1st Panzer Division (Bundeswehr)

Not to be confused with 1st Panzer Division (Wehrmacht).

52°22′11.31″N 9°46′11.77″E

1st Panzer Division
1. Panzerdivision
1st Armoured Division insignia
Active	1956–present
Country	Germany  Netherlands
Branch	Army
Type	Panzer
Size	19,000 soldiers
Part of	German Army
Garrison/HQ	Oldenburg (Oldenburg)
Nickname(s)	The first one Die Erste
Motto(s)	Roughly: Go! Let's tackle it! Man drup - man to! (Low German)
Anniversaries	July 1st 1956
Engagements	Kosovo War War in Afghanistan
Commanders
Current commander	Generalmajor Heico Hübner
Notable commanders	General Henning von Ondarza, COMAFCENT 1991–1994 General Helge Hansen, COMAFCENT 1994–1996 General Wolf-Dieter Langheld, COMJFC-B 2010–2012

The 1st Panzer Division (German: "1. Panzerdivision", short: "1. PzDiv") is an armoured division of the German Army. Its headquarter is based in Oldenburg.^[1] In the course of the last reorganisation of the Bundeswehr it became part of the Heavy Forces.^[2] The division is equipped and trained for high intensity combat operations against militarily organized enemies as well as peacekeeping missions. The majority of all German troops assigned to EU-Battlegroups and Nato Response Forces will come from this division.

The 43rd Mechanized Brigade of the Royal Netherlands Army is integrated into the 1st Panzer Division since 2016.^[3]

History

This division was formed on 1 July 1956, the day of the official inauguration of the Bundeswehr. It was the first fully operational unit of the new German Army. At first referred to as 1st Grenadier Division, it was reorganized in the 1980s and made fully armoured in 1981. During this period it was part of I Corps of the Bundeswehr Heer, in turn part of NATO's Northern Army Group, Allied Forces Central Europe.

1st Panzer Division has deployed to the Balkans, Afghanistan and to several peacekeeping operations. Troops of this division were also deployed to the support of civilian agencies during large natural disasters such as the Hamburg Floods of 1962, disastrous wild fires in Northern Germany in the 1970s and the 2002 Floods in Eastern Germany.

The division cultivates a partnership with the United States Army 28th Infantry Division.

In April 2019 the division headquarters took the role of exercise High Command (HICON) for Exercise "Allied Spirit X" at Hohenfels Training Area in Bavaria.^[4] The exercise lead is routinely rotated among coalition/NATO partners. The exercise primarily involved the 21st Panzer Brigade, the Lithuanian Iron Wolf Brigade, and their subordinate units; 5,630 participants from 15 nations took part. The division already had Dutch, British and Polish officers within its ranks. The US Army's 2nd Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment, took part in the exercise.^[5][6] Six engineering advisor teams from 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade provided hands-on experience and testing of secure communications between NATO allies and partners.^[7][8][9]

Organization

1st Panzer Division with integrated Dutch units 2025

Main article: Structure of the German Army

• 1st Panzer Division (1. Panzerdivision), in Oldenburg^[1]
  • Staff and Signal Company 1st Panzer Division (Stabs- und Fernmeldekompanie 1. Panzerdivision), in Oldenburg
  • 9th Panzerlehr Brigade (Panzerlehrbrigade 9), in Munster
  • 21st Panzer Brigade (Panzerbrigade 21), in Augustdorf
  • 41st Panzergrenadier Brigade (Panzergrenadierbrigade 41), in Neubrandenburg
  • 43rd Mechanized Brigade (43 Gemechaniseerde Brigade), in Havelte
  • Artillery Lehr Battalion 325 (Artillerielehrbataillon 325), in Munster
  • Signal Battalion 610 (Fernmeldebataillon 610), in Prenzlau (Operationally assigned to NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast)
  • Heavy Engineer Battalion 901 (Schweres Pionierbataillon 901), in Havelberg (Reserve unit)
  • Security Support Battalion 1 (Sicherungsbataillon 1), in Oldenburg (Reserve unit)

Geographic Distribution

1st Panzer Division

Security Bn. 1

Panzer Engineer Bn. 803

Heavy Engineer Bn. 901

Panzer Lehr Brigade 9

#1

Recon Lehr Bn. 3

Panzergrenadier Bn. 33

D/UK Bridge Engineer Bn. 130

Supply Bn. 141

Panzer Brigade 21

Recon Bn. 7

#2

Jäger Bn. 1

Jäger Bn. 921

Jäger Bn. 91

Jäger Bn. 413

Panzer Engineer Bn. 1

Supply bn. 7

43 Mechanized Bde.

Panzergrenadier Bde. 41

Recon Bn. 6

Panzergrenadier Bn. 411
Panzergrenadier Bn. 908

Panzergrenadier Bn. 401

Supply Bn. 142

Signal Bn. 610

1st Panzer Division locations 2025:
Units: Panzer Panzergrenadier Jäger Reconnaissance Artillery Engineers Logistics Signals
Reserve formations are in Italics
#1 Munster: Panzergrenadier Lehr Battalion 92, Panzer Lehr Battalion 93, Artillery Lehr Battalion 325
#2 Augustdorf: Panzer Battalion 203, Artillery Battalion 215