attempted to flee across the Rhine River. In the fighting that followed, the weak formation finally collapsed. Most of the remains of the division were forced into the Ruhr Pocket, continuing to suffer staggering losses while holding lines on the south flank of Army Group B until they surrendered to American forces in April 1945. By this time, the demoralized soldiers of the division were entirely out of ammunition and gasoline, and remaining troops surrendering without a fight. The division continued to exist briefly afterward; Major Halle, the division's adjutant, escaped the Ruhr encirclement with a small battle group, and joined the 11th Army in the Harz Mountains. There, on 26 April 1945, German commanders of OB West disbanded the 9th Panzer Division, absorbing its survivors into other units. Commanding officers The division was commanded by 11 people during its total history. This included General Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin, who was acting division commander from December 1944 to February 1945 because General Harald Freiherr von Elverfeldt had been wounded in an Allied air attack. See also Greatest Tank Battles. Season 2, Episode 7 tells the story of Ludwig Bauer, a tanker of the 9th Panzer division. Organisation of a SS Panzer Division Panzer division References Sources Further reading 0*09 0*09 0*09 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations of Germany in Yugoslavia in World War II 1940 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany