The 217. Infanterie-Division was formed in August 1939 from Landwehr personell in East Prussia as part of the 3. Welle (wave). It took part in the invasion of Poland where it was mainly used as a reserve unit.
It was disbanded in November 1943 after suffering heavy losses on the Eastern Front. The remnants formed Divisions-Gruppe 217 which was assigned to Korps-Abteilung C.

Commanders

Generalleutnant Richard Baltzer (? Aug 1939 - 14 Feb 1942)
Generalleutnant Friedrich Bayer (14 Feb 1942 - 27 Sep 1942)
General der Infanterie Otto Lasch (27 Sep 1942 - ? Oct 1943)
Generalleutnant Walter Poppe (? Oct 1943 - 15 Nov 1943)

Operations Officers (Ia)

Major Otto Schaefer (26 Aug 1939-5 Jan 1940)
Oberst Wuthenau (1940-1941)
Major Theoderich von Dufving (18 Jul 1941-5 Mar 1942)
Oberst Hugo Freiherr von Süsskind-Schwendi (5 Mar 1942-15 Aug 1943)

Area of operations

Poland (Sep 1939 - May 1940)
Netherlands, Belgium & France (May 1940 - Jan 1942)
Eastern front, central sector (Jan 1942 - Nov 1943)

Order of battle (1939)

Infanterie-Regiment 311 (from Ausbildungsleiter Bartenstein)
Infanterie-Regiment 346 (from Ausbildungsleiter Ortelsburg 2)
Infanterie-Regiment 389 (from Ausbildungsleiter Allenstein 2)
Artillerie-Regiment 217
Divisionseinheiten 217

Order of battle (1943)

Grenadier-Regiment 311
Grenadier-Regiment 346
Grenadier-Regiment 389
Artillerie-Regiment 217
Divisionseinheiten 217

Sources used

Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945

Reference material on this unit

- None known at this time -