusk. Fighting its way across the Bug River, it approached the Polish capital at Warsaw on 18 September and remained in the vicinity until the end of the campaign.
In December 1939 the division was shifted to the west and subsequently took part in the attack on Belgium on 10 May 1940 as a unit of 4th Army Corps. During the advance into Belgium the 61st divisions 151st Infantry Regiment linked up with German airborne troops assaulting Fort Eben-Emael on 11 May, the Belgian defenders surrendered the fortifications on the same day. The division also participated in the Dunkirk during the invasion of France. Loses in the western campaign were 348 killed, 1052 wounded, 106 missing The division served occupation duty in Brittany afterward.
In early 1941 it was transferred to East Prussia, and in June it joined in the invasion of the Soviet Union as part of 18th Army (again commanded by von Küchler and once again under Army Group North). The division participated in the occupation of Tallinn and the Moonsund Archipelago.
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