Final days of the German Panzer Lehr Division

Discussion in 'Axis Units' started by Franek, Jun 12, 2009.

  1. Franek

    Franek WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    exhausted division was pulled out of the battle. Panzer Lehr had once again been virtually annihilated.

    [edit] The Netherlands - Remagen - Ruhr Pocket

    After the failure of the Ardennes offensive, Panzer Lehr was refitted once again, though not to anywhere near the lavish standard of its earlier incarnations. Many of the veterans were dead, and the Panzer Lehr of early 1945 bore little resemblance to that of June 1944.
    The division was moved north, into the Rhineland, where it was engaged fighting Bernard Montgomery's Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group during Operation Veritable. Panzer Lehr saw very heavy fighting, and again sustained heavy losses. When the U.S. 9th Armored Division captured the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, Panzer Lehr was sent to crush the bridgehead. The attack was unsuccessful, though the division fought well and inflicted many casualties.[citation needed] The Allies' overwhelming numbers and constant air cover had reduced Panzer Lehr to a weak shadow of a division. Engaged in a fighting retreat across northwestern Germany, the division was trapped in the Ruhr Pocket and the remnants of the once powerful division were taken prisoner by the Americans when the pocket surrendered in April.
     
  2. Gerard

    Gerard Seelow/Prora

    Panzer Lehr Division - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    here is the link to Franek's article from Wiki. The article notes that per 6th June 1944 it was the best equipped division in the Panzerwaffe, having Panthers and Mrk IV's, but by the end of Normandy had been almost totally destroyed.
     

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