'�m�(. To 27 July German tank losses continued in similar numbers. The division contained just a single battalion, based on the 22nd Panzer Regiment. The first unit incorporated was the 39th Panzerjager (anti-tank) Battalion. They were able to take out 16 Panzer IVs for no losses. [N 1]. 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. In January 1945, the division saw action on the Eastern front but ultimately surrendered to the Red Army on 29 April 1945. Website designed by Warlord Games. He was charged with reinforcing the 21st Panzer division with repurposed captured vehicles. And, upon witnessing the aircraft borne-reinforcements (even though these veered off east), they eventually fell back to just north of Caen. On 21 December another Divisional Commander was killed, Major General von Randow. This also lays out a pathway to add more formation options to what is provided in the army books. Wrecks of German Tiger I and Panzer IV tanks, Villers-Bocage, France, June 1944. From January 30th, 1943 to February 3rd, 1943, the 21.Panzer-Division was split into two Kampfgruppen for action in the Faid-Maknassy engagements. Funding for USA.gov and content contributors is made possible from the U.S. Congress, E-Government Act of 2002. Wrecks of German Tiger I and Panzer IV tanks, Villers-Bocage, France, June 1944.          Political / Social. stream It was the only tank that was in production throughout the length of the war. [5] It was heavily engaged in the fighting at the Normandy beachheads, being the only Panzer division to engage the Allies on the first day. A Panzer MK IV crew from the 21st Panzer Division enjoying some cigars together in Normandy. To give you a kickstart, we have this highly convenient bundle, netting you a free Armies of Germany supplement. Feldersatz Battalion- 4 x Company220. In Campaign D-Day: Overlord (Page 171) you’ll find a theatre selector that represents the division specifically on D-Day- The Kampfgruppe Oppeln Armoured Reinforced Platoon. In France, the division was reconstituted in June 1943, where it remained for rehabilitation and garrison duty until the Allied landings at Normandy. The division’s losses were substantial, having lost 70 of their 124 tanks. [2] As a result the British Eighth Army fell back. As in North Africa, the division fell under the command of Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, the 'Desert Fox', now responsible for all German forces from the Netherlands to the Loire. El Agheila followed on 8 February. In September 1944 the division was boosted by merging the 112th Panzer Brigade with the 100th Panzer Regiment, which had been equipped with two companies of Panther tanks and two companies of Panzer IVs. Pz.Div. During the long retreat to Tunisia 21st Panzer fought the rear guard actions. Rommel, again using 21st Panzer to spearhead the assault, defeated the British and pushed them back to a new line at El Alamein. The British XIII Corps had captured Tobruk on 21 January 1941 and General Richard O'Connor was poised to cut off and destroy the Italian forces in Cyrenaica and move on to Tripoli. The last major action the 21st Panzer took part in on the Western front was the stubborn resistance it gave the Guards Armoured Division during Operation Bluecoat, on 1 August 1944. >> 2517 / 13.09.1943, Major, Pz.Jäg.Abt. Four-fifths of their transport vehicles having been captured when they crossed into Egypt. However, PanzerKampfegruppe “Rauch” penetrated around the left flank, finding a gap between British and Canadian forces west of Lion-sur-Mer. Hampered by enemy air attacks, it managed to find and engage British Paratroop forces at Ranville. The effect was largely psychological, rather than destructive, halting the British advance for the day. Had Rommel had his way, the 21st and other Panzer divisions would have been positioned with a mind for coastal defence. Although joined by the 90th Afrika Division (officially renamed as the 90th Light Infantry Division on 27 November 1941), a formation which was also made up from an assortment of smaller elements in August 1941, the German forces in this theatre were vulnerable. Any opportunity to exploit the gap had been permanently lost. With over 200 pages the Campaign Book, written by Robert Vella, allows players to take command of  Allied forces assaulting the beaches and inland defences, and those of the axis manning such fortifications. Having only 150 machines of all types of which 130 were actually combat worthy, the rest being an assortment of command and unarmed observer vehicles. 22- Hanig, Georg, 05.12.1944 (4733), Oberfeldwebel, Sanitäter, 1./Pz.Pi.Btl. They were mounted on trucks, or Unic P107 half-tracks if they were available. Commanders would typically ride in the ‘H’ Variant of the Panzer IV, with other variants in use including the D through G configurations. Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf H of 12. Panzer-Division . This article will be permanently flagged as inappropriate and made unaccessible to everyone.