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5 Panzer Division

On Aug. 1, 1956, the German 5th Panzer Division was established at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas. The division started with 23 soldiers. By that November, the division's strength had increased to 1,700 men. The equipment they used was entirely U.S. surplus. By January 1958, however, the division consisted of the Armored Infantry Brigade 13, Armor Brigade 15 and Armor Brigade 6 and was at the point that it could apply for a command assignment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). After acceptance, it became one of the first major formations assigned to NATO. In March 1958, the division moved to new bases near the Rhine and Lahn rivers.

From the beginning, the 5th Panzer Division demonstrated a high degree of readiness in numerous large-scale exercises and interim missions. In addition, the division's participation in humanitarian aid missions following an earthquake in Morroco in 1960 and its involvement in disaster relief in the wake of flooding on the north German seashore produced high esteem for 5th Panzer soldiers.

In 1989 and 1990, the division was asked to support efforts for the settling of emigrants from the former Soviet Union. Between 1991 and 1994, the 5th Panzer's 13th and 15th brigades were dismantled as a result of the German reunification and the Agreement of the Vienna Treaty on conventional weapons in Europe. Following another reorganization in 1994, the division became part of the main defense force of the German Army.

It conducts military operations as an integral part of either the German II Corps or the bilaterally acting V U.S./GE Corps in Heidelberg. The division's contribution to this corps consists of four brigades and other units from the division. In peacetime, the 5th Panzer's primary task is to train active and reserve personnel, establish mission readiness by conducting unilateral and bilateral exercises, and execute national and territorial tasks. The 5th Panzer Division provides personnel and material in support of SFOR troops in the former Yugoslavia.