The division was raised in August 1939 as part of the fourth mobilisation wave, consisting of Bavarian soldiers from Wehkreis VII.

[1][2][3] On 1 June 1941 its commanding officer, Straube, was promoted to Lieutenant General, as German forces prepared for Operation Barbarossa, which the division was to take part in.

[4] The division took part in successful actions in the opening weeks, with the Brest Fortress being stormed and large portions of the Soviet Western Front being encircled at the Battle of Białystok–Minsk.

As Soviet Field Marshal Semyon Timoshenko began to assemble forces for a counter-offensive, this put strain on both Heinz Guderian's 2nd and Hermann Hoth's 3rd Panzer Groups.

The division sustained heavy losses during the Battle of Kursk, pulling back at diminished size to Bryansk and later Mogilev.