20th Panzer Division | |
---|---|
20. Panzer-Division | |
![]() Unit insignia | |
Active | 15 October 1940 – 8 May 1945 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | Army |
Type | Panzer |
Role | Armoured warfare |
Size | Division |
Garrison/HQ | Wehrkreis IX: Jena |
Engagements | World War II |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Hermann von Oppeln-Bronikowski |
The 20th Panzer Division (English: 20th Tank Division) was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II. It was created from parts of the 19th Infantry Division.
The division fought exclusively on the Eastern Front, taking part in the battles of Moscow and Kursk. It eventually surrendered to US and Soviet forces in Czechoslovakia in May 1945.
The 20th Panzer Division was formed on 15 October 1940 after the decision had been made to weaken the existing German tank divisions to create new ones. The new division drew units from various active and reserve units, among them the 19th Infantry Division which had been converted to a tank division itself, having become the 19th Panzer Division. [1] [2]
Attached to Army Group Center, the division participated in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa and remained in the front echelon of attack during the series of advances on Minsk, Smolensk and took part in Operation Typhoon, the failed attack on Moscow. It remained on the central front during the winter of 1941–42, engaged in defensive operations and retreat. In March 1942 it was withdrawn to Bryansk for refitting and a rest after heavy casualties during the winter that lead to disbanding of a number of its units. [3]
The 20th Panzer Division, consisting of just one of the nominal three tank battalions, remained in the central sector of the Eastern Front, taking part in the capture of Voronezh in mid-1942 but otherwise engaged in defensive operations. It took part in the defence of Orel in the winter of 1942–43 and, in July 1943, was part of the northern spearhead during the battle of Kursk. The rest of 1943 was spent in a long retreat between Orel, Gomel, Orsha, and Vitebsk. [3]
The 20th Panzer Division spent the winter of 1944 fighting in the Polotsk, Vitebsk, Bobruisk and Cholm areas. Having suffered heavy losses during the Red Army's Operation Bagration, the division was sent to Romania for refitting in August 1944. In October, the division was sent to East Prussia, and then sent to Hungary on 6 January 1945, to partake in the Garam (S:Hron) battles raging in northern Hungary. [4] It then retreated through Breslau, Schweinitz and Neisse in Silesia (now part of Poland). The division was transferred to Görlitz (east of Dresden on the post-1945 German frontier with Poland). On 19 April 1945, the division was involved in a counteroffensive west of Görlitz in the direction of Niesky, but disengaged three days later and retreated west. It counterattacked again in the Bautzen area, succeeding in relieving the local garrison at heavy cost to Soviet forces. By 26 April 1945, the division was situated northwest of Dresden; by 6 May it retreated south across the Czechoslovakian border. Some divisional elements surrendered to the Red Army near Teplice-Sanov (northwest of Prague), whilst the rest, including elements of Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 20. surrendered to the U.S. Army at Rokycany, (between Prague and Plzeň); they were handed over to the Soviet forces. [3]
The organisation of the division: [5]
1941
| 1942
|
The commanders of the division: [6]
The 5th Panzer Division was an armoured division of the German Army during World War II, established in 1938.
The German 23rd Infantry Division, later the 26th Panzer Division, was a military unit operational during World War II. It was organized along standard lines for a German infantry division. It was non-motorised and relied on horse-drawn wagons for its mobility. The unit carried the nickname Grenadierkopf.
The 13th Panzer Division was a unit of the German Army during World War II, established in 1940.
The 16th Infantry Division of the German Army was formed in 1934. On 26 August 1939 the division was mobilized for the invasion of Poland (1939). It participated in the Battle of France in August 1940. The division was then split, resulting in two independent units: The 16th Panzer Division and the 16th Motorized Infantry Division. Then later, from 1944 onward, combined with other non 16th elements, was known as the 116th Panzer Division.
The 2nd Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II.
The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941 to 1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK). It was first formed as the 5th Light Division in early 1941.
The 6th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II, established in October 1939.
The 12th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, established in 1940.
The 4th Panzer Division was an armored division in the Army of Nazi Germany.
The 3rd Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, the Wehrmacht, during World War II.
The 11th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II, established in 1940.
The 19th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, the Wehrmacht, during World War II. It was created from the 19th Infantry Division.
The 23rd Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II. Formed in France in late 1941, the division spent its entire combat history on the Eastern Front.
281st Security Division was a rear-security division in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. Established in 1941, the unit was deployed in German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, in the Army Group North Rear Area. The unit was converted to an infantry division in 1945, while stationed in Courland.
Hermann Leopold August von Oppeln-Bronikowski was an Olympic equestrian, winning a gold medal in the team dressage at the 1936 Olympics. He later served as a panzer general during World War II.
The 14th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II. It was created in 1940 by the conversion of the 4th Infantry Division.
The 31st Infantry Division was a German infantry division of the Army during World War II. It participated in the invasion of Poland in 1939 then the invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940. As part of Panzergruppe 2. of Army Group Centre, it was involved in the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. After hard fighting throughout 1941 and 1942 it joined the 9th Army and fought in the Battle of Kursk in July and August 1943. Along with the rest of the 9th Army, the division conducted a fighting withdrawal for the remainder of 1943, during which it sustained heavy casualties. In the early stages of the Soviet Operation Bagration of June to August 1944, the 31st Infantry Division was destroyed, a fate which subsequently befell most of Army Group Centre. The division was officially disbanded on 18 July 1944.
The 15th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, the Wehrmacht, during World War II, established in 1940.
The 258th Infantry Division was an Infantry Division of the German Army in World War II.
The 387th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1942 to 1944. It saw active service on the Eastern Front and was destroyed in fighting in Romania in August 1944.