9th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
The 9th Panzer Division was a panzer division of the German Army during World War II. It came into existence after 4th Light Division was reorganized in January 1940. The division was headquartered in Vienna, in the German military district Wehrkreis XVII.
Originally raised from Austrian forces annexed into Germany before the war, the 9th Panzer Division was part of most of the German Army's early Blitzkrieg attacks into western Europe. Sweeping east, the division was then a component of Operation Barbarossa, the German attack on the Soviet Union; it was badly mauled at the Battle of Kursk.
Returning to France to rebuild in 1944, the division was rushed to counter Operation Overlord. It was destroyed several successive times by British and American forces as the German Army was pushed back across Europe. The division suffered massive casualties in armor and personnel until it finally collapsed in March 1945. The division's few survivors were pushed into the Ruhr Pocket where they surrendered to the Allies at the end of the war.
Organization
In 1942, the division was organized around three regiments. Its tanks were organized into the 33rd Panzer Regiment, which was supported by two regiments of panzergrenadiers, or mechanized infantry. These were the 10th Panzer Grenadier Regiment and the 11th Panzer Grenadier Regiment. Also assigned to the division were the 102nd Panzer Artillery Regiment, the 9th Motorcycle Battalion, the 9th Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, the 50th Panzer Jager Battalion, the 86th Panzer Pionier Battalion, the 81st Panzer Signal Battalion, the 287th Army Anti-Aircraft Battalion, and the 60th Panzer Divisional Supply Troops.History
Following the Anschluss annexation of Austria in 1938, the 4th Light Division was formed in Vienna after converting a mobile division of the Bundesheer in April of that year. It initially consisted of the 33rd Panzer Battalion, the 102nd Motorized Artillery Regiment, and the 10th and 11th Motorized Cavalry Regiments. In 1939, it fought in the Invasion of Poland, on the right flank of Army Group South, attacking out of Slovakia, pushing over the San River on 10 September and capturing Krakowiec on 12 September. It then moved to establish a bridgehead over the Bug River at Krylow on 14 September. The division then turned west, blocking the escape of several units of the Polish Army. In the process the division took tens of thousands of prisoners. On 24 October, the division departed Salzberg, returning to Vienna by train. That winter, it was converted to the 9th Panzer Division and formally redesignated on 3 January 1940. It consisted of the 9th Rifle Brigade, the 33rd Panzer Battalion, the 102nd Panzer Artillery Regiment, and several other divisional units.Early campaigns
Following a further reorganization increasing its strength to two tank battalions and three motorised infantry regiments, the division was sent to the Western Front to participate in the Battle of the Netherlands starting on 10 May 1940. Part of the 18th Army, which defeated The Netherlands in a grueling five days, 9th Panzer Division played an essential role in the German strategy. The division was the only German mechanized force allocated to 18th Army and was intended primarily to link up with airborne forces landed near Rotterdam and The Hague. On 12 May, the division was launched in the south of The Netherlands to exploit a breakthrough by German infantry divisions, quickly advancing to the Moerdijk bridges, which had been captured by Student's paratroopers. Before that, near Breda, the division split up, sending one battalion north over the Moerdijk bridges to try and enter the Dutch National Redoubt, Fortress Holland. On 13 May, however, during its first actual fighting of the campaign, the battalion suffered considerable losses in a failed assault on the centre of Dordrecht.On 14 May, the battalion stood ready to assault Rotterdam, but the Dutch surrendered the same day after a carpet bombing of that city's civilian centre by the Luftwaffe. The other part of the division went south, after the retreating French 7th Army and the Belgian Army, towards Antwerp and Dunkirk. Parts of 9th Panzer Division, along with SS Leibstandarte, were tasked by Adolf Hitler to conduct an improvised triumphal march through the streets of Amsterdam to underscore the German victory over the Netherlands.
Following the evacuation of Dunkirk, 9th Panzer Division was assigned to Panzer Group Guderian and participated in the Battle of France. During this stage it was under the command of XXXIX Motorized Corps. It pushed through the Weygand Line towards Paris, crossing the Oise River, Aisne River, Marne River and Loire River, taking thousands of prisoners in the process. By the time of the French surrender, the 9th Panzer Division was in Lyon.
During the Western campaign, the division was credited with covering more ground than any other German division.
The division returned to Vienna in July 1940. There, it continued to reorganize and grow, adopting the organization that it kept for most of the war with one tank regiment, two panzergrenadier regiments and one artillery regiment. In September, it was sent to Poland with the XL Panzer Corps.
In the spring of 1941, 9th Panzer Division participated in the Balkans Campaign. It was shipped to Romania and was made the armored spearhead of the 12th Army. It managed some blitzkrieg tactics through the Balkans, separating the Greek Army from the Royal Yugoslav Army, then attacking into Yugoslavia itself. As part of the 12th Army, the 9th Panzer Division pushed back the main British Army, Greek and Australian Army forces Once these armies were in retreat, the division was sent to Romania in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.
Operation Barbarossa
Once Operation Barbarossa was launched, the 9th Panzer Division, part of XIV Panzer Corps of the Army Group South, pushed through Ukraine on 28 June, heading to Kiev after the Battle of Brody. The division broke through the Stalin Line on 7 July, took part in the encirclement of Uman, and captured Krivoy Rog and Nikopol on 17 August. The 9th Panzer Division then captured the Dnieper River Dam at Zaporizhia on 25 August. From there, it was made the spearhead of Panzer Group Kleist, driving to Kiev from the south while Panzer Group Guderian drove behind the city from the north. The two groups linked up on 15 September, encircling five field armies of the Soviet Army. The division was part of the force that captured 667,000 Soviet prisoners and 900 tanks in the city.Following the capture of Kiev, the 9th Panzer Division was made a part of Panzer Group Guderian for the advance on Moscow. The division then took part in the encirclement of Bryansk and, despite delays due to terrain, weather and Red Army resistance, captured Kursk on 2 November. It was halted near the Kursk Oblast settlement of Tim. From there, the division held a sector near Shchigry on the southern sector, facing the Soviet winter offensives of 1941 and 1942. The division remained on this sector until Soviet attacks abated in March 1942.
Case Blue
During Soviet offensive from the bridgehead north Voronezh on the west bank of the Don River against the German 7th Corps, the 9th Panzer Division was released from 2nd Army reserves to lead a counterattack and stabilize the front of the 7th Corps. On the evening the 9th Panzer Division counterattacked to stabilize the front of the 387th Infantry Division to open a relief of the encircled 542nd Infantry Regiment. The next day, July 24, 1942, the 9th Panzer Division along with the 385th Infantry Division, began an offensive aimed towards Lomovo to outflank Soviet “Group Chibisov” consisting of the 1st and 2nd Tank Corps. Bitter fighting ensued over the course of the next days with the commanding general, Johannes Bäßler, was seriously wounded and relieved of command. Heinrich-Hermann von Hülsen, commander of the 9th Panzer Grenadier Regiment then assumed command. The fighting to stabilize the front German northern flank around Zemlyansk, northwest of Voronezh continued until July 29, 1942 when the front of the 7th Corps was stabilized and the 9th Panzer Division was released.Operation Mars
The 9th Panzer Division, commanded by General Walter Scheller, fought in the Second Rzhev-Sychyovka Offensive Operation also referred to as Operation Mars.After the initial Soviet breakthrough by the Soviet 20th Army on November 26, the 9th Panzer Division was ordered to form two kampfgruppen to attack up the Rzhev-Sychevka road to stem the advance of Soviet 20th Army to the west.
Operation Citadel
During a lull in hostilities in early 1943, the division was again reorganized and reequipped, sent to Orel and transferred to Army Group Center, where it participated in Operation Citadel and the Battle of Kursk in the summer of that year as a part of XLVII Panzer Corps, 9th Army. Fighting alongside the 2nd, 4th and 20th Panzer divisions and the 6th Infantry Division, it tried unsuccessfully to break through the Soviet defensive belt. The division fought on the front for an extended period of time, suffering heavy casualties. In one engagement, the division lost 70 tanks to Soviet Ilyushin Il-2 aircraft in just 20 minutes. After an advance of only 15 km and suffering heavy casualties, it abandoned its attempt to reach Kursk.Following the German defeat at Kursk, the 9th Panzer Division was heavily engaged in the German retreat to the Mius-Front, a line of German fortifications along the Mius River. It covered the retreat of the 2nd Panzer Army and the 9th Army, north of Orel and Kirov, then fought in a series of battles east of Bryansk at the end of August. The division participated in fights at Stalino, Zaporozhye, Odessa, and Dnieper.
During the fights of late 1943 and early 1944 it suffered mounting losses, and by January 1944 it was reduced to 13 tanks and substantially under-strength infantry and artillery formations. It continued a slow retreat across the Ingulez and the Ingul, until it was pulled out of the fighting in April.