The 5th Armoured Division (''5. Panzer-Division'') was a

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

armored formation. It was part of the

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

of the

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

, which also incorporated in 1985 the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division and 12th Panzer Division.Isby and Kamps, Armies of NATO's Central Front, Jane's Publishing Company, 1985, p.196 III Corps was part of NATO's Central Army Group (CENTAG), along with the Bundeswehr's II Corps and the American V and VII Corps. Headquarters in 1985 was at Diez/

Lahn The Lahn () is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the States of Germany, federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). ...

, with subordinate brigades at

Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...

(13th PG Bde), Neustadt/

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

(6th Panzer Brigade) and

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

(15th Panzergrenadier Brigade). It played a major role in the defense of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. The division was constituted on 1 October 1956 as part of the III Corps of the Bundeswehr. In 1985, the corps also received the 2nd Panzergrenadier Division and 12th Panzer Division. Subordinated to NATO's Central Army Group, the III Corps defended the "zone of vital defense" of NATO, at the side of the II Corps of the German Army and the U.S. Army's V and VII Corps. Following the Soviet Union's fall, the US VII Corps was withdrawn and two combined US/German corps were created in the former CENTAG area. As part of this arrangement, 5th Armoured Division was administratively placed under the

V Corps (United States) V Corps (), formerly known as the Fifth Corps, is a regular army, regular corps of the United States Army Headquarters, headquartered at Fort Knox, Kentucky and Camp Kościuszko, Poland. It previously served during World War I, World War II, ...

for main defence purposes. This meant that if an attack from the East was anticipated, the division would fall under U.S. control. Meanwhile, an American division would likewise fall under control of the German II or III Corps. The 5th Panzer sent some of their units to Yugoslavia in 1990. German budget constraints meant that the 5th Panzer Division had to be indefinitely disbanded on 30 June 2001.

Commanding officers

*Generalmajor Heinrich Baron von Behr, 1 October 1956 – 7 December 1959 *Generalmajor

Günther Pape __NOTOC__ Günther Pape (14 July 1907 – 21 January 1986) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Following World War II, Pape served in the Bundeswehr o ...

, 1 April 1960 – 30 June 1962 *Generalmajor Albert Schnez, 1 October 1962 – 31 March 1965 *Generalmajor Heinz Hükelheim, 1 April 1965 – 30 September 1967 *Generalmajor Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, 1 October 1967 – 30 April 1969 *Generalmajor Hans-Joachim von Hopffgarten, 1 May 1969 – 9 September 1970 *Generalmajor

Heinz-Georg Lemm Heinz-Georg Lemm (1 June 1919 – 17 November 1994) was a German Oberst (colonel) of the Wehrmacht and general in the who served as Chief of the Army Office. Career During World War II, Lemm served in the Wehrmacht and was a recipient of the ...

, 10 September 1970 – 15 January 1974 *Generalmajor Kurt von der Osten, 15 January 1974 – 26 September 1975 *Generalmajor Horst Wenner, 27 September 1975 – 30 September 1979 *Generalmajor Werner Heyd, 1 October 1979 – 7 September 1980 *Generalmajor

Götz Mayer Götz or Goetz () is a German name, in origin a hypocorism of ''Gottfried''. It remains in use as a short form of ''Gottfried'', but it has also become a surname. Surnames ;Goetz * Alphonse Goetz (1865-1934), French chess master * Arturo Goetz, ...

, 5 December 1980 – 30 September 1982 *Generalmajor Franz Uhle-Wettler, 1 October 1982 – 11 July 1984 *Generalmajor

Wilhelm Jacoby Wilhelm Jacoby (1855-1925) was a German playwright, who concentrated largely on creating farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable ...

, 11 July 1984 – 30 November 1986 *Generalmajor

Peter Rohde Peter Rohde (born 19 November 1964) is a former Australian Football League (AFL) player and coach. Playing career Carlton Rohde came from the Bendigo region and made his Victorian Football League (VFL) debut for Carlton Football Club in ...

, 1 December 1986 – 30 September 1991 *Generalmajor Dieter Stöckmann, 1 October 1991 – 24 June 1993 *Brigadegeneral Klaus von Heimendahl, 1 October 1993 – 31 March 1994 *Generalmajor Henribert Göttelmann, 1 April 1994 – 31 March 1995 *Generalmajor Klaus Frühhaber, 1 April 1995 – 30 September 1997 *Generalmajor Werner Widder, 1 October 1997 – 31 March 1998 *Generalmajor Holger Kammerhoff, 1 April 1998 – 2000 *Generalmajor Axel Bürgener, 2000 – 30 September 2001

References

{{Bundeswehr divisions Armoured divisions of the Bundeswehr Military units and formations established in 1956 Military units and formations disestablished in 2001 es:5ª División Panzer