page_title: Battle of Hannut
section_title: German forces
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Hannut / Opposing forces / German forces
caption_attribution_description: English: Source: Perret, Bryan, German Light Panzers 1932-41; attributed, however, to U.S. National Archives.
context_page_description: The Battle of Hannut was a Second World War battle fought during the Battle of Belgium which took place between 12 and 14 May 1940 at Hannut in Belgium. It was the largest tank battle in the campaign. It was also the largest clash of tanks in armoured warfare history at the time.
  The primary purpose of the Germans was to tie down the strongest elements of the French First Army and keep it away from the main German attack by Army Group A through the Ardennes, as laid down in the German operational plan Fall Gelb, by General Erich von Manstein. The German breakout of the Ardennes was scheduled for 15 May, five days after the German attacks on the Netherlands and Belgium. The delay was to entice the Allies into believing the main thrust would, like the Schlieffen Plan in World War I, come through Belgium and then down into France. When the Allied armies advanced into Belgium according to the Dyle Plan, they would be tied down by German offensive operations in eastern Belgium at Hannut and Gembloux. With the flank of the First Army exposed, the Germans could thrust to the English Channel which would encircle and destroy the Allied forces.
context_section_description: Like their French counterparts the German armoured divisions each had an armoured brigade (Panzer-Brigade) with two tank regiments (Panzer-Regimenter). The latter were divided into two tank battalions (Panzer-Abteilungen); each tank battalion had, apart from a staff company, two light companies of nineteen battle tanks, in theory mainly equipped with the Panzerkampfwagen III, and a medium company of fifteen battle tanks using the Panzerkampfwagen IV. Due to a shortage of these types, the positions were actually in majority filled with the light Panzerkampfwagen II and even Panzerkampfwagen I.
  The exact numbers of each type on 10 May available to the German armoured divisions are known: 3rd Pz. Div. had 314 battle tanks in its 3. Panzer-Brigade consisting of 5. and 6. Panzer-Regiment: 117 PzKpfw Is, 129 PzKpfw IIs, 42 PzKpfw IIIs and 26 PzKpfw IVs; 4th Pz. Div. had 304 battle tanks in its 5. Panzer-Brigade consisting of 35. and 36. Panzerregiment: 135 PzKpfw Is, 105 PzKpfw IIs, 40 PzKpfw IIIs and 24 PzKpfw IVs.
  XVI. Armeekorps thus had a total of 618 tanks: 252 PzKpfw Is, 234 PzKpfw IIs, 82 PzKpfw IIIs and 50 PzKpfw IVs. Besides these battle tanks, 3rd Pz. Div. had 27 Befehlspanzer tracked command vehicles with only machine-gun armament and 4th Pz. Div. ten. Each division also had about 56 armoured cars. Most PzKpfw IIs of XVI Armeekorps had not yet been uparmoured to the new 30 mm standard and were thus vulnerable to even the French 37 mm L/21 gun.
  As the French mechanised infantry regiments had three mechanised infantry battalions, total infantry strength of the Corps de Cavalerie (CC) was six battalions. XVI. Armeekorps had seven motorised infantry battalions. The French units were only lightly equipped with antitank-guns: twelve 25 mm and eight 47 mm SA 37 guns per division; and anti-aircraft guns: six 25 mm guns per division. Also, there was an imbalance in artillery: the French Mechanised Light Divisions each had 36 pieces against 68 (including 24 7.5 cm leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18) per Panzerdivision. This was not set off by Corps artillery; the Germans had four attached artillery regiments and a heavy battery; the French CC only two 75 mm field gun regiments (and a group of twelve 25 mm antitank-guns) as corps troops.
  The specialized VIII. Fliegerkorps of the Luftwaffe, with some 300 Junkers 87 dive bombers and 42 Henschel Hs 123 biplanes, plus some 130 Messerschmitt 109 fighter aircraft, stood ready to support the Panzers.
  The IV. Fliegerkorps and IX. Fliegerkorps added some 280 medium bombers and over 500 Messerschmitt 109 and Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters, some of which would also be at Hoepner's disposal.
caption: Panzer I Ausf. A during the invasion of Belgium.
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