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.
The Battle of Smolensk was fought between July 6 and August 5, 1941 and was one of the most important battles of Operation Barbarossa. On the Soviet side, a total of about 580,000 people took part in it. soldiers. They were commanded by, among others: Semyon Timoshenko and Georgy Zhukov. About 430 thousand people fought on the German side. soldiers, led, for example, by Fedor von Bock, Herman Hoth or Heinz Guderian. The Battle of Smolensk is considered to be the first battle of such size in the course of Operation Barbarossa, which delayed the progress of the German troops and in the course of which the Soviet side undertook a concentrated and relatively coordinated counterattack against the advancing German troops. Ultimately, however, it ended with an overwhelming, tactical success for the German side, which captured (according to various sources) about 280-350 thousand. Soviet soldiers, who owed their victory above all to a much better command and organization of their own troops. On the other hand, the Wehrmacht also suffered significant losses in the battles near Smolensk, in terms of people and equipment, which will be felt later in the course of Operation Typhoon.