On New Year's Eve 1942, Adolph Hitler agreed to the creation of two new divisions for the Waffen SS, numbered the 9th and 10th, and named after two heroes of German history.  The 9th division, which was later to be called 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen, was formed in January 1943, when the initial elements of the division were established in Berlin Lichterfelde.  February 8, 1943 saw those elements available for the new division assembled at the training area Maillylecamp, located to the east of Paris, France. Later in February, two contingents of men for the division arrived from the LSSAH Replacement Battalion in Berlin Lichterfelde, and in mid-February, SS Brigadefuhrer und Generalmajor der Waffen SS Wilhelm ("Willi") Bittrich took command. Due to manpower shortages, as much as 70% of the division's manpower were conscripts, and almost three quarters of the division’s manpower were about 18 years of age. 

 
The 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division spent the rest of 1943 in France, training and preparing for action under Army Group D, O.K.W. Under Bittrich’s command they trained in all forms of combat including special training such as operations against airborne landings.  This training regimen, though time consuming, would serve the unit well in the days ahead.  Mid-February 1944 saw the division finalize preparations for becoming active, and its target date of being combat ready was set for the 1st of March. Together with its sister Division, The 10th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Frundsberg, it made up II SS Panzer Corps, in O.K.W. reserve.

The 9th and 10th Waffen-SS Panzer Divisions made their combat debut on the Eastern Front, in March of 1944.  The German 1st Panzer Army was encircled and trapped by strong Russian forces surrounding them at Tarnopol, and a Stalingrad-like disaster loomed. Hitler ordered four of his Panzer Divisions to the Eastern front, including the 9th and 10th Waffen-SS Panzer Divisions.  After detraining, the 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division launched a hastily prepared counter-attack, but was hindered by the mud of the spring thaw. The tanks bogged down, severe losses were sustained, and little progress was made. On April 5, the 4th Panzer Army attacked in force, in conjunction with the II SS Panzer Corps attacking on the flank of the Russian forces. In a violent attack, the 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division penetrated the Russian front held by the 1st Soviet Tank Army. After hard fighting, April 9th saw the division's forward tanks met up with elements of the besieged German 1st Panzer Army, which was finally freed.

The division was refitting in the north Ukraine in preparation for a new offensive near Kovel when the Allies landed at Normandy on June 6, 1944. On the 11th, Hitler cancelled the planned offensive in the east and ordered the transfer of the II SS Panzer Corps to France. On June 12th, after four months of service in the East, the first men of the Division left Poland under the II SS Panzer Corps for France.  The journey saw the division harassed en route by Allied air attacks, which disrupted the division’s assembly and combat readiness.  The 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division’s first taste of combat in the west occurred on June 28th, when the division went into action opposite British forces along the Odon River.  The following day, fierce combat ensued against British troops southwest of Caen. The battle for Caen was extremely bitter and costly, having seen the virtual annihilation of the 12th Waffen-SS Panzer Division HitlerJugend in the previous weeks.  Despite their best efforts, the Germans were unable to hold out and Caen was lost to the Allied Forces. In July, the division effectively cooperated in blocking the Anglo-Canadian offensive, particularly towards the end of the month when 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen pushed General Dempsey's forces back at Villers-Bocage.  The division also saw action in this period against the American forces at Avranches.

After the success of the American breakout at St. Lo, mid-August saw nineteen German divisions trapped between the U.S. 3rd Army and the Canadian Army. This was known as the "Falaise Pocket". Escape lay through a narrow gap between the towns Falaise and Argentan, and the II SS Panzer Corps (9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen and 2nd Waffen-SS Panzer Division Das Reich) managed to get through to safety. By counter-attacking on August 21, the Corps managed to divert Allied attention away from closing the pocket, and this allowed additional men to escape the rapidly closing pocket.  When the pincer finally closed near Chambois, some 60,000 German troops were trapped.  In addition, a large number of vehicles and much material was captured, destroyed, or abandoned. The German forces in France began to retreat by August 22, on which day the II SS Panzer Corps was ordered to withdraw northwards to safety across the Seine, with the 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division engaged in bitter hand to hand combat near Amiens while covering the rear of the retreating forces. 

The 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division had fought continuously and without replacements in Normandy since its arrival there in late June until its withdrawal on August 21. The divisional commander, SS Oberfuhrer Sylvester Stadler, who had taken over upon Bittrich's promotion on June 28 to command the II SS Panzer Corps, was wounded in late July, and being left behind in a hospital was temporarily replaced by SS Oberfuhrer und Oberst der Schutzpolizei, Friedrich Wilhelm Bock. Commander of the 6th Panzer Army, Field Marshall Walther Model, of Army Group B, ordered the division northwards to join him in Holland on September 3 for rest and refit.  The division arrived at the Veluwe area north of Arnhem on September 7.

On September 10, the order went out that the remnants of the Division were to be transferred to Germany for a complete refitting, handing over their weapons vehicles and equipment to the sister division 10th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Frundsberg, which was to stay at Arnhem and regroup. On September 17th, with the men about to leave for the Reich, troops of the British 1st Airborne suddenly and unexpectedly landed in the outskirts of Arnhem and Nijmegen as part of Operation Market Garden.  The British air landing at Arnhem was intended to be the opening of a new offensive, which if successful, would outflank the natural barrier of the Rhine River, and allow the Allies to drive into Germany from the north.  It would also have the added benefit of cutting off all the German troops occupying the Dutch coast and the ports of Antwerp, Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Under Model's orders, SS Battle Group (Kampfgruppe) "Harzer" was formed from the remnants of the 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division.  SS Battle Group "Harzer" moved on Arnhem and elements of the 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division, along with two battalions of the 6th Parachute Regiment, took on the British Guards Armoured Division near Eindhoven.

After four days of heavy fighting, the Division's Panzer Reconnaissance Unit finally managed to cross Arnhem Bridge on September 20th after being repulsed in their initial attempt a few days earlier.  Cut off, outnumbered, and running low on supplies, the Allied units were simply overwhelmed by an all-out attack on the 21st.  Gallantly, the British and Polish airborne forces fought on and held out until the 29th of September, when, with all hope lost, they laid down their weapons and surrendered. II SS Panzer Corps had inflicted the last major defeat on the Allied forces in the West. For the commander of the Battlegroup, SS StandartenFuhrer Walter Harzer, it resulted in being awarded the Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross on the 28th of September.

In October 1944, elements of the division were transferred to Munster, Hamm, Paderborn, Gutersloh, and Siegen. Due to the extensive losses incurred coupled with the dwindling manpower resources of the Reich, replacements were found anywhere they could. Many former Luftwaffe personal found themselves wearing the uniform of the 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division. By late October, the division was sent to an assembly area at Munstereifel, near Aachen. There, it rested and refitted under the 6th Panzer Army in preparation for the Ardennes offensive. This Panzer Army, originally made up of 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen, 1st Waffen-SS Panzer Division LSSAH, 2nd Waffen-SS Panzer Division Das Reich and 12th Waffen-SS Panzer Division HitlerJugend, later became the 6th SS Panzer Army.  6th Panzer Army was commanded by SS OberstGruppenfuhrer und Generaloberst der Waffen SS Josef “Sepp” Dietrich. Tasked with advancing along the northern flank and taking Antwerp, the Allies principle supply port, 6th Panzer Army was to be the strongest army participating in the offensive.

The Ardennes offensive, which came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge, began early on December 16, 1944.  The 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen was grouped alongside the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich and the Army's 560th Division to form II SS Panzer Corps. 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division was expected to exploit the Corps' initial attack.  However, due to stiffer then expected resistance by the American forces, December 18 saw the 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen join the 2nd Waffen-SS Panzer Division Das Reich in fighting amongst the dense forests between Malmedy and St. Vith.  As the American defenses stiffened and delayed the German forces, the offensive’s timetable was severely disrupted.  The vital town of St. Vith only fell to the Germans when the LXVIth Corps (18th and 62nd Divisions) attacked from the east and 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen and the Fuhrer Escort Brigade (Fuhrerbegleitbrigade) attacked from the north.  Heavy fighting took place around Vielsalm, and 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen was forced back, leaving the St. Vith/Laroche road clear.

Hitler’s gamble at first showed strong signs of success, making decent progress in most areas, but soon, the fatal flaws that doomed the plan from the start began to develop:  Heavy road congestion and shortages of fuel slowed the progress of the elite Panzer divisions.  American forces, while initially shocked and overwhelmed, stiffened their resolve and reinforcements arrived on the scene.  The German advance was contained, and the crises averted, with the advance petering out on January 18, 1945.  Germany’s last chance at defeating the Allies in the West had failed, and now, the over extended and undersupplied German forces were in danger of being cut off by Patton’s forces from the south, driving hard into their flank.  February saw the division suffer heavy casualties in the Houffalize bottle neck, where it again allowed retreating German forces the ability to escape by fighting a delaying action.  The division was moved into the O.K.W. reserve, and on March 3, was transferred to Hungary in an attempt by Hitler to rescue the city from the Soviet’s clutches.

Much like the Ardennes offensive, the German offensive against the massed Soviet forces in Hungary stood little chance of success.  Hitler ordered the last remaining reserves of armored forces at his disposal to combine together and go on the offensive in Hungary, with the aim of liberating Budapest.  Along with the 1st Waffen-SS Panzer Division Liebstandarte, 2nd Waffen-SS Panzer Division Das Reich, and 12th Waffen-SS Panzer Division HitlerJugend, the division suffered severe losses in the area west of Budapest.  Despite their best efforts, by the middle of March, the offensive had ground to a halt.  The 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division nearly reached the Danube but, being short of men, material, and equipment, and facing a skillful, well supplied and numerically superior enemy, was forced back. Hitler, enraged that his prized Waffen-SS divisions had not obtained their objectives, ordered that the men of the 1st, 2nd, 9th, 12th Divisions of the Waffen-SS be deprived of their hard-won decorations and prized cufftitles, which was a severe insult and slap in the face of the soldiers who had fought against tremendous odds with little hope of success. After incurring such heavy losses between the 2 offensives, the division was a shell of its former self, and the remnants of the division were formed into two battle groups.  These fought their way back to Austria, arriving there in April, 1945.   The 9th Waffen-SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen fought on in Austria, and in early May surrendered to the Americans near Steyr, ending a short, but violent and accomplished battle record that spanned 14 months and thousands of miles.