20th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)

20th Panzer Division
Division numbers 1943–1945
active	1941 to 1945
Country	German Empire
Armed forces	Wehrmacht
Armed forces	army
Branch of service	Armored force
Type	Panzer Division
structure	structure
garrison	Erfurt
Second World War	War against the Soviet Union 1941–1945
Commanders
list	Commanders
insignia
Troop registration 1940–1943

The 20th Panzer Division was a major unit of the Wehrmacht in World War II . It was used on the Eastern Front throughout the war .

history

The 20th Panzer Division was set up from the end of 1940 mainly from parts of the 19th Infantry Division and various replacement units, which was completed on May 1, 1941. During the German-Soviet War, the division was mainly part of Army Group Center . The division ended the war in Silesia in May 1945 .

Commanders

Commanders or in charge of leadership (rank at this point in time) were from:

• November 13, 1940: Lieutenant General Horst Stumpff
• September 10, 1941: Colonel Georg von Bismarck
• October 14, 1941: Major General Wilhelm von Thoma
• July 1, 1942: Major General Walther Düvert
• October 1 or 10, 1942: Colonel Heinrich von Lüttwitz
• May 5 or 12, 1943: Major General Mortimer von Kessel
• January 1, 1944: Colonel Werner Marcks
• February 2 or 7, 1944: Lieutenant General Mortimer von Kessel
• November 6, 1944: Colonel Hermann von Oppeln-Bronikowski

structure

1941	1943
Panzer Regiment 21	Panzer Regiment 21
Rifle Brigade 20 with Rifle Regiment 59 Rifle Regiment 112 Motorcycle Rifle Battalion 20th	Panzer Grenadier Regiment 59 Panzer Grenadier Regiment 112
Panzer Reconnaissance Division 92	Panzer Reconnaissance Division 20
Artillery Regiment 92	92nd Panzer Artillery Regiment
Panzerjäger detachment 92	Panzerjäger detachment 92
	Army Flak Artillery Department 295
Panzer Pioneer Battalion 92	Panzer Pioneer Battalion 92
News Department 92	Panzer News Department 92
Supply Troops 92	Panzer Supply Troops 92

Well-known members of the division

• Otto Carius (1922–2015), pharmacist and officer, as a gunner on a Panzer 38 (t)
• Josef Moll (1908–1989), was from 1966 to 1968, as Lieutenant General of the Army of the Bundeswehr, Inspector of the Army

literature

• 20th 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. 468-500.
• Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945. Volume 4. The Land Forces 15–30 . 2nd Edition. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1976, ISBN 3-7648-1083-1 .

Web links

• Organizational History of the German Armored Forces 1939 - 1945. (PDF; 292 kB) Retrieved September 15, 2011 (English).