1st Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
1st Panzer Division | |
---|---|
1. Panzer-Division — 1. Pz.Div. — Wehrkreis IX: Weimar | |
Engagements | World War II
|
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Maximilian von Weichs |
Insignia | |
1935–1940 and 1943–1945 | |
2nd half 1940 | |
1941–1942 |
The 1st Panzer-Division (short: 1. Pz.Div. German: 1. Panzer-Division, English: 1st Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II.
The division was one of the original three tank divisions established by Germany in 1935. It took part in pre-war occupations of Austria and Czechoslovakia and the invasions of Poland in 1939 and Belgium and France in 1940. From 1941 to 1945, it fought on the Eastern Front, except for a period in 1943 when it was sent for refitting to France and Greece. At the end of the war, the division surrendered to US forces in Bavaria.
History
The 1st Panzer Division was formed on 15 October 1935 from the 3rd Cavalry Division, and was headquartered in Weimar. It was one of three tank divisions created at the time, the other two being the 2nd and 3rd Panzer Division. 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 Germany had violated almost from the start by secretly developing tanks and operating a covert tank school in the Soviet Union.[1]
Initially, the division consisted of two panzer regiments organized into a brigade, a motorized infantry brigade, a reconnaissance battalion, a divisional artillery regiment, and supporting ancillary formations. The division was equipped with the light Panzer I and Panzer II tanks, with the very first pre-production versions of the more powerful Panzer III Ausf A. arriving by November 1937 for testing,[2] and the first examples of the Panzer IV Ausf. A being delivered from around the same time, and by June 1938 by the latest.[3] While the Pz I saw service in large numbers in Poland in 1939, the division was still using its Panzer II's in 1941.[4]
In 1938, the division participated in the
In May 1940, the 1st Panzer Division was part of the
The 1st Panzer Division remained in France until September 1940, when it was moved to
The division was part of the defence of the
On 20 November 1943, the 1st Panzer Division possessed 140 operational tanks, making it the second-best equipped armored divisions, behind only 1st SS Panzer Division with 155 tanks.[8]
The 1st Panzer Division was engaged in the southern sector of the Eastern Front to serve alternately within the
The final month of the Second World War saw the division engaged in the defence of Styria. From there, it retreated westwards to surrender to US forces rather than Soviet ones, successfully crossing the demarcation line between the two. It surrendered on 8 May 1945 in southern Bavaria and most of its soldiers were released from captivity soon after.[10]
Commanders
The commanders of the division:[11]
- 10 January 1935 – 30 September 1937: General der Kavallerie Maximilian von Weichs
- 10 January 1937 – 2 November 1939: Generalleutnant Rudolf Schmidt
- 2 November 1939– 17 July 1941: Generalleutnant Friedrich Kirchner
- 17 July 1941 – 1 January 1944: Generalleutnant Walter Krüger
- 1 January 1944 – 19 February 1944: Generalmajor Richard Koll
- 19 February 1944 – 25 September 1944: Generalmajor Werner Marcks
- 25 September 1944 – 8 May 1945: Generalleutnant Eberhard Thunert
Organization
The organisation of the division:[12]
- 1. Panzer-Brigade
- Panzer-Regiment 1
- Panzer-Abteilung I (deleted July 1941; added Jan 1943)
- Panzer-Abteilung II
- Panzer-Regiment 2 (deleted Oct 1940)
- Panzer-Abteilung I
- Panzer-Abteilung II
- Panzer-Regiment 1
- 1. Schützen-Brigade
- Schützen-Regiment 1 (renamed Panzergrenadier-Regiment 1 Jul 1941)
- Schützen-Battalion I
- Schützen-Battalion II
- Schützen-Battalion III (added Oct 1939, deleted Nov 1940)
- Schützen-Regiment 113 (renamed Panzergrenadier-Regiment 113 Jul 1941)
- Schützen-Battalion I (added Nov 1940)
- Schützen-Battalion II (added Feb 1941)
- Kradschützen-Battalion 1 – Motorcycle battalion
- Schützen-Regiment 1 (renamed Panzergrenadier-Regiment 1 Jul 1941)
- Artillerie-Regiment 73
- Artillerie-Abteilung I
- Artillerie-Abteilung II
- Artillerie-Abteilung III (added 1941)
- Aufklärungs-Abteilung 4 – Reconnaissance battalion
- Panzerjäger-Abteilung 37 – Tank hunter battalion
- Heeres-Flak-Abteilung 299 – Air defense battalion (added 1943)
- Pionier-Battalion 37 – Pioneer battalion
- Grenadier-Ersatz-Abteilung 1009 – Replacement infantry battalion (added 1944 or 1945)
- Nachrichten-Abteilung 37 – Signals battalion
References
- ^ Mitcham, p. 3–9
- ^ Jentz & Doyle (2006), p. 3–63
- ^ Jentz & Doyle (1997) p. 4-14
- ^ Mitcham, p. 37
- ^ a b Mitcham, p. 38
- ^ a b Mitcham, p. 39
- ^ Mitcham, p. 40
- ISBN 3421064997.
- ^ Mitcham, p. 41
- ^ Mitcham, p. 42
- ^ Mitcham, p. 42–44
- ^ "Organizational History of the German Armored Formation 1939-1945" (PDF). United States Army Command and General Staff College. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
Sources
- Edwards, Roger (1993). Panzer, a Revolution in Warfare, 1939–1945. London, UK: ISBN 978-1-85409-208-3.
- Jentz, Thomas L.; Doyle, H. L. (1997). Panzerkampfwagen IV - Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. Panzer Tracts 4. Boyds, MD: Panzer Tracts. ISBN 9780964879348.
- Jentz, Thomas L.; Doyle, H. L. (2006). Panzerkampfwagen III Ausf. A, B, C & D. Panzer Tracts 3-1. Boyds, MD: Panzer Tracts. ISBN 9780977164349.
- Kulesza, Witold (August–September 2004). "Zbrodnie Wehrmachtu w Polsce wrzesień 1939" [The crimes of the Wehrmacht in Poland, September 1939] (PDF). Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej (in Polish) (8–9). Warsaw: Instytut Pamięci Narodowej: 19–30. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 March 2016.
- Mitcham, Samuel W. (2000). The Panzer Legions. ISBN 978-0-8117-3353-3.
External links
- "1. Panzer-Division (Bestand)" [1st Panzer-Division (Inventory)] (in German). German Federal Archives – via Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek.