1st Panzer Division ( Wehrmacht ) The German 1st Panzer Division ( " 1 . Panzer - Division " ) was an elite armoured division in the German Army during World War II . Its divisional insignia was a white oakleaf emblem . History . The 1st Panzer Division was formed on October 15 , 1935 from the 3rd Cavalry Division , and was headquartered in Weimar . Initially it consisted of two panzer regiment s organized into brigade s , a motorized infantry brigade , a reconnaissance battalion , a divisional artillery regiment , and supporting ancillary formations . In 1938 the division participated in training exercises with the XVI Corps , a fully motorized formation . By the start of the Polish Campaign in September 1939 , the 1st Panzer Division was one of six panzer divisions in the Wehrmacht . It was deployed with the XVI Corps , Tenth Army , Army Group South , in the upper Silesia region . XVI Corps , with the 1st and 4th Panzer Divisions , drove northeast into Poland , rapidly penetrating toward Warsaw . In September 16 – 20 they eliminated a Polish counter - attack along the river Bzura . With the double - encirclement of the Polish Army by the panzer divisions , resistance soon came to an end . In May 1940 the 1st Panzer Division joined Guderian ' s XIX Corps for the advance into France through the Ardennes forest . The corps achieved a decisive breakthrough at Sedan and by May 16 the panzer formations were advancing rapidly toward the English Channel coast . First Panzer Division came within 25 km of Dunkirk despite determined British resistance , but was ordered to stop by Hitler . First Panzer Division was next deployed as part of XXXIX Corps on the Aisne River line for the advance south against the remaining French forces . Breakthrough was achieved by June 12 and the division advanced rapidly toward Belfort . An armistice with France was accepted on June 22 , ending the campaign . In October 1 Panzer Division was reorganized as part of the Wehrmacht ' s increase in the number of mechanized divisions . The 2nd Panzer Regiment and selected cadres were removed for the formation of the 16th Panzer Division . In compensation , the 113th Panzergrenadier Regiment was added to balance the divisional organization . Operation Barbarossa was the plan for the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 . The 1st Panzer fought in Army Group North as part of the XLI Panzer Corps , advancing northward through Estonia . By July 14 the corps had reached the Luga River , only 110 kilometers from Leningrad . Here the corps waited for three weeks because Army Group North ' s flanks had become too extended . With the army now at Lake Ladoga and the city of Leningrad cut off , 1st Panzer Division formed part of the general attack against the city perimeter on September 8 . The attack was making good progress and the corps advanced to within sight of the city . However the corps , including 1st Panzer Division , was ordered removed from the line on September 18 . On October 2 1 Panzer Division joined the drive toward Moscow ( Operation Typhoon ) under XXXXI . Armeekorps ( Mot . ) , assigned to Panzergruppe 3 . The division achieved one of the closest approach to Moscow among the German forces , reaching Belyi - Rast at the end of November , only some 50 km from the Russian capital . For the next two months 1st Panzer was on the defensive with the remainder of the German Army against the Russian winter offensive . It was defending Klin , to the northwest of Moscow , on December 7 . In January and February 1942 , the division fought against the Soviet Rzhev - Vyazma Offensive , some 150 kilometers west of Moscow . The division remained in the Rzhev area through the end of the year , before being withdrawn to France for refitting in January – February , 1943 . In June 1943 the division was deployed to the Balkans region , then to Greece for coastal defense duties against a possible Allied invasion ( Operation Mincemeat ) . It remained there until October , then returned to the Eastern front in November , where it participated in the defense of the Ukraine . The division did not attack as part of Battle of Kursk , but it fought in the desperate defense against the Russian advance west of Kiev . During early 1944 the division was attached to III Panzer Corps and took its place in the relief of the Korsun - Cherkassy Pocket . In April 1944 , as a part of Generaloberst Hans - Valentin Hube ' s First Panzer Army , the division was trapped in the Kamenets - Podolsky Pocket and was involved in the breakout . In September 1944 the division was withdrawn to the Carpathian Mountains , as the Germans strove in vain to stem the Russian advance . By October the division was in Hungary , and in January , 1945 it fought in Operation Konrad , the abortive attempt to relieve the encircled city of Budapest . Following the general German retreat to the west , the division finally reached the eastern Austrian alps where they surrendered to the US Army . Organization . 1st Panzer Division - " 1 . Panzer - Division "