The 363rd Volksgrenadier Division () was a

volksgrenadier ''Volksgrenadier'', also spelt ''Volks-Grenadier'', was the name given to a type of German Army division formed in the autumn of 1944 after the double loss of Army Group Centre to the Soviets in Operation Bagration and the Fifth Panzer Army t ...

division of the

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, active from 1944 to 1945. The division was formed in September 1944 to replace the 363rd Infantry Division which was annihilated in the

Falaise pocket The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (; 12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, c ...

, by redesignating the 566th Volksgrenadier Division, under the command of

August Dettling August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

. It contained the 957th, 958th and 959th Grenadier Regiments, and the 363rd Artillery Regiment.Axis History Factbook The division fought in the Netherlands, suffering heavy casualties during the failed German offensive against the Nijmegen salient in early October 1944. After being refitted, the division fought around and along the

Roer River The Roer (, ) or Rur (; ) is a major river that flows through portions of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a right (eastern) tributary to the Meuse (). About 90 percent of the river's course is in Germany. It is not to be conf ...

before finally being destroyed in the Ruhr pocket in April 1945.

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