The war was drawing ever closer to the men of the Panzer-Lehr-Division, and the brief stay in Hungary would not last much longer. At 21.00 hours on 29 Apr 1944, Guderian issued instructions for the Division to transfer once again. Beginning on 1 May 1944 it was to head westwards back to France where it would come under the Oberbefehlshaber West; an advance party was to move as quickly as possible to Meaux, east of Paris. The Division prepared to transfer once more, commenting as follows in the War Diary on its stay in Hungary:

"Despite the difficulties, particularly in the beginning, the 6 weeks in Hungary have given the Division the opportunity to bring the activation and training activities to a reasonable conclusion. Although training in combined arms will require further practice, at least the units have made good progress in individual and weapons training, and the exercises have given the individual units an understanding of the characteristics of operations."

The advance party arrived in Chartres, southwest of Paris, on 4 May. It began scouting around for accommodation for the Division's units throughout the area bounded by Chartres, Le Mans and Orleans The area measured about 80 x 100 km; an enormous size, but the ever present danger from Allied air attack demanded such dispersal and concealment measures. The situation had changed noticeably in the 8 weeks that the Division had been away, and whereas it had moved away to Austria with a minimum of disruption, the rail net was now so damaged that the troop trains were obliged to make major detours before arriving at their destinations. It all took so much longer now, and the last elements of the Division did not arrive until 15 May. At least there had been no major incidents on the way.

The air situation also obliged the Division to quarter its units in small villages, farms, and even camped out in the fields. They could not dare to billet them in towns or recognizable barracks. On instructions direct from the OKW, and incidentally against the advice of Rommel, Bayerlein, who had been promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 May, established his headquarters away from Paris in Nogent-le-Rotrou, west of Chartres. The OKW was apparently concerned that the Allies might attempt an airborne assault in the Paris area. Much of the Division's activity was now dominated by the Allied threat from the air, and Bayerlein ordered measures for the camouflage of units as well as restricting traffic to a bare minimum. Vehicles were not permitted to move by day, and combat vehicles were not permitted to move at all except in cases where urgent repair was necessary. Even then, such movement was to he carried out only at night or under poor weather conditions to restrict visibility. All traces of vehicle tracks were to be removed immediately.

The measures, drastic as they may have appeared to be, seemed to prove effective though; the Division's units were spared any air attacks, even though the number of raids increased daily, apparently unhindered by either anti-aircraft fire or the Luftwaffe. In the meantime, the Division had temporarily lost the services of the Heeres-Flak-Abteilung 311 to the III.FLak-Korps which deployed the unit in Paris to defend the bridges over the River Seine. The movement restrictions did riot help the training situation, and exercises had to be limited to what could be done on foot. The problem was further exacerbated by the state of readiness which was expected from the Division. What training there was, concentrated on night-time operations, instruction, and also sports activities. At least the steady stream of personnel and equipment continued through May, and with the arrival of the 1. Sanitats - Kompanie (medical company) on 2 Jun, the Division's organization was complete.

From the personnel point of view, the Panzer- Lehr- Division was fully complemented, and although there was a lack of 487 NCOs (about 15%) on 1 Jun, this was somewhat compensated by an excess of enlisted personnel. It deployed a total of 223 operational tanks and tank destroyers and 658 SPWs. It had its full quantity of fuel, munitions and provisions, although there remained some cause for concern over the supply truck tonnage; about 23% of the trucks were not operational. In his final Zustandsbericht (condition report) before the Invasion, Bayerlein commented on his Division as follows:

"State of Training: The state of training achieved is good in all units. It is not possible at the moment to promote this still further as the opportunities for exercises are by and large no longer available.
Morale of the Troops: Very good.
Particular difficulties: The current tire situation. A large percentage of supply vehicles are out of commission as a result of tire damage.
State of Mobility: Combat vehicles 95%, supply vehicles 60%.
Combat Value: The Division is ready for any offensive tasks."

More Panzer Lehr

Activation and Formation
First Operations, Hungary and Eastern Front
Back to the Western Front
Organization of PzLehr Regt. 130