Panzer Lehr Division

The Panzer-Lehr-Division, commonly known as Panzer Lehr, was a German armored division during World War II, one of the most elite units in the entire German Wehrmacht. It was formed from January 1944 onwards from various units of elite training and demonstration troops (Lehr = "teach") stationed in Germany, to provide additional armored strength for resisting the anticipated Allied invasion of western Europe. Its great weakness was that it concentrated the cream of Germany's tank commanders/instructors in a single unit, which risked their annihilation should the division suffer heavy losses. Due to its elite status it was lavishly equipped in comparison to the ordinary Panzer divisions of the Wehrmacht. It was the only division to be fully armoured with tanks and halftracks such as the SdKfz 250 and the SdKfz 251, though on several occasions it fought almost to destruction, in particular during Operation Cobra.