Panzer division


A panzer division is one of the armored divisions in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. This is a more restricted meaning than the German-language equivalent Panzerdivision, still used in the modern German Army of the Bundeswehr. 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.
Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the blitzkrieg operations of the early years of World War II. Later the Waffen-SS formed its own panzer divisions, and even the Luftwaffe fielded a panzer division: the Hermann Göring Division.
A panzer division was a combined arms formation, having both tanks, mechanized and motorized infantry, along with artillery, anti-aircraft and other integrated support elements. At the start of the war, panzer divisions were more effective than the equivalent Allied armored divisions due to their combined arms doctrine, even though they had fewer and generally less technically-advanced tanks. By mid-war, though German tanks had often become technically superior to Allied tanks, Allied armored warfare and combined arms doctrines generally caught up with the Germans, and shortages reduced the combat readiness of panzer divisions. The proportions of the components of panzer divisions changed over time.
The World War II German equivalent of a mechanized infantry division is Panzergrenadierdivision. This is similar to a panzer division, but with a higher proportion of infantry and assault guns and fewer tanks.

Pre-war development

first proposed the formation of panzer units larger than a regiment, but the inspector of motorized troops, Otto von Stuelpnagel, rejected the proposal. After his replacement by Oswald Lutz, Guderian's mentor, the idea gained more support in the Wehrmacht, and after 1933 was also supported by Adolf Hitler. The first three panzer divisions were formed on 15 October 1935. The 1st Panzerdivision was formed in Weimar and commanded by Maximilian von Weichs, the 2nd Panzerdivision was formed in Würzburg and commanded by Guderian, and the 3rd Panzerdivision was formed in Berlin and commanded by Ernst Feßmann.
Most other armies of the era organized their tanks into "tank brigades" that required additional infantry and artillery support. Panzer divisions had their own organic infantry and artillery support. This led to a change in operational doctrine: instead of the tanks supporting operations by other arms, the tanks led operations, with other arms supporting them. Since the panzer divisions had the supporting arms included, they could operate independently from other units.

World War II

These first panzer divisions were composed of two tank regiments, one motorised infantry regiment of two battalions each, and supporting troops. Some of these panzer divisions had quite a large proportion of Panzerkampfwagen I in them, a tank that was never intended for combat. After the invasion of Poland in 1939, the old divisions were partially reorganised. Around this time, the newly organised divisions diverged in organisation, each on average with one tank regiment, one separate tank battalion, one or two infantry regiments.
By the start of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the 21 panzer divisions had undergone further reorganisation to now consist of one tank regiment and two motorised regiments. Until the winter of 1941/42, the organic component of these divisions consisted of a motorised artillery regiment and the following battalions: reconnaissance, motorcycle, anti-tank, pioneer, field replacement, and communications. The number of tanks in the 1941-style divisions was relatively small, compared to their predecessors' composition. All other units in these formations were fully motorised to match the speed of the tanks.
During the winter of 1941/42, the divisions underwent another reorganisation, with a tank regiment comprising from one to three battalions, depending on location. Throughout 1942, the reconnaissance battalions were merged into the motorcycle battalions.
By the summer of 1943, the Luftwaffe and Waffen-SS also had panzer divisions. A renewed standardization of the tank regiments was attempted. Each was now supposed to consist of two battalions, one with Panzer IV and one with Panzer V. In reality, the organization continued to vary from division to division. The first infantry battalion of the first infantry regiment of each panzer division was now supposed to be fully mechanised. The first battalion of the artillery regiment replaced its former light-towed howitzers with a mix of heavy and light self-propelled guns. The anti-tank battalion now included assault guns, tank destroyers, and towed anti-tank guns. Generally, the mechanization of these divisions increased compared to their previous organization.
Since the Heer and the SS used their own ordinal systems, there were duplicate numbers.

Heer

Numbered

The tank strength of the panzer divisions varied throughout the war. The actual equipment of each division is difficult to determine due to battle losses, the formation of new units, reinforcements and captured enemy equipment. The following table gives the tank strength of every division on two dates when this was known.

Flags

Panzer divisions used pink military flags.