It was formed using surplus ground crew of the Luftwaffe and served on the Eastern Front from late 1942 to June 1944 when it was destroyed during Operation Bagration.

[Note 1] Intended to serve as infantry, its personnel were largely drawn from surplus Luftwaffe ground crew.

[Note 2] In the summer of 1944, the 6th Field Division held an area to the east of Vitebsk as part of LIII Corps of the 3rd Panzer Army.

The division was encircled during the Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive at Vitebsk within days of the start of the Soviet Army's Operation Bagration on 22 June 1944.

The division was destroyed with its commander, Generalleutnant Rudolf Peschel,[Note 3] killed in action on 27 June 1944.