Panzer Division 1944 – Organization Chart and KStN List

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10 Responses

  1. Stabskapitaen says:

    Richard,

    first of all: a big thank-you for your dedication to & your passion for this (sadly almost forgotten) “niche” of war history.

    Just a short comment for the unpracticed reader with all respect: an “OKH-Gliederungsbefehl” (order for organization of units?) was (especially as of mid 1943)
    a noble goal or target – more or less.
    IMHO literally a handful of Heeres/Waffen-SS Panzer Divisions would meet this order
    (particularly with reference to a Divison Panther Abteilung/battalion) at that point in time.

    Sincerely yours

    Frank G. from Germany

    • Richard says:

      Hey Frank,

      Thanks for the comment and i agree. For that reason i have always found it much more engaging to think of units in terms of theoretical instead of actual, at least you get the whole picture. I suspect some panzer divisions in the West just before Normandy would have come the closest to meeting this org chart.

      Cheers,
      Richard

  2. Stabskapitaen says:

    Dear Richard,

    me too ;-). – absolutely no offense meant!

    But e. g. regarding D-Day (in the broadest sense) only two divisions come to my mind
    (1. SS-Panz.Div. “LSSAH” + partially 12. SS-Panz./Panz.Gren.Div. “HJ”) regardless of any independent units.

    Cheers,
    Frank

  3. Tulipa says:

    Dear Richard
    According your chart of Panzer Division 1944 Gliederung,maybe one panzer regiment have 22×4+22×4=176 panzer?(88IV and 88panther) Because the number under each IV and V company is 22.However,in your article,your tell us that Each battalion was authorized 76 tanks.Maybe i misunderstand your means. Please tell me the truth if you convenient.

  4. Richard says:

    that is a good question. Looking at it now i guess I should have actually pointed that out and made things a bit clearer.

    The issue here is that the gliederung and the KStN do not strictly match. As mentioned in the text, which is based on the actual KStN, a company was authorized 17 panzers. KStN 1177 (fG) – 1.4.44 authorized only 3 platoons of 5 panzers each and then two in the Group Führer for a total of 17. The fourth platoon was reserve panzer personnel.
    The hint of this in the gliederung is the top left corner of the Panzertruppe box, “Vorläufige Ausstattung je Kp. 17 Pz.Kpfwg”. which I take to mean, provisional equipment is 17 Pz.Kpfwg per Company.
    The 22-panzer company on the gliederung was probably a carryover from the 1177 – 1.11.1943 KStN. If you look at the “Waffen – Soll einer Panz.Div. 44” in the A106 document packet it will verify the 17-panzer company for a 1944 Panzer Division. Hope that helps.
    Cheers,
    Richard

    • Tulipa says:

      Dear Richard:
      Thanks your answer which make me clear,My friend told me that due to the actual situation, these units were not built as originally planned,that’s why there are only 17 Panzers in the company
      but not 22 Panzers.They told me that some company has been cut down a platoon.All in all,thanks your reply and your explanation about KStN.
      Have a good weekend!

  5. Chris says:

    I have a bayonet with a frog that has 1/Pz Abw 9 II stamped on the back of it into the leather. What can you tell me about this?
    Thanx!

  6. Jean-Louis Morelle says:

    Pz.Abw.Abt.9 Panzerabwehr-Abteilung : le 9e bataillon de chasseur de char
    Wehrkreis IX (District militaire N°9) Aufgestellt (Créé le) : 06.10.1936
    Le chiffre arabe “1” devant l’identifiant de l’unité signifie la 1ère Compagnie
    Le chiffre romain suivant l’identifiant de l’unité désigne le Regt
    Il sagit de la 1ère Cie du Bn Antichar N°9 du IIe Regt Antichar

  1. December 8, 2018

    […] will notice when comparing the organizational diagrams of the PDG.44 (download below) with the PD.44 is that the panzergreandier division does not have half-tracks units. Though they do have armored […]

  2. January 29, 2022

    […] organization of a 1944 SS Panzer Division I am using for this discussion. Also, this earlier post, Panzer Division 1944 – Organization Chart and KStN List, has the original documentation/comments on the “standard” 1944 Panzer Division. I will […]

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