9th Panzer Division (Germany)

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The German 9th Panzer Division (Neunte Panzerdivision) came into existence after 4th Light Division was reorganized in January 1940.

The 4th Light Division (sometimes described as Light Mechanized or Light Panzer to distinguish it from the later Light infantry divisions) was created in April 1938 by converting a mobile division of the former Austrian army after the Anschluss. In 1939 it fought in the Invasion of Poland. Due to shortcomings that the campaign revealed in the organization of the Light Divisions, then part of the Cavalry, it was reorganized as the 9th Panzer Division afterward, in January 1940.

As the 9th Panzer Division it fought in the 1940 Battle of France (relieving airborne units at Rotterdam in the Battle of the Netherlands) and the Balkans Campaign of spring 1941, then took part in Operation Barbarossa starting in the summer. During the Battle of Kursk, the 9th Panzer was subordinate to the 9th Army and fought as part of the 47th Panzer Corps. Fighting alongside the 2nd, 4th and 20th Panzer divisions and the 6th Infantry Division, it tried unsuccessfully to break through the Soviet defensive belt. After an advance of only 15 km and suffering heavy casualties, it abandoned its attempt to reach Kursk. It fought under Army Group South and Army Group Center until the spring of 1944, when it was withdrawn to France for rehabilitation after great losses. In France it absorbed the assets of the 155th Reserve Panzer Division to recover full strength. Thereafter it fought in the Battle of Normandy and the Falaise Pocket. In October 1944 it absorbed the 105th Panzer Brigade to recover its losses. It then defended the West Wall at Aachen and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. It was eventually trapped in the Ruhr Pocket and surrendered to the Americans there in April 1945.

[edit] See also

• Panzertruppe, Panzer, Panzer division
• Division (military), Military unit
• Heer, Wehrmacht, List of German divisions in WWII

[edit] References

Note: The Web references may require you to follow links to cover the unit's entire history.

• Wendel, Marcus (2004). "4. Leichte-Division". Retrieved April 11, 2005.
• "4. leichte Division". German language article at www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de. Retrieved April 11, 2005.