Spearhead 20 - Hohenstaufen - 9th SS Panzer Division Ogon

8/4/2019 Spearhead 20 - Hohenstaufen - 9th SS Panzer Division Ogon

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SPEARHEAD" " T 1 i 1 e stOyt1 so f~....

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---"SPEARHEAD"'"

H O H E N S T A U F E N9th S S P a n z e r D i v i s i o n


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~SPEARHEAD"""_H O H E N S T A U F E N9th S S P a n z e r D iv i s i o n


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Acknow ledgemen tsP h o to g r a ph s v ia f f iH P ic tu re s , S im o n D u n s ta n( w h e r e c r e d it e d ) a n d R a y B o n dsD e sig n : C o m p en d iu m D e s ig n /D a nn y G i l le sp ieM a p s : M a r k F r a n k l i n

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C O N T E N T SOdg i n s & H is to ry . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Ready fo r W a r ., , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,9In A ctio n .. , .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . 14E qu ip m en t, M ark in gs a nd C am o ufla ge 64P eop le _ __ __ 82A ssessm en t .. _ _ ................. 90Re fe ren ce . _ _ ............ _ 92In d e x 96

Glos ,SaryN S D A P Nationalsozialistische RAn Reichsarbeitsdienst

Abteilung detachment Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Labour S C 1 ' \ ' i c e )A N Z A C Australian and N ew -Nazi Party Scb:innmiitze peaked cap

Ze'aland Army Corps O K H Army ll ig h Command S d I \ f z Sonderkrtiftfabr:$fJugArmeegrupp e Army Group (O lJerk ommond o d es (special purposeAutkllirungs reconnaissance Beeres) vehicle)F ailschirm jiiger parachute troo ps O K W A rm ed.P orces H Igh Stahlhelm s te el h elmetFlak A A guns (Flieger Command S t u G Sturmgeschiitz

Abweb r KrJnolle) (Oberkommando der (assault gun)Heer army (not SS units) Wehrmacht) sen S t t rmhaub it zeH eerestrup pen in depen dent a r m y u n i t s Pak an ti :! ta nk g un (Panzer (a ssa uh h ow i tz er)K r u n p f g r u p p e battle group (I \G ) Abtoebr KallOlle) VGD V olksgrenadier divisionLandser line infantryman Panzerjliger anti-tank units W af'fenfarben colour on collars etc,I i tzen collar patch . P M ] ' P roj ec ti le , Infan try, denoting branch of: l 4 S A l l Ieibstandarte SS Adolf Anti-Tank s e r v i c e

Hitler (Ist S S Panzer P z K p f w Panzetkatr!PfiuagiJrk W ehrkre1s w ar districtDivision) (tanklAFV)


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O R I G I N S & H I S T O R Y

B e lo w : F r ie dr ic h ( P re de rl c k ) 1 B a rb ar o ss a( ~ 1 1 2 3 -9 0) , H o l y R om a n E m p e rO i ; K in g o f G e r m a n ya n i ! H a l y : b e a m i h is g ra n d s o n F r e de ri c k I I w e r e t h eg re a te st o f t h e H o he ns t a uf e ns u nd er w b om G en li l l nc u l t u re a nd pQlW. l ' w a x ed s tr o n g , T b e . y w e r e f a w m r l t e so f H i ! l e ra n ,d t h e 'N a z is -:is w a s s h ow l1 , o f c o u r s e , b yt h e c e d e n a m e f o r t h e in va s i o n o f R u s s i a ,

O n N ew Y ear's Eve 1942, Hitler agreed to the formation of tw o new div isions for theWa ften-55. T hese were the 9 th a nd 10th 55 P anz ergrena dier Div isions. T he 9 th w a s la tergiv en the name Hohenstaufen, and its sister, the 10th, b ecame Frundsberg. F ormed in1 9 4 3, H o h er is ta u fe n w as giv en the numb er 9 simp ly b ecause it w as the ninth div ision tobe created inthe Wa ften-55. T he name Hohensta uten w a s a homage to one of G enna ny'sa ncient nob le families, a d yn .a sty of the Holy Roman Empire wh ich p rov id ed sev era l k ingsand emperors b etw een the years 1138 and 1254. The earliest know n head of the familyw as Emperor F riedrich Barbarossa, the Count of Buren, w ho died in 1094. His son,F riedrich II, b uilt a castleat Stauten near L orschin S wab ia w hich w as called Hohen-sta oten; he la ter cha nged his su rname to tha t of his ta stle. F ried riC h II w a s one of Hitler'sfav ourite. historical p ersonalities, and it is b eliev ed this w as w hy the family name w asu sed forthe 9 th P anz er Div ision. B oth F ried richs a re of p articu la r imp orta nce to " Gennanhistory but Barbarossa - as w ith Arthur in British myth and legend - is said to besleep ing in the mou nta ins a w aiting G enna ny 's d irest need .

The 5S or Schutzstaffel w a s origina lly formed a s Hitler's p ersona l p rotection u nit in1925. O ne of its main roles w as to take care of interna l G ennan security, a nd in line w iththe N a zi p olitica l id ea l, in the ea rly d ays it only took tru e Ary an ca nd id ates. A s time wenton and manpow er b ecame shorter, how ev er, this rule w as relax ed. The W aften-55 w asformed by Heinrich Himmler in December 1940, w hen it w as created out of theLeibstandarte, the SS-Verf i lgungstruppe and the Totenkopf Sisndstten a s a third b renchof the 55. It represented the true military part of th is large and politica lly complexorga nisa tion, a nd while it w a s initia lly intend ed to a ct a s secu rity for the homela nd , it w a snot long b efore Hitler ordered his elite to the front line,

T he other tw o pa rts ofthe S5 w ere the AJlgemeine~SS (G eneral 55) w hich serv ed apolitical and administrative role, and the SS~Totenkopfverband (55 Death's HeadO rganisation). Hitler pu t his ow n men in to command the W a ften-55 as he ha d fa llen outw ith ma ny of the regu la r a nny 's high-cla ss senior officers w ho sa w him a s a n u ncu ltu redupstart. A s a result h e wa nted his new S5 a tnty to b ecome the milita ry 's eliteforma tion,a rid so he hea vily fa vou red it w ith all the b esttroops and equipment. He also ensuredtha t the Wa ffen-55 reta ined stra tegic control ov er its a ctions, a lthou gh it d id come u nd erthe d ay to d ay ta cti.ca l control of the O KW ( Ob erk om man do d er W e hrm ac hO .ln many ofthe b iggest conflicts of the w ar the W aften-55 played a major role - either leading thew a y into b attle or, a s the tid e tu rned aga instthe N a zis, hold rng fu riou s rea rq ua rd a ctionsto help other units get aw ay to safety. By the end of the w ar the W affen-55 numberednearly 600,000 men, although at one time it reached a peak of 900,000 ranged over41 d iv isions. Around half of these w ere 'non-G ermans w ho had b een rerruited either asv olu nteers o r b y f orce.

Although some of the S 5 units perpetra ted atrocities on civ ilia ns or prisoners, th isw as by no means the case for all of them. Hohenstaufen troops, for instance, a re not


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ecord ed a s ev er ha vin g comm itted a ny su ch a cts a nd , in dee d, w e re commend ed f or th eiro d tre atmen t o f A llie d p ris oners a t Amhem .W hen the 9 th and 10th div isions w ere first formed they w ere designated ashanised infant ry (Panzergrenadiei') d iv ision s ra th er th an a s fu ll a rm ou red (Pantei')

v isions, a lthou gh technica lly they ha d su fficient a rmou r to q ua lify . At thisarly stage neither had been assigned their famous names - they w eremp ly ref er red to b y their d iv isiona l numb ers. F or t he 55 to d ed detotorm newv isions w a s one thing, b ut find ing su fficient recru its ttl ma n them w a s q uiteother . .T he G erma n a rm ed forces ha d b een fighting in one form or a nother

o r sev en y ea rs, a nd a fter t!he ma ssiv e losses in cu rre d 0n the Ea stern F ront,here w ere few men of the right a ges a va il-a ble. D u e to the sev ere shorta ge ofm an powe r, th e 55fo fce d la rge numb ers o f p eop le to 'v olu ntee r'. S omewherein the region of 70 p e:rcentof them w ere 18 -y ea r old conscrip ts from the' RAD

the ReiChsa rbe itsdiens t(Na tiona lla bour Servkej.Ihis ha d b een formed b yhe N5DAP a s the officia l na tion al la b ou r u nio n sin ce th ose in ex isten ce d uring

rld W ar I had been a hotbed of communism and other left-w ing politica lctiv ism. They had w rought havoc in many places such as the dockyards ofHamb urg and K iel,a nda s they w ere considered to pose a threat to the country ,hey we re deda red liIega l.

The young men dra fted into the RAD had to do manual lab our for at least threemonths; during this time they often had to liv e in rud imenta ry c-onditions w ith harshdiscipline, Forsome this mea nt a cting a s v irtu al sla ve la bou r on fa rm s, w herea s othersw orked in urbanareas doing things like digging air ra id shelters or help ing w ithm un icip al p roje cts. A lth ou gh the RAD wa s o ste nsib ly a la b ou r u nion, It waseffectivelyacond uit stra ight into the a rmed forces. In m any w a ys it p rov ided a va luab le p re -m ilita rytra ining for you ng civ ilia ns - this und oub tedly helped sp eed up their conv ersion intoained sold iers.

The first 9 th Div ision cadres w ere formed at the L 55AH (Leibstandarle-SS AdolfH itle r) Rep la cement Ba tta lio n in Berlin -L ich te rf eld e in Janua ry 194 3: these consis te d o fa b asic sta ff and tra ining u nits. In ord er to help turn the div ision into a fighting force,ex perienced men w ere b rought in from the Leib-standarte; th ey form ed th e d iv ision 'score, a nd tra ined th e new ly ind ucted recru its. T he d iv ision's n um bers w e re a lso sw e lledb y ethnic G erm ans, ma ny of w hom came from Hu nga ry,

In ea rly F eb ru ary 19 43, enou gh troop s ha d b een a ssemb led for the d iv ision to mov eo a tra ining area or Truppeniibungspiatz,at Mailly-le-Carnp.Thls w a s to the ea st of P aris,between Chalors-sur-Marne a nd Ttoy es. Th e d iv ision mov ed o ut o n 8 F eb ru ary , a nd a fewd ay s la ter 5S-B riga demhrer u nd Genera lm aior d er Wa f fe n-55 W i lhelm ('W i llY ) B ittrichtook comma nd ov er the d iv ision u nd er Arrneegru pp e D, O KW . He ensu red tha t the ra wrecru its u nd erw ent a ll m anner o tcomb a t tra in ing , in du ding a ga inst a irb orn e a ssa ults, afea tu re tha t h elp ed them immensely a t A rnhe rn .

T he 9 th 5S P an zergren ad ier D iv isio n w a s off icia lly giv en the name Hohenstaufen on19 Ma rch 1943 , a nd at the sa me time the men w ere giv en their cuff-b and s (see page75) , of w h ich they b ecame v ery p rou d, A fte r u nd ergoing fu rther tra ining, Hohenstaufenw a s p ut u nd er the comm and . of t.he F ifteenth Armee a nd mov ed north to the Y p res a rea .T he nex t month the d iv ision w a s m ov ed a ga in; this time to Amiens to ta ke ov er a n a rmycamp v aca ted b y a d ep artin g a rmou red d iv isio n; it C on tin ued tra in ing there u ntil the en do f the y ea r.

O n 23 O ctob er 1943, the 9 th 55-P anz ergrenadier Div ision Hohenstaufen w asrenamed the 9 th S 5 P anz er Div ision Hohenstaufen, a nd p ut u nd er IV 55 P anz erk orp s":th e new a ssig nment w a s form alise d three d ay s la ter o n 2 6 O c tob er. A t the same tim e th ed iv ision's tw o infa ntry regiments w ere redesigna ted from the 1st and 2nd to the 19th

A b a v e : T h e l l o he n sa u le n [ : u n l i y c r e s t .

* It c a n b e d lf fk u lt t o d if fe re n t ' a te b e tw e en A li i e d a n dA } :j s u n it d ss ig n a t l o ns i n a b oo k o f t h is n sm r e b ec a us ewo rd s s uc h a s d iv is io n o r r eg imen t me spelledjhes a m e - w ay i n G erm a n a n d E n g l . is h . 1 0 a id c la ri l J,_t h ro u g h o u t t h is b o o k w e h jlv e u se d t h e G e rm a nspe ll lugs for corps (Korps) ,aml. ar rny (Armi&) .


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o w : \ '( ia ff en S S t r o op s in h o u s e - t o -h o u se f ig b t in gt h e E a s t e r n P r e n t , B y t h e endpf t h e w a r t h er eb a 3 8 W a fl " en S S d iv is io ns ( a lt h o u g h s o m e Wfl'e

i v i s i o n s o n l ) ' i n n a m e a n d n e v e r h ad t h e r eq u i si tero ng th o r ~ ap ol ls ), a n um b er ,o f th em - s u c h as

- u sin g f o r e i g n v e h m te e r s .n 1 9 4 0 t h er e w e r e o n l y 1 00 ,0 00 m e n in t i l e w a f f e n : , .\ i ts p e a k it w ou ld n u m b e r o v e r 9 iJ O ,O O O a n d in

it s a rm o i lr ed W l - [i s w o u ld c o nt r o l a q u a r t e rt h e t a n k s a v a i l a b l e to t h e G e rm a n g ro u n d f o rc es .

and 20th. The d iv ision a lso took deliv ery ofa consignment of new P zK pfw V Panthertanks, a nd its ord er of b attle w a s reorga nised . T he cha nges included the addition of ab a ttery of a rtillery (a lthou gh this d id not a rriv e f o r some t ime).

O n 12 N ovember the d iv ision's 15th Motorcycle Company and 2nd InfantryRegiment w ere d etached a nd ass igned to th e Reconnaissance Unit (AufkJarungs~Abteilung) of the new 16 th S S P anz ergrena dier Div ision Reichsf(jhrer-5S. At the sametime the anti-a ircra ft compan y (F/ak-Kompanie) a nd a su rv ey troop (Messbt3tterie) werea l s o moved e lsewhere . T h e d iv ision spent Decemb er 1943 as a reserv e force underF if te en th A rmee, A rmeegruppe D , a n r l then w as put under ISS-Panzerkorps in Janua ry1944.

lnmid-February Hohenstaufen w a s mov ed sou th to the N im eS /Av ignon a rea , not fa rnorth of the Med iterra nea n coa st. I t took ov er from the P anz er L ehr Div ision (TankDemonstration Div ision), and underw ent the last few w eeks of its tra ining b eforeb ecoming a front-line comb at unit. W hen this ended, together w ith sister d iv isionFrundsberg, Hohenslal1 fen w a s p ut u nd er II SS -P anz erk orp s, hea ded b y P a ul H au sser, a sp art of the O KW reserv e.

T he II S S-P anz erkorps ha d b een formed in Ju ne 19 42 b efore it was transf erred toF ra nce to ta ke ov er the Wa f fen-SS d iv isions b eing ref itte,d there .. In Ja nu ary 19 43 it w a smoved to the southern part of the Eastern F ront, w here it fought at K harkov andBelgorod and then betame part of the summer offensiv e. W h en it looked a s thou ghMussolini w as going to b e dep osed , the P anz erkorp s w as tra nsferred to Italy. It w asmov ed to F rance in Decemb er 194 3, a nd then b ack to the Eastern F ront in April 19 44.S hortly a fter this it w a s sent b ack to F ra nce to help fight the Allies a fter the inv asion ofN orma nd y. After this it took pa rt in the Ard ennes O ffensiv e, and then returned to theEastern F ront once a ga in. T he u nit end ed its w a r in A ustria .


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n the S Sfirst b ega n recru iting for new b lood , d ue to thep atriotk ferv ou r w hip ped upH itle r they had the p ick o f a n e xtre rnely la rq e c rop o f enthusia stic nationa ls. A s a result

f this a bu nd ance. of men, tlreir sta nd ard s w e re ex tremely high. T he b ask req uirementsre that anyone seeking to join w ould have to b e b etw een 17 and 22 years old and b elea st 16 8cm (5ft 9in) ta l! (this w as set as it w as Himmler's height) . They also had to

a ve no crimina l record a nd b e a ble to d emonstra te a p ure Arya n descentas fa r b ack i 1 S800 fo ren listed m en and 1750 fo roffi cers, Th ey h ad to sig n up fo r d ifferent te rms oferv ice depending on their rank - this w asa minimum of four years for enlisted men,2 y ea rs for N C O s and 2 5 y ea rs for officers. D uring the 19 305 the p ass ra te w a s only 1 5ercent -to some ex tent b ecause Himmler personally v etted photoqraphs of a ll thef icer candida tes to ensure thatthey a ll looked suf fic iently racia lly pu re .B y 19 43, it w a s d ea r tha t la rge numb ers of reou tts w ere need ed to k eep the W a ffen-fu lly manned. A s a result there w as a massiv e recru iting drive among various

ationalities and ethnic groups that w ould not hav e b een considered to meet the S Sacia l purity standard. In order to encourage them to sign up, the standards w ere also.ow ered .T he new inta ke of recru its only ha d to sign up tortw o years or the duration ofr; they did not have to join the SS, and only had t o be ab le to pass the tow est oflita ry sta nd ard s. F oreign recru its w e re giv en v aria tions of the u su al S S insignia w hichey w ore on their u niforms to ind ica te tha t they w ere of non-G erma n origin.

During Wo rld Wa r II a round 922,000 so ld ie rs serv ed in the Wa f fen-SS ; o f these a bou t0,000 were Reich Germ ans,137,000 were p ureWest Eu rop ea ns,2 00,OOO were p ures t Europeans and 185,obO were Volksdeutsche.A s time w ent on the recru itment sta nda rd s slip ped ev en fu rther, a nd b y mid -19 44

ore or less the only criterion w as w hether the ca nd id ate w as ab le to fire a r'!tie. A t thista ge many of the recru its b eing a ccep ted tame from other u nits a nd 'serv ices, ind ud inge L u ftw a ffe, K riegsmarine, the L a bou r S erv ice (RAD ) a nd the H itiery ou th.

ll S S recru its receiv ed three week s' b asic tra ining, a lthou gh in 19 42 . a ll p ara de grou ndra in ing was stopped a s it w a s no t consid ered re le va nt f or the b a ttlef ie ld . F u rther tra ln in qhen b ega n - this w a s a lw ay s ex tremely tou gh, a nd u sua lly inv olv ed a strong' elementf inter-d iscip lina ry ed uca tion. T he three main elements tha t the SS sou ght to d ev elope p 'hy sica l fitness, cha ra cter tra ining a nd wea pons s k i l l s , W i thin this they fosteredgress iveness , in itia tiv e and self -reliance. To insti I these f ac to rs new recru its had a r ig idscip line im posed on them , a nd b lind ob ed ience w a s rew a rd ed .. D isp la ying tota l tru st


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S P E A R HE A O : H O H E N S T A U F E N

A b ov e a n d Right: T h e f o ur Ordensbul'gen (OhlerC a s t l e s) o f K r i is sin se e, V o g e l s an g , S on th o f en a ndM a ae n h u r g w e r e intended 1 0 p r o v i d e training f o r t hee l i t e o f t h e N a z i P ar r y . Itw a s p la nn ed t h a t s t u d e nt sw o u l d s p e n d a y e a r ill e a c h o f t h e c as tl e s a nd , : u t e tt h ei r t r a in in g , t a k e u p p os l t l o ns ln t h e h ig h e r e ch e l o nso f l~ e p aI t) ~ V o g e ls a n g , i n t h e E if e l M o u n t a i 05 n e a rB e l g i UIll, w a s d es i g n e d b y P r e fe ss o r C le m en s K lo tz a n db u i l d i n g s t a r t e d i n M a rc h 1 9 3 4 T h e r e w as af ou n d a t i o n c er e m o ny I n f r o n t . o l R ob er t L ey inS ep te m be r o f t h a t y e a r . W ith a cc om m o d a uo n f o r I , O ( j ( )J u n k ~r s ' - s q u i r e s Isthe c lo s es t E n g l is h e q u iv a le n t- t h e s ch o o l c o nc en tr at ed 01 1 s p o r t s a n d b a s i cm l l i t a ry t r a i n in g : a ll t o n o avail W a r ln te rr u p ie d t h eO r d e n s b u r g c o n c e p t a n d m o st o f t h os e i o v o l v e de n te r e d m i l i t a r y s e r s l c e . T h e V o g e l s a n g c o m p l e x w asb o m b a r d e d b ri e fly ( s om e o f t h e d am a g e c a n b e seell int h e p h o t o a t l jght) a n d t h en c a p t u r e d i n e ar l yF eb r u ar y IM 5 b y u iL it l o f L IS 9 th In fa nt ry D i vi s io n.P o s t w a r it w a s u s e d b y N A T O .


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READY FOR' WAR

d loy alty w as a n integral part of b eing in the W a ften-55, and this w as nurtured frome first d ay . T ra inees were encou ra ged to p articip ate in p hy sica l a ctiv ities, esp ecia llyp orts. In a n effort to p rod uce' elite sold iers, mu ch of the tra ining focu ssed on b attlefieldills su ch a s mark smanship , c amou fl? ge techniq ues and nav iga tion a b ilities.

T h e Wa ffen-S 5 tra ining u nits w ere a lw a ys. look ing for w a ys to im prov e their tea chingthods. A good example o f this wa s tha t the Panz er crews o f the 12 th 55 -Pan ze r D iv ision

had to spend a week w orking in the MAN ta nk fa ctories in N uremb erg. T heea w as to giv e them a b etter u nd erS ta nd ing of how the ta nh w orked so tha t they w ou ldok a fter them more. ca refu lly a nd k now more a bou t how to re pa ir them when necessa ry .e tra in i n9 of fi c ers we re. a l so v ery keen to get d irect t e edback f r o m the fto nt lin e to ens ureat new troops w ould gain from the latest know ledge gleaned from fighting in newnvironments, climates o r a ga in st new k inds o f weapons or ta ctics.

O fficer ca dets w ere sent to a n S S -J u n k e r s ch u / e - the main ones b eing at B ad Tolznd B ra unschw eig. T hese w ere ov erseen b y the then-O b erfiihrer P aul Ha usser a nd b y9 37 were p rod ucing more tha n 4 Q O exceptiona lly we ll- tra ined o ff icers a yea r. A lthoughany foreign nationals w ere accepted into the S5 in the later stages of the wa i ; thef fice rs rema ined p redom inantJ y Ge rman. Recru its to the o the r ra nk s we re sen t to v a rio usa ining camp s, some of w hich w ere a longsid e regu la r a rmy troop s.

P olitical and ideological indoctrination w as inittallyanimportant part of the S 5a in.ing regime; howev et, it w a s nev er a s su ccessfu l a s the senior lev els of the hiera rchy

A b o v e : T h e S S h a d its. o w n o f f ic e r lrnining s c h o o l s( j imkerschu tm) w n ic h w er e b ul l It B r an o sc h w ci ga n d B a d T o l z . S pD rts l J ' i I I ru ng W a s e X 1 re rn ely i m p o r t a n t- O lJ l e s s WlL , seen .a s a ' s i g ) l i f i c : l ! ~ l f a c t o r i n W a rf en - 5 Su aln ln g t o i m p f D V s ta m i n a a n d e n du r an c e. n I L , >1 9 4 2 p ho t o g ri t p h s h ow s y ou ng m e n at B a d T o lz . N o tet h e 5 5 s p or t s ~ "E s tw i t h t h e c en tr a ll y p la ce d S S s p o r t ss y m b o l .


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S P E A R H E A D : H Q H E N S T A U F E N

A b ov e: W a ff e n " S S P an z e r I V A u sf E s o n e x er c i s e .P ro du ce d f r o m S ep te m b er 1 9 4 (} t o A p ri l 1 9 4 1 , A I l S ! Ev er s i o ns w e r e in vo lv ed in 'B a r s b ar r s s a ' b u t m o st h adb ee n l o st b y 1 9 4 4 ,

w ould hav e liked , Ma,nyrecru it s ma in ta ined theirow n religiou s b eliefs inp riv ate, b ut ga ve a p ub licface of a cceptance. A sthe w ar got u nd erw ay,. itsoon b ecame dear thatm ilita ry sk ills w ere moreim porta nt tha n p olitica lones, and w ith theexception o f some of themore s in ister e lements o fthe 55, most of theideo logic al cou rses we rea b and oned . L ife ex pect-a ney on the b attlefrontw as, a fter a ll, only tw omonths.

T H E O R G A N IS A T IO N O F T H E G E R M A N ,A R M YT he G erman Army w as organised into a series of units that fitted together to form acoherent stru ctu re. A t the highest lev el w as the Heere$gruppe, o r senio r a rmy gro up ; thisw as made up of sev eral Armeegruppe(n) , or' a rm y grou ps, a nd w a s the la rgest G erm anmilitary formation of W orld W ar It The Heeresqruppe w ould usua lly b e based on apa rticu la r g'e og raphita l re gio n, and could conta in severa l hund re d thousand men sp re adacross hund reds o f units .

T he Armeegrup pe w as typically ma de u p of tw o or three Artnee(n) , or a rm ies, a ndcame under the command of the Heeresqruppe, b ut w hereas it had a dearly definedsta tus at the b eginning of the w ar, as time w ent on its format b ecame less rigid. Thearmies that made up an Arrneegruppe w ere sometimes a ll-G erman, b ut w ere moreu su ally ma de u p of one G ennan a rmy a longsid e one or more a llied a rmies. W hen thisw as the case the Gennan A rmy gene ra lly had sen iority ov er its f oreig n ne igh bou rs. A s thew ar progressed and the tid e turned in fa vour of the Allies; the Ax is forces. cou ld notmainta in their origina l numbers d ue to the massiv e losses they w ere ex p eriencing. T hism ea nt tha t a u nit d esigna ted a s a n AIm ee, w hich w ou ld norma lly b e m ad e IIp of sev eraKorps, or corp s, cou ld in rea lity b e a s smalla sa n ind iv id ua l corp s. A n A rmee opera ted a tth e stra teg ic le vel, a nd so would usua lly a lso ha ve severa l o th er units a tta ched to i t : thesecou ld inclu de reserv es, tra ining u nits or s'p ecia list formations, In a ll. a n A rmee w ou ld b em ad e u p of a nyw here b etw een 6 . 0 , . 0 . 0 . 0 and 1 . 0 . 0 , . 0 . 0 . 0 troops.

A K orp s w as mu ch like a n army, in that it w as m ade up of a number of Division(en),o r d iv isio ns, and usua lly a lsoencompassed. severa l in dependen t units, su ch as rese rv estra in in g units or specia list f ormatio ns. It o pe ra ted below the stra teg ic le ve l b u t a bove theta ctica l le ve l, o rganisin g the ma jo r o pe ra tio ns of i t s d iv isions a nd ind ep endent u nits. AK orps cou ld b e made up of 4 . 0 - 6 . 0 , 0 . 0 . 0 troops.

A Div ision functioned at the op erationallev el,and w as usu ally ma de IIp of one tofour Regiment(en) , o r regiments, depending on its pa rticu la r ro le . Sometimes a d iv isio nw as made up of oneor tw o Brigade(n), or b riga des. In the ea rly p art of the w a r a typ ica ld iv ision w a s made u p of b etw een 1. 0, .0.0.0a nd 2 .0,0.00 men . .A b rlq ad e w a s smaller tha na d iv ision, b einq cornp osed of b etw een 5,000 a nd 7,.0.0.0 troop s, d istrib uted a crosssev era l regim ents. It cou ld fu nction, how ev er, either ind ep end ently of, or a s p art of a


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R E A D Y F O R W A R

v ision or a K orp s. A regiment op era ted a t the ta ctica llev el, a nd w a s u su ally comp osedbetw een 2,000 and 6,000 troops in several Abteilung(en) or B ata ilfo n(e ) -

It cou ld a lso ha ve a tta ched to it other u nits, su ch a s reserv es, tra ining u nits orialist formations.T he Ab tei.lu ng w a s a self-su fficient comb at u nit w hich op era ted a t the t ac tkal l evel ,

w as made up of several Kompanie(n), or comp anies, a long w ith any a ttached units,d w as capab le of functioning in comb at w ithout the need for assistance f r o m otherp ort u nits. To do thisIt had its own a rtille ry , enqineers.antl-tank crews , machine gun

oups and so on. It w ould usually b e composed of betw een 500 and 1,000 men.A K ompanie operated a t the tactica l lev el, and w as made up of sev era l luge (singleo r p la toons . .A typical K ompanie w ould numb er b etw een 100 and 200 men, and a

ug would be made up of 30 to 40 troops. Each Zug w as tom posed of severalor grou ps, a rrd b elow this w ere the H a l b z u g a n d the T r u p p . A Ha lb zu g, or ha lf

latoon, w as simply the name given to a unit formed w hen a platoon w as split in tw o,nd the Trupp, or troop, w as generally made up of b etw een 10 and 20 men.

The K a m p f g r u p p e ( n ) , or battJegroup w as an important part of the G erman army'sd us opera nd i. It w a s a comba t fo rmation that wa s sim ila r in concep t to the Amelica nTask

orce. It could range in size anyw here from a K ompanie (100 to 200 men) right up to arp s (4 0, 00Q - .;6 0, 000 men) . Most we re the siz e of a n Abteilu ng, a nd there fo re composedf b etw een 500 a nd 1,000 men. K amp fgru pp en were often a ssemb led to ta ke on a sp ecificsk - such as when the Hohenstaufenwas a tta ck ed b y the Allied a irb orne offensiv e a tmhem. T here w a s no fix ed forma t: they cou ld conta in a rtillery u nits, ta nk s, amp hib iou ssau lt c ra ft, anti-tank guns and , o f cou rse , in fantty .Those a t Amhem were hastily gatheredgether in ord er to ho ld b a ck the a dv ancing B ritish and Polish p ara troopers, a nd we re madeof w ha tev er men a nd resou rces cou ld b e fou nd . A s w ith most K amp fgru pp en, they w ere

amed a fte r the ir lea ders, a nd so in thf s in sta nce there we re Kamp fg ru ppen ca lle d 'Harz er' >nd ler', 'von Iettau', 'Hanke', 'Euling' and 'F rundsberg '.Another unit used by the G erman army w as the K o l o r r n e , or column. This w as an

depend ent transp ortation forma tion of v ariab le siz e used for mov ing equipment a nd

9th ss PANZERDMSIO~HOHEN$TAUFEN MAIN UNIT S

19th SS P anz ergrenadier Regim ent2 0 th S8 Panze rg re aadier Regilnent9th SS P a nz er R eg im snr9th s s Ar ti ll ery Regiment9th SS AuIkl1irQ.ngs (reeonnaissanoe)

.Abteilung9th SS P anz er] ager (anti -tank')

Abtcllung9 th SS11a k (antiaircraft) Abteilung, 9 t : h SSPionier (engine~) Abteilung9th S8 Panzer-Nachrichten (signals~

AbteilullgDivfsiomll s ' + J ? P O r t units

B e lo w : R o u te m a rc h b y m en o f l i r e S S o f f i c e r t r a i n i n gs c h o o l a l B ac t T o 1 2 . ,1 9 4 2 . T h e s c h oo l w a s b u l l ! b ef o ret h e w ar u n d e r t h e e a g l e e y e o f t h e c h ie f o f t h e W a f fe D S S I n sp ec to ra te , P au l H a u s se r. J \ o l i l i t ; J 1 " ) ' t r a i n i n ge ns u re d t h a t t h e e ar l y W tU f e l l - S S u n i t s 1I'e r e t r u e e li t ef o r m a t i o n s . N; a n e x a m p l e , S y l v e s t e r S ta d l e r ~ t h ef i n a l c o m m a n d e r o f HobmstauJ im- a t t e n d e dB ad T o lz w h e r e h e g r a d u a t e d I'lliii t h e r a n k o f S S L J oi er st u rr rf t' h r ec


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I N A C T I O NIn Decemb er 19 43, b efore they ha d ev en completed theirtra ining, the Hohenstaufen Div ision w as assigned toI 55 Panzerk orp s Leibstandarte along w ith the remains ofthe Ist 55 P anz er Div ision a nd the new ly-formed 12th 55Pantergrenadier Div ision Hit lerjugend.

[nearly 1944 the G erma n forces a ll ov er Europ e w ereina dire sltuation. ln JanualY , the Sov iets had reliev edL eningrad from G erma n forces after a 9 00-day siege; O ntop of this the Allies w ere w orking their w ay u p the Ita lianp eninsu la a nd ha d ju st la nd ed a n inv asion force a t Anz io.O n 4 March the Sov iets, u nd er Marsha l: G eorgi Z hu kov , ha dla unched a massiv e of fensiv e on the U k ra in ian f ront d riv ingtow a rd s the C arp athia ns. T his d rov e a la rge w edge into theleft fla nk of G erman Armeegru pp e Sou th.

Hav ing to fight on so many fronts at once put anenormou s p ressu re on the a rmy's resou rces, a nd in March19 44 , a s t he S ov iets a rriv ed a t the P olish b ord er, the O KWmoved Hohenstaufen into a ction. It w a s a ccompanied b y its

sisterW a ffen-SS d iv ision - the 10th 55-P anz er Div ision F r u n d s b e r g . T o g e t h e r they we reincorp ora ted into II 55 P a n z e r k o r p s u nd er the comma nd of P au I Ha usser. In 'this theyw erejoined b y the a rmy's 34 9thlnfa ntry a nd P anter l.ehrd ieisicns.

A b o ve : W a ff e n -S S tr o op s p as s a k n c ck ed -o u t R u ss i a n] S - 2 . h e a l ' y t a n k o n t h e E 3 5 te m F ro nt I n s p ri n & 1 9 4 4 .T I le m o s t p ow e rf u ll y a rm e d ta n k i n the w o rl d a t t h et im e w it h a 1 2 2 I 1 1 m m a i n gUll, t h e J 3 - 2 e n te re dp r o d u c t i o n i 1 I a t e 1 9 4 3 . TH E EA STERN FRONT

In ea rly Ma rch 19 44 , troop s of the S ov iet lst Uk ra in ian F ront mounted a majo r of fensiv ea imed a t p ositions a long the Ea stern F ront nea r S ka la in the Iamopol-Proskurov sectorTheir gre at numerica l 'S upe riority meant tha t th ey we re ab le to overpowe r Ge rman f orcesw herev er they stru ck. S ev era l cou ntera tta cks b y the F irs'! P anz era rmee L Ind er G eneraHebe keptthem b ack for a w hile, b ut on 22 March fiv e armou red corps b roke t~rou ghthe lines follow ed b y la rge numb ers of infa ntry. T hey ma de their w ay sou th b etw een' theZb ru ch a nd S eret nv ers, a nd then crossed the' Riv er Dtliestr. Mea nw hile, other S ov ieforces p ushed tow a rd s them f rom the ea st in the a rea of Y ampol a nd Mogilev -P od olsk iy .T his left the F irst P anz erarrnee in d anger of b eing encircled, b ut Hitler forb ade anyw i thdrawa ls o r tact ic al repcsitloninq, T he fa ct tha t they w ou ld b e completely cu t off fromsu pp lies or reinforcements w a s, therefore, a foregone conclu sion, a nd w hen the tw oRU$siiJ,1l rmies linked L Ipon 25 March, no one ca ught in the p ock et w a s su rp rised .

Although the trapp ed G erman forces. had enouqh ammunition to surv iv e for tw ow eeks or m ore, they ha d v ery little fu el, a nd b eforelenq only comb at v ehicles w ere stilmov i:ng.ln ea rly Ap ril 19 44 , II S 5 P anz erkorp s w a s tra nsp orted b y tra in to the Ea stern


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IN AC TIO N

L e f t : M G 3 4 m a ga z in e c h an ge w h i l e t h e man a t l e ftf i r e s a S ov i e t P PS h - 4 1 S M G T h e W a f f e n -5 5 u se d m a n yc a p t u r e d Russian w ea p o n s - a n d t h e r e w er e a l o t o ft h e m b y 1 C)4 5 a b ou t f i v e m i l l i o n P PS h - 4 Is h ad b e e nm a de . T h e c ir c u la r d ru m m a g a z i n e c a rr ie d 7 1 1 " ( ) u nd .~ .

" B e lo w Lef t : W a rf e n - S S M G 4 Z le a m in R u s s i a .

B e l o w : Flnmrnent' i11j 'er ( f l a m et h ro w e r) 4 1 t e a mp re p a re f or a c t io n .


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F ront to help rescu e the F irst P a n z e r a r m e efro m its endrdern ent, m e S ov iets ha dissued an u ltimatum that unless theG erman forces there su rrendered

- immedia tely, they w ould all b e shot. Inorder to help effect a rescue of thebe leaguered t roops , H o h e n s t a u f e n (underthe XXXXV Ill Arrneekerps), as part of theFourth P a n z e r a r r n e e , took part in apowe rf ul eastw a rd coun te r-a tta ck aga instthe F irst Sov iet Tank Army, This w asla unched on 5 April, w ith other u nits of theII S5 Panzerk orp s a tta ck in g on the f la nk .

T he tim ing of 1 N s o f fe n si v e w as not toth e Ge rmans' a d vanta :ge~howe ver, a s t hea rriv a l of sp ring ha d tu rned the p rev iou slyfrozen ground into a giant mud b ath. The

tanks soon b ogged dow n and the div ision took massiv e losses. N ev ertheless, theH o h e n s t a u f e n , f ig htin g a lo ngside the F n . m d s b e r g , kep t u p the p ressu re on the fiercelydefe rr d ed Sov iet f ro n t.

Anecd ota l ev id ence from a H o h e n s t a u f e n v eteran from the 12th C ompany, 19 thPanze rg renad ie r Reg imen t te lls tha t du ring th lsactionthe Sov ie ts a ttacked a t Kamene ts-P od olsk iy in w a v es ten d eep , w here on I y the sold iers in the f irst f iv e lines ha d w ea pons.At this sta ge in the w a r this w a s a common p ra ctice; a fter a ll; S ta lin ha d more men tha nw eap ons. In order to keep their men mov ing forw ard s, the S ov iets ha d heav ily armedN KV D troops behlnd them - their orders were to shoot a ny soldiers w ho w eren'tmov ing qu ic kly enough. A s troop s a t the front fell, those b ehind p ick ed u p their w ea ponsa nd ca rried on.

S PE AR H EA D : H 0 H E N > T A U F E N

A b ov e : P ho t o g ra p h s h ow S l h ec e r e m o ny a t w b . ic hS S O b e rs tu r m b a n r fu h r e r O t t o M e y e r , c o m m a n d i n gS S P a n z e r R eg im e n t 9 o f Hobenstaufell, r e c e i v e d b isK n i gh t 's C r o ss OD 4 ju ll c 1 9 4 4 . H e w a s k jl l e d i n f r a n cein S e p t e m b e r

B e lo w : W a ff en ,S S s o l d ie rs o n th e E a st e rn F r o n t . N o t eih au h e m a o . a t b a c k h a s a b a y on e t f i x e d llJ h is r if le .T h e m a n il l f ro n t i s c ar rr l f ig wire c u t t e r s .

O n 9 Ap ril, H o h e n s t a u f e n f in ally b r okethrough S ov iet lines and made contactw ith the 6 th P anz er Div ision of the F irstP anz era rm ee in B ucz acz , a nd in d oing sofreed it from Ru ssia n encirclement T henex t day the C ermanfront line w as fu llyre-established.

Through the rest of April and May,H o h e n s t a u f e n acted as a reserve for theHe e re sg ru p pe N o rd u k ra ine (Arm y G rou pN orth U kra ine), b ut w hile the d iv ision w a srefitting in p rep ara tion for a new offensiv enea r K o vel, the A llies la nd ed a t N ormand yon 6 June 1944. A t f irst H itler th ough t th atO p era tion "O v erlord ' w a s a feint a imed ad i vert i nga ttent ion f rom the reaI i nvasion . Itsoon b ecame d ea r, how ev er, tha t this w a snot the ca se, a nd t! la t massiv e amounts oftroops and equipment had b een landedsu ccessfu lly . T his p la ced the A xiS forcesbetw een tw o enormously pow erfu lenemies. Hit ler therefore cancelled plansforthe II SS Panzerk orp s t o a tta ck in the East


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._

o l'e : T he E as te rn F ro nu n 1 94 4.

g h t : W a [ f e n -S S 5 0 ru m P ak 3 8 anti-rank g u n o n ( h eern Front, No~ebuu and drum rnagaz tneor a

v i e t P PS h - 4 1 S M G a t b o t t o m o f picture,

IN ACT IO N

S TA TE BORDERSFFIONT LINE AT 30 APRmONT LINE A; 1 MAR

FRONT LINE AT 2 Dec

MILES :201)KM 200

U .S. S. R .

.swestacc

BLACK SE A


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SP EARHEAt l: H OH ENSTAU fEN

A b o v e right: W a ff e n - S S l V l G 4 2 t e a m in t h e g ar d e n o f a a nd instea d on 1 1 Ju ne ord ered them to mov e to F ra nce u nd er P anz ergru pp eWest, Arm ychalHil nearCaen G roup R The nex t day the first u n i t s left Poland to trav el w est ~ for most of the journey

they were under con tinuous a ttad< .f rom A llied f ighte r-bombers .B elo w t i g l l l : B r i [ i s h M 4 S he rm a n s m o v a f o rw ar d n e a rC a e n d U rin ,g Ju ly 1 9 ' \ 4 , F R A N C E

Below: W a f fe l l- S S w v a n c e to the f ront d U 1 1 l 1 g theb at t l e f o r N o rm a n dy T h e i r ; S _ d K f z 1 0 h al i t r a e k i sh ea vi l y c am o u f l a ge d a ga i n st a i r a t t a ck

Hoh~n5taufen rea ched the F rench b ord er on or a round 16 Ju ne, b ut it took sev era l mored ay s to rea ch its d estina tion In north-w estern F ra nce, a nd a nother w eek for the rest of IIPanz erk orp s to a rriv e. T he f irst u nits we re unloa ded f rom their n !iilw < ,\ yca rria ges betweenP aris and N ancy on 20 June; they then mov ed to the sou th o f Auna y-su r~Odan in a seriesof cross-country ma rches. At this time, the d iv ision w as comp osed of 18 ,000 men a nd170 ta nk s, 2 1 self-p rop elled (S P) gu ns, 2 87a rm ,ou red ha lftra ck p ersonnel ca rriers, 16a rmou red ca rs, 18 a rmou red a rtillery p ieces a nd 3,6 70 other v ehicles.

It w as not the first S S Panz er div ision in the region, how ev er - Leibstandarte andD es R eic h w ere alread y in northern F ra nce for rest a nd refitting w hen the inv asion tookp la ce. O ther G erma n forces in the a rea inclu ded the Hitfet jugend Div ision and the 17thS5 Panz erg rena dier D iv ision G 6tz von Berlichingen under the command of W ernerOstendortf.Hohenstaufeds mission w a s to help sp ea rhea d a n offensiv e tow a rd s the b ea chhea d .It w as intended to drive a w edge betw een the Allied armies so that they could beencircled and def ea ted .T he dela ys in reach ing F ra nce ca used b y A llied a ir a tta ck s meant,how ev er, tha t b y the tim e Hohenstaufen arriv ed, it w as too la te for this to w ork.T he sheerw eight of America n, B ritish; C ana dia n a nd other Allied u nits w a s more tha n the d ep letedGerman forces.cou ld w i thstand .

Bef ore the Ge rman assa ult on the bea chhead could b e la unched, howev er. the B ritishpushed forw ard in an attempt to take Caen, This w as code-named O peration


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e . d gh c B n n sh : 1 I l . 1 l 1 ) 1 J [ d id no t f ar e w e l l againstth e e l i e W a ff e n- S S P an ? ", r s 0 1e re , b re w ed u pC r o m w e l ls , V i ll er sB o c a g e.

l o w r ig h t: W e ll - k ll o w n p h o to g ra p h o f a y o t l t h l u !a ff e n" SS M G 4 2 g u n ne l ' i n F r a n ce ill 194i N o te th e5 - r o un d d ru m m a ga zi n e, B y t h e t im e th at

a n i w a illN O l ' m a n d y , t h er e w a s ai g n i f i c a n t W a r fe n - 5 5 c o nt in ge ut in t h e a r e a , III th e

f i g h tin g o v e r t h e n e x t m en th , l h e > ; e f o r c e S w o u l d P I"OVo b e expert , tenacious f i g h t e l ~ , \ \ ~ t h e x c e l l e n te a po ns . H o we ve r, A l l le d a ir superi o r i ly and iS,

a t t r i t i o n o f G e lm a n ta n k s a n d o t h er v eh ic le s, g ~ 1 ;V eh el l i e s a si g ni f i c an t a d v a n ~ a g e ,

S PEAR HEAD: H 0 HE N STAU F "N

'Charnwood'. They w ere met b y H o h e n s t : a u f e n at the O don River on 28 lune; this w a sthe u nit's first a ction on the W e stern F ront. T he nex t d ay the d iv ision fou ght a ga in w ithB ritish troop s to the sou th-w est of C a en a s p a rt of a cou nter-a tta ck 'on either sitleof theV illers-B oca ge-N oyers roa d. T his w a s a n a ttem pt to a ssist other G erm an troop s, b ut itp rov ed to b e a fierce b attle, a nd a ll the 55 u nits in th ea rea su ffered sev ere losses; C aenitseI f soon r e II to th e A llies . .

O n 30 Ju ne the 55 took further heav y losses" when D a s R e ic h and H o h e n s t a u f e nw ere a tta cked b y the RA F w ho ca rried out a sa tu ra tio n ra id usin g 250 L ancaster bombersa t V illers-B oca ge near C aen..T he d iv isons w ere then p ulled b ack u nd er the cov er ofd ark ness a nd rea ssembled a s a ta ctk al reserv e for II P a nz erk orp sin the a rea of Maiz et-Vacognes-Mon tig riy , w i th th e D iv isio na l. C ommand POs ta t L e Mesn il.

O n 3 July 1944 , S$ O beliO hrer Sylvester S tad ler took over com mand ofH o h e n s t a u f e n . At this time its order of b attle w as that of a normal Panzer d iv ision!ex cep t tha t it d id not ha ve an a nti-tank b atta lion (Panzer jage r Ab te il ung) , a s this w asstill b ei'ng fitted out in G ermany" The div ision w as w ell b elow strength in terms ofmanpow er and equ ipment; how ever. Most of the div ision w as dow n to around 80percent o f its in te nded tro op numbers. The Panzerg renad ie r reg imen ts we re even wo rseoff: d ow n to only 6 0 p ercent of their tota I ex pected strength ~ officers ha d b een w orsthit. T he a rtillery stood a t a round 9 0 p ercent, the ta nks at a bout 70 percent and otherv ehicles a t a rou nd 8 0 p ercent. A lthou gh it w a s w e ll b elow strength, the d iV ision w a s notreinforcedasa 1 1 a v aila b le re source s we re chan ne lled to o ther a re as.

O n ce the A llies ha d esta b lished themselv es nea r C aen w est of the O rne R iv er, theylaunched Ope ra tion' Jupite r' on 10 J'u ly .T his w a s sta ged b y troop s made u p of the4 3rd(We ssex ) Inf antry Div isi. on, a long w ith the 4 6th (Highla nd ) B riga de a nd a b riga de of the3rd C ana dia n Infa ntry Div ision. Arm ou red su pp ort (a rne from the 31stT ank. B riga de(7 RTR and 9 RTR)a nd the 4 th Armou red B rigad e. T hey had artillery sup port from thed iv lisiona l a rtillery of the 4 3rd W e ssex , the 15th S cottish, the 53rd W e lsh a nd the 11thA rmou red .T hey a lso ha d the hea v ier gu ns of the Second A rmy G rou p's R oy al A rtillery .O pe ra tio n 'J up ite r' had th ree o b jectiv es, The f irst w as to sto p Ge rman a rmou re d unitsfrom w ithd ra w ing; the second w a s to ta ke the high grou nd b etw een the riv ers O d on a ndO rne. T he most nota ble fea tu re of this a rea w a s know n a s' HiI1112 '. T he third ta sk w a sto try a nd secu re the b rid qes w hich sp an ned the O rne a nd esta blish b rid gehea ds on theother s ide .

S ince the G erma ns held Hill 112 w hich comma nd ed the grou nd b eyond the b rid geov er the O d on Riv er, it w as of v ita l imp orta nce to the Allies, a nd a ma jor b attle ensuedfor its p ossession. After a hea vy a rtillery b om ba rdment, the B ritish V III C orp s w a s sentintoaction at daw n ..They soon came up against the H i t f e r ju g e n d , F r u n d s b e r g andH o h e n s t a u f e n d iv isions, w ho w ere b acked b y the recent a rriv al of the 5 0 2 . S S - s c h w e r ePanzer Ab te ilung (2nd S5 Heavy Tank Batta lion), This w as the T iger b atta lion ofII S S P anz erkorp s, w hich had b een o n the ma d from Holla nd continuou sly for 18 d ays.It a rriv ed a t S t Martin, a b ou t tw o m iles sou th of Maltot, a t 02 :4 5 on 10 Ju ly ,T heir d ef enceo f the h igh g ro l. lnd wasstu b bom , and massiv e lo sses. soon accrued on bo th sides. In to ta l15 A llied infa ntry b etta iions a nd six ta nk b a tta lions w e re op posed b ysix G e rman infa ntryb a tta lio ns and f iv e dep le te d Panzer b a tta lio ns , Thousands oftroops we re k ille d, "w lth th eB ritish 4 3rd Div ision losi ng more tha n 2 ,000 men in the first tw o d ays of f ighting a lone.One o f th e Ge rman Panzerg renad ie r reg iments (Panzerg renad ie r Regiment 2 ) w a lk ed o ffthe hill w ith only one officer and 4 5 'men left

O n 30 Ju ly , a n off ensiv e b y the B ritish VU I C orp s, cod e-named O pera tion 'B lu ecoa t',b ega n a t B eny -B oca ge. It w a s intend ed to su pp ort the. Arnenca ns b y ta king p ressu re offtheir left fla nk . B y this sta ge ofthe war , Mon tgomery had realised that d irect iy a tt ac kingthe elite S S a rmou red u nits w as fu tile, so .in this opera tion he ord ered his troop s into


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A b ov e a n d L e f t : 1 \ > . ' 0 p h o to g r a ph s s ho w in g s im i la rs ce ne s o f f ig H tin g In N o r m a n d y A u g : l I s t 1 9 4 4 : b o t hw i t h k n o ck ~ :i 'o u t P an th e r s . T h e a it r i t iO ! l ( ' . ; L i e fo rG e rm a n a rm o u r d w i r i g t h e b at t l e s around F a l a l s e w aslearsome, H o b e n S k u ! l i m would e s c a p e the,pocket W i thf e w e r th a ll 5 0 0 m e n a n d 2 5 t a n k s ,

A b o v e r i g h t ; W a ff e n - S S m a n a r m e d w i t h a .P a n ze rf au s t i ns p ec ts a knocked-out S h e rm a n n ea rC ae n \ 9 44 ,

,R ig h t l I ea v : il ) ' c am o u f la g ed J a g dp a n z e r r v illN O l m a i J d y 1 9 4 4 . D ev elo pe d a s a n im p r o ve d v e r s l o n o ft h _ eSfilG I r J , O\~I" 7 5 0 w e ~ p ro du c (\ in I C f H , N o l ~ . t h emi ss rl 1gS chi ir z en - t he s p ac e d a rm o u r sk l rt sd e si g n e d t o' l l ( O t e c t a ga in st s h ap ed - c h a rg e w e a p o n ss uc h , a s P l A T h o r b a zo o k a s.


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IN A CT IO N


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5 P[ARH[A~: HOfl .E NSTAU ,EN

L e f t : W a f fe u - S S soldier : l W ' d i l\ ; ~ ~ ,e m l ' a rm o u r w t t h h tsP a n z e r fa u s t , P ro d u ce d initially w ith a r a n g e o f 3 0 m( l O O f l ) , d ur in g s l im m e r 1 9 4 4 t h e P an z e i f s u s; 6 0d ou b 1 0 0 t he r a n gil - l J y t h e e n d o f t h e w a r it h a db ee n l r n p r o w d t o t h e 1 5 0 m ( 5 0 0 ft ) v el 'S io a

B e lo w : N o rm a n d y b at t l e c as ua lt y . T J 1 e t u b e slunga r o u nd h is n e c k c a r r ie s a s p a r s b a r r e l f o r a n M G 34 o rM G 4 2 machin e g un ,


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H O H E N 5 T A U F E N OFRC IAL ORDER OF BAT TLE SUMMER 19 44HQ

S t a f fB a n d9 t 1 1 55 (m o t ) M a p p in g D ~ t a c h m e n t9 t h S S (m o t ) M i li t a ry P o lic e D e ta c hm e n t9t h 5 5 ( m o t ) E s c . o r t C o m p a n y1 S P R a k B a t t e ry1 M o t o r , c y de P l a to o n55 P a nz er R eg ime nt& HQ 9;ly

1 P a n z e r S ig n a ls P l a to o n1 P a n z e r P l a t o o n1 x P a n z ~ r R a k B a tte ry1 P a n z e r M a in te n an c e C o m p a n yPan ze r Ba tt ali on

H Q < ln d H Q C o m p a ny4 x P z C e y s , ( e a c h 22 X PzK pfw V P a n t h e r )1 (m o t ) S u pp ly C o m p a n yd P an ze" B atta lio nH Q a n d H Q C o m p a n y4 x P z C o y s ( e a c h 22 x P z K p f w IV )1 (m o t ) S u p p J y G o m p a l) Y

55 P anz etg ren adier R egim en tQ & HQ Company1x S t a ff P l a to o n1 S i g n a ls P l a to o n1M o t o r c y , , : l e P l a t o o nx BattalionsH Q a n ll I ' ; !Q , C o m p a n y1 (m o t ) S u p p ly C o m p a n yJ x (m o t ) P a n z e tg re n a d ie r C o m p a n ie s1 x (m o t ) H e a v y P a n z e r g re n ad ie r C o m p a n y1 M o r ta r P l a to o n1 x P a n z e ~ a g e r P l a to o n

1 x SP Heavy In fanby G un C om pany1 x 5P Flak C om pany1x (l lI o ij E t lg ilH ! er Company

IN AC T IO N

2 0th SS P anz erg ren adler R eg im entHQ & HQ Company

1 x S t a ff P l a to o n1 S i g n a ls P l a to o n1 x M o t o rq .r de P l a to o n

1 st (mo t) B atta lio nH Q a n d H Q C om p a n yI (m o t ) S u p p ly C o m p a rw3 x (m o t ) P a n z e rg re n a d ie r C o m p a n i e s1 (m o t ) H e a v y P a n z e r g re n ad ie r C o m p a n y1 M o r ta r P l a to o n1 x P a n z e ~ a g e r P la to o n

2nd (mot) BattalionH Q a n d H Q C om p a n y1(m o t ) S u p p ly C o m p a n yJ x (m o t ) P a n z e rg re n a d ie r C o m p a n i e s1 x (m o t ) H e a v y P a n z e r g r ' f n a d ie r C o m p a n y1x M o r t a r P la to o n1 x P a n z e ~ a g e r P la to o n

3 rd (m ot) B atta lio nH Q a n d H O C om p a n y1 (m o t ) S u pp ly C Q m p a n y3 x ( h a l f t ra c k ) P a n z e r g re n a d ie r C a y s1 ( h a l f t ra c k H e a v y P a n z e r g re n a d ie r C o y s1x M o r ta r P la to o n1 P a n z e r ja g e r P l a to o n

1 x SP Heavy I nfan try G un C ompan y1x 5P Flak C om pany1x (m ot) E ngI~er Com panyH Q & H Q P I

2 x ( h a lf u a c lO E n g in e e r P l a to o n2 x (m o t ) E n g in e e r P l a to o n

9th 55 P anzer). BattaUonH Q & H Q P I2 x J a g dp a n z e r IV C o m p a n ie s1 x (m o t ) P a n z e ~ a g e r C o n pa n y1 (m o t ) S u p p ly C o m p a n y

:9tfI 5 S P an ze r A ufk laru ng s A bteilu ngHQ &HQCoy1 A r m o u r e d C a r P l a t o o n1 (m o t ) S i g n a ls P l a to o n

1 x A rm ou red C ar C om pan y3 (balftrack) Rec on na is sa nc e C ompan ie s1x S upply C ompany

! 1 l h 5S F lak Ba tt al ionS n H Q . & H Q B ty,3 l\ (m o t ) H e a v y Q i lt f e t ie s1 (m o t ) M e d i u ll 1 B t it t e w1 x (m o ~ . $ e a rG h lig h l B a ~

9th S 5 A rtille ry R eg imen tHQ & HQ B ty1x S P F la k B a tte ry1st SP Ba tt ali onB n H Q & H Q B tyIx SP B a t t e r y (' 6 x H u m m e l )2 x S P B a t t e r ie s (6 x W e sp e )

2nd Ba tta lionB n H Q & H Q B ty2 x ( m o t ) B a t te r ie s

3rd BattalionB n H Q & H Q B ty2 x ( m o t ) B a t te r ie s

4th BattalionB n H Q & H Q B ty3 x (m o t ) B a tt e r ie s

9th S 5 E ng in ee r B attalio nB n H Q & H Q C o y1 ( ha l f tr a ck ) R e e c e P l a to o n1 ( ha lf t r a c k ) E n g in e e r C o m p a n y2 x (m ot) E h g in e e r o m p a n ie s1 (m o t ) U g h t P a n z e r B r id g in g T r a in

9th 5 5 S ig nals B atta lio n1 P a n re rT e l e p h o ne C o m p a n y ,1 x P a n z e r R a d io C o m p a n y .1 x (m o t ) S u pp ly C o lu m n

9 th 5 5 F eld ers atz B atta lio n2 -5 C o m p a n le s

9th 5 5 S up ply T r o o pH Q6 x ( m o t ) 120 to n T r a n sp o rt a t io n C o y s1(m o t ) S u p p ly C { )m p a n y1 (m o t) O r d na na C o m p a ny3 x (m o t ) M a in te n an c e C o m p a n ie s1 x (m o t ) M a in te n an c e S u p p ly C o l u m n

Other1 x (mo t) B ak ery C offip an y1 x (m ot) B utc he r C ompa ny1 x (mot) Div is ional Admini st ra ti onPlatoon2 x (m ot) M ed ic al C om l@ n i~1 (mo t) D ec on ta ,m ln atio n C ompany3 x Ambulan ,ces ComP. il. . ies1x RelCl PoSt OffIce


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B e l o w : Q p . c t a t iO I l ' S p r i . o , g ' w a s o ne o f t h e b lo od te stQ p c ra ti o n s t h a t C a n a d i a n f o r c e s t o ok p ar l in d u r i n g .t he war -They su ll ered 18 ,444 casua lt ie s, i nc lud ing5 ,0 2 1 k il le d. Lau nched on 2 4 ] L l l y a f l e r a preliminarya r t i l l e r y b om b ar d m en t, t h e C am e ro n H ig h l a n de rs a n dB la ck W a lC h o f C a n ad a a u ac k ed en ll 'e n th ed G e rm a nM e n d e r s , O n 2 S J u l y Hob~'tISlaufwl c o um e r - a tt ac k e da nd s lo pp ed th e o ff e ns iv e in its t ra ck : ; B u t t he .B r it i s ha n d C a na dia n b a t t le s a r o u n d C a e n d i d t h ei r j o b: dlC),p u l l e d : in t h e German a rm o u r a n d a l l o w ed t h eA m e ric m J f o r c e s 1 0 b r ea k o ut to t h e w e st ,

a ction a ga inst the ex ha u sted 32 6th Infa ntry Div ision, w hich w a s one of the w ea kest u nitsOn the G erma n front line.

T he G erman High C ommand had not b een ex pecting the British to push f o r w a r d soa ggressiv ely , a nd they ha d little to hold b ack the a dv ancing troop s other tha n the na tu ra lter ra in . The V I I I C orp s took fiv e miles of G erma n territory on the first da y, b ut a cou nter-attack b y three G erman Jagdpanther assault guns O f) the tanks of the Scots G uardsdestroyed 13 o f their 4 0 Chu rchill ta nk s. Ne ve rtheles s, the Allies c o n t i n u e d to make goodqrouad, u ntil they ha d p enetra ted a few m iles fu rther, w hen their command ers sta rted tow orry a bou t the n u m b e r of Ge rman t r o o p s behind them; a s a resu lt t h e a dv ance begant o run o u t of steam.T his w a s not help ed b y the fa d that some B ritish units ~ p a r t i c u l a r l ythe G ua rd s Armou red Div ision ~ seemed inca pa ble of w orking closely w ith the infantry.T his resu lted in p oor b attlefield p erforma nces, a nd they fa iled t o take the tow n of V irebefore G erman reinforcements arrived. Had they done so, it w ould have b een a majorv ictory f or the A llie s.

O n 1 August, Hohenstaufen w as sent to deal w ith the threatened Allied b reak-throu gh, a nd the d iv ision's c o u n t e r - a t t a c k trapped the British 8th Rifle Brigade (3rd

!nfa ntry Div ision) and the 23rd H u s s a r s (11thArmoured Div is ion) tw o m iles b ey ond P res Ie ssouth of Beny-Bocaqe.The A llies qukk ly s tageda relietassa ult comp osed of the 9 th a nd 18 5thB riga des (from the 3td lnfantry Div ision) a nd acombat grou p from the nth Armo u r e dDivision.

Hohenstaufen w as orga nised into sev eraK ampfgru ppen for th e action , i:nc lud ing K G'Meyer', ' Ielkamp' and 'W eiss'. An attack by K G'M ey er' on P r e s l e s on 4 August managed tosever the British advance, but it had toreli nquishthe v illage later in the day. Afterthree more days of heav y fighting, the Allieda ssa ult w a s ca lle d o ff .

A fter this Hohenstaufen was redeployed 1 'the Putanges area ~ the move started onSunday; 13 August, and w as completed byW e dnesd ay, 16 Augu st. T he rap id ly cha ngingb attlefield srtu ation, howev er, m ea nt tha t thed iv ision w as in a v ulnera ble p osition, a nd w amoved a lmost immedia te ly to V imou tie rs.

O n the night of T hursday, 17 August, theU S Third Army, a long w ith B ritish, C anadianand Polish forces, succeeded in surround ing therema ins. of 15 Ge rman d iv isions il l an area 20m iles long b y 10 miles wide.Thlseadrded zoneb ecame know n as the F a l a i s e Pocket Amongthe forces trapped there w as II S S P anz erk o r p s , i n d udi ng th e SS P a nz er d iv is ionsHohenstaufen and Das R eich. In all theb esieged troops numb ered around 100,000men.

T he Allles then p roceed ed to b ring a ll theiartillery and fighter-b ombers to b ear on the

S PEA RH EA D: H OH EN ! TA UF EN

M!LE;S

K!LOMETRES 3


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IN ACTIQt {

18Aug~__/ . .. . . \'8A~g.. . , _ . . . . . . .

I 7 USCO!lPS 1

, A t t a c k on P resles on.4 Augusteommanded by Ss ,.ohers lu1]l ]bannfi ihrerO tt{ )M eyer (D akteaves to K njght's C rossawa rded pos thumous ly ). s s P anzer Regiment 2E lem ents of s s Panzer R e g i m e n t 'H '

" S S ' Panze r A u f li l i i r u n g A b t c il u n g 9

I i t an d B e l o w : T I l~ B a t t l e o f t h e F a la is e G a p s aW th ed es t r u c t i o n o f t h e ,G e nn an S l! 1 /e n t h i lr m e a nd F i l t hP an ze r a rm e ew i t b o ve r 5 0 ,0 0 0 t a k e n p ri s o ne r a n dw o un de d, a nd , o ve r 1 0 , 0 0 0 d e a d T h e s e tw o m a p s , s h o wtb e advance o f th e A l li es t o create t h e p o c k e t a n d t h e'f r a nu c a tt e m p t s b y t h B G e r m a n 1 0r c e s - i n c l u dl rlgH o b lJ l' ls /i JU [ r in - til k e e p t h e g a r f ro m d o si n g .


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B e l o w : A l l i o o a ir s u pe n or i! 1 ' s aw f ig h te r- bo m b e rsw re a k h a v o c o n G e rm a n v eh ic l e s f i e e in g t he F a la is eP o c k e t .

S P E A R H E A O : HO HE N S TAU fEN

p ocket, a nd ma ssiv e d estru ction w as w rou ght on the b esieq ed troop s, T he only w ay ouw as throu gh a sma l' ga p b etw een F ala ise a nd C hamb ois a long the na rrow roa ds b esidthe Div es Riv er. The C anad ians and Poles, how ev er, tried to close this off near these ttlements o f 'Merri a nd T run b y a tta ck ing f rom the north. This resu lted in some very heavfighting, a nd on F rid ay, 18 Augu st; the' p ock et ha d b een constrkted to mea su re ju st fiv eb y sev en m iles. B y the ev ening the roa d toT ru n w a s b locked a t'Mont-O rmel on the D-16 .C ha rnb ois w as b eing w atched b y the America ns a t B ou rg a nd b y the F rench a t O rnrneeand Sa int-L ambert, a nd the Canad ians we re observ ing th e br idqes. Ihere were secondaryroa ds w hiC h led tow ard the slop es of Au ge) N ea up he, C ou dena rd , B oisjos a nd 'M ontO rm el, b ut this a rea w a s u nd er the surveil lanceofthe 1st Po lish Armoured Div ision.

B y the morning of S atu rd ay, 19 Au gu st, the ga p w as a lmost closed , w ith the b rid gea t S aint-L ambert p rov id ing the main esca pe rou te for G erman troop s. A lmost a ll of theivehicles, guns and heavy w eapons had to b e abandoned - this w as due toa severshorta ge of fu el, the b a dly b lock ed roa ds a nd the incessa nt a tta cks from A llied a ircra ft.

Hohenstaufen, fighting alongside the 12th 5S Panzer Div ision Hitferjugend;mana ged to hold the F ala ise G a p op en for long enou gh for II S S P anZerkorp s t o esca peO n 21 August 1944, they made one last assau lt on the gap and a f e w more troopm ana ged to get throu gh. At 16 :30, how ev er, S S-O b ergru pp enfG hrer W ilhelm B ittrichord ered II S S P anz erkorp s to p ull b ack to O rb ec, a lthou gh it took v ery hea vy ca su altiedu ring the re treat.


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IN A CT IO N

When the Allies fina lly com pleted their encirclem ent a t C hamb ois there w ere stillrou nd 6 0,000 G erma n troops left in the p ocket. At this stage the units still w ithin theocket induded the G erman S ev enth Armee commanded b y G eneral Hausser, theb erb ach Arm ou red G rou p, the HQ of L X XIV K o r p s (v on Func k) , L XX IV th Ko rp s (E lf eld ),X XV llth P anz erkorps (S taub e) and II F allschirm korp s (M eind l). T here w ere a lsom na nts of sev era l infa ntry d iv isions, inclu ding the 8 4th, 22 6th, 2 27th, 32 6th, 353rdd th e 3 rd F a llsch irm ja ge r D iv ision a s w e ll a s elemen ts o f the 1st and 10th SS Panz erv isio ns a nd the 2 nd a nd 116 th P an ze r d iv isio ns.Hav ing suf fe red heav y losses , II SS Panz erk orp swa s then pu lle d b a ck a cross the Seine

to B elgium a nd Holla l1d on 22 Au gu st. D urin g th e retrea t H o h e n s t a u f e n acted as aa rgu ard , a nd a s a resu lt ha d to fight for most of the w a y, ind ud ing a ctions nea r A m i e n s ,

Bou rg -A chard , Dud air, L a on and Camb ra i. S ome o f the f ighting was s o i ntense tha t i td ed u p a s ha nd -to-ha nd com ba t. All th is tim e they w e re a lso b eing a tta ck ed from th e a irAll ied f ighter-bombers.The div ision had performed w ell in northem F rance, in sp ite of losing nearly 20

rcent of its origina l strength. S S-O b erfu hrer S ylv ester S ta dler ha d b een w ou nd ed ine Ju ly , and h is tem pora ry rep la cement, $ S-Q b e rfiih re r u nd O b erst d er S chu tz poliz eiied rich-W i lhelm Bock w a s a w ard ed O a klea ves to the K n ight's C ross for his le ad ershiping th is per iod.

9th SS P lih ze r D i:f is il) o! s.StruCWl'eundet WaItherl1arier29 August-10 (k,'tober 19li~9 t1 rSS Panzer Regiment1 9th S S P a n z e r g r e n a d i e r Regiment20th SS Panzergrenadier Regiment9 t h SS Aufklarungs Abtei lung9 t h S S Arti llery Regiment9 t h SS P a n z e r j a g e r Abteilung9 1 1 1 SS Flak Abteilung9 th SSP anz er P io nier AbteilU llgP io nier L eh r Battalion 99 th S SPanzer Nadmchten ( signa ls )Abreilung

9 th SS Stu rmgesch il tz Ab te ilung9th S8 Beobachtungs (observat ion )B a t t e r y9th SS Nachschubtruppen ( S u Q p ly a n dLogistics)

9 th SSP anzer I ns tand se tzung s(Maintenance Unit) . Abteilung

9 t I f S S V e r w a I tu n g s t ru p p e n(:AdlIlinistratlon) Abtilllung

9dl S5 Sallita ts (Medical ) Companie s9 th 5 8 F cld la z 6tt (F ie ld H o sp ital)9 t h $S F e ( d . g e n t l a r w e r i e (MP) Trupp. 9th ~S A:ush ildun~s ( ]' ra in ing ) Bat ta lion9 t h 5 8 W i t : l S c h a f t. ~ ' ( L (5 g iS t i c s) B a t t a li o n9tltSS Ktankenfllfuvagcn( ai nhuf an :c ~) Zug9th 8s f'elapo~tamt (Field Post Offic~)~th S S K t:legsberlchter;:lW ru' g J ' r e . w o n d e l . l I s ) Z . u g9 th S8 Feldersatz (Fiel tlReplacemenORattaUpn


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S PEARHEAD: HO HEN ST AU FEN


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IN AC TIO N .

v e: \ V a lf e n - S S p ri s on er s f r o m t h el se P o c k e t,

K n o c k ed -o u t F la k pa n ze r I Varm ed w ith a 20mm

i erhng 3~ .

HoiJenslall/en P zK p fw IVH i n f ra n ce d u r i n g 1 9 4 4 .

: W a lf en - S S g r en a d ie r


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S PE AR HE AP : H OH EN ST AU FE N

ARNHEMT he. m au ling tha t the d iv ision ha d receiv ed in N orthernF rance and then sub sequently in its retrea t th roughB .e lg ium meant th at it needed e xtens iv e reorgan isa tionand resupply. O n 3 September! the depletedH o h e n s t a u f e n w as ordered to move to Arnhem byGenera !f eldma rschal. l W a lther Model:, commander o f theS ix th P anz era rmee, Armeegru pp e B , for rest a nd a relit.T hey a rriv ed in the V e!u w e a rea , to the- north of Amhem ,on 7 Sep tember 19 .4 4.T hree d ay s la te r, on 10 August, thediv ision w as ordered to move once again - this timeb a ck to Ge rmany b y ra il fo r a majo r d iv isiona l re fit. B ef oredoing so, H o h e n s t a u f e n wa s to ha nd ov er a ll its w ea pons,v ehicles a nd eq uipment, ind l) ding tw o b atteries of fieldhow itzers; to its sister div is[on, the 10th SS PanzeDivision F r u n d s b e r g , w hich w as to stay b ehind. At thistime, the div isional strength w as somew here around& -'7,000 men. T w o months earlier, the figu re ha d b eenalmost 16~OOO.

T he first u nits w ere mov ed ou t on 12 S ep temb er-these w ere mostly technica l a nd stores p ersonnel. O nSunday, 17 September, just before the main body ofH o h e n s t a u f e n w as due to set off on the journey b ack totheir ho rneland, the skies filled w ith Britishparatroopers. At this stage there w ere only around2,500 men left in the area - these w ere organised into19 qu ick-rea ction u nits ca lled K a m p f g r u p p e n (battlegrou ps). N amed after their comma nding officers, theywe re d istrib u ted a cros s 12 d if fe rent lo ca tions. S in ce theG ermans had recently ex perienced armed uprisingsfrom loca l resistanceq reu ps in other pa ris of Eu rop e,

they w ere w a ry of b illeting sm a ll numb ers of troop s in tow ns and cities. A: : , a resu lt of thisthe K amp fgtu pp en were sta tioned in sm all v illa ges nea r im porta nt stra teq ic p oints, su cha s roa ds and b rid ges.

The Second Panzerarmee w as oriq inally formed w ith the specific intention od efend ing a ga inst a n Allied inv asion 'from the Cha nnel C oa st C onseq uently , m any of itsm en ha d b een tra ined to fight a ga inst a irtJ Ome forces . .A significa nt p art of this tra iningw a s tha t officers w ere ta uq ht to resp ond to the b attlefield situ ation w ithou t w aiting forord ers from senior command ers. At first the ma ssiv e Allied p ara troop offensiv e took theG erma ns com-p letely b y su rprise. T hey ha d b een giv en no w arning ab ou t it all, b ut theirfast-response tra ining paid off- they w asted little time in reacting and soon had ane ff ec tiv e defence in p la ce .

T he Allied offensiv e, W h ich w asnamed O p era tion 'Ma rket C ard en', w as intend ed tob e a lightning..:fa st a ssa ult on v ita I b rid ges d eep in enemy-held territory at the Du tchtow n of Arnhem. It w as to come from tw o directions - an airborne assault b y Britishparatroops from the 1st Airb orne Div ision, and a ground attack b y the B ritish S econdArm y.T he main ob jectiv e ofthe high-sp eed a tta ck w a s to giv e. t he Allies a cha nce to cressthe Rhine b efore the G erma ns cou ld mob ilise to stop them. T his w ou ld a lso cu t off theirforces in w estern Holland, and outflank the w ell-fortified S iegfried L ine. If it w assu ccessf ul, it w ould le av e the -A llle s in an e xce llent p osition to d riv e a cross the open p la ins

A b o v e: t l y lm ) e r Sw i l l e r , c o o r H o h e n s t a u j e n , w a sw o u nd ed in l a t e J u ly a ri d r e p la c ed b y S S c O h e r f il h r e ru n d O b e rs t d er S c b m z p o l i z ei Friedrich~Wilheltn B o c k .S ta d le r w o u ld r e a c h L h e r a n k o f S S - B l ig a de fG h r e r a ndb e c o m e t h e 1 5 2 n d r e c i p i e n t o f t h e S w or d s to th eK n ig h t~ C r os s.


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IN ACTIO N

ORDER O F BA'trt.E D UR IN G O PE RAT IO N 'm ,RKE1 G ~EN '. S EP 'fEM BEB ,19 4'4Gennan Order of BattI~ I I Fa l lschirmkorpsxnss Korps

U s O t b In fantry Division190th 1nfantzy Division

A i m e d l I o .n ;e s L 6 m m l m d Netherlands

nSS P a n z e r k b q , sS-K am l ? f P : P J p p e ; J l o b e 1 l S f { l u f o nS s - K a r I l p f g r u p p e ; F r u n d s l J e r g

~6Dth V o l k s g r e ll a d ie r Div isio n (fr om 5 Oc tobe r)

H i ! J ' r i U J t J f t 6oerinl1 DiViSion T r a f n i n g R e g iM e n tKlunpfgtQgpe 'V o n T e t t a u '

Allied O r d e r o f Ba t tl e21st A r m y Group

F i f t e e n t h A I m e ei .x V l f ~orPS3 4 6 m Infan try D iv is ion71.1 th S13t ie Ui ,\ 'iSi6n719th C 9astid RMslQ o

2 nd B ri tish ArmyX X X Corps2nd H ousehold Cavalry R egim entGu a r d s A rmoured D jvision4 3 r d f W e , s s e , v DiviSion5 0 t h lN orthumhrian) D ivision8th ~oured BrigadeR o y - , l l Ne t h t l a n t l s Brigade 'P r in ce ss I r e n e 'mWIKdqlSK a m _ p f g r u pp e IC h i ll '

5 9 t h Infantry DtvisiGn4jtb J n f a n t r y : D i y : i ~ o n ,TUtb Static D i v i S i o nEit,s tAl lied Airborne A r m y

'8 2 n d A i r bo rn e " D i v js io Q1 0 1 s 1 A i r b w :n e J ) 1 V i s i Q I l

ll!{ ,F;j ll~birm ArmeeLmVI KOt;ps170th I n f a n t r y DivisionK a n ' l p f g r u p p e 'W alther '6 ib parachute Regiment1~7th P-


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S P E A R H E A o : H O H E ~ ~ T A U F E N

1 0th S 5 P an zer D iv iso n FnindslJerg ( theat re : ArnMm-Elst )g x P z K p J w V Panthers12 x P zK p fw IV s4xStuGms7 x arm ou red cars , halltrac k1 x P 2U 4 armoured scout tar1xffiak (vier li lig) ha lf tr< l. ck

Schw ere P anz er ltom paoie H ummel (theatre: A mhem -B st)1Z x P zKpfw V I Tiger Is

GE RMAN ARMOUR ll'l nIB A R N l I E M AREA AT TH E TIME OF 'MARKET GARDEN'"9th S S P anz er D ivision /{ohenstaufim~theatre: Amhem-Oosterbeek-Ntimegen-Blst)

42.x armoured cars (roost halftrack)2. x jagdpanser IV !;3 x M i5belw agen (m obile F lak f u l l track)1 x Flak.half track

Schwere Panzer Abteilung 506 ( theat re : Oesterbeek-Blst)28 x P iK pfw V I Tiger lIs

Stunngeschtitz Brig ad e 2 80 (th ea tr e: A rn hem-Oo ste rb ee k)7 x StuG Ills3 x S tu H 4 2G s

Panzer Kompania 2 44 (th ea tre ; O os te rb ee kj1 x PiKp fw 35 82x Pzl(pfw B214 x Flamrnpanzer

P anz er E rsatz R egim en1 B i e l i f . f e 1 d (Panzer Kamplg ru pp e M ie lk e)( theat re : Arnhem-E l st )

2xP~IVs6 x : t> zK p fw ID s

T otal num ber o f arm ou red cars: 51Total num ber of tanks: 104

ca rried b y nea rly 50 0 gliders tow ed b y Ha lifax , S terling. and Alb ema rle b omb ers. Ap athfind er u nit w as sent a hea d - this w as a sp ecia list u nit of p ara troop ers w ho ha d theta sk of ma rking ou t the la nd ing a nd d rop z ones. It consisted of 12 S tirling b omb ers a ndsix C -47s.Some of the gliders b roke up in mid-air as they w ere being tow ed, and as theyrea ched the coa st of m ai nla nd Eu rop e, a nti-a ircra ft fire a lso b ega n to ta ke its toll. T heC -4 7 p la nes tra nsp orting the US lO lst Airb orne Div ision (the 'Screaming Eagles') we rep articu la rly b a dly hit b y f la k, w ith more tha n 10 0 of the 424 a ircra ft b ein g damaged and16 w ere lost. T he p ilots f rom the IX T roop C arrier C ommand sta yed on cou rse, how ev er.At 12:30 , the first p athfinder troop s w ere drop ped, and w ithin half an 'hour they hadsu ccessf ully mark ed ou t the la nd ing a nd d rop z ones.

F or the G e rman troop s sta tioned on the grou nd , the first sign tha t the offensiv e w a sa bou t to b egin w as w hen they hea rd the sou nd of hu nd red s of a ircra ft com ing their w ay.A s the a ircra ft came into v iew , they w ere shocked to see the siz e of the a pp roa ching a ira rmada. One Ge rman sold ier -It Heinz Volz from the Regiment v on Hoffman - said,'At a b ou t m id da y w e su dd enly d lscemed an unea rthly d roning noise .... A hu ge stream oftransport aircraft a nd gliders app roached, ... T hisenormou s sw arm w as escorted b ycountless f ighte rs , in pa rticu la r L ightn ings [ the UStw in-b60m lockheed P-38 L ightningj. '

At 13 :00 , the ma in b od y of the Allied p ara troop ers b ega n d rop ping from the skies;a t the same tim e the glid ers w ere relea sed a nd b ega n their la nd ing a pp roa ches. In theEindhoven sec tor, only 53 of the 70 glid ers la nd ed sa fely ; how ev er, most of the 7 , 0 0 0'S crea rnlnq Eagles' p ara troop s made it w ithou t inju ry. T he los5 of so many glid ers w a s aseriou s b low , a s they ca rried most otthe WIst Airbo rne's heavy equ ipmen t, includ inga nti-ta nk w ea pons, jeep s a nd most of their su pp lies.

Another 4 ,500 pa ra troopers we re inserted to the east of G roesbeek Heigh ts. Thesew ere from the 82nd Airb orne Div ision (the 'All America ns') , some of w hom land ed inglid ers, w herea s others jumped from tra nsp ort p la nes. At a rou nd 13:15 another 2 , 0 0 0


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IN ACTION

f(-'-'-'---'--_._-- ,STATE BORDERS ./

FRONT LINE AT16 S~PT 194!1SIEGFRIED LINE \ __ ... ,Ii.BRITISH 2nd ARMY ._ \U.S . tst ARMY (ItlR OP Z C )N E S i

Ijs'se+meer(Zuider Ze.e)

\40 .. . i~ - - - - - - - - - - - r - - - - - - ~ ~ ~ .o KILOMETRES 40 -./. . . _r i. .. . ' .. ! 'O o ..~

MILES

HOLLAND1st AIRBORNE

\ '\:\ ~. . . . _ \( \\ \. . . . ,\ ,!,I , ,

i I/ I! I, ' ". ' ,\/) II. . . . ' ,.-/ I.I II I" ': I. . . .,,,,\\,,\ ,. _ . , \I

~III,.I.,

#'"

GERMANY

The Ruhr

BELGIUM

arachuted onto a landing z one near O v erasselt (east of G rav e). F urther troops frommp any E, 2nd B atta lion, S 04 th Req im ent ju mp ed to the w est end of the G rav e B rid ge.e 376 th P ara chu te F ield Artillery w asted little time in gettIng their eq uipment set up ,

nd w ithin the hour they w ere prov iding cov ering fire from ten 75mm how itz ers. U p tohis p oint not ma ny troop s ha d la nd ed in Hohenstaufen's a rea , b uta ll this cha nged when00 glid ers a pp eared a bov e Arnhem. Althou gh nearly 4 0 w ere shot d ow n, the b est p artf 5,200 men la nd ed sa fely.

W hen Montgomery first made his plans for O peration 'Market G arden', he did notticip ate the p resence o f a ny e lite SS Panz er troop s. A lthough the commande rs o f thesenits - the Hohenstaufen and Ftundsberg d iv isions - w ere initia lly ta ken b y su rp rise,d id not take them long to w ork out that the ob jective of the offensive w as to secure

he b rid ges lea ding u p to a nd .aooss the Rhine: T hese we re situ ated a t E indhov en , G ra v ed N ijm egen. A t 13:30, ha lf a n hou r a fter the first Allied p ara troop ers b ega n d rop ping,

L e ft : T h e p la n f o r Operatioll 'M a rk e t ,G a td en -a l r b om e l a n d i n g s w o u I d t a k e t h e r i v er b ri d g e s to a l l o wth e a dv an ce o f B r it i s b S e c on d A J 1 T I Y d ee p m t o H o ll a nd


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S P E A R H E A D : H O H E N S T A U f E N

a MILES 10If------.,...-------.o KM 10

HQ8f1der1OO

AbOI'e: The Gelman units at Amhem. the commander of . I I S5 Panz erk orp s, SS -O b ergru pp enfu hrer W i lhelm B ittrich, w a s inDoetinchem . A round this time he receiv ed the f irst re ports o f A llied para troo pers land inga t Amhem a nd N ijmegen, a nd he resp ond ed immed ia tely b y ord ering the Hohenstaufenand Frundsberg d iv is ions in to defensive action.

Although many of the Hohenstaufeds unitshad a lready depa rted, one contingentfrom the 16th 5S P anz ergrenadier T raining and Reserv e B atta lion happened to b ep erform ing ex ercises in w ood la nd s to the ea st of the v illa ge of W o lfhez e. Althou gh theNCOs a nd officers of the b a tta lion w ere a ll v etera ns, the three companies - consistingof 306 men - w ere mostly made up of pa rtia lly tra ined recru its. These troops, who we reunder the command o f S5 -S tu rmbann fGh re r Sepp K ra ft, w e re coincidenta lly ne xt to oneof the la nd ing z ones d esigna ted for the B ritish 1st Airborne para troops . .

As soon as the drop began, K raft immediatelyset about trying to estab lish adefensive line to stop 'the Allied troops from making their w ay tow ards Arnhem.Even though he only had a small numb er of men w ith him, his plan w as to d e l a y theBritish for long enough to allow rei nforcernents to b e b rouqht u p.. H e a lso sentout reconnaissance patrols and moved tw o companies into position - onetna tta ck the la nd ing z one, the other to secure the ma in W a geningen-Amhem roa d a ndthe Ed e-Amhem ra ilroa d. H e estab lished his b attalion headqu arters at the HotelWo .lfhez e, a nd b y g.a thering ev ery p ossib le man he increa sed the u nit's troop numbersto 435.

A s the B ritish Ist Airb orne la nd ed , K ra ft's men a tta cked them u 5ing a comb ina tionof morta r, machine gU ll a nd rifle fire. N ot knOW i ng how many B ritish troop s they w ere u pa ga inst, K ra ft w a s w orrled a b ou t b eing encircled , a nd a t 18 :00 he ord ered his men to fa llb ack to a stronger defensiv e lme pu t together b y S 5-0b ersturmb anlifu hrer L ud wig


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I N A CT I O N

r. This W aS heing set u p b y the men of K amp fgru pp e'S pind ler' , itself com posed of A b o ve : G e rm a n : t t t a ck s .O Q B r i t i s b u n i t s 3 1 'O l m dunits made up from w hat few troops remained in the H o h e n s f a u f e n ' s armoured A r n h e m .I le ry reg ir n ent.At 13:4 5, the G ra ve B rid ge, fell to A H i e d troops of the 8 2nd Airb orne u nd er L t John

T homp son.T his ha d b een one of its p rim ary ob iectlv es, a nd it ha d b een secu red in lessa n a n hou r. Ha lf a n hou r la ter, a t 14 :15, ju st b efore the X XX C orp s b ega n its a dv ance,350-gul1 a rtillery b arra ge b ega n at the Du tch-B elgia n b ord er. T his, comb ined w ithmb er a tta ck s, ha d the effect of d ecima ting most of the troop s w ho w ere a ttemp ting toold the first line of G erman defences. C ommanded b y Major Helmut K erutt, the highua lty ra te l ef t f ew surv iv ors b u t enough su rv iv ed fo r b itte r f ig h ting to ta ke p la ce. T hese

roop s ina na ged to k nock ou t nine Allied ta nk s llS ing P anz erschreck e. F or the Allies thisa s a major b low , a5th . w reC kage b locked the road - the terra in on either side of thed b eing too b oggy for other v ehicles to p ass b y.T he remaining Germ an d efend ers w ereoon w ip ed ou t b y fire from rocket-firing T yp hoon fighter-b omb ers ca lled in b y the Irishards Armoured G roup, They then b rouqht up armoured b ulldoz ers and mov ed the

tricken tank s ou t of the w a y.A s the o ff ensive con tinued, repor ts s ta rted f ilte ring back to B ritish in te lligence o ff icers

b out the presence of units from the F Ifteenth Armee and the SS H o h e n s t a u f e n andP anz er d iv isions.T hey w e re completely stu nned b y this new s, a s they ha d not

p ected these e l:ite fo rces to b e between t h e x x x C orp s a nd Amhetn. It w a s qu ite d earhat the operation w as not going to go as planned,and that at b est the relief troopsu ld b e la te rea ching the b elea gu ered p ara troop s, if, . ind eed , they ev er got there,Around 15:C iO , Br iti sh I s t Airb orne troop s b ega n la nd ing nea r the T afelb erg Hotel interb eek w here G enera lteldma rscha ll W a lther Mod el, command er of Arm y G rou p B ,


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SPEARHEAD: HO HEN STAUFEN

A b ov e: E a r l y p ri s o n er s a t A r n he m : m e n f r o m K ra i t ' sS S Panz el'g r erwd ie r Au sb ild u ng s and E r sa tz( T r ai n in g a nd R e se rv e ) Bataillor: 1 6 . T h r ee B r it i s hg li d er p il o ts s t a nd a t t h e b ac k g u a rd in g t h em .

R ig h t : , l , J th o u gh w e U u nd ee su en g ih , H o h f J I 1 $ t a u j i mp la y ed a m a j o r p a r t II I d e f e at i n g t h e 8 r i t i s h . H e re .S S G r e na di e r s a re s h ow n w i t h S tu G s o fS l u r t n g es ch u tz -B r ig a de 2 8 0 .


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IN AC TIO N

A b ov e ; T il i s p h o lo g ra p h w as t a k en D YL u f lw af f ephoiographer le cobsen ( lfPK Luft fl oUe 3 OI l1 9 S e p t em b e r. It is p a r t o f s eq u e n ce (If p h o t o g r a p h sthat s h ow th e c ru ci al b at tle a s Ist Airbome's mainf o rc e t rie d ti l r ;J c h A r n h em b rid g e . H e re , t h e S tu G I l l so f K a m p f g r up p e 'Moller' . rn o v e i nt o action,

L ef t : C ap tu re d W a f f e n - 5 S t r o op s c u t w o o d u nd e rg u a r d ,


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SPEAR HEAD: H DHEN STAU FE N


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I N ACTION

a d his he ad qu arters. H e w a s conv inced tha t this w a s the A llie d ob jectiv e, a nd in a sta tef shock he moved to 55-0b ergruppenfG hrer W ilhelm Bittrith's II 55 P anz erkorpseadqu arters at Doetinc;hem. T here he formed the K ampfgrup pe 'Harz er' from w hatma ined of the H o b e n s t e u t e n , and sent the unit to advance on Arnhem under theommand of 5ta nd artenfG h rer W " lther H arz er. Th ese troo ps, w h o we re a ccompa nied b y

6 th Pa ra chute Reg imen t, h ad o rd ers to reconnoitre and secure the Rhine R iv er b rid get Am hem. T hey w ere a lso to ensure that the tow n itself d id not fa ll into enemy hands.he Frundsberg wa s th en sen t to h old N ijm egen w ith sim ila r ord ers. B ittrich d esp era tely

ted the b rid ges to b e b low n u p so tha t they cou ld not fa ll into Allied ha nd s, b ut Mod elu ld not listen to his pleas, as he w anted them to remain standing so that he couldch h is counte r-att acks across them .If matters w ere not a lready b ad enough for the Allies, they got much w orse w hen a

omp lete set of op era tiona l p la ns w a s fou nd b y G erm an forces in a b riefca se amongstw reck age of a cra shed glid er. Th ese we re h and ed to G enera lob erst K u rt S tu de nt, w h os delighted to find they listed ex act deta ils of the landing z ones, ob jectiv es and

A s a resu lt of this w ind fa ll, S tu dent sent ex tra forces to secu re the b rid gesgeted b y the A llie s.By 15:00, the Hohenstaufen and Frundsberg div isions w ere b eginning to take u p

eir p ositions to the w est of Arnhem , b etw een the 1st Airb orne a nd Arnhem b rid ge. Atlea d elements of Hohenstaufen enga ged p ara troop ers from the 1st Airb orne interb eek , ha lting their a dv an ce . O n top o f this, th e B ritish h ad other p rob lem s to d ea l

A b o v e: K e ep in g y O l l r w e ap o n c le an i s a p re re qu is it ef o r t h e im a l1 tr y m a n. T h is W a f l e n- S S s o ld ie r i sc le an in g h is K a r9 B r i f l e .

A b ov e l e f t : T h e c l a s s ic v ie w o f t h e. a t r d ro p o n D Z 'X'.T i l i s a e r i a l v ie w o f p ar a tr o op s o f t h e 1 st A i rb or n eD i v i s i o n a ir d r op w a s t a k e n f r o m ap h ot o re ec nn a l s s an ce S p it f i r e o n 1 7 S e p te m b er 1 9 4 4 .B e lo w l ef l: .N i j m e g en B r i d g e o v e r t h e W a a l W a sc a p t u r e d b y m e a o f O S 8 2n d A l r b o m e D iv is U l l l and t i l eG r e n a d i e r G u a r d s o n 2 0 S ep te m be r.


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R Ight: 11lC SmG I lls (three platoons) and SiuH42Gs (one platoon) of snlrmgescll ti lz -Brigade,280a rr riv ed 0 1 119 S ep temb er, I bis is the vehicle oflire commander of the the 31'd P latoon,

5P EARH [AD : H O H E N S TA U FE N

w ith - their ra dio sets had not b een w orking prop erly ev er since they la nd ed. T his ha dled to many units b ecoming isolated . in desperation, some of their officers tried top inp oint ea ch other on f oot. In the confu sion, sev era l got cu t of f from their men, lea dingto f u rthe r d is array .

A t 1 8:00 , ju st a s B ritish troo ps under Colonel F ro st re ached the b ridge a t Oosterbee k,the G e rman defend ers b lew it u p. A n hou r la ter, Ha up tstu rm fiihrer G ra b ner, commanderof H o h e n s t ; 3 l , 1 f e n ' s Auf kla rungs Ab te ilu ng (re conna issance ba tta lio n) crossed Amhemroa d b rid ge a t the hea d of a 4 0-v ehid e column. T em pora rily a ssigned to Armeegru pp e8 , his ord ers w ere to scou t the roa ds to N ijmegen, a nd a lthou gh his men sw ep t b oth sid esof the highw a y, they fou nd nothing.

L ess tha n ha lf a n hou r a fter G ra bner's men ha d 'pa ssed b y, a sma ll grou p of RoyaEnq ineers u nd er C ap ta in Eric M acka y rea ched the 2 ,O O O f t-long Amhem b rid ge. T hissp anned the L ow er Rhine from the city on the north a cross to the sou th b ank w hich w a sin op en cou ntry . T he B ritish troop

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Spearhead 20 - Hohenstaufen - 9th SS Panzer Division Ogon