The 223rd Infantry Division was formed on 26 August 1939 as part of the third wave of deployment in the Dresden area in Wehrkreis IV (Saxony).

In September 1939, the division became part of Army Group C (Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb), which guarded the German border to France.

[3] In November 1939, the division was transferred east into occupied Poland, where it served on occupation duty in the newly formed Wehrkreis XXI (Posen) until February 1940.

[1] In November 1941, the division was transferred to the Eastern Front and became part of Army Group North.

Here, the division took part in the German defensive efforts against the Soviet Red Army's Winter campaign of 1941–42.