'Panzerlied' Marching Song

The Panzer Division

The German Panzer Division was the cutting edge of the German Army's advances into Russia. Its experienced and battle hardened crews initially had great success against the outdated Russian tanks and their poorly trained and inexperienced crews. However as the conflict drew on the Russians rapidly reorganized their armoured forces and as their crews gained experience with new and technically more superior vehicles, the German Panzer Divisions struggled to compete with their counterparts. Overstretched supply lines, dwindling manpower and an overstretched armaments industry also crippled their capabilities. In addition, too many new Divisions were formed, exceeding the ability to maintain them in the field.
The Panzer Division of 1941 consisted of a Divisional Headquarters formed by the Divisional command staff, a mapping detachment and a motorcycle messenger platoon.
The armoured content of the Division was provided by the Panzer Regiment, which consisted of a Regimental HQ and two Panzer Battalions. The Panzer Battalions were each comprised of a Battalion HQ company, equipped with five PzKpfw II tanks, along with other vehicles and towed artillery pieces. Additional support elements within the HQ Company included a signals platoon and a maintenance company. In addition there was a light reconnaissance Platoon with armoured cars and motorcycles, engineers and an anti aircraft Platoon equipped with three 20mm AA canons. These were later upgraded to the four-barrelled version.
The Panzer Battalions themselves consisted of three Companies, each comprised of a Company HQ and four Platoons. The 1st company was equipped with five PzKpfw IV and ten PzKpfw I and II vehicles. The 2nd and 3rd companies were each equipped with five PzKpfw III and seventeen PzKpfw I and II vehicles. PzKpfw I and II vehicles, when possible, were replaced with PzKpfw III's and IV's. This organisation was revised in early 1943 to four Companies, each comprised of a Company HQ and four Platoons. The two Light Companies were retained, and a second Medium Company was added. The light Platoon in each Company was deleted. During 1943 the new Mark V appeared replacing the Mark IV, which in turn phased out the older Mark III. A final reorganisation came in 1944, firstly with the deletion of the fourth Platoon, then the deletion of the fourth Company.
The remainder of the Division comprised of two Panzer Grenadier Regiments, each formed from a Regimental HQ and two Panzer Grenadier Battalions.
Support elements within the Division included a communications Battalion consisting of a panzer signals Company and a panzer radio Company, both of which were motorized and a panzer signals Supply Column.
Divisional artillery support was provided by the artillery Regiment. It consisted of a signals platoon and three light Battalions, each with twelve 105mm guns in three Batteries and one medium Battalion with twelve 150mm guns and one Self Propelled Regiment, which deployed twelve 105mm Wespe and six 150mm Hummel in three Batteries. In 1944 one gun was deleted per Battery.
Combat Support for the Division consisted of a Pioneer Battalion formed by a Battalion HQ, a signals platoon and three pioneer Companies, one equipped with halftracks and the other two were lorry borne. The Battalion also had a bridging Troop and a pioneer supply column.
The organisation of the Divisional reconnaissance Battalion varied from unit to unit. Ideally it would consist of a signals Platoon and one halftrack Company, one light halftrack Company and one halftrack reconnaissance Company. It also had a heavy Company with six 80mm mortars and six 75mm guns.
The Divisions anti tank Battalion consisted of three Companies, each with twelve 37mm Pak in four Platoons. As the 50mm Pak was introduced, the formation changed to two light and one medium Platoon with four guns in each. In 1944 the formation was changed to twelve 75mm Pak and fourteen Self Propelled anti tank guns in two Companies, each of three Platoons.
Anti aircraft cover for the Division was provided by an anti aircraft Battalion. It was comprised of an anti aircraft Company with twelve 20mm flak guns in three Platoons and most importantly 88mm guns in two Companies of four to six guns each. The 88mm guns were increasingly employed in the anti tank role to combat the threat of heavier Russian tanks.

Other Panzer formations

The Tiger Battalion

The Tiger and King Tiger were never officially integrated into the Divisional organisation. They were maintained in separate Battalions, similar to the normal but with some exceptions. There was no tank Platoon at Battalion HQ. Each Company was comprised of fourteen tanks split between a HQ with two veicles and three Platoons each with four vehicles.

The Assault Gun Battalion

The Assault Gun (Sturmgeschutz) was a turret less self-propelled gun. It mounted its weapon in a fixed position in the forward hull. There was elevation, but no traverse. To aim, gunner and driver had to co-operate fully. The original intention was to provide Stug's merely to provide support for the infantry, but the situation in the east changed this. They were issued to Panzer Grenadier Divisions to equip their single panzer Battalion. They cropped up in the anti tank Battalions of all Divisions. As losses increased, they also infiltrated the Panzer Battalions themselves, often equipping the fourth Company instead of tanks.

Kampfgruppe (Battlegroup)

The Kampfgruppe was an often-used German combat formation that doesn't really have an equal in Allied organization, being closest in concept to that of an American task force. A Kampfgruppe could range in strength from a Corps to a Company in size. The Kampfgruppe was essentially an ad-hoc organization of different arms organized temporarily for a specific operational task. These tasks could be short or long term in nature and they were often organized quickly in accordance with the tactical or strategic situation at hand. Kampfgruppen were usually named after the person chosen to command the formation. The concept of the Kampfgruppe was a key element in German tactical doctrine.