17th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)

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17th Panzer Division

Division emblem of the 17th Panzer Division

Division emblem of the 17th Panzer Division
active January 27, 1942 to May 10, 1945
Country German Reich NSGerman Reich (Nazi era) German Empire
Armed forces Wehrmacht
Armed forces army
Branch of service Armored force
Type Panzer Division
structure structure
Divisional headquarters augsburg
Second World War German-Soviet War
Battle of Białystok and Minsk
Battle of Moscow
Company Winter thunderstorms
Dnepr-Carpathian operation
Kamenez-Podolski Battle of the
Vistula-Oder River
Lower Silesian operation
Commanders
list of Commanders

The 17th Panzer Division was a major unit of the army of the German Wehrmacht during World War II . The division was set up on November 1, 1940 in Military District VII by regrouping the 27th Infantry Division and was used in the German-Soviet War , including the Battle of Moscow in 1941/42. In November 1942, the 17th PD was relocated to the southern section of the Eastern Front, where they worked on the failed rescue operation Wintergewitter for the liberation of the since the start of Operation Uranus on November 18, 1942 inStalingrad surrounded by German troops took part. The 17th Panzer Division was held in reserve in the failed last major German offensive in the Kursker Bogen and took part in the defensive battles in Ukraine and Poland in 1943/44, before facing the Red Army in Czechoslovakia on May 10, 1945 near Olomouc capitulated.

Division history

27. ID

The 27th Infantry Division was set up in Augsburg ( Military District VII) in October 1936 . The division was mobilized on August 26, 1939 and took part in the invasion of Poland and the campaign in the west . In 1943 a propaganda book entitled Across Somme, Seine, Loire was published on the 27th ID's advances in the Western Campaign.

17th PD

Lineup of the 17th PD

The Panzer Division was established in late 1940 when the 27th Infantry Division was reclassified into an armored division . The infantry regiments became rifle regiments. Part of the personnel for the new division had to be provided by the 2nd Panzer Division , as there was a lack of technically trained personnel replacement in the agricultural district VII, which was needed for a motorized force. However, the majority of the soldiers came from Swabia.

1941

In May 1941 the division was relocated to the section of Army Group Center for the planned German attack on the Soviet Union under the cover name Enterprise Barbarossa . It became part of the XXXXVII there. Army corps (mot.) , Which was subordinate to Panzer Group 2 under the command of Colonel General Heinz Guderian . The division commander Hans-Jürgen von Arnim was seriously wounded in the first days of the Eastern campaign on June 24, 1941, but later returned to his unit. His temporary deputy, Karl Ritter von Weber, was fatally wounded south of Smolensk on July 17, 1941, which is why Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma was division commander until von Arnims returned.

The division crossed the Bug and advanced south of Minsk , where they could establish contact with Panzer Group 3 under Colonel General Hermann Hoth . The 17th PD took part in the Kesselschlacht near Białystok and Minsk and could inflict a daily loss of up to 100 tanks on the Soviet troops near Orsha on July 9th. Then she crossed the Dnieper south of Orsha and took part in the Battle of Smolensk in August and September .

In October the division took part in the double battle at Vyazma and Bryansk en route to Moscow . Bryansk was taken on October 15th. The 17th PD was then concentrated in the Oryol area and advanced in the direction of Tula , from where it participated in the failed encirclement of Moscow . The division reached up to 120 km southeast of Moscow, but had to take up defensive positions after the start of the Soviet counter-offensive on December 5th and began to withdraw on December 8th. Ultimately, the 17th PD had to retreat to positions west of Oryol, where they stayed until the summer of 1942.

1942

After the winter battles, the division was reinstated in its winter positions in the early summer of 1942 and received around 50 tanks of the Panzerkampfwagen III and Panzerkampfwagen IV types . The association was involved in small attacks north of Oryol in September, but was later defensive again. Thereafter, the division was held in the Army Group Reserve of Army Group Center . At that time the association had only forty-five to fifty tanks out of the two hundred according to the equipment specification. On July 5, Rifle Regiment 40 and Rifle Regiment 63 were renamed Panzer Grenadier Regiment 40 and Panzer Grenadier Regiment 63.

When Fridolin von Senger and Etterlin took over command of the division in October 1942, it had 30 armored vehicles, around a third of which were not operational.

After the start of Operation Uranus , the Soviet counter-offensive in the Stalingrad area, the division was quickly transferred to Army Group B in the Millerowo area. From there the division marched in the direction of Kotelnikowo and united with the unenclosed units of the 4th Panzer Army to carry out the German rescue operation Wintergewitter . After the failure of this operation, the 17th PD was forced to withdraw at the end of December 1942. The division's losses were so heavy that a lieutenant last acted as commander of the 63rd Panzer Grenadier Regiment . On December 25, 1942, eight main battle tanks and one anti-tank gun were left.

1943
Motor vehicle column of the 17th PD in the Mius region in 1943

At the beginning of 1943 the division continued its retreat towards the Don bridgehead, which was reached at the end of January. Panzer Regiment 39 was replenished shortly afterwards with 50 new Panzerkampfwagen IV . The 17th PD took part in the counterattacks between Mius and Donets and by February 27 had a staff of less than 2,000 men, six tanks and ten anti-tank guns, but escaped annihilation by retreating over the Donets . After that, the division took part in tank battles in the Belgorod area until the end of April .

On Operation Citadel , the last major German offensive on the Eastern Front in July 1943, the 17th Panzer Division did not participate; it was held in reserve as part of XXIV Panzer Corps . After the end of the offensive, however, a few small counter-attacks were made in the Donets-Isjum area, in which the division was involved. On July 20, Lieutenant General Walter Schilling became division commander after his predecessor had fallen. In July 1943 the division had the following tanks:

84% of them were ready for use.

In September, the division withdrew from the Donets to positions behind the Dnieper and established a defensive line on the west bank of the river. Initially she was stationed in Krivoy Rog , in November she was transferred to Kherson as part of the reorganized 6th Army .

1944

From late January 1944 to early February 1944, the division led as part of III. Panzer Corps relieving forces bound by Red Army's Dnepr-Carpathian operation . In the end, the tank divisions were stopped by the Red Army 12 km from a gap, but the soldiers managed to break through, leaving their heavy equipment behind. After that, the 17th PD was part of the 1st Panzer Army in the Kamenez-Podolski pocket , where it also lost most of its heavy equipment, but was able to withdraw completely. The cauldron was created when Hitler forbade operational retreats despite repeated warnings from Field Marshal Erich von Manstein . This enabled the Red Army to encircle 200,000 German soldiers. Manstein was removed from his command.

The division then remained in reserve in April and May until it took part in counter-attacks in the Lemberg area against the Soviet Lviv-Sandomierz operation .

Until the end of October, the division was in service in the Taranow region and south of the Baranow bridgehead near Sandomierz. From November the 17th Panzer was again added to the reserve and received the necessary filling with 80 Panzer IV and Panzer V . The Panzer Grenadier Regiment 63 was disbanded, but one battalion remained with the division.

1945

With the beginning of the Vistula-Oder operation on January 12, 1945, the 16th and 17th PD were the only operational reserves that could be made available in this sector for a counterattack against the Soviet advance. Both divisions, which were close behind the front because of Hitler's order to hold out, suffered heavy losses from air raids and lost their intelligence. Your task of halting the Soviet advance was not feasible.

As the XXIV Panzer Corps under the command of Walther Nehring, the division was on a constant retreat, first in the direction of Łódź , then across the Oder, where the division took up position near Glogau in February . Then she took part in the defensive operations near the Steinau bridgehead in mid-February .

The 17th PD suffered heavy losses during these battles and was replenished under the name Kampfgruppe 17th PD near Görlitz . The division was named because of its significant underpower; it had meanwhile shrunk to regimental size. The combat group continued its defensive operation during the Lower Silesian Operation , during which it had to withdraw to the Protectorate in the direction of Brno .

On May 10, 1945 the 17th PD surrendered to the Red Army near Olomouc .

Commanders

27th Infantry Division

commander Beginning The End Remarks
Lieutenant General Friedrich Bergmann January 1, 1937 4th October 1940 became commander of 137th ID, killed on December 21, 1941
Lieutenant General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim October 5, 1940 October 31, 1940 remained in command after the reclassification

17th Panzer Division

commander Beginning The End Remarks
Lieutenant General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim November 1, 1940 June 28, 1941 wounded June 28, 1941
Major General Johannes Streich June 28, 1941 July 7, 1941 entrusted with the leadership
Major General Karl Ritter von Weber July 7, 1941 July 18, 1941 entrusted with the leadership; was wounded, died on July 20, 1941 of the consequences of his injuries
Colonel Rudolf-Eduard Licht July 18, 1941 July 21, 1941 entrusted with the deputy leadership
Major General Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma July 21, 1941 September 15, 1941 entrusted with the leadership; transferred to the Führerreserve after von Arnim's return
Lieutenant General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim September 15, 1941 November 11, 1941 second term after recovering from wounding, was on November 11, 1941 with the leadership of XXXIX. Panzer Corps commissioned
Major General Rudolf-Eduard Licht November 11, 1941 October 10, 1942 deposed and recalled to Germany to command a less important division
Lieutenant General Fridolin von Senger and Etterlin October 10, 1942 June 16, 1943 became commander in chief of the Wehrmacht in Sicily in June 1943
Lieutenant General Walter Schilling June 16, 1943 July 20, 1943 fallen on July 20, 1943 near Doljenjaja
Major General Karl-Friedrich von der Meden July 21, 1943 November 30, 1944
Major General Rudolf Henrici December 1, 1943 ? January 1944 Assigned to lead
Major General Karl-Friedrich von der Meden ? January 1944 September 20, 1944 became commander of the 178th Reserve PD on October 1, 1944
Major General Rudolf August Demme September 20, 1944 December 2, 1944 became commander of the 132nd ID
Colonel Albert Brux December 2, 1944 January 19, 1945 was wounded and taken prisoner by the Soviets
Major General Theodor Kretschmer February 1, 1945 May 8, 1945 capitulated with the division

Staff officers (la)

  • Lieutenant Colonel Gronemann-Schoenborn - Listed December 20, 1940
  • Lieutenant Colonel Bogislav von Bonin December 20, 1940 to January 15, 1942
  • Major Hermann Berlin January 15 to October 29, 1942
  • Major Karla Krasa October 29, 1942 to June 5, 1943
  • Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Neckelmann June 5, 1943 to September 1944
  • Major Friedrich-Wilhelm Voss September to October 20, 1944
  • Lieutenant Colonel Hans-Georg Krebs October 20, 1944 to February 1, 1945
  • Major Ewald von Stünzner - February 1, 1945 until surrender

structure

1941 1943
  • Panzer Regiment 39
  • Panzer Regiment 39
  • Rifle Brigade 17th
    • Rifle Regiment 40
    • Rifle Regiment 63
  • Panzer Grenadier Regiment 40
  • 63rd Panzer Grenadier Regiment
  • Motorbike Rifle Battalion 17th
  • Reconnaissance Department 27
  • Panzer Reconnaissance Department 17
  • Artillery Regiment 27
  • 27th Panzer Artillery Regiment
  • Panzerjäger detachment 27
  • Panzerjäger detachment 27
  • Army Flak Artillery Department 297
  • Tank Engineer Battalion 27
  • Tank Engineer Battalion 27
  • News Department 27
  • Panzer News Department 27
  • Supply Troops 27
  • Tank supply troops 27
  • Field Replacement Battalion 17th

Well-known members of the division

literature

  • 17th Panzer Division. In: Veit Scherzer (Ed.): German troops in the Second World War. Volume 5. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2009, ISBN 978-3-938845-22-6 , pp. 229-262.
  • Samuel W. Mitcham: German Order of Battle. Panzer, Panzer Grenadier and Waffen SS Divisions in World War II. Stackpole Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8117-3438-7 .
  • Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II, 1939–1945 . tape 4 : The Land Forces 15-30 . Mittler, Frankfurt am Main 1970, ISBN 3-7648-1083-1 , p. 61 ff .
  • Samuel W. Mitcham : The Panzer Legions . Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg / PA 2007, ISBN 0-8117-3353-X ( limited preview in Google book search). ; Pp. 137-142.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k For division history see Scherzer 2009; Pp. 229-235.
  2. ↑ About Somme, Seine, Loire. Propaganda book about the 27th ID in France 1940, Central Publishing House of the NSDAP, 1943, accessed: November 14, 2008
  3. ↑ See Scherzer 2009; P. 229.
  4. ↑ Google book review: The Panzer Legions p. 137, accessed November 14, 2008
  5. ↑ a b Google book review: Rommel's Desert Commanders , accessed November 14, 2008.
  6. ↑ Google book review: The Panzer Legions pp. 137-138, accessed November 14, 2008
  7. ↑ Google book review: The Panzer Legions, page 139, accessed November 14, 2008
  8. ↑ Google book review: From the Don to the Dnepr David M. Glantz, p. 140, accessed November 14, 2008
  9. ↑ Google book review: Kursk 1943 Niklas Zetterling, Anders Frankson, p. 138, accessed on November 14, 2008
  10. ↑ Google book review: Red Storm on the Reich Christopher Duffy, p. 69, accessed November 14, 2008
  11. ↑ a b Google book review: Deutsche Kampfgliederung , accessed on November 14, 2008.
  12. ↑ a b Google book review: The Panzer Legions p. 140, accessed on November 14, 2008
  13. ↑ a b c d Google book review: The Panzer Legions p. 141, accessed on November 14, 2008
  14. ↑ See Scherzer 229

Web links

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