The 18th Panzer Division () was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 ...

armoured division that fought on the Eastern Front from 1941 until its disbandment in 1943.

Formation

The 18th Panzer Division was formed on 26 October 1940 at

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

from parts of the 4th Infantry Division, 14th Infantry Division, and four battalions of submersible tanks. They had originally been intended for

Operation Sea Lion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (), was Nazi Germany's code name for their planned invasion of the United Kingdom. It was to have taken place during the Battle of Britain, nine months after the start of the Second World ...

(''Seelöwe''), the planned German invasion of United Kingdom. Of these four tank battalions, two formed the 18th Panzer Regiment and the other two the 28th Panzer Regiment of the 18th Panzer Division. In March 1941 the 18th Panzer Division was reorganized, the 28th Panzer Regiment was disbanded, one of its battalions became the third battalion of the 18th Panzer Regiment, the other battalion was transferred to the 3rd Panzer Division.

Service

The 18th Panzer Division first saw action during the German invasion of the Soviet Union,

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, on 22 June 1941. The 18th Panzer Division fought as part of

XLVII Panzer Corps XLVII Panzer Corps (also: 47th Panzer Corps or XXXXVII. ''Panzerkorps'' or XXXXVII Panzer Corps) was a panzer corps of the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army in World War II that was formerly designated as XLVII Corps. Various formations of the ...

, and over the next six months was involved in seizing

Smolensk Smolensk 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 cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

Bryansk Bryansk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), Desna River, southwest of Moscow. It has a population of 379,152 at the 2021 census. Bryans ...

and the assault on Tula. The division suffered heavy losses in the first month of the war, losing half its tanks and a third of its manpower in June and July. With the start of the Soviet counter offensive in December 1941 the 18th Panzer Division was driven back to

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, , ɐˈrʲɵl, a=ru-Орёл.ogg, links=y, ), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, situated on the Oka Rive ...

with heavy losses. In the summer of 1942, the 18th Panzer Division took part in the initial drive on

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

, but was soon transferred to the central section of the front. The 18th Panzer Division took part in security warfare in the spring of 1943. In the summer of 1943, the division fought in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

, and suffered heavy losses. After Kursk the 18th Panzer-Division suffered from poor morale and frequent desertions and was disbanded, with the division's personnel being used to build the 18th Artillery Division.

War crimes

According to

Omer Bartov Omer Bartov ( ; born 1954) is an Israeli-American historian. He is the Dean's Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, where he has taught since 2000. Bartov is a historian of the Holocaust and is considered a leading au ...

, the 18th Panzer Division was heavily engaged in the looting of food from Soviet civilians to the point that the latter starved to death. At the beginning of the invasion orders were given to execute wounded Soviet soldiers as these were seen as an unnecessary burden. In "bandit-fighting" operations, the division command gave out orders to shoot anybody suspected of supporting alleged partisans. Within the division, harsh measures were employed against any soldier found guilty of dissent or reluctant to fight, leading to a number of executions.

Organization

Organization of the division: * Headquarters * 18th Panzer Regiment * 52nd Panzergrenadier Regiment * 101st Panzergrenadier Regiment * 88th Panzer Artillery Regiment * 18th Motorcycle Battalion * 88th Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion * 88th Tank Destroyer Battalion * 209th Panzer Engineer Battalion * 88th Panzer Signal Battalion * 88th Panzer Divisional Supply Group

Commanding officers

The commander of the division:Mitcham, p. 146–148 *''

General der Panzertruppe ''General der Panzertruppe'' () was a General of the branch rank of the German Army (1935–1945), German Army, introduced in 1935. A ''General der Panzertruppe'' was a lieutenant general, above major general (''Generalleutnant''), commanding a ...

n''

Walther Nehring Walther Nehring (15 August 1892 – 20 April 1983) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II who commanded the Afrika Korps. Early life Nehring was born on 15 August 1892 in Stretzin, West Prussia. Nehring was the descendant of ...

, 26 October 1940 *''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

Karl Freiherr von Thüngen __NOTOC__ Karl Freiherr von Thüngen (26 June 1893 – 24 October 1944) was a German general in the ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II who was executed in 1944 after the failed 20 July Plot. Biography During World War I, Thungen served in the Bavar ...

, 26 January 1942 *''

General der Nachrichtentruppe (Literally: General of the Communications Troops) was a General of the branch OF8-rank of German Army, introduced by the Wehrmacht in 1940. The rank was equivalent to the long established ''General der Kavallerie'', ''General der Artillerie' ...

n'' Albert Praun, July 1942 *''Generalleutnant'' Karl Freiherr von Thüngen, 24 August 1942 *''Generalleutnant''

Erwin Menny Erwin Menny (18 August 1893 – 6 December 1949) was a German general (Generalleutnant) in the Heer during World War II who commanded several divisions. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. He was taken pr ...

, 15 September 1942 *''Generalleutnant'' Karl Freiherr von Thüngen, February 1943 *''Generalleutnant''

Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben __NOTOC__ Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben (30 October 1894 – 18 June 1964) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Biography Schlieben joined the Prussian Army in August 1914 and served during World War I. He served as a regimen ...

, 1 April 1943

References

Bibliography

* Rosado, J. and Bishop, C. ''German Wehrmacht Panzer Divisions, 1939–45''. Amber Books Ltd., 2005 * {{Authority control 1*18 Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 War crimes of the Wehrmacht