The Panzer legions : a guide to the German Army tank divisions of World War II and their commanders

490 Pages·2007·6.21 MB·English

by  Mitcham

THE
PANZER LEGIONS
A Guide to the German Army Tank
Divisions of World War II and
Their Commanders
Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr.

CONTENTS
Preface
PART I: THE PANZERWAFFE
Chapter 1. The History of the Panzer Forces
Chapter 2. The Wehrkreise
PART II: THE PANZER DIVISIONS
1st Panzer
2nd Panzer
3rd Panzer
4th Panzer
5th Panzer
6th Panzer
7th Panzer
8th Panzer
9th Panzer
10th Panzer
11th Panzer
12th Panzer
13th Panzer
14th Panzer
15th Panzer
16th Panzer
17th Panzer
18th Panzer
19th Panzer
20th Panzer
21st Panzer
22nd Panzer
23rd Panzer
24th Panzer
25th Panzer
26th Panzer
27th Panzer
116th Panzer (Formerly 16th Panzer Grenadier) Division
(130th) Panzer Lehr Division
155th Reserve Panzer (Formerly Replacement) Division
178th Panzer Replacement Division
179th Reserve Panzer Division
232nd Panzer Division
233rd Reserve Panzer (Later Panzer) Division
273rd Reserve Panzer Division
Panzer Division Clausewitz
Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 1
Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2
Fuehrer Begleit Division
Fuehrer Grenadier Division
Panzer Division Holstein
Panzer Division Jueterbog
Panzer Division Kurmark
Panzer Division Muencheberg
Panzer Division Norway
Panzer Division Silesia
Panzer (Later Panzer Field Training) Division Tatra
Panzer Grenadier Division Grossdeutschland
Appendix I: Table of Equivalent Ranks
Appendix II: The Higher Panzer Headquarters
Appendix III: Chronology of the Second World War
Appendix IV: Profiles of the Non-army Panzer Divisions
Appendix V: German Staff Positions
Bibliography
Index: Individuals
Unit Index
PREFACE
Created in the 1930s, the German Panzer waffe (armored branch)
revolutionized warfare for the rest of the 20th century, ending the era of the
cavalry and nonmotorized infantry formation and replacing it with something
far faster and more lethal. This era of mobile warfare is with us still: the advent
of the helicopter was just another step in its logical development. Operation
Desert Storm was a blitzkrieg campaign, and there will be others.
This book provides a guide to the World War II German Army tank divisions
from inception to destruction and surrender. The guide is divided into two
parts. Part I provides a generalized history of the panzer force. This part also
includes a section on the German military districts (Wehrkreise), which were
largely responsible for creating the panzer divisions, generally along the lines
specified by the Panzer Inspectorate. This information on the Wehrkreise is
critical to an understanding of how the German military system worked in
World War II. It functioned so smoothly and so unspectacularly that it has
generally gone unnoticed by historians, but without it Hitler could never have
won his victories. Also, without the Wehrkreise's replacement and training
system, it would have been impossible for Germany to have kept its divisions
in the field for six years.
Part II of the book provides entries, arranged chronologically, giving the
history of each individual division and its commanders. Full entries are
included on the German Army tank divisions. Although the focus of the book
is on the Army tank divisions, the SS panzer divisions are covered briefly.
These divisions were not created until 1943, when the German defeat was
inevitable and Hitler's distrust of his generals and the General Staff was such
that he began to replace them with a Nazi Party organization (the SS). They
had no effect on the evolution of the blitzkrieg. The German theories on
employment of tank and mobile divisions was already fully in place by the
time the first SS panzer division was created. This comment is not meant to
minimize their importance; on the contrary, in the last two years of the war, the
SS panzer divisions were exceedingly important, and they fought very well.
Although the Waffen-SS (armed SS) fought side by side with the army, it was
not part of it.

The histories of the motorized and panzer grenadier divisions are also not
discussed in detail in this book. One exception is made: the elite
Grossdeutschland Panzer Grenadier Divisions is covered as if it were a panzer
division. This is because it was a panzer division-in everything but name.
Many authors have cited it as a panzer division, but it was never officially
designated as such, even when it had more panzers than almost any other
German Army division. At a time when all the other army tank divisions had
one or two panzer battalions, Grossdeutschland had three, and they were at
nearly full strength. Also, the "G.D." Division is sometimes referred to as an
SS unit. This is a myth-it never belonged to the SS.
The book also includes an index that should serve as a quick reference guide
to individuals and panzer units.
I would like to thank all of the people who helped me in the preparation of
this volume, especially my long-suffering wife, Donna. I would also like to
thank the staffs of the U.S. Center for Military History at Carlisle Barracks,
Pennsylvania; the U.S. National Archives; the Bundesarchiv; and the U.S. Air
War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. I would also like to thank
Ms. Melinda Mathews and her interlibrary loan staff at the University of
Louisiana at Monroe. Finally, thanks go to Dr. Heather Ruland Staines,
military history editor at Greenwood, who is one of the best editors with whom
I have had the privilege to work.
PART I