In 1958 the first two tank companies in the battalion in Munster was established with M47 tanks. In 1960 the unit was given M48 main battle tanks. In 1965 the unit moved from Barme to Neustadt am Rübenberge. In 1966 it was given the first Leopard 1 main battle tanks. In 1981 the battalion received its first Leopard 2 battle tanks. In 1992 after the end of the Cold War the battalion was transferred from 3rd Panzer Brigade, in Nienburg and subordinated to 21st Panzer Brigade, in Augustdorf. In 1999 the battalion deployed to Albania and Kosovo, then in 2001 to Kosovo and Macedonia. In 2002 it was transferred first to the 1st Panzergrenadier Brigade, in Hildesheim and then to the 9th Panzerlehr Brigade in July 2006. From October 2006 to February 2007 elements of the 33rd Panzer Battalion were used as the operational battalion within Multinational Task Force South/PRIZREN as part of KFOR mission. The battalion then deployed in the first half of 2009 as the ORF (Operational Reserve Force) Battalion for EUFOR and KFOR.
