Introduction

This document details German panzer unit organisations on the Eastern Front in 1941 and 1942, covering the period from to the Stalingrad campaign.

Many units have been selected for their departure from the ‘norm’ in terms of establishment and/or equipment. Unless specified, vehicles and guns have been scaled down to the usual Rapid Fire! ratio of 1 to 5. The tables follow the now well- established Rapid Fire! format, but I have omitted the points values, as players using historical units are less likely to be concerned about a precisely balanced game.

The following panzer battalions and battle groups pose particular challenges to the wargamer. This can vary from getting the best out of a force of technically inferior Pz 35ts, to successfully utilising the flexibility of amphibious tauchpanzers, or commanding the first Tigers in less than ideal circumstances. Overall, this publication will provide you with interesting units to bring variety and a touch of realism to your games.

Contents

Page Czech in Panzer Battalions 1941 -1942 3 Kampfgruppen 1941 10 Panzer Units in Motorised and SS Divisions 1942 15 3rd and 23rd Panzer Divisions at Kharkov 1942 17 Panzer Units at Stalingrad 20 Tiger Heavy Panzers 1942 25 13th Panzer Division 1941 - 1942 26 Tauchpanzer Units Sample file 30 Early Flammpanzers 32 Early Funklenk Panzer Units 34 Miscellaneous Panzer Units 36 Vehicle and Gun Chart 39 Wargaming Ideas 40

1941: A 13th Panzer Panzer III (37mm) leads a Battalion HQ Panzer III Befehlswagen (command ) over a newly completed Bruckengerat ‘K’ pontoon bridge.

Page  Czech Tanks in Panzer Battalions 1941 - 1942

When Operation Barbarossa commenced on June 22nd 11th Panzer Regiment 1941 the German panzerwaffe was able to field double the (22nd June 1941) number of panzer divisions it had employed against France and the Low Countries in the preceding year. 65th Battalion

HQ This is of course misleading, as the rapid enlargement of Panzer 35(t) (command) (37mm), Panzer 35(t) (37mm) the panzer arm had been partially achieved by the simple expedient of splitting the original panzer regiments in half. Nevertheless, far more tanks were made available overall and this was largely achieved by fully utilising the production capabilities of the Czech armaments industry, which had been under the control of the Nazis since 1938.

Light Company When the panzer divisions rolled across the border on 3 x Panzer 35(t) (37mm), Panzer II (20mm) to Soviet-controlled soil, fully one quarter of the tanks employed were of Czech origin. Despite the fact that, to all intents and purposes, these Panzer 35(t) and 38(t)s were light tanks, they provided the main striking power for six Page panzer divisions, with a seventh being transferred to the Eastern Front in early 1942. Czech Tanks in Panzer Battalions 1941 -1942 3 6th Panzer Division, the only German tank unit to be Light Company Kampfgruppen 1941 10 3 x Panzer 35(t) (37mm), Panzer II (20mm) equipped with the Panzer 35(t), was one of three panzer Panzer Units in Motorised and SS Divisions 1942 15 divisions in Panzergruppe 4. Of the other two, 8th Panzer was equipped with the Panzer 38(t) and 1st Panzer with the 3rd and 23rd Panzer Divisions at Kharkov 1942 17 Panzer III. This was the weakest of the four panzergruppen Panzer Units at Stalingrad 20 involved in the initial stages of Operation Barbarossa and the one with the most northerly objective: Leningrad. Tiger Heavy Panzers 1942 25 The 35(t) was a less sophisticated machine than its later Medium Company 13th Panzer Division 1941 - 1942 26 stablemate the 38(t), but was armed with the same 37mm 2 x Panzer IV (short 75mm), Panzer II (20mm) Tauchpanzer Units 30 gun. It was also used in small numbers by the Slovak Rapid Brigade (under its Czech designation Lt vz 35) andSample equipped file Early Flammpanzers 32 the Romanian 1st Armoured Division in the form of a 35(t) variant called the R-2. Early Funklenk Panzer Units 34

Miscellaneous Panzer Units 36 Although a reasonable design for its time, the 35(t) was obsolete when compared to the latest Soviet tanks. 6th Vehicle and Gun Chart 39 Panzer crossed the border little realising that its 10 ton 1st Battalion tanks with 25mm frontal armour would soon be facing Wargaming Ideas 40 52 ton monsters, with three times their protection and As 65th Battalion devastatingly more powerful guns. 6th Panzer Division’s 11th Panzer Regiment consisted of three battalions: I, II and 3rd Battalion 65th. Using the latter as an example, they were organised as As 65th Battalion follows on the eve of the invasion: * 6th Panzer was equipped with five PzBef 35(t) command tanks and Because 6th Panzer was equipped with obsolete armour eight PzBef H/E. As command tanks are not strictly scaled down using the 1:5 ratio, either vehicle could be used to command any of it always fought in mixed combat groups. The division’s the three battalions. 6th Rifle Brigade had two regiments (4th and 114th) each with two battalions, with only one company carried 6th Panzer advanced across the border and by 23rd June in Sdkfz 251 APCs. With the 6th Motorcycle Battalion had seized the town of Rossienie and was poised to cross the Dubissa River. Operating in two battlegroups (Raus on (often referred to as ‘K-6’) this gave 5 battalions that the left and Seckendorff on the right), the division seized could be attached to the tank battalions. 1 or 2 battalions two bridgeheads, although the southerly one - captured by would be the normal support for a tank battalion, plus a elements of 1st Panzer Battalion and 114th Rifle Regiment company of AT guns. For a typical 1941 motorised rifle - was recaptured during the night. The next morning, tanks of the Soviet 2nd Tank Division’s 3rd and 4th Tank Regiments battalion organisation see page 12. delivered both a counter-attack and a tremendous blow to

Page  German confidence with their heavy KV-1 and KV-IIs. As part of this counter-attack, a lone KV-II blocked the bridge leading Above: a company of 6th Panzer Division Panzer 35(t)s pass an to Group Raus’s forward positions. This well-documented abandoned KV-II after the battle against 2nd Tank Division. The 35(t) had already been out of production for 3 years by the time Barbarossa action graphically illustrated the inadequacy of the German was launched. anti-tank arsenal, with 37mm, 50mm and even 88mm guns struggling to knock out their stubborn adversary. The fact that it was used to equip a front line panzer division indicates both the desperate need for tanks and the arrogance of the commanders Further south, Group Seckendorff was reinforcedSample by the who file expected the invasion of Russia to be a re-run of France in 1940. reserve 2nd Battalion, which had been ordered to recapture the lost bridgehead. Instead, it found itself up against the x model 35(t)s and 1 x Panzer ll from the table to represent marauding Soviet ‘heavies’, which it held by forming a firing 11th Tank Regiment on October 31st). By November 30th line just east of Rossienie and disabling KVs with Panzer IV the division had no serviceable tanks at all, effectively ending 75mm fire aimed at hatches and vision slits! the 35(t)’s front line service with the German army.

Only the intervention by 1st Panzer Division - outflanking The Panzer 38(t), which equipped 7th, 8th, 12th, 19th and the Soviet units to the north - saved 6th Panzer from 20th Panzer Divisions during Operation Barbarossa, was devastation. Ultimately however, the Soviet tanks’ lack of available in far greater numbers and soldiered on to serve ammunition and fuel rendered their position untenable. with a number of units (including 22nd Panzer Division) during much of 1942, before its relegation to reconnaissance Despite these obvious shortcomings, 6th Panzer Division and security duties. This agile and reliable tank was in its had no option but to struggle on with its inadequate main element when surging across the steppe and making the battle tanks. It is interesting to note that the Slovak Rapid deep thrusts characteristic of the summer battles. However, Brigade decided its own Lt vz35s were unfit for battle after it shared the Panzer 35(t)s limitations of thin armour and just one major action - at Lipovec - and that was against poor armament and in tank v tank encounters suffered badly Soviet artillery rather than tanks. at the hands of the new Soviet mediums and heavies.

After successfully advancing to the outskirts of Leningrad, 12th Panzer Division was attached to Panzergruppe 3, whose 6th Panzer was transferred to Hoth’s 3rd Panzer Army for four panzer divisions were all equipped with the Panzer Operation Typhoon - the drive on Moscow. The rigours of 38(t). When Operation Barbarossa began the 12th had combat and the deteriorating state of the Russian roads three battalions, each of which was organised as follows: speeded up the process of attrition. By 31st October the Tank warfare on the Eastern Front took a tremendous total tank force of the entire division amounted to virtually the same strength as 65th Battalion on 22nd June (deduct 2

Page  By the beginning of July, the operational order of battle for a 29th Panzer Regiment, 12th Panzer Division ‘typical’ 12th Panzer tank battalion scales down as follows: (22nd June 1941) Battalion 29th Panzer Regiment, 12th Panzer Division (1st July 1941) HQ Panzer 38(t) (command) (37mm), (MGs) Battalion

HQ Panzer 38(t) (command) (37mm), Panzer I (MGs)

Light Company 3 x Panzer 38(t) (37mm), Panzer I (MGs)

Light Company 3 x Panzer 38(t) (37mm)

Light Company 3 x Panzer 38(t) (37mm), Panzer II (20mm)

Light Company 3 x Panzer 38(t) (37mm), Panzer II (20mm)

Medium Company 2 x Panzer IV (short 75mm), Panzer II (20mm)

Medium Company Panzer IV (short 75mm)

Sample file

* 12th Panzer, as a newly formed division, was allocated 40 Panzer Is to make up for a shortage of Panzer lls. The exact allocation of each type is unknown, so this distribution is conjectural. toll on the panzer divisions. Despite the 38(t)’s renowned Below: a company of 12th Panzer Division passes a disabled T-28 as they reliability, the sheer distances involved pushed machines drive east. T-28s were remnants of the 1930s ‘landship’ concept that also and repair facilities to the limit. Add the vulnerability of led to the creation of the huge multi-turreted T-35. the light Czech tanks to the latest Soviet weapons and it is However, adequately led and maintained these tanks could still have hardly surprising that the numbers of operational vehicles given the light Pz 38(t)s a run for their money. fell rapidly.

Page  The attrition continued. By mid August, the 18th Battalion, To illustrate what these units were up against, on 19th 29th Panzer Regiment had been reduced to the following August the 1st Battalion was ordered to secure a defensive strength: position on the division’s right flank, centred on the railway station at Popovka. 29th Panzer Regiment, 12th Panzer Division (19th August 1941) After the regimental reconnaissance platoon had reconnoitered the village - reporting enemy infantry near Battalion the station and east of the railway track, supported by a HQ lone KV-1 - a tank company was sent forward to link up Panzer 38(t) (command) (37mm), Panzer II (20mm) with elements of the division’s motorised rifle brigade. This was accomplished and the Soviet infantry were driven back towards the village of Tschernikovo. However, as the battalion established its defensive positions four KV-1s emerged from the south of the enemy-held village and began to the German troops. This fire was then thickened by two more heavy tanks that took up position N.E of the station. Light Company 2 x Panzer 38(t) (37mm) The Soviet tanks eventually pulled back after concentrated tank fire on each vehicle in turn unnerved their crews. Nevertheless, the 38(t)s had been unable to penetrate the KVs’ thick armour and their own losses exceeded those of the Soviet force.

Although clearly obsolete by the end of 1941, the 38(t) Light Company nevertheless soldiered on into the following year - even Panzer 38(t) (37mm) being used to equip a new panzer division - 22nd Panzer.

22nd Panzer Division’s 204th Panzer Regiment was formed as an independent unit in July 1941 and equipped with captured French tanks, a common practice amongst tank units being formed or reformed in France and the Low Countries. It was then assigned to the 22nd and re-equipped with Panzer Medium Company 38(t)s. The fact that this tank was still in production well Panzer IV (short 75mm) into 1942 highlights the inability of German production to produce enough Panzer III and IVs to replace enormous Samplelosses file suffered during the first winter in the East.

Below: a light and medium company of 22nd Panzer Division in battle formation. See diagrams on pages 7 and 8.

Page  22nd Panzer Division was hastily transferred to the East in Sevastopol isolated from landward reinforcement. March 1942 and assigned to the Crimea, where the German forces had previously lacked tank support. At this time the The regiment was drawn up in a relatively standard battle division’s two tank battalions were organised as follows: formation; the 1st Battalion leading the 2nd with the single armoured rifle company just behind and to the right flank of 204th Panzer Regiment, 22nd Panzer Division the line of leading tank companies. A second rifle company (20th March 1941) was mounted on the tanks of the 2nd Battalion and the latter was also supported by a company of self-propelled 1st Battalion 20mm flak guns. The diagram on the next page shows a HQ scaled down representation of this formation (2nd Battalion Panzer 38(t) (command) (37mm), Panzer II (20mm) following directly behind the 1st).

Unfortunately, the problems began even before the regiment set off, with the discovery that the armoured rifle company radios weren’t tuned to any of the tank frequencies. When the advance finally got underway it was dogged by thick fog and 204th Panzer Regiment HQ gave the order to halt, Light Company hoping visibility would improve. It didn’t, and when the 3 x Panzer 38(t) (37mm), Panzer II (20mm) advance re-started the 1st Battalion veered away to the north, whilst the rest of the regiment (including the CO) headed east towards the objective, believing the 1st to be moving directly ahead. The armoured rifle company soon lost contact with 1st Battalion and stayed with the 2nd.

As it advanced northwards on its own, 1st Panzer Battalion was hit by a series of tank attacks. First, 25-35 light tanks Light Company 3 x Panzer 38(t) (37mm), Panzer II (20mm) were driven off and then a mixed group of 10 KV-1s and T- 34s were encountered, supported by light armour and both artillery and anti-tank fire. A minefield added to the 1st Battalion’s tribulations. As the pressure mounted, it sent a radio report (which neglected to mention its true position) suggesting it had suffered very heavy casualties. As a result, Regimental HQ permitted a withdrawal. In fact the battalion had only lost 14 tanks out of approximately 65, many of Medium Company 2 x Panzer IV (short 75mm), Panzer II (20mm) which were repairable.

SampleMeanwhile, file the 2nd Battalion had reached the outskirts of Korpetsch. After the Armoured Rifle Company accidentally drove into a minefield, the tanks found their path blocked by an anti-tank ditch where artillery fire caused casualties. With the rest of the battalion fighting off infantry attacks on the left flank, 6th Panzer Company (Panzer IVs with short 75mm) advanced on the right, trying to contact the phantom 2nd Battalion 1st Battalion. As 1st Battalion Eventually, the Regimental Commander ordered a general * No Panzerbefehlswagens are listed for this division and it is assumed withdrawal and only as his units were retreating did he finally that 38(t) command vehicles were issued. learn the true position of his 1st Battalion. Unfortunately, 22nd Panzer Division’s problems were not yet over, as infantry and On March 20th the 22nd took part in a disastrous first support elements in the rear started a panicky withdrawal engagement. It must be remembered that in all armies’ ‘green’ as they saw the tank companies pull back; requiring 204th troops tend to do poorly in their battlefield debut; but when Panzer Regiment’s Adjutant to drive after them and steady these troops are part of the much-vaunted panzertruppen morale. All in all it was a less than auspicious start to the this may seem more surprising. In the case of the 22nd, a 22nd’s combat career. Poor co-ordination and inexperience lack of battle practice and proper divisional exercises prior had resulted in a multitude of calamities, compounded by to combat led to great confusion that ultimately resulted in the failure to recover repairable tanks from the battlefield. the failure of its mission. 22nd Panzer Battle formation (next page) The diagram shows a scaled-down version of the standard 204th Panzer Regiment was spearheading a counter-attack formation for an advancing panzer regiment. Each tank against Soviet forces on the Parpach Front, in the area of represents a five-strong Zug (platoon) which would have Korpetsch near the northern coast of the Crimea. This adopted an arrow head formation was part of a German move to keep the besieged port of Page