The 28th Infantry Division (German 28 Infanterie-Division) was formed in 1935, with Wrocław as the location of the staff. In 1941 it was transformed into the 28th Light Infantry Division, and in 1942 into the 28th Rifle Division (German: 28 Jäger-Division). The division started its combat route during the September campaign in 1939, fighting in the area of Dunajec and Nida, and later in the area of Tomasz Lubelski. During the so-called of a strange war, it manned the German West Wall. She took part in the Western campaign, fighting in southern Belgium and France. Among other things, she fought heavy battles for the Maubeuge Fortress. Until the beginning of June 1941, it performed occupation tasks in France. During the operation, Barbarossa fought in the area of Grodno and on the Daugava River, and fought particularly hard at Wiaźmie. In early November, as a result of the losses suffered, it was transferred to France and transformed into the 28th Light Infantry Division. In February 1942 he returns to the front and fights near Sevastopol. In July 1942, the unit changes its name again and becomes the 28th Rifle Division and is transferred to Army Group "North" where it fights, among others, near Wołkhów. He fought on the northern section of the Eastern Front until the beginning of 1944. In the summer of 1944, the division was stationed in East Prussia. The unit is crushed at the turn of March and April 1945 in the course of fighting in today's Kaliningrad region.
Infantry was the most numerous and one of the most important formations in the Polish armed forces in the interwar period and during the September campaign. During the September campaign of 1939, the basic operational unit of the Polish infantry - as in almost every European army of that time - was a division, which, after mobilization, was to reach approx. 16,500 soldiers. Its basic strike force was three infantry regiments, supported by anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery (27 37 mm cannons in full time) and light and heavy artillery (24 or 12 75 mm cannons in full time, 12 or 24 100 mm cannons, 3 105 mm cannons and 3 howitzers 155 mm). It is worth adding that the Polish infantry division showed many shortcomings compared to the German division. First of all, it had fewer machine guns and, above all, light and heavy artillery. Moreover, in the case of the Wehrmacht, the latter were significantly better equipped with motor vehicles, which improved their mobility and had much better means of communication and communication. For example: the German infantry division had 938 full-time cars, while the Polish - only 76 motor vehicles! This translated into the effectiveness of both formations on the battlefield, as well as their firepower and mobility.
The decisive influence on the shaping of the organization and tactics of the German infantry before the outbreak of World War II was, on the one hand, the experience of the previous World War, but also theoretical works created in the 1920s and 1930s, which often emphasized the need to perceive the German infantry as a tool waging an offensive war. This affected both the equipment and the organization of the German infantry division, which during the September campaign of 1939 consisted of 3 infantry regiments, each of which was divided into 3 infantry battalions, an artillery company and an anti-tank company. In addition, there were numerous support units, including: an artillery regiment with 4 artillery squadrons (including one heavy), an anti-tank battalion, a sapper battalion and a communications battalion. In total, the so-called infantry division In the first mobilization wave, there were approximately 17,700 people and had a significant artillery component, but also was abundantly equipped with machine guns. It also had modern and efficient - for those times - means of communication and command. In the course of the war, infantry divisions underwent transformation - in 1943 some of them were transformed into armored grenadier divisions. However, from 1943, the standard division of the "traditional" infantry consisted of approx. 12,500 men (and not approx. 17,700 as in 1939), and its artillery component - especially heavy artillery - was also reduced in it, while its anti-tank defense was significantly improved. It is assumed that during the entire Second World War, about 350 infantry divisions served in the Wehrmacht.