fought alongside the 1.SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 2.SS Division Das Reich and 3.SS Division Totenkopf during these battles. After the fall of Kharkov, the Großdeutschland was pulled back and refitted. This included equipping the division with a company of Tiger I tanks. The 1st Battalion of Grenadier Regiment GD was re-equipped at this time with a handful of Sd Kfz 251 vehicles, mainly command vehicles but also some troop carriers (SPW), and by the fighting at Kharkov, the battalion under Major Otto-Ernst Remer was fully mechanized in 83 Sd.Kfz 251s. The Füsilier Regiment did not receive SPWs until the spring of 1944. Panzergrenadier Regiment Großdeutschland In June 1943, with the addition of armoured personnel carriers and a company of Tiger tanks, the division was redesignated Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland, and Großdeutschland 1 was renamed "Panzergrenadier Regiment "Großdeutschland". Their counterpart in the division was named "Panzerfüsilier Regiment Großdeutschland". Kursk The newly re-equipped division was attached to the 4.Panzer-Armee of Generaloberst Hermann Hoth, in preparation to Operation Citadel, which aimed to sever the Kursk salient. During the buildup period, a battalion of new Panther Ausf. D tanks came under the operational control of Großdeutschland. After the launch of Citadel, the division was engaged in the fight to penetrate the southern flank of the salient. The new Panthers did not perform well, suffering from engine fires and many breaking down before reaching the battle. The division was pulled back to the village of Tomarovka on 18 July 1943. Defensive battles After the battle of Kursk, the division was transferred back to Heeresgruppe Mitte, and resumed its role as mobile reserve. GD fought around Karachev before being transferred back to XLVIII Panzerkorps in late August. For the rest of 1943, Großdeutschland was engaged in the fighting withdrawal from the eastern Ukraine, taking part in battles around Kharkov, Belgorod, and finally on the Dnieper, ending the year near Michurin-Rog, east of Kryvyi Rih. 1944 Großdeutschland continued fighting in the area of Krivoi-Rog early in January 1944 until it was transferred west for rest and refit. During this period, 1./Panzer Regiment 26 (Panther) joined the Panzer Regiment GD, and GD's I. Battalion moved to France to refit and train with the new tanks; they did not rejoin the division until after the Normandy invasion. The Panzergrenadier Regiment GD was a 4-battalion organization in 1944, though by June it was reduced to three. The division, less the