The 24th Infantry Division () was a German Army infantry division active in World War II. It served across the Eastern Front in engagements such as the Sieges of Sevastopol and the Leningrad, finally being destroyed in the Courland Pocket in 1945. History Formation and the Polish Campaign The 24th Infantry Division was raised on 15 October 1935 in Chemnitz, and was placed under the command of Lieutenant General Werner Kienitz until April 1938, when command was passed to Lieutenant General Sigismund von Förster. In November, Lieutenant General Friedrich Olbricht was appointed commander. The 171st Infantry Regiment was separated from this division in August 1939 and handed over to the newly activated 56th Infantry Division, while elements of the 24th Infantry's staff were given to 87th Infantry Division. The division was first deployed into action in September 1939 during the Soviet-German invasion of Poland, as part of X Corps in the newly formed 8th Army. The division attacked through Silesia in south-west Poland, but the components of X Corps began to stretch out over a wide area. Despite Colonel General von Rundstedt warning the 8th Army's commander about the weakness, little was evidently done, as they soon encountered fierce Polish resistance along the Bzura before turning northwards to the river Vistula. On September 5, the division was on the banks of the Warta and attempting to cross the river. Resisting heavy Polish anti-personnel fire, the arrival of the 10th Infantry Division helped the 24th substantially in clearing the banks. The division entered Glinno at the end of the day. Moving near the village of Piatek with the 30th Infantry Division, and the 1st Panzer Division near the banks of the Vistula, some eight Polish army divisions remained hidden from German intelligence in between them and the 4th Panzer Division outside Warsaw. At the end of the campaign, one-third of the division's dead were assessed to have perished along the Bzura river; 155 men were killed in action and another 433 wounded. Remaining in occupied Poland until December, the division was then sent back to Eifel as a reserve division for the 12th Army for the duration of the eastern campaign. The following February, Lieutenant General Friedrich Olbricht was replaced by Obernitz. Although a number of records relating to the 24th Infantry Division were destroyed in a fire, it can be deduced that the actions of the 102nd Regiment were significant