Panzer-Abteilung 40
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Panzer-Abteilung 40 was the name of a tank battalion of the
German army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The battalion fought during the invasion of Norway (
Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung ( , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was the invasion of Denmark and Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 April 1940 (, "Weser Day"), Ge ...
) and afterwards during
Operation Silver Fox Operation Silver Fox (; ) or Murmansk operation () from 29 June to 17 November 1941, was a joint Nazi Germany, German–Finland, Finnish military operation during the Continuation War on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World Wa ...
, the German-Finnish offensive to capture the Soviet port of
Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...
. The unit remained in Finland until it was sent to
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
and disbanded.


Operation Weserübung

''Panzer-Abteilung zur besonderen Verwendung 40'' (''Panzer-Abteilung z.b.V. 40''), translating as "panzer unit for special purpose utilization", was formed on March 8, 1940 for the German invasion of Norway and of Denmark. The unit consisted mostly of
Panzer I The Panzer I was a light tank produced by Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Its name is short for ( German for " armored fighting vehicle mark I"), abbreviated as . The tank's official German ordnance inventory designation was '' Sd.Kfz. 101 ...
and
Panzer II The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of Nazi Germany, German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' II (abbreviated ''Pz.Kpfw. II''). Although the vehicle had originally been designed a ...
light tanks. It took part in the invasion of Denmark on 9 April and then was transported to Norway in April 1940. The unit consisted of an HQ section and three companies, one taken from 3rd,
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'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...
and 5th Panzer Divisions, each with three platoons as the fourth platoon remained with the original division in each case. On April 9, 1940 the unit complement included 69 tanks (42 Panzer I, 21 Panzer II and 6 Panzer I ''Befehlswagen'' command tanks.) Most of Panzer I tanks were ''Ausf'' A while the Panzer II tanks were primarily the ''Ausf'' c variant. With the invasions on April 9, 1940, the First and Second companies were sent to Denmark while the Third company was sent to Norway aboard the transport ships ''Urundi'' and ''Antaris H''. On April 10, 1940 ''Antaris H'' was sunk by the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
submarine with the loss of 15 tanks and crew. Only two tanks, a Panzer I and II, arrived in Norway. German forces in Norway were reinforced by the First and Second companies, who embarked on 20 April and arrived on 24 April. For propaganda purposes a special tank platoon consisting of three ''
Neubaufahrzeug The German ("new construction vehicle"—a cover name), abbreviated as PzKpfw Nb.Fz, series of tank prototypes were a first attempt to create a medium tank for the Wehrmacht after Adolf Hitler had come to power. Multi-turreted, heavy and slow, ...
'' tanks was assigned to ''Panzer-Abteilung'' 40, hoping to convince the Allies that the Germans possessed heavy tanks. On 19 April the ''Neubaufahrzeug'' tanks were paraded through
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
before being assigned to the front. They engaged in combat in southern Norway. One ''Neubaufahrzeug'' was immobilized after being hit and was demolished by engineers. After the Norwegian Campaign, the unit, without the ''Neubaufahrzeug'' tanks, was reorganized and moved to Finland.


Operation Silver Fox

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...
's port was an objective for the Germans in 1941. Panzer-Abteilung 40 together with
Panzer-Abteilung 211 Panzer-Abteilung 211 was a tank battalion of the German army during World War II. The battalion fought during Operation Silver Fox which was a combined German and Finnish offensive attempting to capture the Soviet port of Murmansk. The unit was di ...
was attached to XXXVI Mountain Corps which conducted
Operation Arctic Fox Operation Arctic Fox (German: ''Unternehmen Polarfuchs''; ; Russian: ''Кандалакшская операция'') was the codename given to a World War II campaign by German and Finnish forces against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Sall ...
(a part of
Operation Silver Fox Operation Silver Fox (; ) or Murmansk operation () from 29 June to 17 November 1941, was a joint Nazi Germany, German–Finland, Finnish military operation during the Continuation War on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World Wa ...
), meant to recapture the
Salla Salla, known as Kuolajärvi until 1936, is a municipality of Finland, located in Lapland. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The nearby settlement of Sallatunturi is ...
region from the Soviets and then proceed eastwards and cut the Murmansk railway at
Kandalaksha Kandalaksha () is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandalaksha Gulf on the White Sea, north of the Arctic Circle. Population: 40,564 ( 2002 Census); Etymology According to the most common ...
. The offensive was launched on 1 July 1941. The German-Finnish force recaptured the Salla region, but was halted by attritional battles around
Kestenga Kestenga (; ; ) is a rural village in the Loukhsky District of the Republic of Karelia in Russia on the northern shore of Lake Topozero. It is the administrative centre of the ''Kestenga rural settlement''. There is a railway station on the L ...
, where the operation became a stalemate.Mann & Jörgensen (2002), p. 87-94 The unit remained in the area during 1942, later pulled back to Norway. It was disbanded on 10 June 1943.


References


Sources

* * *{{Cite book, last1= McCarthy , first1=Peter, last2= Syron , first2=Mike , title= Panzerkrieg: The Rise and Fall of Hitler's Tank Divisions , publisher=Constable & Robinson Ltd. , location=London UK, year=2002, isbn=1-84119-800-5 Military units and formations of the German Army in World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 Armoured units and formations of Germany