The 10th Panzer Division of the German Wehrmacht was formed on 1 April 1939 in Prague in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia as a composite armored formation drawing units from existing motorized and light divisions, and it quickly became one of the elite tank formations of the Heer. In the Polish campaign of September 1939 it served in Army Group North reserve, advancing through the Polish Corridor and fighting at the Tuchola Forest and near Brest-Litovsk. During the 1940 Battle of France it belonged to Guderian’s XIX Motorized Corps, crossed the Meuse at Sedan, helped capture Calais, and raced to the English Channel as part of the armored spearhead that sealed the fate of the Allied armies in the north. After reorganization it took part in Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 with Army Group Center’s 2nd Panzer Group, advancing through Minsk, Smolensk and Yelnya, participating in the double battle of Vyazma-Bryansk, and pushing to within striking distance of Moscow before being forced back with heavy losses in the winter of 1941–42. Withdrawn to France in the spring of 1942 for refitting, the division helped repel the Allied Dieppe Raid and later occupied Vichy territory. In late 1942 it was rushed to Tunisia after Operation Torch, joining the 5th Panzer Army; there its Kampfgruppen inflicted severe defeats on inexperienced American forces at Sidi Bou Zid and the Kasserine Pass in February 1943. Commanded successively by Ferdinand Schaal, Wolfgang Fischer (killed in a minefield) and Friedrich Freiherr von Broich, the division fought on until the final Axis collapse in North Africa and surrendered near Tunis on 12 May 1943. Officially disbanded on 30 June 1943 and never reconstituted, the 10th Panzer Division left a combat record that spanned Poland, France, the Soviet Union and Tunisia, and its name was later revived in the West German Bundeswehr in honor of resistance members who had served in its ranks.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
Generalleutnant Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild (1896-1953) was born Bruno Hauenschild on 9 June 1896 in Würzburg and volunteered for service in the Bavarian Army at the outbreak of the First World War, joining the 11. bayerisches Feldartillerie-Regiment as a Fahnenjunker and later serving as Batterieführer. For outstanding leadership in 1918 he received the Ritterkreuz des Militär-Max-Joseph-Ordens on 2 September 1918, an award that conferred personal nobility and allowed him to style himself Ritter von Hauenschild. In the Second World War he rose to Oberst and took command of the 4. Panzer-Brigade within the 10. Panzer-Division of XXXXVI. Panzer-Korps under Armeegruppe Guderian. During the rapid advance from the Berezina to the Dnieper in the summer of 1941 his brigade formed the spearhead, seized vital bridges and corridors, and destroyed large numbers of Soviet tanks, anti-tank guns, artillery pieces and vehicles, actions for which he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 25 August 1941. Promoted to Generalmajor, he assumed command of the 24. Panzer-Division on 15 April 1942 and led it with distinction during Operation Blau, contributing decisively to the victories near Voronezh, the fighting in the Don bend and the subsequent drive toward Stalingrad. Severely wounded in early September 1942 near Stalingrad, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 27 September 1942 as the 129th recipient while still listed as Kommandeur of the 24. Panzer-Division. Later promoted to Generalleutnant, he held staff and training commands including the Panzertruppenschulen and briefly directed the Berlin defence area in early 1945 before being relieved on grounds of illness. He died in Munich on 10 March 1953.
General der Panzertruppe Wolfgang Fischer (1888-1943) was born on 11 December 1888 in Carolath, Silesia, and entered the Königlich Preußische Armee on 18 March 1910 as a Fahnenjunker in the 5. Niederschlesische Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 154. He served through the First World War, rising to Hauptmann by September 1918 after assignments that included platoon and company leadership as well as staff duties with Landwehr formations on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. Retained in the Reichswehr after the war, he advanced steadily through regimental and battalion commands, becoming Oberst in 1937 and Kommandeur of Infanterie-Regiment 69 in February 1938. During the Polish campaign of 1939 he led this regiment before taking command of the 10. Schützen-Brigade of the 10. Panzer-Division on 27 October 1939. In the Western campaign of 1940, fighting always at the head of his brigade with exemplary bravery, he achieved a breakthrough through the challenging and heavily fortified Ardennes, captured Sedan, forced the crossing of the Maas and established a strong bridgehead, then contributed decisively to the capture of the naval fortress of Calais; for these actions he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 3 June 1940 as Oberst and Kommandeur of Schützen-Brigade 10. Promoted to Generalmajor on 1 August 1941, he assumed command of the 10. Panzer-Division the following day and led it through the opening phases of Operation Barbarossa, the battles around Vyazma and Bryansk, and the advance toward Moscow before the division was withdrawn for refitting in France. Elevated to Generalleutnant on 1 November 1942, he took the division to Tunisia, where in the fighting near Tebourba on 2–3 December 1942 his energetic leadership resulted in the capture of 1 100 prisoners and over 40 guns, the destruction of more than 70 enemy tanks, the shattering of the British 11th Brigade and the loss of most of the tanks of US Combat Command B, thereby preventing an Allied breakthrough between Bizerta and Tunis and securing the bridgehead that allowed Rommel’s forces to withdraw toward Tunis; for this achievement he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 9 December 1942. On 1 February 1943, while conducting a reconnaissance near the Mareth Line west of Kairouan (Sbikka), his staff car entered a poorly marked Italian minefield, struck a mine and exploded; Fischer lost his left arm and both legs and bled to death within minutes while attempting to write a farewell letter to his wife. He was posthumously promoted to General der Panzertruppe with effect from 1 April 1943 and buried at the German war cemetery near Tunis.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Panzer_Division_(Wehrmacht)
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