The 11. Panzerdivision, known as "Gespensterdivision" (Ghost Division), was formed on 1 August 1940 in Wehrkreis VIII at Sagan from the 11. Schützen-Brigade and Panzer-Regiment 15 drawn from the 5. Panzer-Division, and elements of the 231., 311., and 209. Infanterie-Divisionen, with most personnel originating from Silesia. Its first combat came during the April 1941 invasion of Yugoslavia, where it advanced through Bulgaria to assist in the capture of Belgrade. Transferred to the Eastern Front with Army Group South for Operation Barbarossa, the division distinguished itself in the Battle of Kiev, the drive toward Moscow where it faced fierce resistance from Soviet rifle divisions amid harsh winter conditions, and later in Case Blue operations including the capture of Voronezh and intense defensive tank battles along the Chir River in late 1942, during which under General der Panzertruppe Hermann Balck it destroyed dozens of Soviet tanks in engagements against the 5th Tank Army while supporting relief efforts near Stalingrad and the defense of Rostov. In 1943 it participated in the Battle of Kursk and subsequent retreats, suffering near-destruction in the breakout from the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket in February 1944 before refitting in France with personnel from the 273. Reserve-Panzer-Division. Redeployed to southern France, it conducted a fighting withdrawal up the Rhône corridor after the Allied invasion in August 1944, engaged in Alsace including the Battle of Arracourt and defense of the Belfort Gap, and later fought in the Saar and at Remagen with dwindling strength of around 4,000 men, 25 tanks, and 18 guns. Commanded successively by officers including General der Panzertruppe Ludwig Crüwell, General der Panzertruppe Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck, General der Panzertruppe Hermann Balck, and finally Generalleutnant Wend von Wietersheim, the division ended the war retreating southeast and surrendering to American forces near Passau on 2 May 1945, with remnants under von Wietersheim capitulating to the US 90th Infantry Division at Všeruby on 4 May 1945, its ghost insignia symbolizing the elusive and resilient armored warfare it conducted across multiple fronts throughout World War II.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
General der Panzertruppe Ludwig Crüwell (1892-1958) was a German army officer who rose to the rank of General der Panzertruppe and played a prominent role in the early campaigns of the Second World War, most notably as commander of the 11. Panzer-Division and later the Afrika Korps. Born in Dortmund, he joined the Royal Prussian Army in 1911, served with distinction as a junior officer in the First World War earning both classes of the Iron Cross and the Hanseatic Cross, and remained in the Reichswehr before transferring to the Wehrmacht in 1935. He assumed command of the 11. Panzer-Division in August 1940 as Generalmajor and led it with outstanding success during the invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, where he personally directed operations from the lead elements of his division. Despite adverse weather and difficult terrain, Crüwell orchestrated a rapid breakthrough of Yugoslav border positions in the Nišava valley, captured Niš on 9 April, and reached Belgrade by 13 April, contributing decisively to the collapse of Yugoslav resistance by smashing multiple enemy divisions, taking around 40,000 prisoners along with significant quantities of artillery, aircraft, and materiel, actions for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 May 1941. The division then participated in Operation Barbarossa as part of Panzergruppe 1 in Heeresgruppe Süd; on 10 July 1941 near Berditschew a massive Soviet counteroffensive encircled the 11. Panzer-Division with ten rifle and two tank divisions, yet under Crüwell’s determined leadership the unit conducted four days of intense defensive fighting along the Teterew river before breaking out on the fifth day, a battle-deciding performance that earned him promotion to Generalleutnant and the 34th Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 1 September 1941. In July 1941 he took command of the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel’s Panzerarmee Afrika, assuming full operational control in mid-September and rising to General der Panzertruppe in December, before being captured by British forces on 29 May 1942 when his aircraft mistakenly landed near enemy troops during an inspection flight in Libya; he spent the rest of the war as a prisoner, first in Britain and later in the United States, and after his release settled in Essen where he chaired the veterans’ association of the Deutsches Afrikakorps until his death in 1958.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11th_Panzer_Division
http://www.old.axishistory.com/axis-nations/150-germany-heer/heer-divisionen/4089-11-panzer-division
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