View source for Panzer-Abteilung 211

{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Panzer-Abteilung 211
|caption=
|dates= 1 July 1941 - 17 November 1941
|country={{flag|Nazi Germany}}
|branch= [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|Heer]]
|type= [[Panzer]]
|size=[[battalion]]
|equipment= 90 [[SOMUA S35|Somua S35]], 82 [[Hotchkiss H35|Hotchkiss H38]] total
|battles= [[Operation Silver Fox]]
|disbanded=
}}
'''Panzer-Abteilung 211''' was a tank battalion of the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German army]] during [[World War II]]. The battalion fought during [[Operation Silver Fox]] which was a combined German and Finnish offensive attempting to capture the Soviet port of [[Murmansk]]. The unit was disbanded after this operation due to their outdated equipment.
==Formation==
After the fall of France in June 1940 the Germans captured a large amount of French vehicles. Among those were 297 (varying according to sources) [[SOMUA S35|Somua S35]] which was considered by many to be the premier medium tank at the beginning of the war. In addition to the SOMUA S35s there were around 550 [[Hotchkiss H35|Hotchkiss H35 and H38]] tanks captured as well. The Germans used these captured vehicles to equip several smaller units which were then combined into Panzer-Abteilung 211 on 22 March 1941.
==Operation Silver Fox==
[[File:Hotchkiss H39 ‘123’ (37632011810).jpg|thumb|[[Hotchkiss H39]] tank at the [[Kubinka Tank Museum]]. This example was formerly used by Panzer-Abteilung 211 and was captured by the [[Red Army]] in 1941.]]
The Soviet port of [[Murmansk]] was a high-value target for German command in 1941. On 27 June 1941 they began [[Operation Silver Fox]] to capture the key port,  Panzer-Abteilung 211 was tasked with supporting the combined German and Finnish force along with [[Panzer-Abteilung 40]] which was equipped with [[Panzer I]] and [[Panzer II]] tanks. This force would participate in a sub-operation of [[Operation Silver Fox]] code-named [[Operation Arctic Fox]] which was a campaign against Soviet Northern Front defenses at Salla, Finland in July 1941. The offensive launched on 1 July 1941 ended on 17 November in a stalemate with German and Finnish forces advancing but not being able to capture Murmansk nor the railway at Kandalaksha.
==Sources==
*{{cite book|title=Panzers in Finland: Panzerunits in Finland 1941-1944 |first=Kari |last=Kuusela}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
[[Category:Military units and formations of the German Army in World War II]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1941]]
[[Category:Armoured units and formations of Germany]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1941]]
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