Stop! Read no further if you have no interest in the organization that provides a 4 attack strength for the 1-18 panzer battalion counter in 18 Panzer Division. This article presents some historical details on the organization of the panzer battalions present in Guderian's Blitzkrieg. I want to make it clear at the beginning that I do not want to change the panzer battalion representation Dean created for OCS.

This article discusses differences of detail which are not shown in Guderian's Blitzkrieg panzer battalion counters. While this information could be used to change combat values of panzer battalions, I believe such changes would not improve the simulation of operational events. This article just applies a little polish to the "chrome" of the simulation.

Table 1 lists organization and tank count data for the seventeen panzer divisions which crossed the Soviet frontier in June 1941. Each panzer division contained one panzer regiment, listed in the second column. The next three columns of Table 1 show the number of battalions and number of line companies in each of these panzerregiments and the divisional tank count at the start of operation Barbarossa.

There were four panzer regimental organization patterns in these divisions. Eight divisions had panzer regiments with 3 battalions of 3 line companies each. Six divisions had regiments with 2 battalions of 3 line companies. Two divisions had 2-battalion regiments with 4 line companies each and one division had a regiment of 3 battalions with 4 companies each. In OCS terms two different panzer battalions started the 1941 campaign; a four company battalion and a three company battalion.

Variety

In addition to organizational diversity the German army began the campaign with a great variety of tank models. Panzer division tank parks included German panzermodels I (MG), II (20mm), III (37mm and 50mm) and IV (75mm) and Czech models 35t (37mm) and 38t (37mm). This listing does not include version variations of each tank model and specialized vehicles such as communication, command, flame-thrower and river fording tanks. Such equipment details are better left to TCS games.

Assigning a number to each tank type to represent combat power and summing for the tank park of each panzer division provides a rating of divisional tank combat power in the panzer battalions. This total for each division divided by the number of battalions is listed in column six of table 1 as Rating/Bn. The average of these panzer battalion ratings is 484. The final column of Table 1 is the ratio of the panzer battalion rating to the overall average value of 484 expressed as a percentage. Not surprisingly the three divisions with 4 company battalions show the largest increases over average panzer battalion combat power. The three company panzer battalions are pretty consistent in combat power even with wide variations in tank types and numbers.

Table 1 provides a snapshot of the panzer divisions at one point in the campaign; the start. Table 2 is another snapshot in time, taken at the end of August/beginning of September 1941. Table 2 summarizes equipment reports from the seventeen original panzer divisions on the date given in column one. Column four lists the starting tank totals for each division on 21 June 41. The last four columns show tank replacements and operational, repairable, and destroyed tanks as percentage of starting tank totals.

Table 1
PzDiv	PzRgt	# of Bns	# of Coys	# of Tanks	Rating	% of avg.
1st	1st	2	6	156	531	110%
*3rd	6th	3	9	229	482	100%
*4th	35th	2	8	212	610	126%
6th	11th	3	9	256	514	106%
7th	25th	3	12	278	550	114%
8th	10th	3	9	223	431	89%
*9th	33rd	2	6	154	476	98%
*10th	7th	2	8	200	705	146%
*11th	15th	2	6	166	461	95%
12th	29th	3	9	232	388	80%
13th	4th	2	6	157	454	95%
14th	36th	2	6	158	490	101%
16th	2nd	2	6	157	466	96%
*17th	39th	3	9	216	502	104%
*18th	18th	3	9	229	357	74%
*19th	27th	3	9	239	393	81%
*20th	21st	3	9	240	417	86%
Total numbers		43	136	3502	-	-
Average Rating		-	-	-	484	-

Table 2 provides information on the state of panzer battalions at the start of Guderian's Blitzkrieg. First, the panzer battalions had received very few new tank replacements. Permanently destroyed tanks in panzer divisions ranged from 12% to 44% with an average of 27% tanks destroyed per division. This number provides support for Dean's decision to reduce many panzer divisions from three to two battalions at the start of Guderian's Blitzkrieg.

The next-to-last column in Table 2 shows that, on average, 1/4 of divisional tank strength was listed as under repair and only slightly less than half of German tanks were listed as operational. Furthermore, the state of the tank park in each division varied quite a bit from these average figures. For example, 17 Panzer listed only 24% of tank strength as operational while 10 Panzer listed 76% operational.

Table 2
Date	Pz Div	Pz Rgt	# of Tanks 21 June	% Tanks repls	% of Tanks operational	% of Tanks repairable	% of Tanks destroyed
10 Sept	1st	1st	156	-	63%	15%	21%
4 Sept	*3rd	6th	229	-	24%	47%	30%
9 Sept	*4th	35th	212	-	39%	37%	24%
10 Sept	6th	11th	256	1%	71%	6%	24%
6 Sept	7th	25th	278	8%	47%	31%	30%
10 Sept	8th	10th	223	-	69%	15%	16%
5 Sept	*9th	33rd	154	2%	40%	44%	18%
4 Sept	*10th	7th	200	-	76%	11%	12%
5 Sept	*11th	15th	166	5%	35%	45%	24%
26 Aug	12th	29th	232	-	41%	15%	44%
28 Aug	13th	4th	157	2%	59%	22%	21%
6 Sept	14th	36th	158	3%	71%	15%	17%
22 Aug	16th	2nd	157	-	39%	16%	44%
10 Sept	*17th	39th	216	-	24%	35%	33%
9 Sept	*18th	18th	229	11%	41%	50%	20%
25 Aug	*19th	27th	239	-	43%	20%	38%
25 Aug	*20th	21st	240	6%	37%	26%	43%
Total tanks			3502	.

The German panzer division tank strength summaries in Tables 1 and 2 do not show an important operational feature. Panzer battalion tank strength was subject to large fluctuations depending on the daily operational employment of the battalion. Daily and weekly tank reports for German panzer regiments showed that tank strength could decline by as much as 80% in one week if the division was attacking.

Recovery of operational tank strength could be just as rapid if the division was not engaged. This rapid change is simulated accurately by the loss of panzer battalions in OCS during combat. Equipment replacements for rebuilding destroyed panzer battalions in Guderian's Blitzkrieg represent mostly the action of German tank repair shops, not the resupply of new vehicles.

Table 3 presents an update of the panzer battalion ratings prior to the start of Guderian's Blitzkrieg. Nineteen panzer divisions are listed in table 3 including 2 and 5 Panzer, which were introduced to the campaign after 21 June. The tank count used for calculating rating/Bn is operational tanks from the division report on the date given in the last column. (Differences in number of operational tanks from Table 2 are due to not counting certain tank types for the rating/Bn).

The values for Rating / Bn calculated from operational tanks shows a much larger variation in battalion strength than ratings from Table 1. The average rating per panzer battalion is now 281, down from 484 at the start of the campaign, and battalion ratings range from 25% to 258% of this average. The battalion ratings for 2 and 5 Panzer divisions are high because they are based on initial tank strength. These two divisions' battalion ratings do not reflect operational losses prior to the start of Guderian's Blitzkrieg. Even if average battalion ratings are calculated from the original 17 divisions, the battalion rating still varies from one third to double the average value.

Table 2
Pz Div	Pz Rgt	# Tanks Operational	Rating/Bn	% Avg.	Date
1st	1st	90	316	112%	10 Sept
*2nd	3rd	188	741	264%	? Sept
*3rd	6th	46	69	25%	4 Sept
*4th	35th	64	188	67%	9 Sept
*5th	31st	180	725	258%	? Sept
6th	11th	170	352	125%	10 Sept
7th	25th	122	236	84%	6 Sept
8th	10th	139	281	100%	10 Sept
*9th	33rd	55	198	70%	5 Sept
*10th	7th	140	532	189%	4 Sept
*11th	15th	45	138	49%	5 Sept
12th	29th	88	173	62%	26 Aug
13th	4th	84	266	95%	28 Aug
14th	36th	104	362	129%	6 Sept
16th	2nd	57	183	65%	22 Aug
*17th	39th	47	104	37%	10 Sept
*18th	18th	78	109	39%	9 Sept
*19th	27th	92	187	66%	25 Aug
*20th	21st	86	180	64%	25 Aug
Total Tanks		1875	.
Average			281	.

Panzer battalions were not identical in combat power as portrayed in Guderian's Blitzkrieg. A strong case can be made for giving certain battalions different attack strength ratings based on variations in both organization and equipment. Perhaps a more detailed review of combat records would also reveal information which would change the uniform 5 AR given to these battalions. Panzer battalions rated 3 or 4 or 5 and divisions containing 2 or 3 battalions could present the historical information more accurately -- but would they portray the operational features of the campaign any more accurately? The historical details in this article are interesting, but I agree with Dean's decisions on the presentation of the essential operational features of panzer battalions in Guderian's Blitzkrieg.

Principal source: Panzer Truppen, Edited by Thomas L. Jentz, Schiffer Military History, 1996.