View source for 13th Panzer Division

{{Short description|German army division during World War II}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2013}}
{{distinguish|13th Panzergrenadier Division (Bundeswehr)}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = 13th Panzer Division
| native_name                   = 13. Panzer-Division
| image                         = Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-185-0139-20, Polen, Russland, Panzer in Bereitstellung.jpg
| image_size                    = 280px
| caption                       = 13th Panzer Division during [[Operation Barbarossa]]
| dates                         = 11 October 1940 – January 1945
| country                       = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}
| branch                        = German [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Heer]]
| type                          = [[Panzer]]
| role                          = [[Armoured warfare]]
| size                          = [[Division (military)|Division]] <!-- , up to 20,000 soldiers -->
| command_structure             = [[File:Balkenkreuz.svg|20px]] [[Wehrmacht]]
| garrison                      = [[Wehrkreis XI]]: [[Magdeburg]]
| battles                       = {{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
** [[Operation Barbarossa]]
** [[Battle of the Caucasus]]
** [[Second Jassy–Kishinev offensive]]
** [[Battle of Debrecen]]
** [[Siege of Budapest]]
{{tree list/end}}
| identification_symbol         = [[File:13th Panzer Division logo.svg|40px]]
| identification_symbol_label   = 1940–1945
}}

The '''13th Panzer Division''' ({{langx|en|13th Armoured Division}}) was a unit of the [[German Army (1935–1945)|German Army]] during [[World War II]], established in 1940.

The division was organized under the code name '''Infantry Command IV''' (''Infanterieführer IV'') in October 1934. On October 15, 1935, following Germany's open rejection of terms of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] restricting Germany's military, the division was designated the '''13th Infantry Division''' (''13. Infanterie-Division''). The division was motorized during the winter of 1936–1937, and was accordingly renamed the '''13th Motorized Infantry Division''' (''13. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert)'') on October 12, 1937. The 13th Motorized Infantry Division participated in the [[Invasion of Poland|campaigns against Poland]] (1939) and western Europe (1940). Following the [[Fall of France]] in June 1940, on October 11, 1940, the division was reorganized as the '''13th Panzer Division''' (''13. Panzer-Division''). It participated in [[Operation Barbarossa]] (the invasion of the USSR) in 1941 and the advance on the [[Caucasus]] in 1942. The division suffered heavy losses in the retreats of 1943 and 1944. It was partially refitted in [[Hungary]], where it was encircled and destroyed by Red Army in the winter of 1944–1945. The formation was reformed as [[Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2]] in the spring of 1945 and surrendered in May 1945.{{Where|date=February 2021}}{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}

During the invasion of Poland, the troops of the division committed war crimes, including reprisal killings, using civilians as human shields, and destroying a medical column.<ref name="MZ" />

==Operational history ==
The 13th Motorized Infantry Division participated in the invasion of Poland, as part of the southern thrust, and the [[Battle of France]], advancing through Belgium towards [[Calais]] and on to [[Lyon]].<ref name="Two" >Mitcham (2000), p. 112.</ref> 

The 13th Panzer Division was formed in [[Vienna]] in October 1940 from the 13th Motorized Infantry Division and was immediately sent to [[Romania]] but was not part of the Balkan campaign. It served in [[Operation Barbarossa]] as part of [[1st Panzer Group|''Panzer'' Group 1]] ([[Army Group South]]), and it contributed to the successful encirclements of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] forces at [[Kyiv|Kiev]]. At the end of 1941, it was positioned at [[Rostov, Yaroslavl Oblast|Rostov]]; however, it was forced to retreat due to fierce Soviet counter-attacks.<ref name="Two" /><ref name="Three" >Mitcham (2000), p. 113.</ref>

In 1942 and 1943, the division formed part of the [[1st Panzer Army|First Panzer Army]] ([[Army Group A]]); it was involved in the battles for the [[Caucasus]] oil fields and at the [[Kuban]] Peninsula after the [[Battle of Stalingrad]]. In the fall of 1943, it was withdrawn to Western Ukraine, where it fought defensive battles near the river [[Dniepr]].<ref name="Three" />

On 20 November, the 13th Panzer Division possessed 32 tanks (of which 15 were operational).<ref name="Kroener 1999 Menschenbewirtschaftung">{{Cite book |last=Kroener |first=Bernhard R. |title=Organisation und Mobilisierung des Deutschen Machtbereichs: Kriegsverwaltung, Wirtschaft und personelle Ressourcen, 1942–1944/45 |publisher=Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt |year=1999 |isbn=3421064997 |editor-last=Kroener |editor-first=Bernhard R. |series=Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg |volume=5/2 |location=Stuttgart |pages=777–1001; here: 954 |language=de |chapter="Menschenbewirtschaftung", Bevölkerungsverteilung und personelle Rüstung in der zweiten Kriegshälfte (1942-1944) |editor-last2=Müller |editor-first2=Rolf-Dieter |editor-last3=Umbreit |editor-first3=Hans}}</ref>

The offensive of the [[Soviet Army]] pushed the Germans to their starting positions of June 1941. The 13th Panzer Division was attached to [[Army Group South Ukraine]], which had orders to stop the Soviets from capturing the Romanian oil fields. The division was reformed in July 1944 and it received modern equipment, including the [[Panther tank|Panther]] G tank and the [[Jagdpanzer IV]]. The [[Second Jassy–Kishinev offensive|Red Army offensive of August 1944]] resulted in the deaths or imprisonment of most of the division.<ref name="Three" />

In the [[Battle of Debrecen]], the division helped to annihilate three Soviet [[corps]]; however, it was [[Battle of Budapest|encircled in Budapest]] at the end of 1944 and destroyed in January 1945.<ref name="Four" >Mitcham (2000), p. 114.</ref>

In the spring of 1945, the division was reformed under the name [[Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2|''Feldherrnhalle 2'']]. The last engagements with the Soviets were fought on the Austro-Hungarian border. The division surrendered in [[Austria]] in May 1945.<ref name="Four" />

==War crimes==
During the invasion of [[Poland]], the division used civilians as [[human shield]]s in the battle with the retreating Polish [[Prusy Army]] and on September 8, 1939, attacked a medical column marked with the [[Red Cross]] signs near [[Odrzywół, Przysucha County|Odrzywół]].<ref name="MZ"/> A day later, soldiers from the division took part in the revenge killing of 11 civilians and two Polish priests including Dean Stanisław Klimecki in the nearby town of [[Drzewica]] in retaliation for their own military losses. Killings have also been reported in nearby settlements of [[Gielniów]], [[Kamienna Wola, Masovian Voivodeship|Kamienna Wola]], [[Klwów]], [[Ossa, Masovian Voivodeship|Ossa]], [[Przysucha]], [[Potok, Gmina Sobienie-Jeziory|Potok]], [[Rozwady]] and [[Zarzęcin]].<ref name="MZ">{{cite web |url=http://www.opoczno.republika.pl/zbniem1.htm |title=Zbrodnie niemieckie na terenie powiatu opoczyńskiego 1939-1945 |trans-title=German war crimes in Opoczno county 1939-1945 |language=pl |first1=Marek |last1=Ziębicki |first2=Andrzej |last2=Badowski |name-list-style=amp |work=Historia grodu opoczyńskiego |access-date=2016-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129053553/http://opoczno.republika.pl/zbniem1.htm |archive-date=2018-01-29 |url-status=dead}} [Also in: {{cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/opocznohistoria/zbniem1.htm |title=Opoczno historia |work=Geocities.com |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5keWZdDYE?url=http://www.geocities.com/opocznohistoria/zbniem1.htm |archive-date=2009-10-19 |url-status=dead}}]</ref>

On 24 May 1940 troops of the division executed roughly 50 wounded [[Senegalese Tirailleurs|Senegalese tirailleurs]] of the French ''[[24th Senegalese Tirailleurs Regiment|24e Regiment de Tirailleurs Sénégalais]]'' after capturing the village of [[Aubigny, Somme|Aubigny]] on the [[Somme (river)|Somme]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Forczyk |first=Robert |title=Case Red: The Collapse of France |publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2017 |isbn=9781472824462 |pages=225}}</ref>

==Commanders==
The commanders of the division:<ref>Mitcham (2000), pp. 114–117.</ref>

Infantry Command IV (''Infanterieführer IV''), 13th Infantry Division (''13. Infanterie-Division''), and 13th Motorized Infantry Division (''13. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert)'')
*''Generalleutnant'' {{ill|Paul Otto (general)|de|Paul Otto (General)|lt=Paul Otto}} (1 October 1934 – 20 August 1939)

13th Motorized Infantry Division (''13. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert)'')
*''Generalleutnant'' Moritz von Faber du Faur (21 August 1939 – 6 September 1939)
*''Generalleutnant'' Paul Otto (7 September – 31 October 1939)

13th Motorized Infantry Division (''13. Infanterie-Division (motorisiert)''), and 13th Panzer Division (''13. Panzer-Division'')

*''Generalleutnant'' [[Friedrich-Wilhelm von Rothkirch und Panthen]] (1 November 1939 – 13 June 1941)

13th Panzer Division (''13. Panzer-Division'')
*''Generalleutnant'' [[Walter Düvert]] (14 June 1941 – 28 November 1941)
*''General der Panzertruppe'' [[Traugott Herr]] (29 November 1941 – 1 November 1942)
*(acting) ''Oberst'' Walter Kuehn (1 October 1942 – 31 October 1942)
*''Generalleutnant'' [[Hellmut von der Chevallerie]] (1 November 1942 – 30 November 1942)
*''Generalmajor'' [[Wilhelm Crisolli]] (1 December 1942 – 14 May 1943)
*''Generalleutnant'' [[Hellmut von der Chevallerie]] (15 May 1943 – 31 August 1943)
*''Generalleutnant'' [[Eduard Hauser (general)|Eduard Hauser]] (1 September 1943 – 22 December 1943)
*''Generalleutnant'' [[Hans Mikosch]] (23 December 1943 – 17 May 1944)
*''Oberst'' [[Friedrich-Erdmann von Hake]] (18 May 1944 – 24 May 1944)
*''Generalleutnant'' [[Hans Tröger]] (25 May 1944 – 8 September 1944)
*''Generalmajor'' [[Gerhard Schmidhuber]] (9 September 1944 – 11 February 1945)
*''Oberstleutnant d.R.'' [[Wilhelm Schöning]] (12 February 1945 – )

==Organisation==
The organisation of the division in October 1944:<ref name="Cgsc">{{cite web |url=http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/939GXPZ.PDF |title=Organizational History of the German Armored Formation 1939-1945 |website=[[United States Army Command and General Staff College]] |access-date=20 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208094147/http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/939GXPZ.PDF |archive-date=2011-12-08 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*''Panzer-Regiment 4''
*''Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 66''
*''Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 93''
*''Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 13''
*''Feldersatz-Battalion 13''
*''Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 13''
*''Heeres-Flak-Artillerie-Abteilung 271''
*''Panzerjäger-Abteilung 13''
*''Panzer-Pionier-Battalion 4''
*''Panzer-Nachrichten-Abteilung 13''
*''Panzer-Versorgungstruppen 13''

== See also ==
*[[SS Panzer Division order of battle]]
*[[Panzer division]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{Cite book |last1=Mitcham |first1=Samuel W. |year=2000 |title=The Panzer Legions: A Guide to the German Army Tank Divisions of World War II and their Commanders |location=[[Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania|Mechanicsburg]], PA |publisher=[[Stackpole Books]] |isbn=978-0-8117-3353-3}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Stoves |first1=Rolf |year=1986 |title=Die Gepanzerten und Motorisierten Deutschen Grossverbände 1935–1945 |trans-title=The armoured and motorised German divisions and brigades 1935–1945 |location=[[Bad Nauheim]] |publisher=Podzun-Pallas Verlag |isbn=3-7909-0279-9}}

{{German Armoured Divisions of World War II}}{{Numbered infantry divisions of the Wehrmacht}}{{Knight's Cross recipients of the 13th PD}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:German panzer divisions|1*13]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1940]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1945]]