The 12th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, established in 1940.
In October 1940 the 2nd Motorised Infantry Division was reorganized as the 12th Panzer Division, and in June 1941 it joined Operation Barbarossa, fighting in the battles of Minsk and Smolensk. It fought the rest of the war on the Eastern Front and surrendered to the Red Army in the Courland Pocket in May 1945.
History
thumb|left|A [[Panzer IV of the division operating on the Eastern Front in 1944.]]
The division was formed from the 2nd Infantry Division, itself formed in 1921. The division was motorised in 1936–37 and participated in the invasions of Poland and France. It was reorganised as a Panzer Division in October 1940.
The 12th Panzer Division participated in Operation Barbarossa, taking part in the drive towards Leningrad. Suffering heavy casualties during the Soviet counter offensive in the winter of 1941–42, the division was withdrawn to Estonia for a refit.
The division was eventually entrapped in the Courland Pocket after the successful Soviet offensive in July 1944, Operation Bagration. It remained in Courland where it surrendered to Soviet forces in May 1945.
Organization
Structure of the division through its history:
- Headquarters
- 29th Panzer Regiment
- 5th Panzergrenadier Regiment
- 25th Panzergrenadier Regiment
- 2nd Panzer Artillery Regiment
- 22nd Motorcycle Battalion (later became 2nd Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion)
- 508th Tank Destroyer Battalion
- 303rd Army Anti-Aircraft Battalion (later added in 1942)
- 2nd Divisional Supply Group
Commanding officers
The commanders of the division:
- Lieutenant general Fedor von Bock, 1931
- Major General/Lieutenant General Hubert Gerke, 1 October 1934
- Major General/Lieutenant General Paul Bader, 1 April 1937
- Generaloberst Josef Harpe, 5 October 1940
- Generalleutnant Walter Wessel, 15 January 1942
- Generalleutnant Erpo Freiherr von Bodenhausen, 1 March 1943
- Generalmajor Gerhard Müller, 28 May 1944
- Generalleutnant Erpo Freiherr von Bodenhausen, 16 July 1944
- Oberst Horst von Usedom, 12 April 1945
See also
- Organisation of a SS Panzer Division
- Panzer division