How were Panzer Divisions in the Wehrmacht named?

by Jokerhut

Hello, I was reading up on lists of divisions in the German Wehrmacht and saw that divisions, especially Panzer Divisions tended to skip several leaps of numbers.

For example (in order)

26th Panzer Division

27th Panzer Division

and then it jumps to the 116th Panzer division, then to the 155th eventually reaching all the way up to the 273rd in a matter of 7 divisions.

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Surely there weren't 273 Panzer divisions in the Wehrmacht, so why these great leaps in numeration?

Was it to make it seem like there were more than there actually were?

Was it because previous divisions became reformed into Panzer divisions? (If so, why did they keep names such as the 116th rather than change it to something that would support an orderly sequence?)

wotan_weevil

Was it because previous divisions became reformed into Panzer divisions?

Mostly, yes. For example,

  • Panzer Division Nr. 155 was formed in April 1943 from Division Nr. 155 (mot), which was formed in May 1942 from Division Nr. 155, which was originally formed in November 1939. In August 1943, Panzer Division Nr. 155 became 155th Reserve Panzer Division.

This left the number 155 available for non-Panzer use, and it was taken by 155th Field Training Division in November 1944, which became 155th Infantry Division in February 1945. Similarly,

  • Division Nr. 178 formed in December 1940, becoming Division Nr. 179 (mot.) in April 1942, Panzer Division Nr. 179 in April 1943.

  • Division Nr. 179 formed in January 1940, becoming Division Nr. 179 (mot.) in April 1942, Panzer Division Nr. 179 in April 1943, and 179th Reserve Panzer Division in July 1943.

  • Division Nr. 233 (mot.) formed in May 1942, becoming Panzergrenadier Division Nr. 233 in July 1942, becoming 233rd Panzer Division in April 1943, becoming 233rd Reserve Panzer Division in August 1943, and becoming 233rd Panzer Division again in April 1945.

Not quite the same pattern, but still a case of following the original numbering, is 116th Panzer Division:

  • 16th Infantry Division formed in 1934, and split into 16th Panzer Division and 16th Motorized Infantry Division in November 1940. 16th Motorized Infantry Division became 16th Panzergrenadier Division in November 1942, which became a Panzer division in March 1944. However, "16" was already taken (16th Panzer Division had been destroyed, trapped in the Stalingrad pocket, but a new 16th Panzer Division had been formed in 1943). Thus, it became 116th Panzer Division, with an augmented "16". With "16" vacant for the infantry, 16th Infantry Division began to reform in August 1944, but became 16th Volksgrenadier Division in October 1944 before this was complete.

However, the other high-number Panzer divisions don't follow such an orderly pattern:

  • 130th Panzer Division was originally formed in December 1943 as Panzer Lehr Division ("Lehr" = "teaching"), formed from various demonstration units from Panzer training schools (thus the name). It was officially renamed 130th Panzer Division in April 1944, but continued to be commonly called Panzer Lehr Division. Why "130"? Panzer Lehr Regiment 130, formed in January 1943 as regimental staff for Panzer Lehr Division. Seven of the other 10 component units of Panzer Lehr also numbered 130. Thus, Panzer Lehr Division was numbered 130th Panzer Division.

  • Like the 130th, 232nd Panzer Division had begun as a named un-numbered division: Panzer Division Tatra was formed in August 1944, becoming Panzer Training Division Tatra in December 1944, becoming 232nd Panzer Division in February 1945. The choice of number is a mystery to me.

  • 273rd Reserve Panzer Division formed in November 1943. Again, the choice of number is a mystery. (The 273rd was short-lived, cannibalised to rebuild other divisions in March and May 1944 and then disbanded.)

(If so, why did they keep names such as the 116th rather than change it to something that would support an orderly sequence?)

Pride in the history and achievements of one's unit, whether division or regiment, is often an important motivator for soldiers. Maintaining continuity as a unit changes from an infantry division to an armoured (Panzer) division helps maintain that motivation.

Some of the non-high-numbered Panzer divisions had started out as other types of division. Where feasible, they kept their numbers (like the already-mentioned 16th Panzer Division, and also the 13th, 15th, 18th, and 19th Panzer divisions), or similar numbers (2nd Motorized Infantry Division became 12th Panzer Division, 4th Infantry Division became 14th Panzer Division, 27th Infantry Division became 17th Panzer Division (no jumping numbers yet!)).

As a final note, some of these changes in designation didn't involve large numbers of tanks. Early war German armoured divisions typically had two tank regiments, which was reduced to one regiment later in the war. When Panzer Division Tatra formed, it only had a single tank battalion, with a grand total of 31 tanks.

For lots of info on various German divisions, see https://www.axishistory.com/axis-nations/germany-a-austria/heer