With the annexation in 1938 of Austria by Nazi Germany, what was once the 4th Austrian Division was incorporated into the Wehrmacht (German Army) and re-designated the 45th Infantry Division.^[1] In the 1939 Polish Campaign, the division was on the right wing of von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Sud (Army Group South).

On 22 June 1941, the 45th Infantry Division began Operation Barbarossa by starting the 9-day long siege of the Brest Fortress. In March 1942 the Red Army defeated the division at Livny, Russia and captured the archive of the division. That was the first time the Red Army learned about the defense of Brest Fortress^[2]

Commanding officers

• Generalleutnant Friedrich Materna 1 April 1938 – 25 October 1940
• Generalmajor Gerhard K rner, 25 October 1940 – 27 April 1941
• Generalleutnant Fritz Schlieper, 27 April 1941 – 27 February 1942
• Generalleutnant Fritz K hlwein, 27 February 1942 – 25 April 1943
• Generalleutnant Hans Freiherr von Falkenstein, 25 April 1943 – 30 November 1943
• Generalmajor Joachim Engel, 30 November 1943 – 27 February 1944
• Generalmajor Gustav Gihr, 27 February 1944 – 9 April 1944
• Generalmajor Joachim Engel, 9 April 1944 –

References

1. ↑ Samuel W. Mitcham : German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry divisions in World War II ISBN 0811734161, Page89
2. ↑ . . , 2004 (in Russian) page 130