On 15 October 1935 the first three Panzer Divisions were formed. General-Colonel Maximilian Von Weichs commanded the 1st Panzer Division with its headquarters in Weimar, the 2nd Panzer Division was commanded by Colonel Heinz Guderian and had its headquarters in Wurzburg. General-Colonel Ernst Fessmann commanded the 3rd Panzer Division, with his headquarters in Berlin.
The tank component of the first Panzer divisions was to be a Panzer Brigade, initially composed of two tank regiments. The regiments were, in turn, sub-divided into two Abteilungs (battalions); each Abteilung had four companies with 32 light tanks. The entire brigade strength was 561 tanks including command tanks.
The tank element of the 1st Panzer Division was the 1st Panzer Brigade, which was composed of the 1st Panzer Regiment, stationed in Erfurt, and the 2nd Panzer Regiment, stationed in Eisenach.
The 2nd Panzer Division incorporated the 2nd Panzer Brigade, which was composed of the 3rd Panzer Regiment in Kamenz and the 4th Panzer Regiment stationed in Ohrdruf.
The tank strength of the 3rd Panzer Division, also known as Panzer Brigade ‘Berlin’, was composed of the 5th Panzer Regiment ‘Wundsdorf’, stationed in Wunsdorf and the 6th Panzer Regiment (later known as ‘Neuruppin’) stationed in Zossen.
In 1936 there was a re-shuffle of bases. The 3rd Panzer Regiment was moved to Bamberg, the 4th Panzer Regiment to Schweinfurt and the 6th Panzer Regiment to Neuruppin.
In February and March of 1936 all of the new Panzer units took in extensive training exercises on the proving grounds at Staumuhlcn.
Panzer Is roll through the Uber den Ring, Vienna, March 1938.
Almost from the outset, and while they were still forming and training, the Panzer units had to be prepared for operational service. The first of these emergencies appeared on 7 March 1936, when German infantry units marched into the demilitarised Rhineland. The Panzer regiments were held on alert in the Senna district but were stood down after four weeks. For the remainder of 1936 the units were exposed to a programme of intensive training. Of course, the expansion of the Panzer force was limited by the rate of expansion in the number of available tanks. However, although the process of design and development continued, as many as 3000 light tanks had already been produced by the end of 1936 and the construction of the designs of the Panzer III and IV were well under way when the first baptism of fire arose for the fledgling tank force.