Formed in 1935, it was one of the original three Panzer divisions.
The dawn was not a gradual light, but a sudden, violent eruption of fire. At 03:15, the horizon behind the 1st Panzer Division’s staging area turned white-hot as thousands of German guns opened the symphony of Operation Barbarossa . Achtung Panzer, Marsch! With the 1st German Pan...
With a roar of Maybach engines, the 1st Panzer Division surged forward. They were the tip of the spear for Army Group North, tasked with a lightning strike across the Baltics toward Leningrad. The Race to the Dubysa Formed in 1935, it was one of the
The first few days were a blur of motion and dust. The Panzer III was a thoroughbred of the plains, and the 1st Panzer pushed it to the limit. They bypassed pockets of Soviet infantry, leaving them for the following motorized divisions. Their goal was the bridges. With a roar of Maybach engines, the 1st
By August, the division could see the spires of Leningrad in the distance. The air grew cold, and the "White Nights" of the north gave the landscape an eerie, never-ending twilight.
"Gunner, target front! Armor-piercing!" Kurt shouted.The Panzer III rocked as it fired. The shell struck the KV-2’s turret, sparking and ricocheting harmlessly into the sky."It didn't even dent it!" Hans yelled, slamming another shell into the breech.
Then, the command crackled through the headsets of every tank in the regiment, issued by the divisional commander: