556th Infantry Division

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The 556th Infantry Division (556. Infanterie-Division) was a short-lived German army unit that existed only in 1940. It was formed in Posen as a border garrison for the Upper Rhine area along the Franco-German border and was part of the Heer under Wehrmacht. The division was commanded by Kurt von Berg. It consisted of three infantry regiments (628, 629, 630), an artillery regiment (556), plus an observation detachment and various support units. Its personnel mainly came from older conscripts called up in 1939.

The 556th was assigned to frontier protection along the Westwall (Siegfried Line) and helped guard German rear areas during the early rapid advances of the Battle of France. After the German victory in the west, the division was deemed surplus to requirements. A dissolution order was issued on 26 July 1940, and the division was officially dissolved on 13 August 1940 (remnants remained until 1 October). Several infantry battalions were reorganized into independent Heimat-Wach battalions and later redesignated as Landesschützen Battalions 784–789.