The 12th Panzer Division was an armoured division in 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 ...

, established in 1940. In October 1940 the 2nd Motorised Infantry Division was reorganized as the 12th Panzer Division, and in June 1941 it joined

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

, fighting in the battles of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

and

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

. It fought the rest of the war on the Eastern Front and surrendered to the Red Army in the

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket (Blockade of the Courland army group), (german: Kurland-Kessel)/german: Kurland-Brückenkopf (Courland Bridgehead), lv, Kurzemes katls (Courland Cauldron) or ''Kurzemes cietoksnis'' (Courland Fortress)., group=lower-alpha ...

in May 1945.

History

The division was formed from the 2nd Infantry Division, itself formed in 1921. The division was motorised in 1936–37 and participated in the invasions of Poland and France. It was reorganised as a Panzer Division in October 1940.Mitcham (2001), p. 109. The 12th Panzer Division participated in

, taking part in the drive towards

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Suffering heavy casualties during the Soviet counter offensive in the winter of 1941–42, the division was withdrawn to Estonia for a refit. It remained with

Army Group North Army Group North (german: Heeresgruppe Nord) was a German strategic formation, commanding a grouping of field armies during World War II. The German Army Group was subordinated to the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' (OKH), the German army high comman ...

for the most part of the war except for a brief spell south while participating in the

battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk was a major World War II Eastern Front engagement between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in the southwestern USSR during late summer 1943; it ultimately became the largest tank battle in history ...

in July 1943 and the following defensive operations and retreat after the German failure. The division returned to the northern sector in January 1944 but came too late to play any role in the unsuccessful German efforts to prevent the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of ...

from being broken by the Red Army. It was eventually entrapped in the

after the successful Soviet offensive in July 1944,

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...

. It remained in Courland where it surrendered to Soviet forces in May 1945.Mitcham (2001), p. 110.

Organization

Structure of the division through its history: * Headquarters * 29th Panzer Regiment * 5th Panzergrenadier Regiment * 25th Panzergrenadier Regiment * 2nd Panzer Artillery Regiment * 22nd Motorcycle Battalion ''(later became 2nd Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion)'' * 508th Tank Destroyer Battalion * 303rd Army Anti-Aircraft Battalion ''(later added in 1942)'' * 2nd Divisional Supply Group

Commanding officers

The commanders of the division:Mitcham (2001), pp. 110–111. *

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Fedor von Bock Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German who served in the German Army during the Second World War. Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland ...

, 1931 *

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

Hubert Gerke, 1 October 1934 *

Paul Bader Paul Bader (20 July 1883 – 28 February 1971) was a '' General der Artillerie'' (lieutenant general) of the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the 2nd Motorized Infantry Division in the invasions of Poland and France then served ...

, 1 April 1937 *Generaloberst

Josef Harpe Josef Harpe (21 September 1887 – 14 March 1968) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 9th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany. Harpe served on the ...

, 5 October 1940 *Generalleutnant

Walter Wessel __NOTOC__ Walter Wessel (21 April 1892 – 20 July 1943) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 12th Panzer Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Wessel ...

, 15 January 1942 *Generalleutnant

Erpo Freiherr von Bodenhausen __NOTOC__ Erpo Freiherr von Bodenhausen (12 April 1897 – 9 May 1945) was a German general who commanded the 12th Panzer Division during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Bodenhausen committe ...

, 1 March 1943 *Generalmajor Gerhard Müller, 28 May 1944 *Generalleutnant

, 16 July 1944 *Oberst

Horst von Usedom __NOTOC__ Horst von Usedom (9 March 1906 – 14 October 1970) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who commanded the 12th Panzer Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves ...

, 12 April 1945

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:12th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht) 1*12 Military units and formations established in 1941 1934 establishments in Germany Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

History

Organization

Commanding officers

See also

References

Bibliography