The 21. Panzer-Division was a German armoured formation of the Wehrmacht that played a significant role across multiple theatres of the Second World War, first as a key component of the Deutsches Afrikakorps in North Africa and later, after its destruction and reconstitution, in the defence of Normandy, Alsace-Lorraine, and the Eastern Front. Originally formed in early 1941 as the 5. leichte Division from elements of the 3. Panzer-Division and other army troops in Wehrkreis III, the unit was shipped to Libya to support Italian forces against the British Western Desert Force. Under Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel it participated in the rapid advance that pushed Allied troops back into Egypt in the spring of 1941. On 1 August 1941 the formation was redesignated 21. Panzer-Division. Commanded successively by Generalmajor Johann von Ravenstein, Generalmajor Georg von Bismarck, and others, it fought in Operation Crusader, the capture of Tobruk in June 1942 alongside the 15. Panzer-Division and 90. leichte Division, the First and Second Battles of El Alamein, and the subsequent retreat into Tunisia. Reduced to Kampfgruppen by early 1943, its remnants surrendered on 13 May 1943 near Tunis. The division was reconstituted in France in July 1943 from the Schnelle Brigade West and returning veterans, under Oberst (later Generalleutnant) Edgar Feuchtinger, and equipped largely with converted French vehicles produced by Baukommando Becker, including self-propelled guns of Panzerjäger-Abteilung 200. Stationed near Caen, it was the only Panzer-Division to engage Allied forces on 6 June 1944, counter-attacking toward Sword Beach and opposing British airborne troops at Pegasus Bridge under Major Hans von Luck of Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 125. Throughout the Battle of Normandy it fought around Caen against British and Canadian forces in Operations Epsom, Charnwood, Goodwood, and Bluecoat, suffering heavy losses in Panzer IV tanks before being virtually destroyed in the Falaise Pocket. Reformed again in Lorraine, it contested American advances in Alsace, notably the hard fighting at Hatten and Rittershoffen in January 1945 during Operation Nordwind. Transferred to the Eastern Front, the depleted division under Generalleutnant Werner Marcks fought on the Oder and was finally destroyed in the Halbe Pocket, with survivors surrendering to the Red Army at the end of April 1945.
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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER
Hauptmann Rolf Rocholl (1918-1943) was born on 8 December 1918 in Berlin and entered military service in 1936 as a Fahnenjunker in Panzer-Regiment 5. Promoted to Leutnant on 1 September 1938 and assigned to the 8. Kompanie, he served with the 3. Panzer-Division during the Polish and French campaigns. Subsequently transferred to the 5. leichten Division, which was sent to North Africa and redesignated the 21. Panzer-Division on 1 August 1941, he distinguished himself in the fighting of 1941–42 and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 25 March 1942. Promoted to Hauptmann on 1 June 1942, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 28 July 1942 as Oberleutnant and Führer of the 2. Kompanie, I. Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 5. During the 21. Panzer-Division’s attack toward the Via Balbia linking Gazala and Tobruk, he led a reinforced force that discovered a strong British position on Hill 201 west of Acroma, heavily defended by artillery and Flak. After a hard fight he captured the height, enabling the division to block the road and complete the encirclement of the Gazala line. Following the retreat to the Mareth Line he returned to Germany in April 1943 and was appointed Kommandeur of the III. Bataillon, Grenadier-Regiment 569 of the 328. Infanterie-Division on the Eastern Front. In the fierce defensive battles along the Donez in August 1943 his personal leadership proved decisive in holding a commanding hill position and preventing a Soviet breakthrough in the sector. On 23 August 1943 near Isjum, while leading a counterattack, he was fatally wounded by two shots to the chest. Posthumously he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 31 August 1943 as the 287th recipient.
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Panzer_Division
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