Table Of ContentAchtung	Panzer,	Marsch!
st
With	the	1 	German	Panzer	Division:
Formation	to	the	Fall	of	France,	1935-40
by
Gary	Schreckengost
Das	Panzer	Lied	
Ob’s	stürmt	oder	schneit,	
Ob	die	Sonne	uns	lacht!	
Der	Tag	glühend	heiß,	
Oder	eiskalt	die	Nacht!	
Bestaubt	sind	die	Gesichter,	
Doch	froh	ist	unser	Sinn,	ja	unser	Sinn!	
Es	braust	unser	Panzer	im	Sturmwind	dahin!
The	Armor	Song
Whether	it	storms	or	snows,	
Whether	the	sun	smiles	upon	us!	
The	day	burning	hot,	
Or	the	night	freezing	cold!	
Dusty	may	be	our	faces,
But	happy	we	are	in	heart!	Oh	yes	we	are!	
Our	tanks	roar	ahead	into	the	heavy	action	no	matter	what!
Preface,	4.	
Chapters
1.	The	Beginning,	7.	
2.	Hitler	and	the	Nazis	Come	to	Power,	22.	
3.	I	Join	the	Panzerwaffe,	32.	
4.	The	Empire	Grows,	44.	
5.	War	with	Rump	Poland,	Sept,	1939,	67.
6.	We	Attack,	82.
7.	Sitzkrieg,	119.	
8.	We	Take	Sedan!	155.	
9.	The	Weygand	Line,	173.
10.	Our	Big	Tank	Battle,	June	10,	1940,	186.
About	the	Author,	206.
Preface	
For	most	of	World	War	II,	1939-45,	Germany’s
armored	forces	or	Panzerwaffe	ruled	the	battlefields	of	
Europe	through	superior	tactics,	training,	and	will
power.	Their	primary	function	was	to	break	through
enemy	lines	along	a	narrow	front	“hitting	with	fist
and	not	feeling	with	the	fingers,”	encircle	the	enemy,
cutting	him	off,	and	setting	up	their	subsequent	
annihilation	by	regular	infantry	and	artillery	units.
Speed	and	shock	were	the	Panzerwaffe’s	friends.
In	1935,	the	first	four	Panzer	divisions	were
formed	and	developed	under	the	watchful	eyes	of
officers	such	as	Heinz	Guderian,	Ewald	von	Kleist,	
Erich	Höpner,	and	Hermann	Hoth.	By	1939,	on	the	
eve	of	the	war	with	Poland,	Das	Deutsches	Panzerwaffe	(German	Armored	Forces)	had
grown	into	ten
divisions,	spearheading	the	German	assault	into	
several	surrounding	countries.
This	is	the	historically	accurate	but	fictional
story	of	Gunter	Prehm,	a	young	Saxon	who	joined
Panzer	Division	1	in	1935.	Read	what	training	and	life
was	like	for	him	and	his	buddies	in	Kompanie	5,
Panzer	Reglement	1,	about	their	uniforms	and	
equipment,	about	the	Panzerkampfwagons	(armored
fighting	vehicles—tanks)	that	they	operated	and	
lived	in,	about	the	new	Panzer	tactics	that	they
learned,	practiced,	and	honed,	and	about	their	first
campaigns	in	Poland	in	1939	and	in	France	in	1940,
which	proved	to	the	world	the	decisive	punch	of
revolutionary	Panzer	division	concept,	elevating	the	Panzerwaffe	to	become	the
undisputed	champions	of	
the	battlefield.
The	Federal	Republic	of	Germany	(	Bundesrepublik	Deutschland)	after	the	Treaty	of	Versailles,	1919-1935.	Also	called
the	“Weimar	Republic”	because	that’s	where	the	capital	was.	Several	traditional	German	provinces	were	taken	and	given
to	France,	Belgium,	and	the	new	rump	states	of	Czechoslovakia	and	Poland.	When	the	Nazis	came	to	power	in	1933,	our
borders	were	eventually	restored.
Chapter	1
The	Beginning,	1919-1932	
I	am	Gunter	Prehm	and	I	was	born	in	the	Saxon	city
of	Dresden	in	1913,	the	year	before	my	father	went
off	to	fight	the	Russians	in	World	War	I	with	the	3rd
Saxon	Infantry	Regiment.	In	1918,	when	the
Russians	dropped	out	of	the	war,	my	father’s	
regiment	was	transferred	to	the	Western	Front	to
fight	the	British	in	Belgium.
By	October	1918,	with	the	failed	German	
offensives	to	drive	the	British	into	the	sea	and	to
whip	France	before	the	greasy	Americans	arrived,
Germany	was	starving.	Our	once	stalwart	allies,	
Austria,	Hungary,	Bulgaria,	and	Turkey	had	already
dropped	out	of	the	war	and	all	of	our	colonial	possessions	had	been	stripped	by	the	British,
the
French,	or	the	Japanese.	Even	worse,	British,	
French,	American,	and	Belgian	armies	had	driven	us
back	almost	to	our	borders	in	the	west	and	we	were
standing	alone	against	them.	
Faced	with	internal	insurrection,	led	mostly	by	
anti-war	and	anti-German	Communists	(the	Red	
Front)	or	Social	Democrats,	our	beloved	emperor,
Wilhelm	Hohenzollern	II,	the	King	of	Prussia,	
vacated	the	thrown	and	turned	the	government	over
to	the	babblers	of	the	German	Congress,	led	by	
Friedrich	Ebert	of	the	Social	Democratic	Party.
The	traitor	Ebert	immediately	began	cease	fire
negotiations	with	the	Allies	and	on	November	11,
1918,	he	agreed	to	an	armistice	with	them	that	were	based	on	U.S.	President	Woodrow
Wilson’s
“Fourteen	Points,”	most	of	which	I	have	shared	
here:	
-Absolute	freedom	of	navigation	upon	the	seas,	
outside	territorial	waters,	alike	in	peace	and	in	war,
except	as	the	seas	may	be	closed	in	whole	or	in	part
by	international	action	for	the	enforcement	of
international	covenants.	This	was	in	reaction	to	our	
almost-successful	U-Boat	campaign	against	the	British	and	the	
Americans.	
-The	removal,	so	far	as	possible,	of	all	economic
barriers	and	the	establishment	of	equality	of	trade	
conditions	among	all	the	nations	consenting	to	the	
peace	and	associating	themselves	for	its
maintenance.	Sounds	good.	
-Adequate	guarantees	given	and	taken	that	national
armaments	will	be	reduced	to	the	lowest	point
consistent	with	domestic	safety.	As	long	as	it	applies	to
all	sides;	which	it	didn’t.	
-A	free,	open-minded,	and	absolutely	impartial	
adjustment	of	all	colonial	claims,	based	upon	a	strict
observance	of	the	principle	that	in	determining	all	
such	questions	of	sovereignty	the	interests	of	the
populations	concerned	must	have	equal	weight	with
the	equitable	claims	of	the	government	whose	title	is	
to	be	determined.	In	other	words,	we	Germans	lose	all	of
our	colonies.	
-The	evacuation	of	all	Russian	territory	and	such	a	
settlement	of	all	questions	affecting	Russia	as	will
secure	the	best	and	freest	cooperation	of	the	other	nations	of	the	world	in	obtaining	for	her
an
unhampered	and	unembarrassed	opportunity	for	the	
independent	determination	of	her	own	political
development	and	national	policy	and	assure	her	of	a
sincere	welcome	into	the	society	of	free	nations	
under	institutions	of	her	own	choosing;	and,	more	
than	a	welcome,	assistance	also	of	every	kind	that
she	may	need	and	may	herself	desire.	The	treatment
accorded	Russia	by	her	sister	nations	in	the	months
to	come	will	be	the	acid	test	of	their	good	will,	of	
their	comprehension	of	her	needs	as	distinguished	
from	their	own	interests,	and	of	their	intelligent	and	
unselfish	sympathy.	This	is	outrageous!	The	Russians
already	surrendered	to	us	and	gave	us	everything	west	of	Brest
Litovsk!	And	now	the	Western	allies,	who	fought	nowhere
near	here,	want	it	back!?	No	way!	
-An	independent	Polish	state	should	be	erected	
which	should	include	the	territories	inhabited	by
indisputably	Polish	populations,	which	should	be	
assured	a	free	and	secure	access	to	the	sea,	and	
whose	political	and	economic	independence	and	
territorial	integrity	should	be	guaranteed	by	
international	covenant.	Ah-ha!	See	above.	What	they
want	are	our	ancient	provinces	of	Posen	and	West	Prussia	to
be	taken	away	and	be	given	to	an	entirely	new	state.	No	way!
-Belgium,	the	whole	world	will	agree,	must	be	
evacuated	and	restored,	without	any	attempt	to	limit
the	sovereignty	which	she	enjoys	in	common	with	all
other	free	nations.	No	other	single	act	will	serve	as
this	will	serve	to	restore	confidence	among	the
nations	in	the	laws	which	they	have	themselves	set
and	determined	for	the	government	of	their	relations	with	one	another.	Without	this
healing	act	the	whole
structure	and	validity	of	international	law	is	forever
impaired.	Okay,	you	cry	babies	can	have	Belgium	back.	Our
occupation	was	payback	for	their	rape	of	the	Congo.	
-All	French	territory	should	be	freed	and	the	invaded	
portions	restored,	and	the	wrong	done	to	France	by
Prussia	in	1871	in	the	matter	of	Alsace-Lorraine,
which	has	unsettled	the	peace	of	the	world	for	nearly	
fifty	years,	should	be	righted,	in	order	that	peace	may	
once	more	be	made	secure	in	the	interest	of	all.	Saw
that	one	coming.	Fine,	they	can	have	them	back,	they’re	no
good	anyway!	
-A	readjustment	of	the	frontiers	of	Italy	should	be
effected	along	clearly	recognizable	lines	of	nationality.	In	other	words,	Austria	will	lose
some	of	its	
Tirolian	counties	in	the	south.	
-The	peoples	of	Austria-Hungary,	whose	place
among	the	nations	we	wish	to	see	safeguarded	and
assured,	should	be	accorded	the	freest	opportunity
to	autonomous	development.	No	way!	Bohemia	and	
Moravia	were	always	part	of	the	German	Empire	and	now	
they	are	to	be	stripped	away!?	Why?	For	what!?
-Romania,	Serbia,	and	Montenegro	should	be
evacuated;	occupied	territories	restored;	Serbia
accorded	free	and	secure	access	to	the	sea;	and	the
relations	of	the	several	Balkan	states	to	one	another
determined	by	friendly	counsel	along	historically
established	lines	of	allegiance	and	nationality;	and	
international	guarantees	of	the	political	and	economic	independence	and	territorial
integrity	of
the	several	Balkan	states	should	be	entered	into.	
Who	cares?
-The	Turkish	portion	of	the	present	Ottoman	
Empire	should	be	assured	a	secure	sovereignty,	but
the	other	nationalities	which	are	now	under	Turkish
rule	should	be	assured	an	undoubted	security	of	life
and	an	absolutely	unmolested	opportunity	of	
autonomous	development,	and	the	Dardanelles	
should	be	permanently	opened	as	a	free	passage	to
the	ships	and	commerce	of	all	nations	under
international	guarantees.	Who	cares?
-A	general	association	of	nations	must	be	formed
under	specific	covenants	for	the	purpose	of	
affording	mutual	guarantees	of	political	independence	and	territorial	integrity	to	great	and	
small	states	alike.	Will	never	work.	
When	Ebert	agreed	to	these	egregious	terms
and	much	more	with	the	infamous	Treaty	of	
Versailles	in	1919,	my	entire	generation	was	set	on	a	
course	to	inevitable	National	Socialist	revolution	and	
a	subsequent	defensive	war	to	regain	what	we	had
unjustly	lost	to	the	traitor	Ebert	and	his	communist
confederates.
In	short,	the	Treaty	of	Versailles	pushed	
Germany	to	the	breaking	point	and	humiliated	her.
In	the	treaty,	we	were	treated	like	a	conquered	nation
in	that	we	had	almost	a	third	of	our	country	taken
away	from	us,	our	army	and	navy	was	laid	low,	and,	
to	add	insult	to	injury,	we	had	to	pay	France	and	Britain	large	sums	of	money,	which
hurled	us	into	an
economic	depression	of	Biblical	proportions.	My
father,	who	had	served	on	the	front,	could	not
believe	it!	He	felt	so	betrayed	by	the	wealthy	bankers
and	war	profiteers	who	not	only	refused	to	serve	in
the	war	and	made	money	from	it,	but	who	then	sold
us	out	to	the	allies.
My	earliest	recollections	of	Ebert’s	so-called	
Bundesrepublik	Deutschland	(Federal	Republic	of	
Germany)	or	the	“Weimar	Republic”	(where	the
national	capital	was),	the	lap-dog	government	that
we	lived	under	from	1918-33,	were	the	massive	
street	brawls	between	the	left-wing	Communists
(“Cozis”)	and	Social	Democrats	(“Sozis”)	who	
basically	ran	the	new	government,	and	a	bunch	of	
right-wing	radicals,	the	largest	being	the	National	Socialist	German	Workers	Party,	or
“Nazis”	for
short.	I	also	remember	that	my	father	was	without	a	
job	and	some	nights,	we	didn’t	eat.	
My	childhood	was	therefore	pretty	tough	and	
was	wrapped	in	political	intrigue,	economic	distress	
and	dealing	with	my	angry,	shell-shocked,	and	heart
broken	father	who	became	a	member	of	the	Nazi
Party	in	1925	along	with	millions	of	other	war	
veterans.	His	job	was	to	protect	local	Nazi-owned	
businesses	from	fat	capitalists,	criminals,
communists,	or	Jews,	people	who	we	now	saw	as
foreign	enemies	living	in	Germany.	I	wouldn’t	call
him	a	hard-core	Nazi,	but	he	was	Nazi	enough.	And	
because	he	was	a	Nazi,	I	was	raised	to	become	one,
too.	Nazis	basically	believed	that	all	Germans
were	equal—that	there	should	not	be	an	extreme
upper	or	lower	class	in	Germany—that	all	Germans	
should	be	solid	middle	class	people,	all	working
together	toward	a	common	goal:	a	better	Germany	
(that’s	the	socialist	part).	Nazis	believed	that	the
Social	Democrats,	led	by	the	Jewish	internationalist
communists,	betrayed	the	German	people	when	they
freely	gave	West	Prussia,	Posen,	Bohemia,	and	
Moravia	to	the	new	“Rump”	or	“fake”	states	of	
Poland	and	Czechoslovakia	(which	we	spelled	
Tschechoslowakei).	Nazis	believed	that	Germany
needed	a	strong	leader	to	staunch	the	stupidity,
corruption,	and	inaction	of	the	German	Congress	
and	that	the	Congress	was	useless.	Nazis	also
believed	that	Communists	and	Jews	were	a	threat	to	Western	civilization	and	that
“undesirables”	such	as
Jews,	gypsies,	Communists,	Social	Democrats,	and	
the	mentally	and	physically	infirm	should	be
removed	from	German	society.
They	especially	hated	the	Jews	who	were	
equated	with	vermine.	Personally,	I	didn’t	have	a
problem	with	Jews	(Juden)	but	I	also	didn’t	have	a	
problem	with	them	being	deported	either,	especially
if	our	country	got	better	under	the	Nazis.	And	it
did—at	first.	
My	father	was	especially	drawn	to	the	Nazi
ideal	that	all	Germans	were	equal,	that	the	emperors,
kings,	dukes,	and	fat	capitalists	who	had	kept	us
down	for	so	long,	had	to	go.	He	was	also	for
regaining	the	lost	parts	of	our	country	and	outright	despised	the	Slavic	people	of	the	east
who	he	saw	as
being	less-than-human	(called	Untermensch).	As	a	
future	member	of	the	Panzerwaffe,	being	a	Nazi	
actually	wasn’t	a	large	part	of	my	life	because	I
wasn’t	into	politics	much	nor	was	I	an	elected	party
member.	After	1933,	however,	when	the	Nazis	took
total	control	of	the	government,	they	blended	the
party	with	the	state—making	it	one	and	the	same.
Therefore,	my	eventual	actions	in	the	Panzerwaffe,
which	increased	the	boundaries	of	Germany,	spread	
Nazi	Party	control.	My	entire	generation,	therefore,	
lived	under	the	shadow	of	our	fathers	and	my	life	in
the	Panzerwaffe	was	a	direct	result	of	it.	
Chapter	2	
Hitler	and	the	Nazis	Come	to	Power	
By	1931	Adolf	Hitler,	a	decorated	enlisted	veteran	of	
the	Great	War,	finally	led	his	Bavarian-based
National	Socialist	German	Workers’	Party	(Nazis)	to
national	victory,	winning	the	majority	of	the	seats	in	
the	German	Federal	Congress	(Bundestag),	Hitler
himself	becoming	elected	as	the	Federal	Chancellor
(Bundeskanzler),	second	only	to	the	German
president.	In	1932,	as	Bundeskanzler,	Hitler	ran
against	President	Paul	von	Hindenburg,	an	army
field	marshal,	Prussian	duke,	and	World	War	I	hero
for	the	office	of	German	President.	Hindenburg	was
the	incumbent.	Running	on	the	platform	of	the	common
man,	of	modernity,	of	economic	recovery,	and	of	
returning	Germany	to	greatness,	Hitler	almost	beat
the	popular	Hindenburg.	Fate	would	intervene	in
1933,	however,	when	Hindenburg	died	in	office.	In	a
series	of	cunning	and	unconstitutional	moves	that
were	actually	supported	by	most	of	the	people,	who
were	at	this	point	quite	desperate,	Hitler	combined	
the	offices	of	the	president	and	prime	minister,
declaring	himself	the	benevolent	Leader	(Führer)	of	
the	new	Third	German	Empire	(the	first	was	from