it was sent to Poland with the XL Panzer Corps. In the spring of 1941, 9th Panzer Division participated in the Balkans Campaign. It was shipped to Romania and was made the armored spearhead of the 12th Army. It managed some blitzkrieg tactics through the Balkans, separating the Greek Army from the Royal Yugoslav Army, then attacking into Yugoslavia itself. As part of the 12th Army, the 9th Panzer Division pushed back the main British Army, Greek and Australian Army forces Once these armies were in retreat, the division was sent to Romania in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa Once Operation Barbarossa was launched, the 9th Panzer Division, part of XIV Panzer Corps (Germany) of the Army Group South, pushed through Ukraine on 28 June, heading to Kiev after the Battle of Brody (1941). The division broke through the Stalin Line on 7 July, took part in the encirclement of Uman, and captured Krivoy Rog and Nikopol on 17 August. The 9th Panzer Division then captured the Dnieper River Dam at Zaporizhia on 25 August. From there, it was made the spearhead of Panzer Group Kleist, driving to Kiev from the south while Panzer Group Guderian drove behind the city from the north. The two groups linked up on 15 September, encircling five field armies of the Soviet Army. The division was part of the force that captured 667,000 Soviet prisoners and 900 tanks in the city. Following the capture of Kiev, the 9th Panzer Division was made a part of Panzer Group Guderian for the advance on Moscow. The division then took part in the encirclement of Bryansk and, despite delays due to terrain, weather and Red Army resistance, captured Kursk on 2 November. It was halted near the Kursk Oblast settlement of Tim. From there, the division held a sector near Shchigry on the southern sector, facing the Soviet winter offensives of 1941 and 1942. The division remained on this sector until Soviet attacks abated in March 1942. Case Blue During Soviet offensive from the bridgehead north Voronezh on the west bank of the Don River against the German 7th Corps, the 9th Panzer Division was released from 2nd Army reserves to lead a counterattack and stabilize the front of the 7th Corps. On the evening the 9th Panzer Division counterattacked to stabilize the front of the 387th Infantry Division to