División Panzer
By the start of 1943 Germany's armored forces had sustained heavy casualties. It was unusual for a Panzer division to field more than 100 tanks, and most averaged only 70–80 serviceable tanks at any given time. After the fighting around Kharkov, Heinz Guderian embarked on a program to bring Germany's mechanized forces up to strength. Despite his efforts, a German panzer division could only count on an estimated 10,000–11,000 personnel, out of an authorized strength of 13,000–17,000. Only by June did a panzer division begin to field between 100–130 tanks each. SS divisions were normally better equipped, with an estimated 150 tanks, a battalion of self-propelled assault guns and enough half-tracks to motorize most of its infantry and reconnaissance soldiers—and these had an authorized strength of an estimated 19,000 personnel. At this time, the bulk of Germany's armor was still composed of Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs, although the SS Division Das Reich had been outfitted with a number of Tiger I tanks.