21st Panzer Division
The Italian army group in North Africa was routed by the British Commonwealth Western Desert Force in Operation Compass 9 December 1940 – 9 February 1941 under General Wavell.Eighth Army launched Operation Crusader on 18 November 1941, which forced Rommel to retreat to El Agheila by the end of the year, allowing the British to re-occupy Cyrenaica and lift the siege of Tobruk.Over-stretched supply lines and the urgent need to assist the Axis forces around Tobruk, which were being hard-pressed by XIII Corps, obliged them to withdraw.21st Panzer was used to sweep behind the British XIII Corps, where it engaged in an intense combat with the 2nd New Zealand Division at the Battle of Mersa Matruh.To compound German problems, the Anglo-Americans landed in Morocco and Algeria during Operation Torch and Panzerarmee Afrika, as it was now called, was threatened with annihilation, as it would be caught in a vice.By the time it reached Tunis, 21st Panzer had ceased to exist as a cohesive unit and was split up into Battle Groups (Kampfgruppen) Pfeiffer and Gruen.This was largely fitted out with captured French half tracks and light tanks that had been armoured and up-gunned by a mechanical engineer by the name of Alfred Becker.[7] Between 6 June and 7 August, British reports based on captured vehicles suggested that about half of the German tanks knocked out were because of armour-piercing ammunition; the rest by a roughly equal combination of infantry anti-tank weapons, artillery, aircraft rockets or cannon, or were abandoned/destroyed by their crews.[7] The last major action the 21st Panzer took part in on the Western Front was the stubborn resistance it gave the British Guards Armoured Division during Operation Bluecoat, on 1 August 1944.[7] In December, Rundstedt decided not to commit the 21st to offensive actions in Operation Wacht am Rhein, leaving it to provide flank cover, which probably saved it from total destruction.[9] From January 7 to 21 Col Hans von Luck's 125 Regiment of the 21st took part in Operation Nordwind, aiming to sever the American supply line to Strasbourg.
GermanyPanzerArmoured warfareDesert warfareDivisionWorld War IINorth African CampaignBattle of El AlameinTunisian CampaignNormandy CampaignOperation BluecoatBattle of the BulgeVistula–Oder OffensiveBattle of BerlinarmouredDeutsches AfrikakorpsWestern Desert ForceOperation CompassGeneral WavellOberkommando der WehrmachtErwin Rommel3rd Panzer Division8.8 cm "88"15th Panzer DivisionAfrika Corps90th Light Infantry DivisionBritish Eighth ArmyXXX CorpsOperation Crusader7th Armoured DivisionJohann von RavensteinOperation AcrobatTripoliGeorg von BismarckGazalaTobruk2nd New Zealand DivisionBattle of Mersa MatruhEl AlameinFirst Battle of El AlameinBattle of Alam el HalfaOberstHeinz von RandowSecond Battle of El Alameinretreat to TunisiaMoroccoAlgeriaOperation TorchBattle of Kasserine PassNormandyEdgar FeuchtingerAlliesAlfred BeckerNetherlandsJuno BeachPanzer LehrSepp DietrichBayeuxair raidWestern FrontBritish Guards Armoured DivisionFalaise Pocket16th Luftwaffe Field DivisionWacht am RheinFlakpanzer IVOperation NordwindStrasbourgStephen AmbroseHermann von Oppeln-BronikowskiHans von LuckJosef RauchGeneralmajorJohannes StreichHeinrich KirchheimOberstleutnantGustav-Georg KnabeKarl BöttcherAlfred BruerKurt Freiherr von LiebensteinHeinrich-Hermann von HülsenGeneralleutnantFranz WesthovenWerner MarcksAfrika KorpsWestern Desert CampaignNorth Africa CampaignHeimdalSchiffer PublishingPanzer Battles: A Study of the Employment of Armor in the Second World WarBallantine BooksTaylor, A. J. P.Office of the Chief of Military HistoryPanzer divisionsClausewitzFeldherrnhalle 1Feldherrnhalle 2HolsteinJüterbogMünchebergWaffen-SS1 Leibstandarte2 Das Reich3 Totenkopf5 Wiking9 Hohenstaufen10 Frundsberg12 HitlerjugendLuftwaffe1 Hermann GöringHeavy tank battalionSS Panzer Division order of battleKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross21st Panzer DivisionWinrich BehrGünter Halm