22nd Panzer Division

The 22nd Panzer Division was a German Panzer Division in World War II. It was formed September 1941 in France. It was transferred to the southern sector of the Eastern Front in March 1942. The 22nd was the last Panzer Division to be issued with the Czech-built Panzer 38(t), which was considered under-gunned, under-armoured and obsolete by 1942. Officially formed on 25 September 1941 in France the division was initially equipped with obsolete Czech, French and German tanks. The 22nd Panzer Division was sent to the Eastern Front in February 1942. Upon arrival on the Crimean theater, where Soviet 51st Army had gone on the offensive against German XXXXII Corps on 13 March, two detachments of Panzer Regiment 204 were hurriedly thrown into action on the orders of Erich von Manstein at 06:00 on 20 March 1942. Under command of Oberstleutnant Wilhelm Koppenburg, the 204th Regiment's detachment got disoriented in deep fog, with one running into a Soviet minefield and the other suffering an ambush by Soviet 45mm antitank guns and a counterattack by Soviet 55th Tank Brigade. By 09:00, the attack had to be aborted, with I./204 suffering a 40% casualty rate and the division losing 32 out of its 142 tanks, including nine Panzer IIs, 17 Panzer 38(t)s, and six Panzer IVs. The 22nd Panzer Division was subsequently significantly delayed in its operational readiness.