UPDATE: I added a short post explaining about the naming convention of corps, army and army group level HQ's.
I figured I'll post this stuff here for those HoI players who want to recreate historical German armoured force and for modders. I know of at least two HoI3 mods (DWI and RPM2) that aim for it, so this thread could, hopefully, be an easy, one-stop-source for German Panzerwaffe OOB. My source is the excellent "The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and their Commanders" by Samuel W Mitcham, Jr. It utilizes a massive bibliography and is likely the one of the more accurate sources BUT no book is 100% correct, so please let me know of any errors (please mention your source) and I'll edit the post. This way, you don't need to browse through several Wikipedia pages, then go through Axis-History forums and Lexikon-der-Wehrmacht to piece together a complete picture.
I'll first go chronologically the creation of regiments, independent battalions, and divisions. At the end, I'll make a list.
First three Panzer divisions were formed on October 15, 1935 and that date remained the birthday of Panzerwaffe. The original barracks were at Weimar, Wuerzburg, and Berlin. All three had 2 Panzer regiments, a regiment of motorized infantry, motorized artillery regiment, an engineer battalion, a reconnaissance battalion, an antitank battalion, and a signal company or battalion. You can check Dr.Niehorster's excellent website for more details on the division order of battle at http://niehorster.orbat.com/011_germany/__ge_index.htm
1. Panzer Division: 1st Panzer Rgt, 2nd Panzer Rgt
2. Panzer Division: 3rd Panzer Rgt, 4th Panzer Rgt
3. Panzer Division: 5th Panzer Rgt, 6th Panzer Rgt
These three divisions formed the Panzer Troops Command (Inspectorate 6) under General Oswald Lutz. His chief of staff was Colonel Friedrich Paulus, as Guderian had been assigned as commander of 2. Panzer. In 1936, Paulus was replaced by Colonel Walther Nehring. In 1938, Lutz was forced to resign as he was too critical of the Nazis and was replaced by Guderian (promoted to Lt.General), who also took command of the newly formed XVI. Armeekorps that held operational control of the three Panzer divisions.
In 1936, the following units were formed:
7th Panzer Rgt at Vaihingen.
8th Panzer Rgt at Boeblingen.
Stab (Staff), 4th Panzer Brigade at Stuttgart.
Independent 88th Panzer Battalion was formed from volunteers and sent to Spain to fight for the Nationalists. Originally only one company strong, it grew to three Panzer companies and a repair company by the end of the SCW.
In 1937, the following units were formed, all in October:
Panzer Lehr Battalion at Wuensdorf for testing and training purposes.
11th Panzer Rgt at Senne. Equipped with Pz 35(t) in 1939.
15th Panzer Rgt at Sagan.
I Btn / 10th Panzer Rgt at Stablack. Note that this was not an independent battalion even though 10th Panzer Rgt did not fully exist yet.
25th Panzer Btn at Grafenwoehr.
65th Panzer Btn at Senne. Attached to 1. leichte-Division. Equipped with Pz 35(t) in 1939.
In 1938, the following units were formed, all in November:
33rd Panzer Btn at Vienna. Attached to 4. leichte-Division.
4. Panzer Division at Wuerzburg.
5. Panzer Division at Oppeln.
Stab, 5th Panzer Brigade at Bamberg.
Stab, 6th Panzer Brigade at Wuerzburg.
Stab, 8th Panzer Brigade at Sagan.
23rd Panzer Rgt at Mannheim-Schwetzingen.
31st Panzer Rgt at Koenigsbrueck.
35th Panzer Rgt at Bamberg.
36th Panzer Rgt at Schweinfurt.
66th Panzer Btn at Eisenach. Attached to 2. leichte-Division.
67th Panzer Btn at Gross-Glienicke. Attached 3. leichte-Division.
In 1939, the following units were formed:
Stab, 10. Panzer Division, Prague. Assumed control of 8th Panzer Rgt.
Panzer Lehr was expanded from Btn to Rgt.
The divisions were brought to full strength as war as looming, meaning that each Panzer brigade in a division held two Panzer regiments, and each Regiment held Stab, 2 Panzer Battalions, and engineer and intelligence sections. Each Panzer battalion had two light tank companies, one medium tank company, a tank supply column, a workshop company, and reconnaissance, intelligence, and light engineer sections.
On September 1, 1939, all 34 of Germany's panzer units (divisions and independent brigades and regiments) went to war against Poland with 2,820 tanks - 1,051 Pz I and II, 301 Czech tanks, 361 Pz III and IV.
Structure of Panzerwaffe, August 1939:
Division - Brigade - Regiment(s) - Battalion
1. Panzer - 1. - 1st, 2nd
2. Panzer - 2. - 3rd, 4th
3. Panzer - 3. - 5th, 6th
4. Panzer - 5. - 35th, 36th
5. Panzer - 8. - 15th, 31st
10. Panzer - none - 8th
Kempf - 4. - 11th, 25th
1. leichte - x - x - 65th
2. leichte - x - x - 66th
3. leichte - x - x - 67th
4. leichte - x - x - 33rd
Panzer Schole - none - Panzer Lehr
Two notes: Panzer Division Kempf was a temporary formation in East Prussia just before the war and controlled the mentioned two Panzer regiments, SS-Standarte Deutschland, an SS artillery regiment, an SS recon btn, an antitank btn and an engineer company. It was dissolved after the Polish campaign. The one missing regiment is 23rd Panzer Rgt that was part of OKH Reserve and did not see battle.
In 1940 (started in 1939 after the Polish campaign), the following units were formed:
All leichte divisions were transformed into Panzer divisions, receiving regimental staff and one or two additional battalions.
1. leichte became 6. Panzer with 11th Panzer Rgt.
2. leichte became 7. Panzer with 25th Panzer Rgt.
3. leichte became 8. Panzer with 10th Panzer Rgt.
4. leichte became 9. Panzer with 33rd Panzer Rgt.
Ersatzheeres formed two replacement division for Panzer units: (note that these were not meant as combat formations but training formations that would then sent personnel to Panzer divisions to replace losses.
178. Reserve-Panzer at Liegnitz.
179. Reserve-Panzer at Weimar.
40th Panzer Btn, Berlin. Fully equipped with Pz I and Pz II, it was sent to Denmark and later Norway.
In 1940/41, after the French campaign, the following units were formed:
The following Panzer divisions lost their second regiment, replaced with a second motorized infantry regiment:
1. Panzer, 2. Panzer, 3. Panzer, 4. Panzer, 5. Panzer, 10. Panzer. The other Panzer divisions had only a single regiment to begin with.
The following independent battalions were absorbed into existing Panzer regiments to bring them all up to 3 btn strength:
65th Panzer, 66th Panzer, 67th Panzer.
The following motorized & infantry divisions were used to form the new Panzer divisions:
2. Infanterie (mot), 13. Infantarie (mot), 4. Infanterie, 16. Infanterie, 19. Infanterie, 27. Infanterie, 33. Infanterie.
11. Panzer was formed in July with 15th Panzer Rgt.
12. Panzer was formed in Oct with 29th Panzer Rgt.
13. Panzer was formed in Aug with 4th Panzer Rgt.
14. Panzer was formed in Aug with 36th Panzer Rgt.
15. Panzer was formed in Oct with 8th Panzer Rgt.
16. Panzer was formed in Aug with 2nd Panzer Rgt.
17. Panzer was formed in Oct with 39th Panzer Rgt.
18. Panzer was formed in Oct with 18th Panzer Rgt.
19. Panzer was formed in Oct with 27th Panzer Rgt.
20. Panzer was formed in Oct with 21th Panzer Rgt.
5. leichte-Division was formed with 5. Panzer Rgt and most of 33. Infanterie and then sent to Africa, alongside 15. Panzer Division.
In 1941, after Barbarossa started, the following units were formed:
22. Panzer Division, October.
23. Panzer Division, October.
24. Panzer Division, October.
In 1942, the following units were formed:
25. Panzer Division, February, Norway.
5. leichte-Division in Africa was upgraded to 21. Panzer Division.
155. Reserve-Panzer, Ulm, from 155. Reserve-Infanterie Division (mot).
233. Reserve-Panzer, Frankfurt/Oder, from 233. Reserve-Infanterie Division (mot). Sent to Denmark for occupation/training.
500.-510. schwere Panzer Battalion, equipped with Pz VI Tigers. 501 and 504 were sent to Africa, rest to Russia.
The following divisions had been destroyed in 1942 but ordered rebuilt by Hitler:
14. Panzer, 16. Panzer, 24. Panzer, 21. Panzer. 15. Panzer was rebuilt as 15. Panzergrenadier. 10. Panzer was not rebuilt.
In 1943, the following units were formed:
In 1944, the following units were formed:
Panzer Division Lehr
Panzer Division Tatra (but only held a single Panzer company)
Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle
101-113. Panzer-Brigade (Stab, Panzer Btn, Panzergrenadier Btn, Panzer engineer company, a workshop section, a transport section). These were absorbed by existing Panzer divisions by winter of '44/'45.
Panzer Rgt Fuehrer Begleit
Panzer Rgt Grossdeutschland
Panzer Rgt Kurmark
In 1945, the changes to Panzer Division OOB and Panzer Grenadier OOB meant that they were practically identical on paper. Units formed (though mostly on paper) were:
Panzer Division Holstein
Panzer Division Silesia
Panzer Division Jueterbog
Panzer Division Muencheberg
Panzer Division Clausewitz
I have not included the Panzer, Panzergrenadier and motorized Ersatz/Reserve units of brigade/regimental/battalion strength that were part of every Wehrkreis from February 1943 onwards. They were of no significant, gameplay wise, on the scale of HoI, and in any case fed their recruits to the actual Reserve Panzer Divisions after initial training and equipping process.
I figured I'll post this stuff here for those HoI players who want to recreate historical German armoured force and for modders. I know of at least two HoI3 mods (DWI and RPM2) that aim for it, so this thread could, hopefully, be an easy, one-stop-source for German Panzerwaffe OOB. My source is the excellent "The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and their Commanders" by Samuel W Mitcham, Jr. It utilizes a massive bibliography and is likely the one of the more accurate sources BUT no book is 100% correct, so please let me know of any errors (please mention your source) and I'll edit the post. This way, you don't need to browse through several Wikipedia pages, then go through Axis-History forums and Lexikon-der-Wehrmacht to piece together a complete picture.
I'll first go chronologically the creation of regiments, independent battalions, and divisions. At the end, I'll make a list.
First three Panzer divisions were formed on October 15, 1935 and that date remained the birthday of Panzerwaffe. The original barracks were at Weimar, Wuerzburg, and Berlin. All three had 2 Panzer regiments, a regiment of motorized infantry, motorized artillery regiment, an engineer battalion, a reconnaissance battalion, an antitank battalion, and a signal company or battalion. You can check Dr.Niehorster's excellent website for more details on the division order of battle at http://niehorster.orbat.com/011_germany/__ge_index.htm
1. Panzer Division: 1st Panzer Rgt, 2nd Panzer Rgt
2. Panzer Division: 3rd Panzer Rgt, 4th Panzer Rgt
3. Panzer Division: 5th Panzer Rgt, 6th Panzer Rgt
These three divisions formed the Panzer Troops Command (Inspectorate 6) under General Oswald Lutz. His chief of staff was Colonel Friedrich Paulus, as Guderian had been assigned as commander of 2. Panzer. In 1936, Paulus was replaced by Colonel Walther Nehring. In 1938, Lutz was forced to resign as he was too critical of the Nazis and was replaced by Guderian (promoted to Lt.General), who also took command of the newly formed XVI. Armeekorps that held operational control of the three Panzer divisions.
In 1936, the following units were formed:
7th Panzer Rgt at Vaihingen.
8th Panzer Rgt at Boeblingen.
Stab (Staff), 4th Panzer Brigade at Stuttgart.
Independent 88th Panzer Battalion was formed from volunteers and sent to Spain to fight for the Nationalists. Originally only one company strong, it grew to three Panzer companies and a repair company by the end of the SCW.
In 1937, the following units were formed, all in October:
Panzer Lehr Battalion at Wuensdorf for testing and training purposes.
11th Panzer Rgt at Senne. Equipped with Pz 35(t) in 1939.
15th Panzer Rgt at Sagan.
I Btn / 10th Panzer Rgt at Stablack. Note that this was not an independent battalion even though 10th Panzer Rgt did not fully exist yet.
25th Panzer Btn at Grafenwoehr.
65th Panzer Btn at Senne. Attached to 1. leichte-Division. Equipped with Pz 35(t) in 1939.
In 1938, the following units were formed, all in November:
33rd Panzer Btn at Vienna. Attached to 4. leichte-Division.
4. Panzer Division at Wuerzburg.
5. Panzer Division at Oppeln.
Stab, 5th Panzer Brigade at Bamberg.
Stab, 6th Panzer Brigade at Wuerzburg.
Stab, 8th Panzer Brigade at Sagan.
23rd Panzer Rgt at Mannheim-Schwetzingen.
31st Panzer Rgt at Koenigsbrueck.
35th Panzer Rgt at Bamberg.
36th Panzer Rgt at Schweinfurt.
66th Panzer Btn at Eisenach. Attached to 2. leichte-Division.
67th Panzer Btn at Gross-Glienicke. Attached 3. leichte-Division.
In 1939, the following units were formed:
Stab, 10. Panzer Division, Prague. Assumed control of 8th Panzer Rgt.
Panzer Lehr was expanded from Btn to Rgt.
The divisions were brought to full strength as war as looming, meaning that each Panzer brigade in a division held two Panzer regiments, and each Regiment held Stab, 2 Panzer Battalions, and engineer and intelligence sections. Each Panzer battalion had two light tank companies, one medium tank company, a tank supply column, a workshop company, and reconnaissance, intelligence, and light engineer sections.
On September 1, 1939, all 34 of Germany's panzer units (divisions and independent brigades and regiments) went to war against Poland with 2,820 tanks - 1,051 Pz I and II, 301 Czech tanks, 361 Pz III and IV.
Structure of Panzerwaffe, August 1939:
Division - Brigade - Regiment(s) - Battalion
1. Panzer - 1. - 1st, 2nd
2. Panzer - 2. - 3rd, 4th
3. Panzer - 3. - 5th, 6th
4. Panzer - 5. - 35th, 36th
5. Panzer - 8. - 15th, 31st
10. Panzer - none - 8th
Kempf - 4. - 11th, 25th
1. leichte - x - x - 65th
2. leichte - x - x - 66th
3. leichte - x - x - 67th
4. leichte - x - x - 33rd
Panzer Schole - none - Panzer Lehr
Two notes: Panzer Division Kempf was a temporary formation in East Prussia just before the war and controlled the mentioned two Panzer regiments, SS-Standarte Deutschland, an SS artillery regiment, an SS recon btn, an antitank btn and an engineer company. It was dissolved after the Polish campaign. The one missing regiment is 23rd Panzer Rgt that was part of OKH Reserve and did not see battle.
In 1940 (started in 1939 after the Polish campaign), the following units were formed:
All leichte divisions were transformed into Panzer divisions, receiving regimental staff and one or two additional battalions.
1. leichte became 6. Panzer with 11th Panzer Rgt.
2. leichte became 7. Panzer with 25th Panzer Rgt.
3. leichte became 8. Panzer with 10th Panzer Rgt.
4. leichte became 9. Panzer with 33rd Panzer Rgt.
Ersatzheeres formed two replacement division for Panzer units: (note that these were not meant as combat formations but training formations that would then sent personnel to Panzer divisions to replace losses.
178. Reserve-Panzer at Liegnitz.
179. Reserve-Panzer at Weimar.
40th Panzer Btn, Berlin. Fully equipped with Pz I and Pz II, it was sent to Denmark and later Norway.
In 1940/41, after the French campaign, the following units were formed:
The following Panzer divisions lost their second regiment, replaced with a second motorized infantry regiment:
1. Panzer, 2. Panzer, 3. Panzer, 4. Panzer, 5. Panzer, 10. Panzer. The other Panzer divisions had only a single regiment to begin with.
The following independent battalions were absorbed into existing Panzer regiments to bring them all up to 3 btn strength:
65th Panzer, 66th Panzer, 67th Panzer.
The following motorized & infantry divisions were used to form the new Panzer divisions:
2. Infanterie (mot), 13. Infantarie (mot), 4. Infanterie, 16. Infanterie, 19. Infanterie, 27. Infanterie, 33. Infanterie.
11. Panzer was formed in July with 15th Panzer Rgt.
12. Panzer was formed in Oct with 29th Panzer Rgt.
13. Panzer was formed in Aug with 4th Panzer Rgt.
14. Panzer was formed in Aug with 36th Panzer Rgt.
15. Panzer was formed in Oct with 8th Panzer Rgt.
16. Panzer was formed in Aug with 2nd Panzer Rgt.
17. Panzer was formed in Oct with 39th Panzer Rgt.
18. Panzer was formed in Oct with 18th Panzer Rgt.
19. Panzer was formed in Oct with 27th Panzer Rgt.
20. Panzer was formed in Oct with 21th Panzer Rgt.
5. leichte-Division was formed with 5. Panzer Rgt and most of 33. Infanterie and then sent to Africa, alongside 15. Panzer Division.
In 1941, after Barbarossa started, the following units were formed:
22. Panzer Division, October.
23. Panzer Division, October.
24. Panzer Division, October.
In 1942, the following units were formed:
25. Panzer Division, February, Norway.
5. leichte-Division in Africa was upgraded to 21. Panzer Division.
155. Reserve-Panzer, Ulm, from 155. Reserve-Infanterie Division (mot).
233. Reserve-Panzer, Frankfurt/Oder, from 233. Reserve-Infanterie Division (mot). Sent to Denmark for occupation/training.
500.-510. schwere Panzer Battalion, equipped with Pz VI Tigers. 501 and 504 were sent to Africa, rest to Russia.
The following divisions had been destroyed in 1942 but ordered rebuilt by Hitler:
14. Panzer, 16. Panzer, 24. Panzer, 21. Panzer. 15. Panzer was rebuilt as 15. Panzergrenadier. 10. Panzer was not rebuilt.
In 1943, the following units were formed:
In 1944, the following units were formed:
Panzer Division Lehr
Panzer Division Tatra (but only held a single Panzer company)
Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle
101-113. Panzer-Brigade (Stab, Panzer Btn, Panzergrenadier Btn, Panzer engineer company, a workshop section, a transport section). These were absorbed by existing Panzer divisions by winter of '44/'45.
Panzer Rgt Fuehrer Begleit
Panzer Rgt Grossdeutschland
Panzer Rgt Kurmark
In 1945, the changes to Panzer Division OOB and Panzer Grenadier OOB meant that they were practically identical on paper. Units formed (though mostly on paper) were:
Panzer Division Holstein
Panzer Division Silesia
Panzer Division Jueterbog
Panzer Division Muencheberg
Panzer Division Clausewitz
I have not included the Panzer, Panzergrenadier and motorized Ersatz/Reserve units of brigade/regimental/battalion strength that were part of every Wehrkreis from February 1943 onwards. They were of no significant, gameplay wise, on the scale of HoI, and in any case fed their recruits to the actual Reserve Panzer Divisions after initial training and equipping process.
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