The 1st Panzer Division was engaged in the southern sector of the Eastern Front to serve alternately within the 1st and 4th Panzer Army as an emergency force. It was constantly thrown from crisis location to crisis location as the German front lines retreated, taking part in battles at Kiev, Zhitomir and Cherkassy. The latter battle saw the division attempting to break through to the cauldron but falling just short. By March 1944, the division had been reduced to just over 25 percent of its nominal strength. Retreating further westwards, the division was part of the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket and, from there, took part in the defence of eastern Poland and Hungary. It was engaged in defensive operations around Lake Balaton and took part in the unsuccessful attempt to break through to the Siege of Budapest and once more suffered heavy losses.