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.
The division met with great success in France in 1940 and then again in the Soviet Union in 1941. In May 1942, the division was withdrawn from the Soviet Union and sent back to France to replace losses and refit.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. 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.
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.
Formation
Following the completion of the invasion of Poland, the limited effectiveness of the light divisions caused the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH; German High Command) to order the reorganization of the four light divisions into full panzer divisions. In October 1939, the 2nd Light Division became the 7th Panzer Division, one of Germany's ten armoured divisions. It consisted of 218 tanks in three battalions, with two rifle regiments, a motorcycle battalion, an engineer battalion, and an anti-tank battalion.
Newly promoted General Erwin Rommel, who had served on Hitler's staff during the Invasion of Poland, was able to, with an intervention from Hitler, obtain the command of the division. Upon taking command on 10 February 1940, Rommel quickly set his unit to practicing the maneuvers they would need in the upcoming campaign.
Operational history Invasion of France and Belgium The invasion began on 10 May 1940. By the third day, the 7th Panzer Division under Rommel's command, along with three panzer divisions commanded by General Heinz Guderian, had reached the River Meuse, where they found the bridges had already been destroyed. Rommel was active in the forward areas, directing the efforts to make a crossing, which were initially unsuccessful due to suppressive fire by the French on the other side of the river. By 16 May, the division had reached its assigned objective at Avesnes-sur-Helpe, where the original plan called for him to stop and await further orders, but Rommel pressed on.
On 20 May, the division reached Arras. General Hermann Hoth received orders that the town should be bypassed and its British garrison thus isolated. He ordered the 5th Panzer Division to move to the west and the division to the east, flanked by the SS Division Totenkopf. The following day the British launched a counterattack, deploying two infantry battalions supported by heavily armoured Matilda Mk I and Matilda II tanks in the Battle of Arras. The German 37 mm anti-tank gun proved ineffective against the heavily armoured Matildas. The 25th Panzer Regiment and a battery of 88 mm anti-aircraft guns were called in to support, and the British withdrew.
On 24 May, Hitler issued a halt order. The reason for this decision is still a matter of debate. He may have overestimated the size of the British forces in the area, or he may have wished to reserve the bulk of the armour for the drive on Paris. The halt order was lifted on 26 May. 7th Panzer continued its advance, reaching Lille on 27 May. For the assault, Hoth placed the 5th Panzer Division under Rommel's command. The Siege of Lille continued until 31 May, when the French garrison of 40,000 men surrendered. The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk concluded on 4 June; over 338,000 Allied troops had been evacuated across the Channel, though they had to leave behind all their heavy equipment and vehicles.
The division, resuming its advance on 5 June, drove for the River Seine to secure the bridges near Rouen. Advancing in two days, the division reached Rouen to find the bridges destroyed. From here they moved north, blocking the westward route to Le Havre and the Operation Cycle evacuations and forcing over 10,000 men of the 51st (Highland) Division, French 9th Army Corps and other supporting troops to surrender at Saint-Valery-en-Caux on 12 June. On 17 June, the division was ordered to advance on Cherbourg Naval Base, where additional British evacuations were underway as part of Operation Aerial. The division advanced in 24 hours, and after two days of shelling, the French garrison surrendered on 19 June. The speed and surprise it was consistently able to achieve, to the point where both the enemy and the OKH at times lost track of its whereabouts, earned the division the nickname Gespensterdivision ("Ghost Division"). Lieutenant Alfred Tschimpke published a 1942 book, The Ghost Division, emphasizing these characteristics. The book was originally issued in Germany under the title Die Gespenster-Division by the Zentralverlag der NSDAP (Franz Eher Nachfolger GmbH, Munich).Die Gespenster-Division: Mit der Panzerwaffe durch Belgien und Frankreich in WorldCat The English translation, titled The Ghost Division, was released in trade paper format in the United States by SF Tafel in 2025.The Ghost Division on Google Books
After the armistice with the French was signed on 22 June, the division was placed in reserve, being sent first to the Somme and then to Bordeaux to re-equip and prepare for Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion), the planned invasion of Britain. This invasion was later cancelled as Germany was not able to acquire the air superiority deemed a necessity for a successful outcome. In February, the division was placed in reserve and returned to Germany, with General Hans von Funck assuming command. The unit was stationed near Bonn while preparations were being made for an invasion of the Soviet Union. For reasons of deception and security, it remained in Bonn up until 8 June 1941, when the division was loaded onto 64 trains and transported by rail to the eastern frontier. The division assembled in East Prussia southeast of Lötzen in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.
Eastern Front
Operation Barbarossa began at 03:05 on 22 June 1941. Resistance at the border was weaker than expected and brushed aside, the tanks of the division raced forward, covering the 60 km to reach the Neman River at Alytus by midday. The Soviet 5th Tank Division stationed on the east bank of river at Alytus was completely taken by surprise, and the Germans were able to capture two bridges and establish bridgeheads across the river. Shortly thereafter, the Soviets initiated a series of fierce counter-attacks, bringing the German advance to an abrupt halt. (Kindle Location 2054).
The 5th Tank Division was well equipped with 300 tanks, of which 55 were of the new T-34 and KV-1 types. Firing from hull down positions on the reverse slopes of hillsides, they caused the panzer forces their first combat losses. Reinforced in the afternoon by tanks from 20th Panzer Division's 21st Panzer Regiment, von Funck could fend off probing attacks from the Red Army tanks and pressure the east bank, but decided to delay further advance until his supplies caught up with him.
Having lost 80 of its tanks in its probing attacks against the bridgeheads, the 5th Tank Division withdrew in the night to the north-east. The path now clear, the division advanced another 100 km to the outskirts of Vilnius. Its motorcycle battalion captured the city the following day. Consolidating its position in and around Vilnius, the division then handed responsibility for the city over to the 20th Motorized Division and resumed its advance east. Unlike previous campaigns, when the Red Army positions were outflanked and cut off, the Soviet defenders frequently continued to fight rather than surrender, even though their situation was hopeless. The stubbornness of the Soviet defenders cost more time and casualties, frustrating the German command. Though creating pockets of resistance, the Soviet command was unable to mount a linear defense, and the vital road and rail communications north east of Minsk were cut on 26 June, only four days into Operation Barbarossa. The following day, the division linked up with 18th Panzer Division from Panzer Group 2, trapping the bulk of three Soviet Armies, the 3rd, 10th and 13th, in a vast pocket west of Minsk.
In a three-day dash, the division reached the town of Yartsevo, outflanking Soviet positions around Smolensk and threatening the Soviet 20th Army with encirclement. Meanwhile, the 29th Motorized Division had captured the city of Smolensk from the south, but with substantial elements tied down at Yelnya, 2nd Panzer Group lacked the strength to link up again with 7th Panzer positions. The gap between the two groups remained open, and the Soviet command was able to move forces both ways through the corridor. On 26 July, together with 20th Motorized Division, the division lunged southwards another 20 kilometers, but still could not entirely close the encirclement. In another week, however, pressure from all sides had squeezed the pocket out of existence and the division was finally relieved by infantry units, and taken out of line for refitting and rest.
The division started the campaign with 400 officers and 14,000 men. By January 1942, six months from the start of the offensive, the division had suffered 2,055 killed, 5,737 wounded, with 313 missing and another 1,089 sick with frostbite and louse-borne diseases. Total casualties were 9,203. In late winter, the division took up positions along a defensive line running Yukhnov-Gzhatsk-Zubtsov. On 15 March, it took part in fighting against a series of Soviet offensives as part of the Battles of Rzhev. By 4 April, the division was moved to Vyazma. By May 1942, the division was at a strength of 8,589 men and officers, most of whom had not been with the unit at the start of the campaign. As a result, the division was withdrawn to rest and refit in southern France.
France In mid-May, the division was transported by rail to southern France, where it was assigned to coastal protection duties with the 1st Army under the command of von Funck. Even though the division was to be ready for 1 September, the II/Panzer Regiment 25 was temporarily equipped with French tanks. However, new equipment was issued, including 35 Pz III(J)s, 14 Pz III(N)s and 30 Pz IV(G)s, and the division's two Rifle Regiments were re-designated Panzer-grenadier regiments.