Panzer-Division Müncheberg was a German panzer division which saw action on the Eastern Front around Berlin during World War II.
History
Formation
Panzer-Division Müncheberg began forming on 8 March 1945 in Müncheberg, Germany. The majority of the division's staff and panzer troops were drawn from the 103rd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, which had been dissolved three days before; the brigade's commander, Major General Werner Mummert, was placed in command of the division.
The Müncheberg Division received several Ausf. G Panther tanks equipped with Sperber Infrared (IR) systems, as well as a company of Panzergrenadiers equipped with Sperber IR systems. The division received several of the superheavy Jagdtigers, as well as several Tiger IIs, and the last five Tiger Is to be sent to the front. By 12 March the division's strength was 6,836 men. On 18 March the men from an infantry battalion of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler were used to bolster the division's strength.
As the advancing Soviet forces neared Müncheberg, the partly formed Müncheberg Division was ordered to move east as the mobile reserve for the 9th Army, which was part of Army Group Vistula.
Küstrin and Seelow Heights
The town of Küstrin lies roughly 70 km to the east of Berlin. Adolf Hitler had declared that the town was to be a fortress (Festung). Unlike other so-called fortress towns and cities, Festung Küstrin was indeed a fortress. The forces of Marshal Vasily Chuikov had reached the outskirts of Küstrin on 31 January and attempted to secure a bridgehead across the Oder. Bridgeheads were established to the north and south of Küstrin, but the Soviet forces could not consolidate their bridgehead until Küstrin was captured. Chuikov's forces, hesitant to attack the well-defended fortress, began attempts to surround Küstrin.
Despite repeated Soviet attacks, the narrow strip of land between Busse's 9th Army and Küstrin, dubbed the Küstrin Corridor, was kept open. On 22 March a major Soviet effort to sever the corridor went into action. The Soviet plan consisted of an inner and outer encirclement. The inner encirclement succeeded quickly, and the corridor was cut. Müncheberg went into action on 22 March alongside XXXIX Panzer Corps. By 25 March the outer encirclement was completed, trapping several German units including a platoon from the Müncheberg.
On 27 March, the Germans launched a counter-offensive aimed at re-opening the Küstrin Corridor. Müncheberg was subordinated to XXXIX Panzer Corps for the attack. The corps was unable to break through to the city. A Soviet counter-attack hit the 20th Panzergrenadier Division and soon the attack was in disarray, with elements of the 20th falling back in a disorganised rout. After the failure of the Küstrin counter-attack, Müncheberg was pulled out of the line to be refitted.
On 16 April the Red Army launched an offensive operation across the Alte Oder aimed at capturing Berlin. From this date until the end of the war, Müncheberg was in constant combat. On 20 April Müncheberg, together with its neighboring formation 11th SS Volunteer Grenadier Division Nordland fell back into Berlin itself.
Berlin
The division was pushed back into Berlin itself by the advancing Soviet forces. The remnants of the Müncheberg were positioned in the north-eastern sector of Berlin, north of the River Spree. By this stage, the division retained roughly a dozen tanks and about thirty halftracks.
On 25 April, General Helmuth Weidling, the recently appointed commander of the defence of Berlin, ordered Mummert to take command of the LVI Panzer Corps, command of the Müncheberg being handed over to Colonel Hans-Oscar Wöhlermann, the artillery commander (ArKo) for the city. On 26 April Müncheberg, along with Nordland, was ordered to attack towards Tempelhof Airport and Neukolln. With its last ten panzers, the Müncheberg initially made progress, but several local Soviet counter-attacks soon halted the advance.
Around noon on 26 April Wöhlermann was released from command and Mummert was reinstated as commander of the division. The following is from the diary of an officer with the Müncheberg Division and describes the evening of 26 April. Scarlet night. Heavy artillery fire. Uncanny silence. We get shot at from many houses. Foreign workers, no doubt. From the Air Ministry comes news that General Erich Bärenfänger has been relieved of his post of commander of the Berlin garrison. One hour later we hear that General Weidling is our new commander. General Mummert takes charge of the Tank Corps...