Panzer-Division ''Clausewitz'' 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 ...

panzer division A Panzer division was one of the Division (military)#Armored division, armored (tank) divisions in the German Army (1935–1945), army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the Blitzkrieg, ...

during

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 ...

, named for

Carl von Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz ( , ; born Carl Philipp Gottlieb Clauswitz; 1 July 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian general and Military theory, military theorist who stressed the "moral" (in modern terms meani ...

. It was formed in central Germany area at the beginning of April 1945 under the command of Generalleutnant

Martin Unrein __NOTOC__ Martin Unrein (1 January 1901 – 22 January 1972) was a German general during World War II who commanded several divisions. Career Unrein enlisted the German army in the final stages of World War I and then joined the re-established R ...

, from the 233rd Panzergrenadier Division and also drawing

Panzergrenadier (), abbreviated as ''PzG'' (WWII) or ''PzGren'' (modern), meaning ''Armoured fighting vehicle, "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "Grenadier"'', is the German language, German term for the military doctrine of mechanized infantry units in armoured fo ...

troops from the 233rd Reserve Panzer Division and vehicles from the Panzer training school at Putlos. Other elements came from the reserve brigade of the ''Großdeutschland'' division, the remnants of the ''Holstein'' panzer division, the Panzerkorps ''Feldherrnhalle'', conscripted outdoorsmen and tram workers from the Brandenburg area, and units drawn from Army Group Blumentritt. The general quality of the men was high, as most of the infantry were front-line veterans who had been posted to reserve divisions after recovering from injuries, and the tank crews were mostly composed of instructors from the officer training schools. However, they were heavily deficient in equipment - overall, only around 20% of the assigned vehicles were available. The equipment they possessed was often outdated - several of their tanks were

Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III (Pz.Kpfw. III)'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Nazi Germany, Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was List of Sd.K ...

s or

Panzer IV The IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the Panzer IV, is a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panzer IV was the most numer ...

s - and in a bad state of repair. Individual units were equipped with a variety of vehicles, making maintenance difficult, and ammunition was in short supply. There were no artillery pieces, very little signals equipment, and no supply troops. It first saw action in the Northern part of the Eastern front, attempting a local counterattack against the Soviets in Pomerania. This was repulsed with heavy losses. The unit was then sent to fight British armoured units from the 10th to the 12th, before being assigned to the XXXIX Corps. The XXXIX Corps was ordered to push south to cut the supply lines of the leading American divisions, which had now reached as far as the Elbe river, and attempt to link up with the

11th SS Panzer Army __NOTOC__ The 11th SS Panzer Army (''SS-Panzer-Armeeoberkommando 11'') was little more than a paper army formed in February 1945 by Heinrich Himmler while he was commander of Army Group Vistula. (The army was officially listed as the 11th Army but ...

, which was fighting in the

Harz mountains The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a Mittelgebirge, highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The nam ...

. Most of the strength of the division was expended in this push, and by the 20th it had split into small disorganized groups. On the 24th, the divisional commander was captured by American troops. On 28 April, Clausewitz, having by this point been reformed as an Infantry division with railway workers and Hitlerjugend, along with the divisions ''

Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship or battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine''. She was the lead ship of her class, which included her sister ship . The ship was built at the ''Kriegsmarinewerft'' doc ...

'' and '' Theodor Körner,'' was ordered to attack from the south-west toward the direction of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, as part of Wenck's XX Corps. They covered a distance of about , before being halted at the tip of

Lake Schwielow Schwielowsee () is a lake in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated to the south and west of the city of Potsdam. The villages of Caputh, Ferch and Geltow, on the banks of the lake, form the municipality of Schwielowsee. The lake i ...

, south-west of Potsdam and still from Berlin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clausewitz German panzer divisions Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945