Panzer division

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A panzer division is an armored division in the German Army (German: Panzerdivision).

Panzer divisions are combined arms formations having both armor (panzers) and infantry as organic components, along with the usual assets of artillery, anti-aircraft, signals, etc. that are common to most military divisions of the industrial era. However, the proportions of the components of a panzer division have changed over time.

Although initially the formation of units larger than a panzer regiment proposed by Heinz Guderian were rejected by the inspector of motorized troops Otto von Stuelpnagel^[1], on his replacement by Oswald Lutz, Guderian's mentor, the attitude gained more support in the Army, and after 1933 was also supported by Adolf Hitler. On the 15 October 1935 the first three panzer divisions were formed.^[2] The 1st Division was formed in Weimar and commanded by Maximilian von Weichs, the 2nd Division was formed in Wurzburg and commanded by Heinz Guderian and the 3rd Division was formed in Berlin and commanded by Ernst Feßmann.

Panzer divisions during World War II

Organization of the 1941-type Pz Division

The German panzer divisions were the main building blocks of the German successes in the Blitzkrieg operations in the early years of the war. They were organized in a way that they could operate relatively independently from other units. As opposed to most other armies of the era, that had usually organized their tanks in "tank brigades" which always needed infantry and artillery support; the panzer divisions had their support units organic to themselves, which led to an automatic change in military doctrine: rather than seeing tanks as a unit to support operations by other units, the tanks became the main focus of attention, with other units supporting them.

The number of tanks was comparatively small, but all other units in the panzer division were motorised (with trucks, half-tracks, specialized combat vehicles) to match the speed of the tanks. These divisions usually consisted of one tank regiment, two motorized infantry regiments (including one mechanized battalion), an artillery regiment with self-propelled howitzers, and several support battalions (reconnaissance, anti-tank, anti-aircraft, engineers, etc).

Both the Wehrmacht Heer and the Waffen-SS included panzer divisions in their structure.

The Wehrmacht Heer panzer division consisted of a single panzer regiment, two panzergrenadier regiments, one motorised artillery regiment (later panzer artillery regiment). Several other combat and combat support battalions were often included, like motorcycle-infantry battalion, reconnaissance battalion (Aufklärungsabteilung), pioneer battalion (combat engineers), signals battalion, anti-aircraft battalion, and field replacement battalion. At full strength, the division included around 16,000 personnel and was equipped with between 135 and 209 tanks, with the amount of tanks decreasing over the war.

One myth that emerged in post-war years was that SS Divisions received more tanks than their Wehrmacht counterparts. Recent research has shown this to be untrue, with both types of unit receiving the same amounts of equipment. Since both the Wehrmacht and SS used their own ordinal system, there were duplicate numbers (i.e. there was both a 9th Panzer Division and a 9th SS Panzer Division), which occasionally led to confusion amongst their opponents.

As the war progressed, the battle losses were decreasingly replaced in favour of forming new divisions. This led to the situation where most panzer divisions were a shadow of themselves by the second half of the war.

Numbered panzer divisions

• 1st Panzer Division
• 2nd Panzer Division
• 3rd Panzer Division
• 4th Panzer Division
• 5th Panzer Division
• 6th Panzer Division (previously 1st Light Division)
• 7th Panzer Division (previously 2nd Light Division)
• 8th Panzer Division (previously 3rd Light Division)
• 9th Panzer Division (previously 4th Light Division)
• 10th Panzer Division
• 11th Panzer Division
• 12th Panzer Division (previously 2nd Motorized Infantry Division)
• 13th Panzer Division (previously 13th Infantry Division, 13th Motorized Infantry Division; later Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2)
• 14th Panzer Division (previously 4th Infantry Division)
• 15th Panzer Division (previously 33rd Infantry Division; later 15th Panzergrenadier Division)
• 16th Panzer Division (previously 16th Infantry Division)
• 17th Panzer Division (previously 27th Infantry Division)
• 18th Panzer Division (later 18th Artillery Division)
• 19th Panzer Division (previously 19th Infantry Division)
• 20th Panzer Division
• 21st Panzer Division (previously 5th Light Division)
• 22nd Panzer Division
• 23rd Panzer Division
• 24th Panzer Division (previously 1st Cavalry Division)
• 25th Panzer Division
• 26th Panzer Division (formerly 23rd Infantry Division)
• 27th Panzer Division
• 116th Panzer Division Windhund (previously 16th Infantry Division, 16th Motorized Infantry Division, and 16th Panzergrenadier Division)
• 155th Reserve Panzer Division (previously Division Nr. 155, Division Nr. 155 (mot.), Panzer Division Nr. 155)
• Panzer Division Nr. 178 (previously Division Nr. 178)
• 179th Reserve Panzer Division (previously Division Nr. 179, Division Nr. 179 (mot.), and Panzer Division Nr. 179)
• 232nd Panzer Division (previously Panzer Division Tatra, Panzer Training Division Tatra)
• 233rd Reserve Panzer Division (previously Division Nr. 233 (mot.), Panzergrenadier Division Nr. 233, and Panzer Division Nr. 233; later Panzer Division Clausewitz)
• 273rd Reserve Panzer Division

Named panzer divisions

• Panzer Division Clausewitz (previously Division Nr. 233 (mot.), Panzergrenadier Division Nr. 233, and Panzer Division Nr. 233, Reserve Panzer Division 233)
  • Döberitz, Schlesien, and Holstein are approximately synonymous with Clausewitz.
• Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 1 (previously 60th Infantry Division, 60th Motorized Infantry Division, and Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle)
• Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2 (previously 13th Infantry Division, 13th Motorized Infantry Division, and 13th Panzer Division)
• Panzer Division Jüterbog
• Panzer Division Kempf (part Heer, part Waffen-SS)
• Panzer Division Kurmark
• Panzer Lehr Division (sometimes identified as 130th Panzer Division)
• Panzer Division Müncheberg
• Panzer Division Tatra (later Panzer Training Division Tatra, 232nd Panzer Division)

Tank complement of panzer divisions

The tank strength of panzer divisions varied throughout the war. Battle losses, formation of new units, reinforcements and captured enemy equipment all mean that the actual equipment of each unit is rarely known. The following table summarizes each divisions' strength when it was known.

Panzer division in popular culture

• Panzer Division is the name of an American power noise act.
• Pansy Division is a queercore punk band.
• Panzer Division Marduk is a 1999 album by Marduk.

See also

• Blitzkrieg
• Deutsches Afrikakorps
• General der Panzertruppe
• Hermann Göring Division
• List of German divisions in WWII
• Maneuver warfare
• Panzertruppe
• Wehrmacht

Notes

References

• Davies, W.J.K. (1977) [1973]. German Army Handbook 1939-1945 (Second U.S. Edition ed.). New York: Arco Publishing. ISBN 0-668-04291-5. 
• Guderian, Heinz (2001) [1952]. Panzer Leader (Da Capo Press Reissue edition ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81101-4. 
• von Mellenthin, Major General F. W. (1956). Panzer Battles: A Study of the Employment of Armor in the Second World War (First Ballantine Books Edition ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-24440-0. 
• Mitcham, Samuel (2001). The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and Their Commanders. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 9780313316401. 
• Parada, George (2004). "Panzer Divisions 1940-1945", achtungpanzer.com