The 13th Motorized Infantry Division participated in the invasion of Poland, as part of the southern thrust, and the
Battle of France, advancing through Belgium towards
Calais and on to
Lyon. The 13th Panzer Division was formed in
Vienna in October 1940 from the 13th Motorized Infantry Division and was immediately sent to
Romania but was not part of the Balkan campaign. 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
Kiev. At the end of 1941, it was positioned at
Rostov; however, it was forced to retreat due to fierce Soviet counter-attacks. 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 at 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 In the fall of 1943, it was withdrawn to Western Ukraine, where it fought defensive battles near the river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. 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 division was reformed in July 1944 and it received modern equipment, including the
Panther G tank and the
Jagdpanzer IV. The
Red Army offensive of August 1944 resulted in the deaths or imprisonment of most of the division. 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==