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The Panzer-Lehr-Division, commonly known as ''Panzer Lehr'', was a German armoured division during World War II, one of the most elite units in the entire German Wehrmacht. It was formed in 1943 onwards from various units of elite training and demonstration troops (''Lehr'' = "teach") stationed in Germany, to provide additional armored strength for resisting the anticipated Allied invasion of western Europe. Its great weakness was that it concentrated the cream of Germany's tank commanders/instructors in a single unit, which risked their annihilation should the division suffer heavy losses. Due to its elite status, it was lavishly equipped in comparison to the ordinary Panzer divisions of the Wehrmacht. It was the only division to be fully armoured with tanks and halftracks, such as the SdKfz 250 and the SdKfz 251, though on several occasions it fought almost to destruction, in particular during Operation ''Cobra''. ''Panzer Lehr'' is occasionally referred to as the 130th Panzer-Lehr-Division, since a number of its constituent units were numbered 130, and in most other Panzer divisions those units were numbered to match the division's number. ==History== Panzer Lehr began forming at Potsdam in November 1943 and moved to the Nancy–Verdun area in January 1944 to complete the process. It was formed from several elite training and demonstration units. Most of the division's original cadre was drawn from Panzertruppenschule I and Panzertruppenschule II, the Panzerwaffe's major training units. These training and demonstration units were some of the most experienced and highly trained troops in the Panzerwaffe, with almost all having seen combat in the East, North Africa, Sicily or Italy and many having received decorations for bravery. As a result of this, Panzer Lehr was considered an elite unit from the time of its formation. In early 1944, Panzer Lehr was transferred to Hungary for further training as well to serve in Operation Margarethe, which was done to ensure Hungary's participation in the war. The division absorbed the 901st ''Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment'' while there. It then returned to France to await the Allied invasion as a part of the OKW's armored reserve, along with the I SS Panzer Corps and the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Gotz von Berlichingen. These units can only be released with Adolf Hitler's personal authorization. Panzer Lehr was one of the best equipped divisions in the Panzerwaffe. Its panzer regiment was filled with the latest models of the Panther and Panzer IV available. Moreover, all the battalions in both ''panzergrenadier'' regiments were armored (as opposed to only the first battalion in the first regiment in ordinary panzer divisions), as were the division's artillery and reconnaissance formations – the armored reconnaissance battalion having a company of the new Sd.Kfz 234/2 ''Puma'' armored cars. The division's panzer regiment also had the ''316. Funklenk-Panzerkompanie'' (abbreviated 1./s.Pz. Kp. 'Funklenk' 316) ("316th Remote Control Panzer company"〔The 316th Radio Control Panzer Company was originally equipped with a mix of Tiger I and Tiger II heavy tanks, and remote-controlled demolition vehicles, which could be operated from the Tigers. There is some dispute as to how many, if any, were actually in service during the Normandy Campaign.(''BIV Demolition Units'', ''Tiger Battalions!'')〕) attached while in Normandy; this company was originally equipped with ten Tiger I tanks, and was allocated the first five of the new Tiger II tanks but it is believed none of them were in fact engaged in Normandy having broken down en route and been replaced by 9 Sturmgeschütz, which fought at Tilly and St. Lo until destroyed, at which point the 316th Company was disbanded.〔Panzer Lehr Division 1944-45 Helion WWII German Military Studies Volume 1: Steinhard〕 The division's panzer regiment had a total complement of 202 operating tanks (10 Panzer III, 97 Panzer IV, 89 Panthers and 6 Tigers) as of 6 June 1944 plus 8 tanks under repair (1 Panzer III, 2 Panzer IV, 3 Panthers and 2 Tigers). It also has 31 Jagdpanzer IV in its Panzerjager battalion.〔http://www.niehorster.org/011_germany/44-oob/44-06-01_neptune/divisons/div_pz-lehr.html〕 Another unique feature of this formation was that its panzergrenadiers for a large part were dressed in the grey, short, double-breasted tunic similar to the one worn by ''Sturmgeschütze'' units, instead of the standard M1942 tunic worn by other German Army (''Heer'') units. ;Units * ''Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130 * ''Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 901'' * ''Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 902'' * ''Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 130'' * ''Feldersatz-Bataillon 130'' * ''Panzeraufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung 130'' * ''Heeres-Flak-Artillerie-Abteilung 311'' * ''Panzerjäger-Abteilung 130'' * ''Panzer-Lehr-Pionier-Bataillon 130'' * ''Panzernachrichten-Abteilung 130'' * ''Panzer-Versorgungstruppen 130'' 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Panzer Lehr Division」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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