The 24th Panzer Division was formed in late 1941 from the 1st Cavalry Division based at

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

. The division fought on the Eastern Front from June 1942 to January 1943, when it was destroyed in the battle of Stalingrad. Reformed, it once more returned to the Eastern Front in late 1943 and remained there until surrender to Soviet forces in May 1945.

Service

The 1st Cavalry Division was formed shortly after the outbreak of

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 ...

, in November 1939, when the 1st Cavalry Brigade was expanded to division-size. The division was part of the German invasion of the northern Netherlands where it encountered only weak defences as it was not a strategically important area. After the Dutch surrender, the division took part in the final actions of the

battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

before serving as an occupation force there and, from September 1940, in Poland. It participated in 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 ...

, where it was part of the

Army Group Center Army Group Centre () was the name of two distinct strategic German Army Groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The first Army Group Centre was created during the planning of Operation Barbarossa, Germany's invasion of the So ...

before being sent back to

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

for conversion to a tank division.Mitcham, p. 175 After initially being stationed in northern France the division served under the

Fourth Panzer Army The 4th Panzer Army (), operating as Panzer Group 4 () from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, was a German panzer formation during World War II. As a key armoured component of the Wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial ...

in Army Group South of the Eastern Front from June 1942. The division participated in the capture of

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

and, in late December 1942, was encircled in the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...

and destroyed. The 24th Panzer Division was reformed in March 1943 and served in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and then went back to the Eastern Front where it suffered heavy casualties in around

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and the Dniepr Bend. On 20 November 1943, the 24th Panzer Division possessed 57 tanks (of which 34 were operational). During spring-1944 it took part in the

battle of Târgu Frumos The Battle of Târgu Frumos, also known as the Târgu Frumos Operation, occurred during Spring 1944 in World War II in and around the town of Târgu Frumos in Iași County, Moldavia, Romania. It was fought between Soviet forces (the Red Army) and ...

, part of the

First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

. On 25 April 1944, it was in the second line between

Podu Iloaiei Podu Iloaiei is a town in Iași County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It has 8,992 inhabitants as of 2021, and was declared a town in 2005. Four villages are administered by the town: Budăi, Cosițeni, Holm, and Scobâlțeni. Geography The town lies ...

and

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, behind the 46th,

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

, 18th, 79th, 23rd Panzer and

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

Divisions. Near the end of the war, it saw action in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. Parts of the division were evacuated to

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

and surrendered there to British forces at the end of the war while the remainder surrendered to Soviet forces in East Prussia in May 1945.Mitcham, p. 176Stoves, p. 161 In keeping with the Division's mounted origins, the 24th Panzer's tank crewmen wore the golden-yellow ''

Waffenfarbe In the German military, ''Waffenfarbe'' (German: "branch-of-service colors" or "corps colors") is a visual method that the armed forces use to distinguish between different corps or troop functions in its armed services. The ''Waffenfarbe'' it ...

'' of the cavalry rather than Panzer pink.

Commanders

The commanders of the division:Mitcham, p. 176–177 * General

Kurt Feldt __NOTOC__ Kurt Feldt (22 November 1897 – 11 March 1970) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was the German commander in the Battle of the Afsluitdi ...

(28 November 1941 – 15 April 1942) *

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 ...

Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild __NOTOC__ Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild (9 June 1896 – 10 March 1953), born Bruno Hauenschild, was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II Hauenschild served in World War I; at the beginning of World War II, he rejoined ...

(15 April 1942 – 12 September 1942) *

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

Arno von Lenski Arno Ernst Max von Lenski (20 July 1893 – 4 October 1986) was a German military officer and general who served in the Imperial German army, the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany, and after the war in the National People's Army of the German Democratic ...

(12 September 1942 – 31 January 1943) * General

Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von Edelsheim __NOTOC__ Maximilian von Edelsheim (6 July 1897 – 26 April 1994) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. He negotiated the ...

(1 March 1943 – 1 August 1944) * Generalmajor

Gustav-Adolf von Nostitz-Wallwitz __NOTOC__ Gustav-Adolf von Nostitz-Wallwitz (11 July 1898 – 31 May 1945) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Biography Gustav Adolf was born into the collateral branch of an old, noble House of Nostitz, as the ...

(1 August 1944 – 25 March 1945) *

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Rudolf von Knebel-Döberitz (5 March 1945 – 8 May 1945)

References

Bibliography

* * *Panzers at war, A J Barker, 1978 *Death of the Leaping Horseman, Jason D Mark, 2002 {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 German panzer divisions Military units and formations established in 1941 German units at the Battle of Stalingrad Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

Service

Commanders

See also

References

Bibliography