The 16. Panzer-Division, formed in November 1940 from the veteran 16th Infantry Division in Wehrkreis VI with its garrison initially in Münster and later Wuppertal, emerged as one of the Wehrmacht's premier armoured formations under the command of Generalmajor Hans-Valentin Hube, incorporating the 2. Panzer-Regiment from the 1. Panzer-Division and standard elements including the 64. and 79. Panzergrenadier-Regimenter, 16. Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment, reconnaissance, engineer, and anti-tank battalions. Deployed to the southern sector for Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, it spearheaded advances through Ukraine, distinguishing itself in the Battle of Brody where it helped destroy hundreds of Soviet tanks, the massive encirclement at Kiev that netted over 600,000 prisoners, and subsequent drives toward the Sea of Azov and Kharkov, enduring harsh winter defensive fighting and anti-partisan operations around Stalino while maintaining high combat effectiveness through aggressive combined-arms tactics. In summer 1942 as part of Case Blue, the division thrust toward Stalingrad, reaching the Volga River north of the city on 23 August and anchoring the northern flank, but it suffered catastrophic attrition, reduced to about 4,000 men by mid-November; caught in Operation Uranus, most of the division was trapped in the Stalingrad pocket, where it was virtually annihilated by February 1943, with its final commander Generalleutnant Günther von Angern committing suicide upon surrender. Reformed in Brittany in March 1943 from survivors and new recruits, the rebuilt 16. Panzer-Division deployed to Italy in June, fighting tenaciously against the Allied landings at Salerno under Generalmajor Rudolf Sieckenius - inflicting heavy casualties despite naval gunfire losses - before participating in the defensive retreat up the peninsula until November. Transferred back to the Eastern Front, it engaged in mobile operations across the southern sector, contributing to the relief attempts at the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket in early 1944 and breaking out of the Kamenets-Podolsky encirclement as part of the 1. Panzer-Armee, then conducting rearguard actions during the retreat through Poland, anti-partisan sweeps, and final battles in Silesia and Czechoslovakia. By May 1945, fragmented elements surrendered to Soviet and American forces in Czechoslovakia after desperate efforts to reach Western lines, having fought on nearly every major front with extraordinary resilience but at the cost of repeated near-destruction and heavy personnel losses.
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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER
Generaloberst Hans-Valentin Hube (29 October 1890 – 21 April 1944) was a highly decorated German commander renowned for his leadership of armoured forces throughout World War II, rising from command of the 16. Panzer-Division to Oberbefehlshaber of the 1. Panzer-Armee despite having lost his left arm in World War I combat at Verdun. As Generalmajor and Kommandeur of the 16. Panzer-Division during Operation Barbarossa in 1941, he earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 1 August for a decisive breakthrough near Stary-Konstantynow, where he halted powerful Soviet tank, artillery, and infantry advances northwest of the town through aggressive armoured thrusts and resolute defense. He received the Eichenlaub on 16 January 1942 as the 62nd recipient for his division’s critical role in the capture of Nikolajew and the encirclement battle of Kiev. Promoted to General der Panzertruppe and commanding the XIV. Panzer-Korps at Stalingrad, Hube was awarded the Schwerter on 21 December 1942 as the 22nd recipient for his bold advance to the Volga north of the city and tenacious defense against repeated Soviet counterattacks amid Operation Uranus. Later transferred to the Mediterranean, he masterfully commanded Gruppe Hube in Sicily during Operation Husky, organizing the Etna Line defense and successful evacuation of most German forces to the mainland, followed by determined resistance at Salerno. Recalled to the Eastern Front as commander of the 1. Panzer-Armee, he orchestrated the dramatic breakout of the “Wandering Pocket” from the Kamenets-Podolsky encirclement in March–April 1944, extricating roughly 200,000 troops despite being surrounded by superior Soviet forces, actions for which Hitler personally awarded him the Brillanten on 20 April 1944 as the 13th recipient—along with promotion to Generaloberst—before Hube perished the next day in a Heinkel He 111 air crash near Obersalzberg. Known affectionately as “der Mensch” or “Papa Hube,” he exemplified frontline leadership and tactical brilliance across Poland, France, the Soviet Union, and Italy.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Panzer_Division
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