Romanian 1st Armoured Division

[JasonC]

Point of clarification - the 1st Romanian armored suffered its heavy losses in Operation Uranus, the Russian counterattack, not in the fight for the city of Stalingrad, proper. It was not committed inside the city, but was instead in reserve behind the Romanian army holding the left flank of the German forces in the city, along the Don bend. Along with the German 22nd Panzer division, it formed the 48th Panzer Corps at that time, and intervened to try to stop the breakthrough. Without success, of course. But although encircled, it cut its way out, where many other units failed to do so.

The Germans had supplied them with 11 Panzer IV longs and 11 Panzer III Ns (75L24) before that fighting. Each formed a company in the panzer regiment. The IIINs had heat ammunition, though the IV longs were obviously far superior as AT weapons. All the IVs and 10 of the 11 IIIs were lost in the fighting. The balance of the tank regiment still had Romanian R-2s. (Note that the 22nd Panzer had mostly Czech Pz 38s at the same date). The IIIs were called T-3 in Romanian service and the IVs T-4.

Later in the war the division was rebuilt and supplied with Panzer IV longs of late model, and StuGs, enough to be the size of a full German panzer division. It fought at the border of Romania with these in early 1944, suffering heavy losses. Romania then switched sides.