16th Panzer Division

The 16th Panzer Division (German: 16. Panzer-Division) was a formation of the German Army in World War II. It was formed in November 1940 from the 16th Infantry Division. It took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, operating in the southern sector of the Eastern Front. After the Soviet offensive in November 1942 the division was trapped in Stalingrad, where it surrendered in February 1943. A new 16th Panzer Division was formed in 1943 and sent to Italy where it was part of the unsuccessful German defense against the Allied invasion of Italy. Sent back to the Eastern Front in November 1943 the division once more saw action in the southern sector, taking part in the relief operation of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket and being part of the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket. It eventually surrendered to Soviet and American forces in Czechoslovakia in May 1945.