17th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
The 17th Panzer Division (
Operational history
Formation
The 27th Infantry Division was formed in October 1936 in
The 17th Panzer Division was formed in late 1940, when the 27th Infantry Division
1941
In May 1941, the division was transferred to the central sector of the planned attack on the Soviet Union,
The division crossed the
In October, it took part in the run up to the Battle of Moscow, taking Bryansk on 6 October. The division was then concentrated at Orel and advanced towards Tula, where it was engaged in a failed attempt to encircle the city. With the Soviet counterattack on 5 December, the division started retreating on the 8th, after having reached a point 120 km south east of Moscow.[7] The division took defensive positions northeast of Orel, where it remained until the Summer of 1942.[4]
1942
After the winter battles, the division was reconstituted near its front line positions in the early summer of 1942. It received approximately 50 tanks of the type Panzer III and Panzer IV. It was engaged in minor attacks north of Orel in September but then went into defensive positions again. The division was then held in Army Group Centre reserve near Bolkhov. At this stage, it only fielded 45 to 50 tanks of varying types (down from a nominal strength of around 200).[4] In October 1942, when Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin took command of the division, it had only 30 operational tanks, and one-third of its trucks were unserviceable.
After
1943
The division continued its retreat towards the
The division did not take part in the
1944
In late January and early February 1944, the 17th Panzer Division took part in the relief operations for the
It remained in reserve again in April and May, stationed behind the frontline, before taking part in operations around
1945
With the start of the Soviet
The division found itself in constant retreat as part of the XXIV Panzer Corps commanded by
In February 1945, the division, by now reduced to a Kampfgruppe, was attached to Army Group Center on the Oder River. By March 1945, it retreated as far as Jägerndorf by the Red Army. Early in April, it had retreated southwest into Moravia, where in quick succession it came under the order of 17th Army and 1st Army. The division surrendered to the Soviet army near Görlitz at the end of April 1945.
Commanders
Commander | Start | Finish | Notes |
Generalleutnant Friedrich Bergmann | 1 January 1937 | 4 October 1940 | became commander of 137th Infantry Division, killed in action 21 December 1941[15] |
Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen von Arnim | 5 October 1940 | 24 June 1941 | wounded in action 24 June 1941 |
Generalmajor Karl Ritter von Weber | 24 June 1941 | 17 July 1941 | acting — wounded in action, died of his injuries 20 July 1941[5] |
General Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma | 17 July 1941 | 15 September 1941 | Returned to command leader reserve after von Arnim's recovery |
Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen von Arnim | 15 September 1941 | 11 November 1941 | second spell after recovering from his injuries, became commander of XXXIX Panzer Corps 11 November 1942 |
Generalleutnant Rudolf-Eduard Licht | 11 November 1941 | 10 October 1942 | removed from command and returned to Germany to be put in charge of lower-key divisions[15] |
General Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin | 10 October 1942 | 16 June 1943 | became German liaison officer to Italian 6th Army in Sicily in June 1943 |
Generalleutnant Walter Schilling | 16 June 1943 | 20 July 1943 | killed in action 20 July 1943 near Doljenjaja[16] |
Generalleutnant Karl-Friedrich von der Meden | 21 July 1943 | 20 September 1944 | became commander of 178th Reserve Panzer Division 1 October 1944.[13] |
Generalmajor Rudolf Demme | 20 September 1944 | 2 December 1944 | became commander of 132nd Infantry Division[16] |
Oberst Albert Brux
|
2 December 1944 | 19 January 1945 | captured by the Red Army January 1945[16] |
Generalmajor Theodor Kretschmer | 1 February 1945 | 8 May 1945 | Surrendered the division in May 1945[16] |
Area of operations
Region | Start | Finish |
Germany | November 1940 | June 1941 |
Eastern Front — central sector | June 1941 | November 1942 |
Eastern Front — southern sector | November 1942 | March 1944 |
Eastern Front — central sector | March 1944 | August 1944 |
Poland | August 1944 | March 1945 |
Eastern Germany | March 1945 | May 1945 |
Order of battle in 1944
The order of battle in 1944. The 63rd Panzergrenadier Regiment was disbanded in late 1944. The regiments first battalion replaced the third battalion of 40th Panzergrenadier Regiment. The second battalion of the 63rd Regiment became the second battalion of the 79th Panzer-Füsilier Regiment.[14] The 297th Army Flak Battalion had only joined the division in 1943 and the Panzergrenadier Regiment had been called Schützen Regiment until July 1942.
HQ
- Divisional Staff
- Mapping Detachment (mot)
- Military Police Detachment (mot)
- Escort Company
39th Panzer Regiment
- Regimental Staff
- 2 x Battalion
- Panzer Maintenance Company
40th Panzergrenadier Regiment
- Regimental Staff
- 3 x Battalion
- Pioneer Company (mot)
- Infantry Support Gun Company (self-propelled)
- 63rd Panzergrenadier Regiment.
27th Panzerjäger Battalion
- Battalion Staff
- Panzerjäger Battalion Staff Company
- 2 x Sturmgeschütz Company
- Panzerjäger Company (mot)
- Panzerjäger Supply Column (mot)
27th Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion
- Battalion Staff
- Battalion Staff Company
- Luchs Reconnaissance Company
- 2 x Reconnaissance Company (half-track)
- Heavy Reconnaissance Company (half-track)
- Reconnaissance Supply Company (mot)
27th Panzer Artillery Regiment
- Regimental Staff & Staff Battery
- Battalion (self-propelled)
- 2 x Battalion (mot)
297th Army Flak Battalion
- Battalion Staff & Staff Battery
- 2 x Heavy Flak Battery (mot)
- Light Flak Battery (mot)
27th Panzer Signals Battalion
- Signals Battalion Staff
- Panzer Telephone Company
- Panzer Radio Company
- Signals Supply Company (mot)
27th Panzer Pioneer Battalion
- Battalion Staff (half-track)
- 2 x Pioneer Company (mot)
- Pioneer Company (half-track)
- Support & Supply Units
References
- ^ Über Somme, Seine, Loire (in German) Propaganda book about the 27 ID in France 1940, publisher: Zentralverlag der NSDAP, published: 1943, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ Google book review: The Panzer Legions page: 137, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ Die Gepanzerten und Motorisierten Deutschen Grossverbände 1935 – 1945 (in German) page: 116, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ a b c d e Die Gepanzerten und Motorisierten Deutschen Grossverbände 1935 – 1945 (in German) page: 118, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ a b Google book review: Rommel's Desert Commanders accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ Google book review: The Panzer Legions pages 137–138, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ Die Gepanzerten und Motorisierten Deutschen Grossverbände 1935 – 1945 (in German) page 118, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ Google book review: The Panzer Legions page: 139, accessed: 14 November 2008
- David M. Glantz, publisher: Routledge, page: 140, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ a b c d e f g Die Gepanzerten und Motorisierten Deutschen Grossverbände 1935 – 1945 (in German) page: 119, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ Google book review: Kursk 1943 book authors: Niklas Zetterling, Anders Frankson, publisher: Routledge, page: 138, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ Google book review: Red Storm on the Reich book author: Christopher Duffy, publisher: Routledge, page: 69, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ a b Google book review: German Order of Battle accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ a b Die Gepanzerten und Motorisierten Deutschen Grossverbände 1935 – 1945 (in German) page: 120, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ a b Google book review: The Panzer Legions page: 140, accessed: 14 November 2008
- ^ a b c d Google book review: The Panzer Legions page: 141, accessed: 14 November 2008
Bibliography
- Mitcham, Samuel W. (2000). The Panzer Legions. United States: ISBN 978-0-8117-3353-3.
- Burkhard Müller-Hillebrand (1969). Das Heer 1933-1945. Entwicklung des organisatorischen Aufbaues (in German). Vol. III: Der Zweifrontenkrieg. Das Heer vom Beginn des Feldzuges gegen die Sowjetunion bis zum Kriegsende. Frankfurt am Main: Mittler. p. 286.
- Stoves, Rolf (1986). Die Gepanzerten und Motorisierten Deutschen Grossverbände 1935 – 1945. ISBN 3-7909-0279-9.
- Georg Tessin (1970). Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg, 1939 - 1945 (in German). Vol. IV: Die Landstreitkräfte 15 -30. Frankfurt am Main: Mittler.
External links
- "17. Panzer-Division (Bestand)" [17th Panzer-Division (Inventory)]. deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de (in German). German Federal Archives.