had reached the Strypa River, and on the 6th, near the town of Buchach, they linked up with the probing reconnaissance elements of Hausser's SS Divisions. In over two weeks of heavy combat and during horrid weather, the majority of the 1st Panzer Army had managed to escape the encirclement at the cost of losing almost the entire heavy equipment, with only 45 armored vehicles escaping, while many divisions ended up being shattered formations. As a result, the 1st Panzer Army required thorough refitting. The Army was put back into the line and established itself between the Dniester and the town of Brody. German losses during the encirclement Just how much exactly did Hube's 1st Panzer Army lost during the encirclement is unknown. However, it is clear that the equipment losses were exceptionally high, as hundreds of precious tanks, assault guns and trucks were lost principally through their abandonment in the mud, while tangible losses were sustained in manpower as well. For example, by the end of the breakout operation, the 19th Panzer Division no longer had any operational tanks left, the 20th Panzer-Grenadier Division had 1 StuG left. Meanwhile, the 6th Panzer Division had only 2 Panthers left, the 17th Panzer Division had 1 Panzer IV left, while the 509th Heavy Panzer Battalion had only 1 Tiger tank left. According to Soviet reports, the 1st Ukrainian Front between 21 and 31 March 1944 had captured 353 tanks, 26,147 trucks and auto-cars, 138 self-propelled guns, 184 armored personnel carriers, 1 armored train, 2,500 machine guns, 30,742 rifles and sub-machine guns. Between 1–10 April 1944, the Soviets had captured an additional 185 tanks, 2 self-propelled guns, 61 plane, 121 artillery guns, 7,483 trucks and auto-cars. Although the amount of captured German tanks and self-propelled guns is likely to be overstated, it nonetheless shows a very grim reality that Hube's forces lost huge amounts of equipment. Tangible losses were suffered in manpower as well. According to the German reports, between 23 March- 8 April 1944, the 1st Panzer Army suffered a total of 14,242 losses. However, this number is incomplete and under-reported due to the fact that several divisions alone had sustained greater losses than this. In addition, the losses of the rear units were most likely not included in initial reports. For example, the 96th Infantry Division had a strength of 12,487 troops on 1 March 1944, which had decreased to