Wehrmacht Type 43 Panzer Division
CSO Orbat is marked in blue
[if the unit strength in CSO (Corps Scale Orbat) is 3, then in DSO (Divisional Scale Orbat) it will normally be 6 and in RSO (Regimental Scale Orbat) it willl be 9]
Divisional Headquarters¹
Comd mounted in Kubelwagen or Staff Car (C3)
Signal truck or SdKfz 263 or 251/3 (C3)
Self Propelled or towed Flak (S3)
Log SdkFz 253 or Wespe munitionsträger (S3)
Workshop Bergpanzer III/IV/V or Famo Sd Kfz 9 (L3)
Medical Sanitätspanzer I or Sd Kfz 251/8 (L3 Non Combattant)
Panzer Aufklärungs (Recce) Battalion²
Panzer Regiment Headquarters
Comd BefehlsPanzer III/IV/V or Sd Kfz 263 (C3)
[For DSO and RSO I use both]
Panzer Battalion x 2³
![Panzer battalion. [Panzer Regiment in Corps-scale Orbat]](https://notquitemechanised.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/gerpzbn.jpg?w=300&h=82)
Panzer battalion. [Panzer regiment in Corps Scale Orbat, or Panzer division in Front Scale Orbat]
Panzer Grenadier Regiment Headquarters
Motor Rifle Regiment Headquarters
Comd Staff Car with towed 15cm gun or SiG (C3)
[You could show the staff car towing the gun for the motoriziert regiment and a 251/10 for the gepanzerte]
Panzer Grenadier Battalion
SdKfz 251 (F3)
Motor Rifle Battalion x 3
Truck with integral infantry (F3)
If you do not want to model the infantry, then just show the vehicles as (F3)
Panzer Artillery Regiment
0-1 10.5cm divisional gun + limber (S3)
0-1 15cm Howitzer + limber (S3)
[Some or all may be self-propelled guns (SPG). A battalion total should not exceed 3 strength points for CSO or 6SP for DSO or 9SP for RSO]
Panzer Artillery Regiment
Panzerabwehrkanone (Pak) or Schnelle Battalion
3.7cm or 5cm or 7.5cm Gun + Limber (S3) [Some or all may be SPG. A battalion total should not exceed 3 strength points for CSO or 6SP for DSO or 9SP for RSO]]
Panzer Engineer Battalion
3 Engineer bases (@E1), or Sd Kfz 251/8 or Truck (E3)
[A battalion total should not exceed 3 strength points for CSO or 6SP for DSO or 9SP for RSO]
Footnotes
- The largest tonnage of ammunition was artillery, so it seems reasonable to show the logistic train as artillery resupply. If however, you show every piece of artillery on the same base as a limber (including self-propelled artillery, then you may wish to show the logistic element as an ordinary truck or halftrack, as you prefer.
- Early in the war, the division would have a motorcycle battalion. However they suffered heavy attrition, so I have shown the rump of the motorcycles absorbed into the divisional recce battalion. The Sd Kfz 251/9 and 250/8 ‘Stummel‘ was seen in the recce battalion and you could use any variant that takes your fancy as a piece of signature equipment. It doesn’t really matter which flavour of Sd Kfz is used unless you care deeply about it.
- By 1943, the proportion of PzIVs increased, eventually forming 50% of the TOE, and the PzIII began to disappear. For a stage following Kursk, the division only had one Panzer battalion. Later still the PzV replaced the Pz III, being introduced as a second battalion. In addition, large numbers of StuG IIIs and some IVs were produced. The StuG (Sturm Geshutz) was a casemated gun on a tank chassis. The design benefit being that a more effective gun could be carried on the chassis than a turreted design would allow. In addition, production costs were lower, at a time when numbers were critical. The StuG was considered to be an infantry support gun manned by artillery crews. In this role, it would appear supporting Panzergrenadiere, but could also appear as supporting depleted Panzer regiments. StuGs continued to be manned by the artillery, but as new Panzerjägers were developed, they were manned by Panzertruppen.
- The Sd Kfz 251/9 and 250/8 ‘Stummel‘ was seen in the recce battalion and you would be justified in thinking that it has no place in an RHQ. If you have a spare one and don’t want it beefing up your Aufklärungs Abteilung in 1942 though it could appear here. The Panzer grenadier regiment has one armoured battalion (the Panzer grenadier battalion), and one motorised battalion (sometimes mounted in unarmoured halftracks) that, for convenience, I have listed with the two lorried battalions for the motor rifle regiment. Most panzer divisions only had the luxury of one battalion mounted in that iconic vehicle the Sd Kfz 251 (Sonder Kraftzeug). Don’t believe the propaganda photos, fully three quarters of the Wehrmacht’s panzer grenadiers went to war in trucks or unarmoured halftracks.
Not Quite Mechanised 