The 256. Infanterie-Division was formed in August 1939 as part of the 4. Welle (wave). The division was destroyed at Vitebsk in June 1944. The remnants formed Divisions-Gruppe 256 which was assigned to Korps-Abteilung H.

Commanders

Generalleutnant Josef Folttmann (1 Sep 1939 - 10 Jan 1940)
Generalleutnant Gerhard Kauffmann (10 Jan 1940 - 4 Jan 1942)
Generalleutnant Friedrich Weber (4 Jan 1942 - 14 Feb 1942)
Generalleutnant Paul Dannhauser (14 Feb 1942 - 24 Nov 1943)
Generalleutnant Albrecht Wüstenhagen (24 Nov 1943 - 26 June 1944) (KIA) (1)

Operations Officers (Ia)

Hauptmann Otto Deyhle (?-1940)
Major Albrecht von Warburg (Jun 1940-Nov 1942)
Oberstleutnant Adolf Hornig (Nov 1942-10 Dec 1943)

Area of operations

Germany (Sep 1939 - May 1940)
Netherlands & Belgium (May 1940 - June 1941)
Eastern front, central sector (June 1941 - July 1944)

Order of battle

Infanterie-Regiment 456
Infanterie-Regiment 476
Infanterie-Regiment 481
Artillerie-Regiment 256
Pionier-Bataillon 256
Feldersatz-Bataillon 256
Panzerabwehr-Abteilung 256
Aufklärungs-Abteilung 256
Nachrichten-Abteilung 256
Nachschubführer 256

Tigers of sPzAbt.501 with Grenadiers from the 256. Infantrie-Division during Operation Hubertus

(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

Footnotes

1. Generalmajor Albrecht Wüstenhagen was killed 26 June 1944 by Soviet tank fire near Kochanawa.

Sources used

French Maclean - Quiet Flows the Rhine: German General Officer Casualties in World War II
Georg Tessin - Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht 1933-1945

Reference material on this unit

Barbara Selz - Das grüne Regiment: Der Weg der 256. Infanterie Division aus der Sicht des Regiments 481