13th Panzer Division ( Wehrmacht ) The 13th Panzer Division was originally created in 1934 under the cover name " Infanterieführer IV " ; it was unveiled as the 13th Infantry Division in 1935 when the creation of the " Wehrmacht " was announced . In 1937 it was motorized and subsequently renamed as the 13th Motorized Infantry Division and participated in the campaigns against Poland ( 1939 ) and western Europe ( 1940 ) . Following the Fall of France in June 1940 , the division was reorganized as the 13th Panzer Division . It participated in Operation " Barbarossa " ( the invasion of the Soviet Union ) in 1941 and the advance on the Caucasus in 1942 . The division suffered heavy losses in the withdrawal of 1943 and subsequent defensive actions in the south up to 1944 . It was partially refitted in Hungary , where it was encircled and destroyed by Allied forces in the winter of 1944 - 1945 ; fighting occurred primarily in Budapest . The formation was re - created as Panzer Division " Feldherrnhalle 2 " in the spring of 1945 , before surrendering in Austria at the end of the war . History . " Barbarossa " . The 13th " Panzer " Division was formed in Vienna in October 1940 from the German 13th Motorized Infantry Division and was immediately sent to Romania for training . It served in Operation " Barbarossa " as part of " Panzer " Group 1 ( Army Group South ) , and it contributed to the successful encirclements of the Soviet forces at Lublin and Kiev . At the end of 1941 , it was positioned at Rostov ; however , it was forced to retreat due to fierce Soviet counterattacks . Caucasus and Kuban . In 1942 and 1943 , the division formed part of the First Panzer Army ( Army Group A ) ; it was involved in the battles for the Caucasus oil fields and in the desperate defense of the Kuban Peninsula after the Battle of Stalingrad . In the fall of 1943 , it was withdrawn to Western Ukraine , where it fought defensive battles near the river Dniepr . Romania . The offensive of the Soviet Army pushed the Germans to their starting positions of June 1941 . The 13th " Panzer " Division was attached to Army Group South Ukraine , which had orders to stop the Soviets from capturing the Romanian oil fields . The Red Army offensive of August 1944 resulted in the deaths or imprisonment of most of the division . First reforming and the battles for Hungary . The division was reformed in July and it received modern equipment , including the Mark V Panther G tank and the Jagdpanzer IV Tank Destroyer . In the Battle of Debrecen , the division helped to annihilate three Soviet tank corps ; however , it was encircled in Budapest at the end of 1944 and destroyed in January 1945 . End of the war . In the spring of 1945 , the division was reformed under the name " Feldherrnhalle 2 " . The last engagements with the Soviets were fought on the Austro - Hungarian border . The Division surrendered in Austria in May 1945 . War Crimes . During the invasion of Poland , soldiers from the division took part in massacres in the village of Drzewica on September 8 and 9 . Medical columns marked with Red Cross signs were also attacked . Soldiers from the division used civilians as human shield s . References . Note : The Web references may require you to follow links to cover the unit ' s entire history .