25th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
25th Panzer Division |
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active | 1942 to May 8, 1945 (surrender) |
Country | German Empire |
Armed forces | Wehrmacht |
Armed forces | army |
Branch of service | Armored force |
Type | Panzer Division |
structure | Panzer Regiment 9 Panzer Grenadier Regiments 146/147 Panzer Artillery Regiment 91 |
Installation site | Norway |
Second World War | War against the Soviet Union |
The 25th Panzer Division was a major unit of the army of the German Wehrmacht in World War II . The division belonged to the tank divisions that could only be set up during the last years of the war with deficiencies in personnel and equipment.
Division history
Areas of application of the division
- 1942–1943 training and occupation duties in Norway
- 1943 further training in France , December battle of Zhytomyr
- 1944 western Ukraine (destroyed); Denmark (reorganized), Poland
- 1945 Silesia , Austria
Installation and expansion
The 25th Panzer Division was set up in southern Norway in 1941/42 as a rapid intervention reserve of the Norwegian Army High Command, initially also known as the "Oslo Rifle Association", then as the "Norwegian Tank Association ". Gradually increase to the " Panzer Division Norway " by the OKW at the request of Colonel General von Falkenhorst, renaming in 1943 to "25th Panzer Division". In August 1943 it was relocated to France for complete installation, where, according to the instructions of the inspector of the armored forces , Heinz Guderian , it should be ready as a reserve division for the anticipated Allied invasion of France .
equipment
The quality of the equipment varied, as the division was equipped with outdated French tanks such as the Renault R-35 , the Hotchkiss H-39 and the Renault Char B1 , but later also with German Panzerkampfwagen IV , 'H' version (one company) , and Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger (one company) was equipped. The artillery regiment had modern guns, but only reached the strength of a battalion . The reconnaissance department was only equipped with motorcycles .
Ukraine
Despite resistance from Heinz Guderian, the 25th PD was soon transferred to the Eastern Front and subordinated to the 4th Panzer Army , and from March 1944 to the 1st Panzer Army . In December 1943, the division experienced heavy fighting near Zhytomyr . In the spring of 1944 she was destroyed near Kamyanets-Podilskyj during the German retreat on the Dniester River .
Refreshment and further fighting on the Eastern Front
From May to August 1944 the division was reorganized in Denmark and at the Wildflecken military training area. Since the Wehrmacht was already in dire straits, only a skeleton tank division could be set up. The division, which did not reach its nominal strength by far, was sent again to the Eastern Front to prevent the crossing of the Vistula by Soviet troops. In addition, parts of the division were involved in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising (Aug./Sept. 1944). When the 25th PD withdrew to the Oder in January 1945 , they suffered heavy losses.
Last months of the war
Remaining combat group / 25th Panzer Division
- from the end of January deployment on the Oder / Neisse front north of Görlitz
- In mid-February, after fighting at Christianstadt-Guben, brief refreshment in the Görlitz area
- At the end of February "E-Transport" east of Berlin with use south-east of Stettin
- Relocation to the Oder / Neisse front at the end of March
- Collection at the beginning of April in the Küstrin area - relocation to the Vienna and Nikolsburg / South Moravia area
- Fight northeast of Vienna, Laa an der Thaya, Ebendorf-Mistelbach
- Disposition order with march westwards on 8/10. May
- US imprisonment near Passau
Outline in December 1943
- Panzer Regiment 9
- Panzer Grenadier Regiment 146
- Panzer Grenadier Regiment 147
- Motorcyclist Battalion 87
- Field Replacement Battalion 87
- Panzer Artillery Regiment 91 (understaffed)
- Army Flak Artillery Department 279
- Panzerjäger detachment 87
- Panzer Pioneer Battalion 87
- Panzer News Department 87
- Tank supply troops
Commanders
- Lieutenant General Johann Haarde , February 25, 1942
- Lieutenant General Adolf von Schell , January 1, 1943
- Lieutenant General Georg Jauer , November 15, 1943
- Lieutenant General Hans Tröger , November 20, 1943
- Major General Oswin Grolig , June 1, 1944
- Major General Oskar Audörsch , August 18, 1944 to May 1945
literature
- 25th Panzer Division. In: Veit Scherzer (Ed.): German troops in the Second World War. Volume 6. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2010, ISBN 978-3-938845-27-1 , pp. 355-382.
- "The 22nd Panzer Division, 25th Panzer Division, 27th Panzer Division and the 233rd Reserve Panzer Division" Rolf Stoves Podzun-Pallas-Verlag 1985 ISBN 3-7909-0252-7 pp. 127–187.
- "The armored and motorized German major associations 1935–1945" Rolf Stoves Podzun-Pallas-Verlag 1986 ISBN 3-7909-0279-9 pp. 165–168.
Web links
- Organizational History of the German Armored Formation 1939–1945 (English, PDF; 285 kB)