A guide to the german army tank divisions of world war ii and their commanders stackpole military history series samuel w. It participated in the battle of france, the invasion of the soviet union, the occupation of vichy france, and on the eastern front until the end of the war. The table below shows the organisation structure that an ss panzer division aspired to contain. What is the best composition of support units for german panzer divisions and infantry divisions. Centers on the panzer division as an organization and not just on the details of the tanks themselves.
The 1st panzer division was formed on 15 october 1935 from the 3rd cavalry division, and was headquartered in weimar. Panzer division, remnants of field divisions and heerestruppen from heeresgruppe b was form to new panzer division. The status of the reorganization must be reported in the monthly status reports. The panzergrenadier division had indeed a panzer abteilung with 42 stugs and 3 panzerbefehlswagen iiis. A panzer division is one of the armored tank divisions in the wehrmacht of nazi germany. The 7th panzer division was an armored formation of the german army in world war ii.
In his riveting new book, steven zaloga describes how american foot soldiers faced. Effective immidiately, the panzer division 44 table of organization and equipment applies to all tank divisions the tank divisions are to be reorganized within the limits of the available personnel and materiel. Panzer divisions 19351939 panzer divisions 19401945 waffen ss panzer divisions 19431945 wehrmacht panzer division mid1942 wehrmacht panzer division 1944. For germany are their any support units that are not worthwhile. The division met with great success in france in 1940, and then again in the. Basic organization of panzergrenadierregiment in panzer. Thus the ss panzerdivision could field two panzer battalions which reinforced by one assault gun battalion and a total of six panzergrenadier battalions, two of them were equipped with sdkfz 251 spw.
A study of the employment of armor in the second world war first ballantine books ed. The 116th panzer division, also known as the windhund greyhound division, was a. Panzerdivision was once more refit and reformed, this time at wittlich in the eifel area of germany where it absorbed the remains of the 352. Organized by division, the book describes in depth the various models of tank in. The battle plans and tactics of the fifth panzer army, more than those of any other german army that took part in the ardennes counteroffensive, bore the very strong personal imprint of its commander, general manteuffel. This richly illustrated book chronologically describes the course of operation. The division had 2 regiments, with each 3 batallionen. Note this was a luftwaffe unit, built with luftwaffe resources. Panzergruppe from its formation on 15 february 1941 to 1 january 1942, when it was redesignated as a full army was a german panzer formation during world war ii. Pzdiv, still used in the modern german army of the bundeswehr for example the 1. It never reached division strength and was eventually cannabilized. Panzer division and reorganization of panzergrenadierregiment 140. I normally only buy german unit histories if the organization in question fought primarily. The state of barbarossas panzer divisions in the fall of.
Best regards, ron klages panzer division 1944 panzer division headquarters. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation, inc. Here in detail is the authorized toe for a german panzer division in 1944. This is a more restricted meaning than the germanlanguage equivalent panzerdivision short. Its antitank guns were given over to the panzer jaegerabteilung but the panzergrenadiers were equipped with panzerschrecks and panzerfaust anti. The 7th panzer division is sometimes known by its nickname, ghost division. The ss panzer division was an ss formation during world war ii. The blitzkrieg years 193940 follows a german division relatively late to armored warfare, but which formed a formidable lightning war contribution to its side. For this reason the edelweiss badge has become another commonly used insignia to denote allegiance to this formation. German organization for combat, 1944 between 1939 and 1943 the german standard infantry division contained three regiments with a total of nine rifle battalions. The panzer division had a panzer regiment with 2 panzer abteilungen, each having 4 kompanien of 17 tanks each. The firepower of panzergrenadierregiment in 1944 was reduced due to removal of all antitank guns as compared to previous one table 19 and table 20. Basic organization of panzergrenadierregiment mot in type 44 panzer division. This books tells us about the origins, recruitment and training of the 12 th ss panzer division hitler youth.
Epilogue united states army center of military history. Earlier in the year, germany had renounced the treaty of versailles, which had forbidden the country, among other things, from having tank forces, a treaty. Panzer division, german panzerdivision, armoured division, a selfcontained combinedarms military unit of the german army, built around and deriving its mission largely from the capabilities of armoured fighting vehicles. Officially known as the th panzer division but more commonly known as panzer lehr, the division started forming up in late december 1943 in wehrkreis military district iii but later transferred to the nancyverdunluneville area of france in january 1944. As a junior officer in the prewar panzer troops, manteuffel had made a mark as an armored. F 101 attached to at the beginning of barbarossa, but for example on 26 august it was attached to the 7. Known war crimes this unit was one of those singled out in exhibit uk66, the british report on german reprisals for partisan activities in italy at the international military tribunal imt war crimes trial at nuremberg. The panzer legions and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Each of the infantry regiments had, besides its twelve rifle and heavy weapons companies, a th infantry howitzer and 14th antitank company. The german 10th ss panzer division from the eastern front to normandy. Stackpole books, guilford, connecticut, 2017, 400 pages. Wehrmacht panzer divisions 193945 essential identification guide bishop.
I read that aa units are not good because building more fighters is more efficient. There was, however, a major change to unit organization referred to as freie gliederung. It was one of three tank divisions created at the time, the other two being the 2nd and 3rd panzer division. Buy panzer divisions of the waffenss by rolf michaelis isbn. It remained in the thick of the action the eastern front, north africa, the balkans, scandinavia, north west europe right up until the last desperate shots were fired over the ruins of a crumbling third reich.
Historical divisions germany paradox interactive forums. As a key armoured component of the wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial battles of the germansoviet war of 194145, including. In june 1941, this divison had 630 dutch, 294 norwegian, 216 danes, 1 swedes and 421 finns and mostly grouped in nordland panzergrenadierregiment while german were grouped in germania regiment. Originally only consisting of armoured units, it now also commands germanys last mountain warfare unit.
The structure and organisation of the 12th ss panzer division hitlerjugend is equivalent to the table above and served as a standard for. In germanspeaking countries, panzerdivision is not immediately associated with the wehrmacht. The combat history of the 23rd panzer division in world. From the opening shots of world war ii in poland in september 1939, through the blitzkrieg to the fall of france and the low countries, the german army was at the forefront of battle. Kettenkrad1 motorcycle with sidecar36 motorcycle5 light civilian car5 medium civilian car5 light cross country car24 medium cross country car4 heavy cross country. Are hospital and signal units usefull or is more artillery better. The 11th gespenster panzer division and the german armored force in. The panzer division 1944 organization did not have any major changes from the late panzer division 1943. Typical of all the books in this series, plenty of photos from the units veterans, plenty of rare photos youre not going to see anywhere else, a literal daybyday playbook of the division s activities, losses, and actions, a whole lot of maps, and pretty much everything one could hope to know about the very busy and very unique 23rd panzer division. A panzer division is one of the armored tank divisions in the wehrmacht of nazi germany during world war ii. A panzer division in world war ii consisted of a tank brigade with four battalions, a motorized infantry brigade with four rifle battalions, an artillery regiment.
In february 1941, the german high command decided to dispatch an expeditionary force to north africa in support of the italian forces which were in a difficult situation against the british. Jagdpanzerkompanie jagdpanzer iv or 38, 1 november 1944. A guide to the german army tank divisions of world war ii and their commanders stackpole military history series. The 1st panzerdivision was an armoured division in the german army, the wehrmacht, during. Whereas more than half the panzers deployed in france during may of 1940 were light panzer i and ii variants, by june of 1941 fully two thirds of each division s panzer complement comprised the far more capable pz 3538t, panzer iiiiv, and stug assault guns. The ss divisions had the same, only with some smaller changes. In jun 43, the hermann goring panzer division was formed. In reality, the organization continued to vary from division to division. This contingent included elements that a few months later were to form the 5th light division, and in 1942, the 21st. The 21st panzer division was a german armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the north african campaign from 19411943 during world war ii when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the deutsches afrikakorps dak. The fifth panzer army attacks the 28th infantry division. A canadian in the german 7th panzer division, 194445, by bruno friesen is mr friesens memoirs of his time living in germany and serving in the german army as a panzer iv and jadgpanzer iv tank destroyer crewman, as well as covering some of his pre and postwar life in canada.
Firepower for the panzer divisions unknown by thomas anderson isbn. The book more or less provides summaries on the most well known of the waffen ss divisions. These chapters provide an overview of the divisions composition, leadership. Panzer division 1944 organization chart and kstn list. Panzer grenadier division 1944 armored infantry division schweren panzer abteilung tiger tiger battalion k st n 1149 f g. Are maintenence companies only good for divisions with vehicles.
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