| 7th Panzer Division | |
|---|---|
| 7. Panzer-Division | |
&sq=&lang=&file=File:7th_Panzer_Division_logo_2.svg){kind=logo} Unit insignia 1940 | |
| Active | 18 October 1939 – 8 May 1945 |
| Country |  Nazi Germany |
| Branch |  German Army |
| Type | Panzer |
| Role | Armoured warfare |
| Size | Division |
| Part of | Wehrmacht |
| Garrison/HQ | Saalfeld, Thuringia |
| Nickname(s) | Gespensterdivision (Ghost Division) |
| Engagements | World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Georg Stumme Erwin Rommel Hasso von Manteuffel |
| Insignia | |
| 1940 | &sq=&lang=&file=File:7th_Panzer_Division_logo.svg){kind=logo} |
| 1941–1945 | |
| at Kursk | &sq=&lang=&file=File:7th_Panzer_Division_logo_3.svg){kind=logo} |
The 7th Panzer Division was an armored formation of the German Army in World War II. It participated in the Battle of France, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the occupation of Vichy France, and on the Eastern Front until the end of the war. The 7th Panzer Division is also known by its nickname, Ghost Division.[1]
The division met with great success in France in 1940 and then again in the Soviet Union in 1941.[2] In May 1942, the division was withdrawn from the Soviet Union and sent back to France to replace losses and refit. It returned to Southern Russia following the defeat at Stalingrad, and helped to check a general collapse of the front in a series of defensive battles as part of Army Group Don, and participated in General Erich von Manstein's counterattack at Kharkov.[3] The division fought in the unsuccessful offensive at Kursk in the summer of 1943, suffering heavy losses in men and equipment and was further degraded in the subsequent Soviet counteroffensive.[N 1]
Through 1944 and 1945, the division was markedly understrength and continuously engaged in a series of defensive battles across the eastern front. It was twice evacuated by sea, leaving what was left of its heavy equipment behind each time. After fighting defensively across Prussia and Northern Germany, the surviving men escaped into the forest and surrendered to the British Army northwest of Berlin in May 1945.
- ^ David, Saul (1994). Churchill's sacrifice of the Highland Division. France 1940. London, UK: Brassey's (UK) Ltd. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-857533781.
- ^ Hogg 1975, p. D29, Excerpt reads: Fought in Poland and with outstanding dash in France, where it was mainly responsible for the successful advance to Le Harve.
- ^ Glantz 1991, chptr 4, Operation Star.
- ^ Nevenkin 2008, p. 233.
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