Panzer divisions were the key element of german success in the blitzkrieg operations of the early years of world war ii. During this period the panzer lehr division was raised, and three reserve panzer divisions were used to create the 9th, 11th and 116th panzer divisions. The art of tank warfare a guide to world war ii armored combat for players of panzer elite by christopher s. This book is designed as both a historical reference for the armored warfare enthusiasts among us, and as a. Organizational history of the german armored formation 19391945 pdf. For this reason the edelweiss badge has become another commonly used insignia to denote allegiance to this formation. Pzdiv, still used in the modern german army of the bundeswehr for example the 1. The panzer division 1944 organization did not have any major changes from the late panzer division 1943. Are maintenence companies only good for divisions with vehicles.
Later the waffenss formed its own panzer divisionsand fivisiones the luftwaffe fielded a panzer division. Medium battalion could have pziii, pziv, stugiii, or stugiv. Combat in the ardennes and sedan during fall gelb as part of panzergruppe kleist 10 june 1940. The 1st panzerdivision was an armoured division in the german army, the wehrmacht, during. For germany are their any support units that are not worthwhile. Furthermore, the only thing in september of 1941 standing between the ostheers panzer divisions fighting at 100% strength instead of roughly 75% strength in reality were the decisions made by hitler and okhokw in terms of how they allocated the output of german factories producing more than enough vehicles to keep the ostheers tank park. Panzer iv tank during world war ii, the use of tanks revolutionized the way war would be fought. Structure of a panzer division in 1943 axis history forum. Panzer division, 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.
German tank division 1939 organization and structure. Rommel and the german 7th panzer division in france 1940 kkrva. Feb 08, 2016 visualization of a german panzer division in 1939 according to the planned outfit for the 1. F 101 attached to at the beginning of barbarossa, but for example on 26 august it was attached to the 7. Furthermore, the only thing in september of 1941 standing between the ostheers panzer division s fighting at 100% strength instead of roughly 75% strength in reality were the decisions made by hitler and okhokw in terms of how they allocated the output of german factories producing more than enough vehicles to keep the ostheers tank park. Panzer division was an elite armored division in the german army during world war ii. The status of the reorganization must be reported in the monthly status reports. This is a more restricted meaning than the german language equivalent panzerdivision short. Examines vehicles, armor quality, manpower, and leadership and includes a comprehensive index of individuals, units, battles, and campaigns first guide to chronicle the history of each division.
Apr 12, 2016 tank brigade historical composition for the 1st tank division 1. The buildup of the air force also meant that the german panzer. Examines vehicles, armor quality, manpower, and leadership and includes a comprehensive index of. Jun 08, 2019 between early 1943 and until the end of world war ii the order of battle of the waffenss rose from 8 to 38 divisions with nearly one million men. Panzer divisions had their own organic infantry and artillery support. Not all panzer divisions had a tank regiment, or even two tank battalions. Panzer division was created in 1935, and stationed in austria after the anschluss. Aufklarungsabteilung 5 was renamed as kradschutzenabteilung 24 and transfered to the 24. I have for example the information that the onhand strength of 11th panzer division on july 1943 before zitadelle was. The state of barbarossas panzer divisions in the fall of. September 1939 in contrast with the actual numbers.
I would like to know about the organization of a standard panzer division not grossdeutschland or waffen ss in the summer of 1943. The 10th panzer division is a part of germany s permanent contribution to eurocorps, the. Greatest battle of the second world war, ebook locations. The details of the combat, signal, transport and supply elements authorised in a june 1941 panzer division, equipped with german tanks, are shown in table. Kreml designer notes h document john tiller software. The german panzer formations were undergoing reorganization prior to. A range of books as well as english and german language websites have been primary sources. What is the best composition of support units for german panzer divisions and infantry divisions. The panzer medium tank had a number of major modifications during the course of the war. Legal disclaimer this image shows or resembles a symbol that was used by the national socialist nsdapnazi government of germany or an organization closely associated to it, or another party which has been banned by the federal constitutional court of germany. Just click on any picture below to make it large for viewing 1.
The 1st panzer division deserved a better account and it would be wise to avoid spending money on this volume. The use of insignia of organizations that have been banned in germany like the nazi swastika or the arrow cross are also illegal. It changes massively depending on the country youre talking about and the time period of the war everyone organised them differently, and doctrine changed year to year. For an infantry division official composition in 1939 was 17,734 men official composition ws lowered in 1943 due to manpower shortage to 12,772 men a panzer divison after the 1943 reorgaanisation would be 15,600 men and 150200 armoured vehicles one tank regiment of two or three battalions of three companies. Of the 154 divisions deployed against soviet union in 1941, including reserves, there were 100 infantry, 19 panzer, 11 motorised, 9 security, 5 waffenss, 4 light, 4 mountain, 1 ss police, and 1 cavalry. In reality, the organization continued to vary from division to division.
As of 1943, standard division had one armored medium battalion and one panzerv panther battalion. The book was a disappointment because the 500 or so black and white photographs were of a very small size usually four in a page, placed like in a checkerboard style and of poor quality. Wehrmacht panzer divisions 193945 essential identification guide. In 1942, panzerabteilung ipanzerregiment 3 was removed and transfered to another unit.
Brigades often operate independent of a division structure, as in the british army. Later the waffenss formed its own panzer divisions, and even the luftwaffe fielded a panzer division. By june 1941 the panzer division had evolved into an extremely sophisticated organisation for its day. At the same time, as a result of the transfer, the 2. Army panzer division from 1939, 24 battalions of different types of tanks light, medium, german, czech. A panzer division in world war ii consisted of a tank brigade with four battalions, a motorized. Development of the german panzer division a discussion of the evolution of the german panzer division from 1934 through the war. Examines vehicles, armor quality, manpower, and leadership and includes a comprehensive index of individuals, units, battles, and campaigns first guide to chronicle the history of each division from its. German tank maintenance in world war ii army center of military. Panzer division 1944 organization chart and kstn list. This image shows or resembles a symbol that was used by the national socialist nsdapnazi government of germany or an organization closely associated to it, or another party which has been banned by the federal constitutional court of germany.
Aug 03, 2019 panzer divisions had their own organic infantry and artillery support. Organized by division, the book describes in depth the various models of tank. Wehrmacht panzer divisions 193945 essential identification guide bishop, chris. Hitlers tank divisions were his most lethal weapons during world war ii. A comparative analysis of anti tank units in world war ii. In addition the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 8th panzer divisions had only one motorised infantry regiment vs two in every 1941 panzer division, and only the 1st, 2nd and 10th had a heavy artillery battalion vs one in every 1941 panzer division.
Divisions are organized in either a brigade or regimental structure depending on the army. 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. Originally only consisting of armoured units, it now also commands germany s last mountain warfare unit. See more ideas about ww2 tanks, wwii and world war two. This detailed history of the tiger company of nazi germanys notorious deaths head panzer division of the waffenss covers the armored combat at kursk, warsaw, and other battles on the eastern front. There was, however, a major change to unit organization referred to as freie gliederung. Like the soviet forces there was significant variation in the german formations, whether they were infantry or panzer.
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 11th panzer division did not participate in the war until the invasion of yugoslavia. Organization and strength of the panzer regiments 10 may 1940 the information below is based on thomas l. Visualization of a german panzer division in 1939 according to the planned outfit for the 1. Although intended for use with that game, they can be used. From success to failure, in victory and defeat, each division played a role in hitlers campaign against the allies.
The antitank battalion now included divisionfs guns, tank destroyers, and towed antitank guns. German ss panzergrenadier divisionleibstandarte ss adolf hitler, fought. The parts supply organization was radically changed in order to afford a more rapid and efficient distribution of spare parts. Best regards, ron klages panzerdivision 1944 panzer division headquarters. A survey of 20thcentury tactics, doctrine, and organization by captain jonathan m. Each of the infantry regiments had, besides its twelve rifle and heavy weapons companies, a th infantry howitzer and 14th antitank company. The backbone of the heer german army was the infantry division. Figures 9 and 10 show the infantry division, 1944 type, but newest regulations point towards a further reduction of the components of that type of division by approximately 10 per cent and the redesignation of the thus reorganized division as infantry division, type 1945 infanteriedivisions 45. On 1 august 1944, the organization of a tank division was changed to that of the panzer division 44. Panzerdivision contained only one abteilung of panzers. The division saw action on the eastern and western fronts during the second world war. A panzer division is one of the armored tank divisions in the wehrmacht of nazi germany during world war ii. During 19434, the 18th panzer division was broken up, and units were taken from it to create the 18th artillery division.
German defense tactics against russian breakthroughs. Panzer, panzer grenadier, and waffen ss divisions in world war ii, stackpole books, 2007. 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. List of german divisions in world war ii wikipedia. Are hospital and signal units usefull or is more artillery better. As a rule of thumb, a division is between 10 and 20 thousand soldiers, and. Panzer division these are the numbers for the erste panzer division the first tank division. It had 93 panzer i, a tank never intended for combat and only armed with machine guns. Broadly, the summer 1941 panzer division was authorised. It was known as blitzkrieg, and the german panzer tank was the key vehicle in this new style of war. Here in detail is the authorized toe for a german panzer division in 1944. The tank divisions are to be reorganized within the limits of the available personnel and materiel.
In german speaking countries, panzerdivision is not immediately associated with the wehrmacht as it is in english, as the german term simply means armored division and has no additional connotation. The elite ss panzer and panzergrenadier divisions from this and the following page represented germanys most effective troops in the last stages of the war, setting a standard unsurpassed. As of 1943, standard division had one armored medium battalion and one panzer v panther battalion. Apr 04, 2016 it changes massively depending on the country youre talking about and the time period of the war everyone organised them differently, and doctrine changed year to year. The use of insignia of organizations that have been banned in germany like the nazi swastika or. It took part in the invasion of the ussr attached to heeresgruppe sud and during the advance took part in several encirclements of soviet troops before reaching rostov november 1941. I read that aa units are not good because building more fighters is more efficient. Nicknamed the ghost division because of its speed and habit of turning up where its enemies least expected, the german 11th panzer division wreaked havoc in the east and west in world war ii, playing a pivotal role in some of the biggest engagements, including barbarossa, stalingrad, kursk, and the west. Waffen ss panzer division 1944 unit strength in 193940 numbering system in panzer divisions strength of the most important division types of the german field army in 1939. Kettenkrad1 motorcycle with sidecar36 motorcycle5 light civilian car5 medium civilian car5 light cross country car24 medium cross country car4 heavy cross country. Tank brigade historical composition for the 1st tank division 1. Effective immidiately, the panzerdivision 44 table of organization and equipment applies to all tank divisions. It fought in the soviet union from 1941 to 1944 and, in the. Its divisional insignia was a white oak leaf emblem.
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