The 5th Armoured Division (''5. Panzer-Division'') was a

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

armored Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

. It was part of the III Corps of the

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

, which also incorporated in 1985 the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division and 12th Panzer Division.Isby and Kamps, Armies of NATO's Central Front, Jane's Publishing Company, 1985, p.196 III Corps was part of NATO's

Central Army Group Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg (HQ FC Heidelberg) was a formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) responsible for providing deployable joint staff elements (DJSE) in support of NATO operations worldwide. It was hea ...

(CENTAG), along with the Bundeswehr's II Corps and the American V and VII Corps. Headquarters in 1985 was at Diez/

Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in t ...

, with subordinate brigades at

Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...

(13th PG Bde), Neustadt/

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...

(6th Panzer Brigade) and Koblenz (15th Panzergrenadier Brigade). It played a major role in the defense of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

during the Cold War. The division was constituted on 1 October 1956 as part of the III Corps of the Bundeswehr. In 1985, the corps also received the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division and 12th Panzer Division. Subordinated to NATO's Central Army Group, the III Corps defended the "zone of vital defense" of NATO, at the side of the II Corps of the German Army and the U.S. Army's V and VII Corps. Following the Soviet Union's fall, the US VII Corps was withdrawn and two combined US/German corps were created in the former CENTAG area. As part of this arrangement, 5th Armoured Division was administratively placed under the

V Corps (United States) V Corps (), formerly known as the Fifth Corps, is a regular corps of the United States Army at Fort Knox. It was previously active during World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the Kosovo War, and the War on Terrorism. Shoulder sleev ...

for main defence purposes. This meant that if an attack from the East was anticipated, the division would fall under U.S. control. Meanwhile, an American division would likewise fall under control of the German II or III Corps. The 5th Panzer sent some of their units to Yugoslavia in 1990. German budget constraints meant that the 5th Panzer Division had to be indefinitely disbanded on 30 June 2001.

Commanding officers

*Generalmajor Heinrich Baron von Behr, 1 October 1956 – 7 December 1959 *Generalmajor Günther Pape, 1 April 1960 – 30 June 1962 *Generalmajor

Albert Schnez Albert Schnez (30 August 1911 – 26 April 2007) was an officer in three successive German armies: the ''Reichswehr'', the ''Wehrmacht'', and finally the ''Bundeswehr'', the armed forces of the modern Federal Republic of Germany. He was involve ...

, 1 October 1962 – 31 March 1965 *Generalmajor Heinz Hükelheim, 1 April 1965 – 30 September 1967 *Generalmajor

Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven Alexander Otto Hermann Wolfgang Bernd(t) Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven (6 February 1914 – 27 February 2007), was a Baltic German officer in the German Army during World War II. In 1956, he joined the German Federal Armed Forces, the ''Bunde ...

, 1 October 1967 – 30 April 1969 *Generalmajor Hans-Joachim von Hopffgarten, 1 May 1969 – 9 September 1970 *Generalmajor

Heinz-Georg Lemm Heinz-Georg Lemm (1 June 1919 – 17 November 1994) was a German Oberst (colonel) of the Wehrmacht and general in the Bundeswehr who served as Chief of the Army Office. Career During World War II, Lemm served in the Wehrmacht and was a recipi ...

, 10 September 1970 – 15 January 1974 *Generalmajor

Kurt von der Osten Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt means "Wolf" and i ...

, 15 January 1974 – 26 September 1975 *Generalmajor

Horst Wenner Horst may refer to: Science * Horst (geology), a raised fault block bounded by normal faults or graben People * Horst (given name) * Horst (surname) * ter Horst, Dutch surname * van der Horst, Dutch surname Places Settlements Germany * Horst ...

, 27 September 1975 – 30 September 1979 *Generalmajor

Werner Heyd Werner may refer to: People * Werner (name), origin of the name and people with this name as surname and given name Fictional characters * Werner (comics), a German comic book character * Werner Von Croy, a fictional character in the ''Tomb Raid ...

, 1 October 1979 – 7 September 1980 *Generalmajor

Götz Mayer Götz or Goetz () is a German name, in origin a hypocorism of ''Gottfried''. It remains in use as a short form of ''Gottfried'', but it has also become a surname. Surnames ;Goetz * Alphonse Goetz (1865-1934), French chess master * Arturo Goetz, Ar ...

, 5 December 1980 – 30 September 1982 *Generalmajor

Franz Uhle-Wettler Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

, 1 October 1982 – 11 July 1984 *Generalmajor Wilhelm Jacoby, 11 July 1984 – 30 November 1986 *Generalmajor

Peter Rohde Peter Rohde (born 19 November 1964) is a former Australian Football League (AFL) player and coach. Playing career Carlton Rohde came from the Bendigo region and made his Victorian Football League (VFL) debut for Carlton Football Club in ...

, 1 December 1986 – 30 September 1991 *Generalmajor

Dieter Stöckmann Dieter Stöckmann (born 29 July 1941) is a retired German general of the Bundeswehr. He was Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Central Europe from 1996 to 1998. Biography Stöckmann was born in Stolp, Pomerania (today Słupsk, Poland). His fam ...

, 1 October 1991 – 24 June 1993 *Brigadegeneral Klaus von Heimendahl, 1 October 1993 – 31 March 1994 *Generalmajor Henribert Göttelmann, 1 April 1994 – 31 March 1995 *Generalmajor Klaus Frühhaber, 1 April 1995 – 30 September 1997 *Generalmajor Werner Widder, 1 October 1997 – 31 March 1998 *Generalmajor Holger Kammerhoff, 1 April 1998 – 2000 *Generalmajor Axel Bürgener, 2000 – 30 September 2001

References

{{Bundeswehr divisions Armoured divisions of the Bundeswehr Military units and formations established in 1956 Military units and formations disestablished in 2001 es:5ª División Panzer