Panzer Regiment 5 was the Regiment that was reinforced (albeit with 25 additional Pz.I) prior to shipment to North Africa. As mentioned all Panzer Divisions had disbanded one light company, this being different in each battalion/regiment (there were several reasons for this, tactical lessons in France, need for more tanks for the new Panzer Divisions, and so on). 5th Regiment disbanded Panzer Kompanies 3 and 7. So the internal organisation of 5th Panzer Regiment in March-April 1941 was probably: Regimental Headquarters Regimental HQ Company: 2-PzBefwg-IIIH 1-kl.PzBefWg-I 1-Pz-III 3-Pz-II 1st Light Platoon: 3-Pz-II, 5-Pz-IA 2nd Additional Light Platoon: 1-Pz-II, 5-Pz.IA I Battalion Battalion HQ Company: 1-PzBefwg-IIIH 1-kl.PzBefwg-I 2-Pz-III 1-Pz-IA 1st Light Platoon: 5-Pz-II 2nd Additional Light Platoon: 1-Pz-II and 4-Pz.IA 1st (Light) Company: 17-Pz.III 5-Pz-II 2nd (Light) Company: 16-Pz.III 5-Pz-II 4th (Medium) Company: 10-Pz.IVD/E 3-Pz.II 2-Pz-IA II Battalion Battalion HQ Company: 1-PzBefwg-IIIH 1-kl.PzBefwg-I 2-Pz-III 1st Light Platoon: 5-Pz-II 2nd Additional Light Platoon: 1-Pz-II and 7-Pz.IA 5th (Light) Company: 16-Pz.III 5-Pz-II 6th (Light) Company: 17-Pz.III 5-Pz-II 8th (Medium) Company: 10-Pz.IVD/E 3-Pz-II 2-Pz-IA * All had additional plates, etc, so treat as Pz.IVE-F1 on the Spearhead Data Cards (DEF 4/3). ** Although all were early models they all had applique‚ plates on their mantlets, turret, superstructure, and hull fronts. This means in Spearhead treat them as a Pz.IIF (early model Pz.II's should be DEF 2/2). *** The Pz.III's were mostly all G's, with a few upgraded F's, and about 4 H's. All had 50mm L/42 guns, and all should be treated as Pz.IIIH (i.e. a Pz.IIIG with DEF 4/3). **** The Regiment had 4 brand new PzBefwg-IIIH (looks like Pz.IIIH but with dummy gun), and 3 older kl.PzBefwg-I. Jentz in particular makes no mention of the Scout/Recon Platoon, Engineer Platoon, or FlaK Platoon so it is fair to assume these are not part of the official TO&E that 5th Pz.Regt is using. All Pz-IA are additional troops over and above normal establishment. However some have been swapped with existing Pz.II's, and then the Pz.II's so freed up have been used to strengthen other platoons/companies. The three 2nd Light Platoons are all over and above the normal establishment. They proved very poor in Desert conditions and broke down constantly. The also didn't handle soft-sand and rough going very well. Light Companies had 3 Platoons plus and HQ, and one "light" platoon. Heavy Companies had 2 Platoons, HQ, and 1 "light" platoon. There were in addition another 25-Pz.IA in Germany, assigned as replacements, and ready for transport to Italy/Greece and shipment to North Africa when required. The Leverkusen caught fire while loading in Naples, and 10 Pz.III and 3 Pz.IV were destroyed. Replacements were found (10 upgraded Pz.IIIF and G with 50mm from Pz.Regt 6, and 3 Pz.IVE fresh from the factory) and shipped immediately, but they did not arrive until 29 April 1941. The balance of the Regiment arrived in Tripoli on 10 and 11 March 1941. Jentz states that no tank reinforcements, other than those already listed, reached North Africa until after June 1941. So, skipping to November 1941, we need to allow that: 1. Virtually no Pz.I remained in service, those that did would have been stripped down for parts to keep the PzJgr-IB's of PzJgr.Abt.605 operational. 2. The additional platoons/changes would have ceased to exist and the unit would be smaller. So theoretical organisation of Pz.Regt.5 would be something like: Regimental Headquarters Regimental HQ Company: 3-PzBefwg 1-Pz-III Light Platoon: 5-Pz-II I Battalion Battalion HQ Company: 2-PzBefwg 2-Pz-III 1st Light Platoon: 5-Pz-II 1st (Light) Company: 17-Pz.III 5-Pz-II* 2nd (Light) Company: 17-Pz.III 5-Pz-II* 4th (Medium) Company: 10-Pz.IV 5-Pz.II* II Battalion Battalion HQ Company: 2-PzBefwg-III 2-Pz-III 1st Light Platoon: 5-Pz-II 5th (Light) Company: 17-Pz.III 5-Pz-II* 6th (Light) Company: 17-Pz.III 5-Pz-II* 8th (Medium) Company: 10-Pz.IV 5-Pz-II** TO&E may have now replaced these with Pz-III, Pz-IV, or removed them altogether, placing some in HQ Platoons, etc... By this stage the replacements that had arrived would have been Pz-IIF, Pz-IIIH (and perhaps a few older G's), and Pz-IVE (again with perhaps one or two new F1's). So if we take Nafziger's figures : 15 Pz2, 64 Pz3, and 15 Pz4 This would seem to suggest the removal of Pz.II's from parts of the formation (or at least that there were none available for those positions. In fact, the Germans officially reported after Battle-Axe that the Pz-II was only suitable for use at HQ's and in the light/recon platoons). It also shows a shortage of Pz.IV and no mention of PzBefWg. Therefore, if we make a few allowances based around the TO&E a probable Rapid Fire Organisation is: Panzer Regiment 5 Regimental Headquarters Regimental HQ Company: 1-HQ PzBefwg-III Light Platoon: 1-Recon Pz-II I Battalion Battalion HQ Company: 1-HQ Pz-III Light Platoon: 1-Recon Pz-II 1st (Light) Company: 3-Pz.III 2nd (Light) Company: 3-Pz.III 4th (Medium) Company: 2-Pz.IV II Battalion Battalion HQ Company: 1-HQ Pz-III Light Platoon: 1-Recon Pz-II 5th (Light) Company: 3-Pz.III 6th (Light) Company: 3-Pz.III 8th (Medium) Company: 2-Pz.IV Likewise, Pz.Regt.8 could be: 38 Pz2, 75 Pz3, and 20 Pz4 Panzer Regiment 8 Regimental Headquarters Regimental HQ Company: 1-HQ PzBefwg-III 1 Pz II Light Platoon: 1-Recon Pz-II I Battalion Battalion HQ Company: 1-HQ Pz-III 1 Pz II Light Platoon: 1-Recon Pz-II 1st (Light) Company: 3-Pz.III 2nd (Light) Company: 3-Pz.III 3rd (Medium) Company: 2-Pz.IV 1-Pz-II II Battalion Battalion HQ Company: 1-HQ Pz-III 1 Pz II Light Platoon: 1-Recon Pz-II 5th (Light) Company: 3-Pz.III 6th (Light) Company: 3-Pz.III 7th (Medium) Company: 2-Pz.IV 1-Pz-II Panzer Regiment 8 didn't start with all its tanks up armoured like Pz.Regt.5, so at this time possibly still includes the equivalent of 1-Pz.IV Ausf D and 2 Pz.III F or G. All other Pz.III and IV in both Regiments would be H and E/F1 respectively or up armoured to that equivalent. Hopefully that provides a useful TO&E and answers the main questions... Whether the Regiments/Battalions had been allocated FlaK and Engineer Companies at this stage is a question for another time... P.P.S. Hopefully Jentz's second African book will be out soon, and will provide some accurate figures for Crusader, drawn hopefully from German KG records... Back to Frontline Vol. 2 Iss. 3 Table of Contents Back to Frontline List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by Rolfe Hedges This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com