Ritterkreuzträger of 3. Panzer-Division

The 3rd Panzer Division (3. Panzer-Division), one of the original three tank divisions of the Wehrmacht formed on 15 October 1935 in Berlin from elements of cavalry and other units, emerged as a formidable armored formation that played a significant role across nearly every major theater of World War II. Initially the strongest Panzer division with 391 tanks during the 1939 Invasion of Poland, it advanced from Pomerania through Toruń to Brest-Litovsk, showcasing the aggressive combined-arms tactics of Blitzkrieg. In 1940, it spearheaded operations in Belgium via the Albert Canal to Brussels and into France, though it later lost one tank regiment to help form new divisions. Diverted from a planned North Africa deployment, it joined Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 as part of Army Group Center, seizing key bridges and contributing to the massive encirclements at Bialystok-Minsk and Kiev before pushing toward Moscow and Tula; under commanders like Walter Model and later Hermann Breith, it endured the brutal Soviet winter counteroffensive of 1941–42 as a mobile fire brigade. In 1942, during Case Blue, the division drove deep into the Caucasus toward Mozdok, suffering heavy losses in intense fighting before narrowly escaping encirclement by crossing the frozen Sea of Azov. It fought prominently in the 1943 Battle of Kursk west of Belgorod, achieving local successes amid the largest tank battle in history, only to join the grueling defensive retreats through Ukraine, Romania, Poland, and Hungary as Soviet forces advanced. Reorganized with Panzer-Grenadier regiments, Panzer Regiment 6, and supporting artillery and reconnaissance units, the "Bear Division" (from its Berlin mascot) remained on the Eastern Front until early 1945, when it shifted to Styria in Austria. There, it evaded the Red Army and surrendered to American forces on or around 8 May 1945, with most surviving personnel released by July; its long service exemplified the Wehrmacht's armored elite, marked by high mobility, repeated heavy casualties, and adaptation from offensive triumphs to desperate rearguard actions.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Oberstleutnant im Generalstab Ernst-Georg Buchterkirch (1914-1971) was a German Heer officer who began his military career in 1935 with the Reiter-Regiment in Potsdam, transferred to Panzer-Regiment 6 in 1937 as Leutnant, and later served with the Condor Legion in Spain before rising to Oberstleutnant im Generalstab. During the Battle of France he served as Zugführer in the 2./Panzer-Regiment 6 and distinguished himself by capturing several Seine bridges near Paris while his platoon and company destroyed a significant number of enemy tanks, for which he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 29 June 1940 as Oberleutnant. In Operation Barbarossa, now as Chef der 2./Panzer-Regiment 6, he led his company on 23 June 1941 in the destruction of twelve Soviet tanks at Buchowiecze and the immediate formation of a bridgehead at Minicze the following day; these actions earned him the 44th award of the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 31 December 1941. He was additionally mentioned by name in the Wehrmachtbericht of 6 July 1941 for exemplary bravery during the early fighting in the Panzer-Regiment alongside other officers. After these exploits Buchterkirch was transferred to instructor duties in the Heimat in August 1941, attended the Kriegsakademie, and later served on the Generalstab des OKH before ending the war in staff positions with Panzergruppe West.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Panzer_Division_(Wehrmacht)