page_title: 7th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
section_title: Eastern Front
hierarchical_section_title: 7th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht) / Operational history / Eastern Front
context_page_description: The 7th Panzer Division was an armored formation of the German Army in World War II. It participated in the Battle of France, the invasion of the Soviet Union, the occupation of Vichy France, and on the Eastern Front until the end of the war. The 7th Panzer Division is sometimes known by its nickname, Ghost Division.
  The division met with great success in France in 1940 and then again in the Soviet Union in 1941. In May 1942, the division was withdrawn from the Soviet Union and sent back to France to replace losses and refit. It returned to Southern Russia following the defeat at Stalingrad, and helped to check a general collapse of the front in a series of defensive battles as part of Army Group Don, and participated in General Erich von Manstein's counterattack at Kharkov. The division fought in the unsuccessful offensive at Kursk in the summer of 1943, suffering heavy losses in men and equipment and was further degraded in the subsequent Soviet counteroffensive.
  Through 1944 and 1945, the division was markedly understrength and continuously engaged in a series of defensive battles across the eastern front.
context_section_description: On transfer to Army Group South, the division fought to stem the Soviet effort to cut off the 1st Panzer Army in the Caucasus. The division checked the Soviet advance on Rostov, maintaining an avenue of escape for the 1st Panzer Army. It continued in actions along the Don and Donetz river lines, and in the Third Battle of Kharkov. In the summer of 1943, the division took part in the offensive at Kursk, serving as part of the armoured formations of Army Detachment Kempf as they attempted to screen the eastern flank of the southern German pincer. The division suffered heavy casualties in this battle, and by the end of the battle the division was down to 15 tanks and had an infantry combat strength equivalent to three battalions.
  Following the end of the German offensive at Kursk, the division was transferred to the XLVIII Panzer Corps. On 20 August 1943, Generalmajor Hasso von Manteuffel took command of the division. The Soviet Steppe Front launched a massive attack on 3 August 1943 spearheaded by the 1st Tank Army and the 5th Guards Tank Army.
  The German front west of Belgorod was pierced and forced back. The division, attached to the 4th Panzer Army, gradually gave way battling against the Soviet 40th Army. The division was relieved at the front, enabling it to form a shock group with the Großdeutschland division, which would drive into the Soviet flank and join with reinforcements arriving in the Kharkov region, and blunt the Soviet advance. The counterstroke was led by Großdeutschland, with the division, operating with its 23 remaining operational tanks, covering the left flank. By nightfall, the attackers had driven 24 kilometers into the Red Army flank and isolated the forward elements of the Soviet offensive. Success was short lived, however, as further Soviet reinforcements advancing behind the lead elements confronted the German counterattack and reduced the combat effectiveness of the Wehrmacht formations. With this Army Group South withdrew to the line of the Dnieper.
  Personnel losses in August for the division were even higher than in July. The replacement battalion was disbanded as all capable leaders were needed at the front. Losses in heavy infantry weapons and motor vehicles reduced the division's combat value. Remaining operational tanks were amalgamated into a single company. The battered division withdrew to the Dnieper position, crossing the river at Kremenchug.
  The division then fought in the defensive Battle of Kiev and the German counterattack at Zhitomir. During these battles, the division was twice cited for distinguished conduct. After this, the division fought in a series of heavy defensive battles during the long retreat across the Ukraine.
caption: Adelbert Schulz, commander of 25 Panzer Regiment, the main striking force of the 7th Panzer Division, near a Panzer III in June 1943
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