A first 277th Infantry Division (277. Infanterie-Division) was ordered to form on May 22, 1940 as part of the 10th mobilisation wave (10. Welle), but this order was rescinded after the French Surrender

Armistice with France (Second Compiègne)

The Second Armistice at Compiègne was signed at 18:50 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, in the department of Oise, between Nazi Germany and France...

. A new 277th Infantry Division was formed in Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

 on November 17, 1943 as part of the 22nd mobilisation wave (22. Welle), the division was destroyed in the Battle of Normandy

Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...

 in August 1944. A third, 277th Volksgrenadier Division (277. Volksgrenadier-Division) was formed on September 4, 1944 in Hungary by redesignation of the newly formed 574th Volksgrenadier Division (574. Volksgrenadier-Division) of the 32nd mobilisation wave (32. Welle). In 1945 the division entered U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 captivity in the Ruhr Pocket

Ruhr Pocket

The Ruhr Pocket was a battle of encirclement that took place in late March and early April 1945, near the end of World War II, in the Ruhr Area of Germany. For all intents and purposes, it marked the end of major organized resistance on Nazi Germany's Western Front, as more than 300,000 troops were...

.

Operational history

Except for its formation time in Croatia and Hungary the 277th Infantry Division spent its entire operation history on the Western front

Western Front (World War II)

The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...

. The division took part in the Battles of Normandy

Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...

 and the Ardennes

Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...

 under Army Group B

Army Group B

Army Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II.-Battle for France:The first was involved in the Western Campaign in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands which was to be aimed to conquer the Maas bridges after the German airborne actions in Rotterdam...

(Heeresgruppe B).

1943

• Grenadier-Regiment 989, I and II Battalions
• Grenadier-Regiment 990, I and II Battalions
• Grenadier-Regiment 991, I and II Battalions
• Artillerie-Regiment 277, I-IV Battalions
• Divisions-Füsilier-Abteilung 277
• Pionier-Battalion 277
• Infanterie-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung 277
• Feldersatz-Battalion 277

1944

• Grenadier-Regiment 989, I and II Battalions
• Grenadier-Regiment 990, I and II Battalions
• Grenadier-Regiment 991, I and II Battalions
• Artillerie-Regiment 277, I-IV Battalions
• Divisions-Füsilier-Kompanie 277
• Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 277
• Pionier-Battalion 277
• Infanterie-Divisions-Nachrichten-Abteilung 277