The 22nd Panzer Division was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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 Waff ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was formed September 1941 in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It was transferred to the southern sector of the Eastern Front in March 1942. The 22nd was the last Panzer Division to be issued with the Czech-built Panzer 38(t), which was considered under-gunned, under-armoured and obsolete by 1942.

History

Officially formed on 25 September 1941 in France the division was initially equipped with obsolete Czech, French and German tanks. The 22nd Panzer Division was sent to the Eastern Front in February 1942. After an initial disastrous attack on 20 March, in which the division's units lost 30-40% of their personnel, the division remained in the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

and took part in Manstein's ''Unternehmen Trappenjagd''. In May 1942, the division was sent north to the

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

area and then took part in the 1942 summer offensive against

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

forces in the

Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

bend leading to

the Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later ...

. The 22nd fought in the Battle of Rostov in July 1942.Mitcham, p. 165 Together with the 1st Romanian Armoured Division (equipped with the also obsolete R2, similar to

Panzer 35(t) The Panzerkampfwagen 35(t), commonly shortened to Panzer 35(t) or abbreviated as Pz.Kpfw. 35(t), was a Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Nazi Germany during World War II. The letter (t) stood for ''tschechisch'' (German for "Czech ...

), the 22nd Panzer Division comprised the

XXXXVIII Panzer Corps XXXXVIII Panzer Corps (also: XXXXVIII Army Corp or XXXXVIII. Armeekorps), was a corps-level formation of the German Army which saw extensive action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. History The corps was originally f ...

and was next tasked with defending the northern flank of the ill-fated German 6th Army at Stalingrad. Lieutenant General

Ferdinand Heim Ferdinand Heim (27 February 1895 – 14 November 1977) was a World War II German general. War service Heim served during World War I and the post-war German army. He reached the rank of Oberst in August 1939, just before the start of the Second ...

was the corps commander. On November 19, 1942,

Operation Uranus Operation Uranus (russian: Опера́ция «Ура́н», Operatsiya "Uran") was the codename of the Soviet Red Army's 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis ...

began. The great Soviet counter-offensive encircled the German 6th Army and much of the

4th Panzer Army The 4th Panzer Army (german: 4. Panzerarmee) (operating as Panzer Group 4 (german: 4. Panzergruppe) from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, when it was redesignated as a full army) was a German panzer formation during World War ...

and smashed the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps, including the 22nd Panzer Division. Many of the division's tanks had been parked in dugouts for an extended period of time and protected from the frost by straw. When the tanks were called on to respond to the Soviet offensive, many could not be started because mice had sought refuge in the straw and then in the tanks where they chewed up the insulation of electric system wires. The ability of the division to put up effective resistance was also compromised by the prior piecemeal deployment of division assets to shore up the Romanian line. According to Beevor, the division had as few as 30 serviceable Panzer 38t's with which to meet the onslaught of the

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The C ...

s of the Soviet 1st Tank Corps. Contradictory orders directing the panzers in two different directions only aggravated an already hopeless situation. After desperate fighting around the Russian town of Petshany 19–22 November 1942, the 22nd was virtually destroyed with survivors making their way southwest to and across the river Chir to join various ''ad hoc''

Kampfgruppe In military history, the German term (pl. ; abbrev. KG, or KGr in usage during World War II, literally "fighting group" or "battle group") can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the of Nazi Germ ...

n. For its part, the Romanian 1st Armored Division lost 60% of its combat strength and crossed the Chir River with only nineteen of its original eighty four serviceable R-2s. The 22nd Panzer Division was subsequently disbanded in April 1943. General Heim of the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps was relieved of command and retired in disgrace, only to be recalled to active duty in 1944 to command the hopeless defense of

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...

Commanders

The commanders of the division:Mitcham, p. 166–167 *Generalleutnant Wilhelm von Apell (25 September 1941 - 7 October 1942) *Generalleutnant

Hellmut von der Chevallerie Hellmut von der Chevallerie (9 November 1896 – 1 June 1965) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during the World War II, who commanded the 13th Panzer Division. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. World W ...

(7 October 1942 - 1 November 1942) *Generalleutnant Eberhard Rodt (1 November 1942 - 4 March 1943)

References

Bibliography

* * {{Subject bar , portal1=Military of Germany , portal2=Tanks , portal3=World War II

22nd Panzer Division The 22nd Panzer Division was a German Panzer Division in World War II. It was formed September 1941 in France. It was transferred to the southern sector of the Eastern Front in March 1942. The 22nd was the last Panzer Division to be issued wi ...

Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943

History

Commanders

Further reading

References

Bibliography