45th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)

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45th Panzer Division

active April 1 to May 8, 1945 (surrender)
Country Flag of Germany (1935–1945) .svg German Empire
Armed forces Wehrmacht
Armed forces army
Branch of service Armored force
Type Panzer Division
Installation site Lauenburg / Elbe
Butcher Second World War
management
Last and only commander Lieutenant General Martin Unrein

The 45th Panzer Division (Panzer Division Clausewitz) , also Armored Brigade Clausewitz called, was one of the youngest German divisions of the army in the Second World War and was one of the mid-March 1945 the newly formed 12th Army of Walther Wenck . It was named after the Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz . Their official name was: Kampfgruppe / Panzer-Division Clausewitz or CLW for short. The division only reached brigade strength .

history

Lineup

The unit was activated in April 1945 near Lauenburg on the Elbe . The troops were thrown together from a reserve brigade of the tank division Greater Germany , units from a tank training school in Putlos (north of Oldenburg iH ). Also, some scattered parts of the Panzer Brigade 106 Feldherrnhalle were incorporated. The delivery of equipment and supplies proved to be difficult due to the almost collapsed transport system. The newly formed unit even struggled to get enough food rations from Hamburg, which had almost been conquered by the Allies. In terms of vehicles, it looked even worse. Although some tanks of the Type III , IV and Panther were received, the intended strength was never achieved, as was the case with the division reconnaissance, which was only half occupied. The formation completely lacked an orderly replenishment department, and it received just a fifth of the intended trucks and VW Kübelwagen as motorization .

Operation April 10-23, 1945

On April 10, 1945, the division had its first combat mission. The small town of Uelzen in Lower Saxony was successfully defended against a British tank advance by the troops. As a result, the unit's commander, Major General Martin Unrein , was ordered to advance 100 km south. In this way he was supposed to evade the British advancing from the west and, after a breakthrough through the American units, get in touch with the 11th Army in the Harz Mountains . After another battle with British troops, the association managed to cross the Weser-Elbe Canal in Fallersleben on April 21st at 2 a.m. against the resistance of American anti-tank defense. But the next day the division's line was embroiled in heavy fighting by American armored forces. This and American air raids initiated the dissolution of the large association. After parts of the division headquarters were captured on April 21st and 22nd, only a small column of ten to twelve tanks and a few other motor vehicles remained. In Bornum on Elm the march reached its end. The remaining tanks were destroyed by the crews due to lack of fuel, and the remaining troops dispersed. General of the Panzer Troop Karl Decker , who was able to make his way to Wendhausen with a few vehicles , committed suicide shortly before his capture. In conclusion, it can be said that the order given by the OKW was illusory. The 11th Army was completely wiped out by US troops before reaching the region by the Clausewitz tank division . Likewise, the troops only represented a tank division on paper .

Use of infrared vision devices

The Clausewitz shares its typical history with many units of the Wehrmacht and SS that were hastily set up in 1945 . It is noteworthy, however, that the troops used night vision devices on tanks for the first time . Two of the assigned Panzerkampfwagen V "Panther" had FG1250 night vision devices. These were attached to the turret of the vehicle and the commander could, if he left the turret, see enemy targets from a distance of 600 m at night.

Knight's Cross bearer

The following division members were awarded the Knight's Cross on April 23, 1945:

literature

  • Paul Kehlenbeck; Klaus Voss: Last divisions 1945: Armored Division Clausewitz / Infantry Division Schill . Kienesberger, Nuremberg 2000 ISBN 3923995261 .
  • Georg Tessin : Associations and troops of the German Wehrmacht and Waffen SS in World War II 1939–1945 . 2nd Edition. tape 5 . The Land Forces 31-70 . Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 1977, ISBN 3-7648-1107-2 .

The unit is also mentioned in:

  • Friedrich Bruns: The last days. Documents about events at the end of the war and statements about events at that time. EA o. O., o. J.
  • Friedrich Bruns: The Panzer Brigade 106 "FHH". EA Celle o.J.
  • Rolf Stoves: The 22nd / 25th / 27th Pz.-Div. and the 233rd Res.-Pz.-Div. Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim 1985 ISBN 3790902527 .
  • Rolf Stoves: The armored and motorized German major formations 1935-1945. Podzun-Pallas, Wölfersheim 1994 ISBN 3790902799 .

Web links