The 9th Panzer Division was a

panzer division A Panzer division was one of the armored (tank) divisions in the army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the blitzkrieg operations of the early years of World War II. Later the Waffe ...

of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

during World War II. It came into existence after 4th Light Division was reorganized in January 1940. The division was headquartered in Vienna, in the German military district Wehrkreis XVII. Originally raised from Austrian forces annexed into Germany before the war, the 9th Panzer Division was part of most of the German Army's early

Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air su ...

attacks into western Europe. Sweeping east, the division was then a component of Operation Barbarossa, the German attack on the Soviet Union; it was badly mauled at the Battle of Kursk. Returning to France to rebuild in 1944, the division was rushed to counter

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

. It was destroyed several successive times by British and American forces as the German Army was pushed back across Europe. The division suffered massive casualties in armor and personnel until it finally collapsed in March 1945. The division's few survivors were pushed into the Ruhr Pocket where they surrendered to the Allies at the end of the war.

Organization

In 1942, the division was organized around three regiments. Its tanks were organized into the 33rd Panzer Regiment, which was supported by two regiments of panzergrenadiers, or mechanized infantry. These were the 10th Panzer Grenadier Regiment and the 11th Panzer Grenadier Regiment. Also assigned to the division were the 102nd Panzer Artillery Regiment, the 9th Motorcycle Battalion, the 9th Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, the 50th Panzer Jager Battalion, the 86th Panzer Pionier Battalion, the 81st Panzer Signal Battalion, the 287th Army Anti-Aircraft Battalion, and the 60th Panzer Divisional Supply Troops.Mitcham 2007, p. 25.

History

Following the Anschluss annexation of Austria in 1938, the 4th Light Division was formed in Vienna after converting a mobile division of the ''Bundesheer'' (the Austrian Army) in April of that year. It initially consisted of the 33rd Panzer Battalion, the 102nd Motorized Artillery Regiment, and the 10th and 11th Motorized Cavalry Regiments.Mitcham 2006, p. 93. In 1939, it fought in the Invasion of Poland, on the right flank of Army Group South, attacking out of Slovakia, pushing over the San River on 10 September and capturing Krakowiec on 12 September. It then moved to establish a bridgehead over the Bug River at Krylow on 14 September. The division then turned west, blocking the escape of several units of the Polish Army. In the process the division took tens of thousands of prisoners. On 24 October, the division departed Salzberg, returning to Vienna by train. That winter, it was converted to the 9th Panzer Division and formally redesignated on 3 January 1940. It consisted of the 9th Rifle Brigade, the 33rd Panzer Battalion, the 102nd Panzer Artillery Regiment, and several other divisional units.

Early campaigns

Following a further reorganization increasing its strength to two tank battalions and three motorised infantry regiments, the division was sent to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

to participate in the

Battle of the Netherlands The German invasion of the Netherlands ( nl, Duitse aanval op Nederland), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands ( nl, Slag om Nederland), was a military campaign part of Battle of France, Case Yellow (german: Fall Gelb), the Nazi Ge ...

starting on 10 May 1940. Part of the 18th Army, which defeated The Netherlands in a grueling five days, 9th Panzer Division played an essential role in the German strategy. The division was the only German mechanized force allocated to 18th Army and was intended primarily to link up with airborne forces landed near Rotterdam and The Hague. On 12 May, the division was launched in the south of The Netherlands to exploit a breakthrough by German infantry divisions, quickly advancing to the Moerdijk bridges, which had been captured by Student's paratroopers. Before that, near Breda, the division split up, sending one battalion north over the Moerdijk bridges to try and enter the Dutch National Redoubt, Fortress Holland. On 13 May, however, during its first actual fighting of the campaign, the battalion suffered considerable losses in a failed assault on the centre of Dordrecht. On 14 May, the battalion stood ready to assault Rotterdam, but the Dutch surrendered the same day after a

carpet bombing Carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is a large area bombardment done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase evokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in th ...

of that city's civilian centre by the Luftwaffe. The other part of the division went south, after the retreating French 7th Army and the Belgian Army, towards

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

and

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Mitcham 2006, p. 94. Following the evacuation of Dunkirk, 9th Panzer Division was assigned to

Panzer Group Guderian The 2nd Panzer Army (german: 2. Panzerarmee) was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 2nd Panzer Group on October 5, 1941. Organisation Panzer Group Guderian (german: Panzergruppe Guderian) was formed on 5 June 19 ...

and participated in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

. During this stage it was under the command of

XXXIX Motorized Corps The XXXIX Panzer Corps (german: XXXIX.Panzerkorps, also previously designated the ''XXXIX.Armeekorps (mot)'') was a German panzer corps which saw action on the Western and Eastern Fronts during World War II. Operational history The Corps whose ...

. It pushed through the

Weygand Line Maxime Weygand (; 21 January 1867 – 28 January 1965) was a French military commander in World War I and World War II. Born in Belgium, Weygand was raised in France and educated at the Saint-Cyr military academy in Paris. After graduating in 1 ...

towards Paris, crossing the Oise River, Aisne River, Marne River and Loire River, taking thousands of prisoners in the process. By the time of the French surrender, the 9th Panzer Division was in Lyon. During the Western campaign, the division was credited with covering more ground than any other German division. The division returned to Vienna in July 1940. There, it continued to reorganize and grow, adopting the organization that it kept for most of the war with one tank regiment, two panzergrenadier regiments and one artillery regiment. In September, it was sent to Poland with the XL Panzer Corps. In the spring of 1941, 9th Panzer Division participated in the Balkans Campaign. It was shipped to Romania and was made the armored spearhead of the 12th Army. It managed some blitzkrieg tactics through the Balkans, separating the Greek Army from the Royal Yugoslav Army, then attacking into Yugoslavia itself. As part of the 12th Army, the 9th Panzer Division pushed back the main British Army, Greek and Australian Army forces Once these armies were in retreat, the division was sent to Romania in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.Mitcham 2007, p. 26.

Operation Barbarossa

Once Operation Barbarossa was launched, the 9th Panzer Division, part of XIV Panzer Corps (Germany) of the Army Group South, pushed through Ukraine on 28 June, heading to

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

after the

Battle of Brody (1941) The Battle of Brody (other names in use include Battle of Dubna, Battle of Dubno, Battle of Rovne, Battle of Rovne-Brody) was a tank battle fought between the 1st Panzer Group's III Army Corps and XLVIII Army Corps (Motorized) and five mec ...

. The division broke through the Stalin Line on 7 July, took part in the encirclement of Uman, and captured Krivoy Rog and Nikopol on 17 August. The 9th Panzer Division then captured the

Dnieper River Dam The Dnieper Hydroelectric Station ( uk, ДніпроГЕС, DniproHES; russian: ДнепроГЭС, DneproGES), also known as Dneprostroi Dam, in the city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, is the largest hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper river. ...

at Zaporizhia on 25 August. From there, it was made the spearhead of Panzer Group Kleist, driving to Kiev from the south while

drove behind the city from the north. The two groups linked up on 15 September, encircling five field armies of the Soviet Army. The division was part of the force that captured 667,000 Soviet prisoners and 900 tanks in the city. Following the capture of Kiev, the 9th Panzer Division was made a part of Panzer Group Guderian for the advance on Moscow. The division then took part in the encirclement of Bryansk and, despite delays due to terrain, weather and Red Army resistance, captured

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

on 2 November. It was halted near the Kursk Oblast settlement of Tim. From there, the division held a sector near Shchigry on the southern sector, facing the Soviet winter offensives of 1941 and 1942. The division remained on this sector until Soviet attacks abated in March 1942. During a lull in hostilities in early 1943, the division was again reorganized and reequipped, sent to Orel and transferred to Army Group Center, where it participated in Operation Citadel and the Battle of Kursk in the summer of that year as a part of XLVII Panzer Corps, 9th Army. Fighting alongside the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

and

20th 20 (twenty; Roman numeral XX) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score. In mathematics *20 is a pronic number. *20 is a tetrahedral number as 1, 4, 10, 20. *20 is the ba ...

Panzer divisions and the 6th Infantry Division, it tried unsuccessfully to break through the Soviet defensive belt. The division fought on the front for an extended period of time, suffering heavy casualties.Mitcham 2006, p. 95. In one engagement, the division lost 70 tanks to Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 aircraft in just 20 minutes. After an advance of only 15 km and suffering heavy casualties, it abandoned its attempt to reach Kursk. Following the German defeat at

, the 9th Panzer Division was heavily engaged in the German retreat to the Mius-Front, a line of German fortifications along the Mius River. It covered the retreat of the

2nd Panzer Army The 2nd Panzer Army (german: 2. Panzerarmee) was a German armoured formation during World War II, formed from the 2nd Panzer Group on October 5, 1941. Organisation Panzer Group Guderian (german: Panzergruppe Guderian) was formed on 5 June 1940 ...

and the 9th Army, north of Orel and Kirov, then fought in a series of battles east of Bryansk at the end of August. The division participated in fights at Stalino, Zaporozhye,

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, and Dnieper. During these fights it suffered mounting losses, and by January 1944 it was reduced to 13 tanks and substantially under-strength infantry and artillery formations. It continued a slow retreat across the

Ingulez The Inhul ( uk, Інгул) is a left tributary of the Southern Bug (Boh) and is the 14th longest river of Ukraine. It flows through the Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions. It starts near the village of Rodnykivka, Oleksandriia Raion in Kirovohr ...

and the Ingul, until it was pulled out of the fighting in April.

Western Front

The division was subsequently sent to Nimes, France to rebuild, as many divisions mauled on the Eastern Front were. On 1 May 1944, it absorbed men and tanks of the

155th Reserve Panzer Division The 155th Reserve Panzer Division (German 155. Reserve-Panzer-Division) was formed by redesignation of Panzer-Division Nr.155 in August 1943. The division was stationed in France from August 1943 to April 1944 when it was absorbed by 9th Panzer D ...

to return to its full strength. During this absorption it received 31 Panzer IIIs, 74 Panzer IVs, 20 assault guns, 15 Panther tanks and 200 other vehicles. The division then conducted training exercises up until June of that year. It was reassigned to an area on the Rhone River for a time. It was in better shape than many of the other divisions in the area, which were refitting, forming, or lacked transportation to move effectively. Following the D-Day landings conducted by the Allies, the division was rushed to northern France to participate in the Battle of Normandy. At this time, its strength was up to 150 tanks and assault guns and 12,768 men. The division was sent to

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, before being sent to support the collapsing 7th Army in Normandy. The division arrived just as the army was encircled by American, French, British, and Canadian forces at Falaise. In the subsequent furious battle, the division was almost completely destroyed escaping the Falaise Pocket. By late August, its strength was at around 1,500 organized in one infantry battalion, one artillery battalion, and 5 tanks. However, it continued to cover the escape of Army Group G from Normandy. Following its near-destruction at Falaise, the division remained in the German

Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the west ...

where it fought several engagements, most notably the Battle of Aachen. Over the next month, it lost over 1,000 men, two-thirds of its combat strength. At the end of September 1944, the 9th Panzer Division was sent into Army Group B's reserve and rehabilitated. It was given 11,000 more replacements and 178 armored vehicles, including 50 Panther tanks. It was to reinforce German units countering

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...

, but by the time it arrived at Arnhem, the Allied forces had been pushed back.Mitcham 2006, p. 96. The 9th Panzer Division was returned to the line around Geilenkirchen and Aachen, where it launched a spoiling attack against US forces in the Peel Marshes in November, but only succeeded in losing 30 tanks in the process. It then reassembled west of the Rur River with a strength of 10,000 men, 28 Panther tanks and 14 Panzer IV tanks. Along with elements of the

15th Panzer Grenadier Division 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky number, a pernicious nu ...

, 9th Panzer fought a bitter six-day battle with the

U.S. 2nd Armored Division The 2nd Armored Division ("Hell on Wheels") was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played important roles during World War II in the invasions of Germany, North Africa, and Sicily and in the liberation of France, Belgium ...

in the Puffendorf- Immendorf sector, knocking out 76 tanks and inflicting 1,300 casualties while suffering 1,100 men and 86 tanks lost. Following this, the division was sent into the OKW reserve. It continued fighting to slow the progress of the U.S. First Army pushing from the west, destroying its 2,325th enemy tank near Geilenkirchen. In December 1944, 9th Panzer was assigned to XLVII Panzer Corps again as part of the

5th Panzer Army 5th Panzer Army (german: 5. Panzerarmee) was the name of two different German armoured formations during World War II. The first of these was formed in 1942, during the North African campaign and surrendered to the Allies at Tunis in 1943. The a ...

, Army Group B and was one of the units participating in the Battle of the Bulge. At this time sPzAbt 301 (equipped with Tiger I tanks) was attached to the division. The Corps was part of the central attack, pushing back the

U.S. Ninth Army The Ninth Army is a field army of the United States Army, garrisoned at Caserma Ederle, Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States Army Service Component Command of United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM or AFRICOM). Activated just eight weeks be ...

. The division initially advanced quickly, but once the tide of the campaign turned in the Allies' favor, the division took extreme losses once again as Adolf Hitler refused to allow the German forces in the campaign to retreat in a timely manner. It was eventually pulled back to the German lines.Mitcham 2007, p. 27. In early 1945, the division engaged the Allied in fighting around the

Eifel The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...

mountain range. It also participated in fighting around the Erft River in February, where its armored force was reduced to 29 tanks and 16 assault guns. Late in the month, it launched an attack on the Allied

Remagen Bridgehead The Battle of Remagen was an 18-day battle during the Allied invasion of Germany in World War II from 7 to 25 March 1945 when American forces unexpectedly captured the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine intact. They were able to hold it against ...

over the Rhine River, which failed to reach the

Remagen Bridge The Ludendorff Bridge (sometimes referred to as the Bridge at Remagen) was in early March 1945 a critical remaining bridge across the river Rhine in Germany when it was captured during the Battle of Remagen by United States Army forces durin ...

. By the end of this fight, the division consisted of only 600 men and 15 tanks.

Destruction

The 9th Panzer Division's final combat assignment came in a battle near Cologne on 6 March, as a part of the battered LXXXI Corps, alongside the

363rd Volksgrenadier Division The 363rd Volksgrenadier Division (german: 363. Volksgrenadier-Division) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The division was formed in September 1944 to replace the 363rd Infa ...

and the

3rd Panzergrenadier Division __NOTOC__ The 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the German Army that fought in World War II. The division was established under the cover name ''Wehrgauleitung Frankfurt'' in 1934 by expanding the 3rd Division of the Reichswehr. I ...

which were in equally poor shape, and the entire corps was barely the strength of one division. Facing them was the US 3rd Armored Division. The division attempted to defend the town from attack, but was unable to make progress against American forces.Mitcham 2006, p. 97. After its unsuccessful attack, the shattered 9th Panzer Division was counterattacked by strong Allied forces. The division engaged the Americans in the city center of Cologne, but were quickly pushed back, and the divisional commander was killed. Remnants of the division attempted to flee across the Rhine River. In the fighting that followed, the weak formation finally collapsed. Most of the remains of the division were forced into the Ruhr Pocket, continuing to suffer staggering losses while holding lines on the south flank of Army Group B until they surrendered to American forces in April 1945. By this time, the demoralized soldiers of the division were entirely out of ammunition and gasoline, and remaining troops surrendering without a fight. The division continued to exist briefly afterward; Major Halle, the division's

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

, escaped the Ruhr encirclement with a small battle group, and joined the 11th Army in the Harz Mountains. There, on 26 April 1945, German commanders of OB West disbanded the 9th Panzer Division, absorbing its survivors into other units.

Commanding officers

The division was commanded by 11 people during its total history. This included General Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin, who was acting division commander from December 1944 to February 1945 because General

Harald Freiherr von Elverfeldt Harald Freiherr von Elverfeldt (6 February 1900 – 6 March 1945) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 9th Panzer Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. ...

had been wounded in an Allied air attack.Mitcham, 2007. P. 28.

References

Sources

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