The division was formed in Autumn 1940 from the 16th Infantry Division which had previously taken part in the German invasion of France in 1940. The division, based in the Wehrkreis VI in the Westphalia region of Germany, received the 2nd Tank Regiment from the 1st Panzer Division and moved its home base from Münster to Wuppertal and came under the command of Hans-Valentin Hube.[1][2]