13th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)

The 13th Panzer Division (English: 13th Armoured Division) was a unit of the German Army during World War II, established in 1940.

13th Panzer Division
13. Panzer-Division
13th Panzer Division during Operation Barbarossa
Active11 October 1940 – January 1945
Country Germany
BranchGerman Heer
TypePanzer
RoleArmoured warfare
SizeDivision
Part of Wehrmacht
Garrison/HQWehrkreis XI: Magdeburg
EngagementsWorld War II
Insignia
1940–1945

The division was organized under the code name Infantry Command IV (Infanterieführer IV) in October 1934. On October 15, 1935, following Germany's open rejection of terms of the Treaty of Versailles restricting Germany's military, the division was designated the 13th Infantry Division (13. Infanterie-Division). The division was motorized during the winter of 1936–1937, and was accordingly renamed the 13th Motorized Infantry Division (13. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert)) on October 12, 1937. The 13th Motorized Infantry Division participated in the campaigns against Poland (1939) and western Europe (1940). Following the Fall of France in June 1940, on October 11, 1940, the division was reorganized as the 13th Panzer Division (13. Panzer-Division). It participated in Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the USSR) in 1941 and the advance on the Caucasus in 1942. The division suffered heavy losses in the retreats of 1943 and 1944. It was partially refitted in Hungary, where it was encircled and destroyed by Red Army in the winter of 1944–1945. The formation was reformed as Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2 in the spring of 1945 and surrendered in May 1945.

During the invasion of Poland, the troops of the division committed war crimes, including reprisal killings, using civilians as human shields, and destroying a medical column.[1]

Operational history

The 13th Motorized Infantry Division participated in the invasion of Poland, as part of the southern thrust, and the Battle of France, advancing through Belgium towards Calais and on to Lyon.[2]

The 13th Panzer Division was formed in Vienna in October 1940 from the 13th Motorized Infantry Division and was immediately sent to Romania but was not part of the Balkan campaign. It served in Operation Barbarossa as part of Panzer Group 1 (Army Group South), and it contributed to the successful encirclements of the Soviet forces at Kiev. At the end of 1941, it was positioned at Rostov; however, it was forced to retreat due to fierce Soviet counter-attacks.[2][3]

In 1942 and 1943, the division formed part of the First Panzer Army (Army Group A); it was involved in the battles for the Caucasus oil fields and at the Kuban Peninsula after the Battle of Stalingrad. In the fall of 1943, it was withdrawn to Western Ukraine, where it fought defensive battles near the river Dniepr.[3]

The offensive of the Soviet Army pushed the Germans to their starting positions of June 1941. The 13th Panzer Division was attached to Army Group South Ukraine, which had orders to stop the Soviets from capturing the Romanian oil fields. The division was reformed in July and it received modern equipment, including the Panther G tank and the Jagdpanzer IV. The Red Army offensive of August 1944 resulted in the deaths or imprisonment of most of the division.[3]

In the Battle of Debrecen, the division helped to annihilate three Soviet corps; however, it was encircled in Budapest at the end of 1944 and destroyed in January 1945.[4]

In the spring of 1945, the division was reformed under the name Feldherrnhalle 2. The last engagements with the Soviets were fought on the Austro-Hungarian border. The division surrendered in Austria in May 1945.[4]

War crimes

During the invasion of Poland, the division used civilians as human shields in the battle with the retreating Polish Prusy Army and on September 8, 1939, attacked a medical column marked with the Red Cross signs near Odrzywół.[1] A day later, soldiers from the division took part in the revenge killing of 11 civilians and two Polish priests including Dean Stanisław Klimecki in the nearby town of Drzewica in retaliation for their own military losses. Killings have also been reported in nearby settlements of Gielniów, Kamienna Wola, Klwów, Ossa, Przysucha, Potok, Rozwady and Zarzęcin.[1]

Commanders

The commanders of the division:[5]

Infantry Command IV (Infanterieführer IV), 13th Infantry Division (13. Infanterie-Division), and 13th Motorized Infantry Division (13. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert))

  • Generalleutnant Paul Otto (1 October 1934 – 20 August 1939)

13th Motorized Infantry Division (13. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert))

  • Generalleutnant Moritz von Faber du Faur (21 August 1939 – 6 September 1939)
  • Generalleutnant Paul Otto (7 September – 31 October 1939)

13th Motorized Infantry Division (13. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert)), and 13th Panzer Division (13. Panzer-Division)

13th Panzer Division (13. Panzer-Division)

Organisation

The organisation of the division in October 1944:[6]

  • Panzer-Regiment 4
  • Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 66
  • Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 93
  • Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 13
  • Feldersatz-Battalion 13
  • Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 13
  • Heeres-Flak-Artillerie-Abteilung 271
  • Panzerjäger-Abteilung 13
  • Panzer-Pionier-Battalion 4
  • Panzer-Nachrichten-Abteilung 13
  • Panzer-Versorgungstruppen 13

See also

References
  1. Ziębicki, Marek & Badowski, Andrzej. "Zbrodnie niemieckie na terenie powiatu opoczyńskiego 1939-1945" [German war crimes in Opoczno county 1939-1945]. Historia grodu opoczyńskiego (in Polish). Archived from the original on January 29, 2018. Retrieved March 2, 2016. [Also in: "Opoczno historia". Geocities.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2009.]
  2. Mitcham (2000), p. 112.
  3. Mitcham (2000), p. 113.
  4. Mitcham (2000), p. 114.
  5. Mitcham (2000), pp. 114–117.
  6. "Organizational History of the German Armored Formation 1939-1945" (PDF). United States Army Command and General Staff College. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2016.

Bibliography
  • Mitcham, Samuel W. (2000). The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and their Commanders. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. ISBN 978-0-8117-3353-3.
  • Stoves, Rolf (1986). Die Gepanzerten und Motorisierten Deutschen Grossverbände 1935–1945 [The armoured and motorised German divisions and brigades 1935–1945]. Bad Nauheim: Podzun-Pallas Verlag. ISBN 3-7909-0279-9.
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