10th Panzer Division (Germany)

The 10. Panzer Division was a unit of the German Wehrmacht during World War II.

It was formed in Prague in March1939, and served in the Army Group North reserve during the invasion of Poland of the same year. The unit participated in the Battle of France in 1940, where it captured Calais, and in Operation Barbarossa with Army Group Center in 1941. After taking heavy casualties on the Eastern Front it was sent back to France for rehabilitation and to serve as a strategic reserve against potential Allied invasion. It was rushed to Tunisia after Operation Torch (1942). Although the division spent only six months in the desert, it fought both the British and the American troops. It caused severe losses to the “green” US Army in some of its first encounters with the Germans under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel at the Battle of Kasserine Pass (1943). It was later lost in the general Axis surrender in North Africa in May 1943 and officially disbanded in June 1943. Unlike many other divisions destroyed at this point in the war the 10. Panzer Division was never rebuilt, and thus permanently disappeared from the German order of battle of the Wehrmacht.

In honour of notable members of the 10. Panzer Division being part of the the German Resistance and the failed July 20 Plot to kill Adolf Hitler in 1944, a new armoured division was named "10. Panzerdivision" in 1959 upon the reinstallation of the West German Army as a part of the Bundeswehr.

History

1939
* March 28 - The 10. Panzer Division was formed in Prague.
* During the invasion of Poland, it served in the Army Group North reserve.1940
* Participated in the invasion of France (1940) and the capture of Calais.
* Remained in France after the capitulation.
* Scheduled in the second wave for Operation Seelowe, (the invasion of England) as part of XXXI.Armee-Korps1941
* In February the 10. Panzer returned to Germany to refit for Operation Barbarossa
* October 1941 Vyazma offensive operation
* June 1942 Operation Barbarossa (XXXXVI. Armeekorps)
* Oct. 1942 Operation Typhoon1942
* May 1942, Returned to Amiens, France for refitting.
* Operational reserve for Operation Jubilee (the Allied Dieppe Landings).
* Dec. 1942, sent to Tunisia in response to Operation Torch1943
* Battle of the Kasserine Pass (1943), under battle command of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
* Destroyed in Tunis on 12, May 1943.
* Formally disbanded in June 1943.

Commanding officers

*General der Panzertruppen Ferdinand Schaal, 1 September 1939 - 2 August 1941
*General der Panzertruppen Wolfgang Fischer, 2 August 1941 - 1 February 1943
*Generalleutnant Friedrich Freiherr von Broich, 1 February 1943 - 12 May 1943

Gen. Ferdinand Schaal led the 10. Panzer Division from its formation, through campaigns in Poland and France and the opening moves of Operation Barbarossa. Gen. Wolfgang Fischer was given command on the eve of Operation Typhoon; he remained in command until he was killed on 1 February 1943 in Tunisia near Mareth when his staff car drove into a poorly marked Italian minefield and hit a mine. Upon the death of Fischer, Gen. Friedrich Freiherr von Broich assumed command. He remained commander until the division surrendered to the Allies in May 1943.

Notable Members

Several Wehrmacht officers having served in the 10. Panzer Division were active in the German Resistance against Adolf Hitler and imprisoned or executed after their unsuccessful attempt to assassinate him in the July 20 Plot of 1944.
*General der Panzertruppen Ferdinand Schaal, active in the resistance and imprisoned until the end of the war.
*Syndikus Albrecht von Hagen, active in the resistance and executed after the failure of the July 20 Plot.
*Oberst Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who placed the bomb that were to kill Hitler at "Wolfsschanze". He was executed and later became a symbolic figure of the German Resistance in post-war Germany. The "Graf-Stauffenberg-Kaserne" in Sigmaringen is the HQ garrison of the newly formed post-war "10. Panzerdivision" of the Bundeswehr. Both were named as such in remembrance.

Unteroffizier Erich Peter, who served from 1939 to 1943, later became Generaloberst and Deputy Minister for National Defense and Chief of the Border Police Troops of the German Democratic Republic.

Order of Battle

Order of Battle - Polish Campaign (September 1939)
Stabs (HQ)
8. Panzer Regiment
86. Infantrie Regiment

Order of Battle - French Campaign (May 1940)
Stabs (HQ)
10. Panzer Brigade
7. Panzer Regiment
8. Panzer Regiment
10. Schützen Brigade
69. Schützen Regiment
86. Schützen Regiment
10. Aufklärungs Abteilung
90. Artillery Regiment (mot)
105. schwere Artillerie Abteilung (mot) – (attached)
Panzerjäger Lehr Abteilung
49. Pioneer Battalion
90. Nachrichten Kompanie
71. Luftwaffe Flak Abteilung – (attached)

See also

* Operation Jubilee order of battle
* Panzer, Panzer Division
* Division (military), Military unit
* Heer, Wehrmacht, List of German divisions in WWII

References

* Wendel, Marcus (2004). " [http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=1282 10. Panzer-Division] ". Retrieved April 2, 2005.
* Wolfgang Venohr: "Stauffenberg. Symbol des Widerstands." Herbig, München 2000. ISBN 3-7766-2156-7

Recommended Reading

* J. Restayn and N. Moller, "The 10. Panzer Division: In Action in the East, the West and North Africa 1939-1943", J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc., 2003