The 11Th Panzers in the Defense, 1944

The 11 th Panzers in the Defense, 1944 by A. Harding Ganz frauleins,fu~e~!of the~si~ma'm'selles~fl;;~I;~ii~~:~~~~~~~~:i~~F~~~~~~~I;1 of sunny southern France, tan talized the weary Landsers troopers - of the 11 th Panzer Division. The rumors were true: it was the spring of 1944, and the battered division was to be redeployed from the Russian Front to southern France for recuperation and re building. On the Ostfront, the brutal struggle continued un abated.· The Gennan defense of the Dnieper had been costly, as massive Russian of fensives resulted in huge en circlement battles at Korsun Cherkassy and Kamenets-Po dolsky. Fierce winter blizzards had alternated with the raspu titsa, the sudden spring thaws, that sank vehicles into the Ukrainian mud, and then froze them in solid again, as in con crete. The elated troopers boarded their trains near Kishinev, bound for Bordeaux. The rest of the division followed in May, by road and rail, via Bu dapest and Vienna. But even if the home of the 11 th was in Silesia, safely beyond the fighting fronts, Allied bomb ing of the homeland and talk of the expected invasion of ~,.~ Festung Europa by the British and Americans was sobering. Long gone were the dramatic days of the blitzkrieg through the Balkans and the drives on Kiev and Moscow. These had made the reputation of the Gespenster Panzer would wage a fighting with Even if Gennany were ultimately de Division - the "Ghost" Division, its drawal up the Rhone valley of south feated, the lith PD would generally emblem an eerie sword-wielding spec ern France against the advancing accomplish the difficult missions tre on a halftrack. Now its mission American Seventh Army, and in Sep given it, improvising methods and op would be mobile defense, against the tember and again in November playa erations, and contribute a valuable overwhelming power of the Allied ar significant role in thwarting Patton's chapter in the history of annored war mies in the West. In August, the 11th Third Anny drive toward the Rhine. fare. 26 ARMOR - March-April 1994 Rebuilding in Southern France maintenance section. But these had a longer range of 15,000 meters, some now been worked out, and with its of which were self-propelled as the wide tracks, thick angled armor, and tracked Hummel ("Bumble Bee"). Under its popular commander, Gen powerful gun, the Panther was argu (The Americans acknowledged their eralleutnant (Major General) Wend ably the best tank of World War II. range limitation, and a l55-mm battal von Wietersheim, the 11 th PD was ion was routinely attached or in sup While all three of the American ar brought up to strength according to port from corps assets.) The 105s of mored infantry battalions were the 1944 T/O&E. At full strength, it the SP battalion were carried on the mounted in armored halftracks, pro would have 13,726 officers and men Panzer II chassis as the Wespe duction shortages allowed only the in 15 battalions and detachments and ("Wasp"), though captured chassis first divisional trains. It thus approximated of the four panzer grenadier bat were also utilized. the American armored division of talions to be so equipped by 1944. 1944 which, with the routinely at The Sd.Kfz. 25 I-series halftracks In France, the towed battalions of tached tank destroyer and antiaircraft were very versatile, and some variants Panzer Artillery Regiment 119 further battalions, had an aggregate of 12,774 mounted mortars, flamethrowers, and traded batteries so each had 105-mm personnel, also in 15 battalions and searcWights, comprising at least 22 and 150-mm batteries. Experience had trains. But unlike the U.S. division, different models. They were techni demonstrated that the division usually which interchanged battalions under cally sophisticated, according to Guy operated in three Kampjgruppen, each three combat command headquarters, Franz Arend of Belgium, who has ex supported by an artillery battalion, the Gennans retained the regimental amples of all models in the Victory and this mixed artillery support was structure with a panzer regiment of Memorial and Bastogne Historical more versatile. The 3rd Battalion, two battalions, two panzer grenadier Center museums, but were rather un which Captain Walter Schaefer regiments of two battalions each, and derpowered. The American M3 was Kehnert commanded by September, a panzer artillery regiment of three mechanically more reliable, but its also incorporated a battery of Russian battalions. For operations, however, rubber tracks gave poorer cross-coun 120-mm mortars, and a battery of the Germans mixed panzer and ar try mobility in muddy terrain than the long-range 105-mm guns, the battal mored infantry companies in impro German steel track, and both had open ion thus providing supporting fires vised Kampjgruppen (battle groups), troop compartments, exposed to over from 6,000 meters to 20,000 meters and the Americans cross-reinforced head artillery fire. To Major Karl (11 miles). But because of the variety companies in battalion-sized task Thieme, who commanded the 11 th of fire missions required, and disper forces and exchanged platoons to Panzer's halftrack-equipped battalion, sal because of Allied air control, notes form mixed company teams. German Gennan unit leaders and vehicle driv Lieutenant Rolf Wandhoff, regimental armored doctrine was based on the ers, veterans of the Russian campaign, adjutant, battalion fifes were seldom "combined arms team" concept with could determine trafficability with a massed, and individual batteries often battalions of the three combat arms more experienced eye than could their fifed independent fire missions. American counterparts, and employed tanks, infantry, artillery - all syn Replacements were brought in to re their halftracks accordingly. The other chronized to work together; and their of the strengths of panzer grenadier battalions were build the units. One opponents had now adopted that con the Wehrmacht was the concept of transported by truck. The Opel-Blitz cept as well. each field division maintaining a re was preferred, but most lacked the placement battalion (Ersatzbataillon) front wheel drive of the sturdy Ameri The American armored division had in its home military district (Silesia, can GMC 6x6 "deuce-and-a-half. In three tank battalions, but these had for the 11 th PD). Not only did the re any case, equipment shortfalls had to light M5 tanks with 37-mm guns and cruits share a common regional back be made up with civilian and French medium M4 Sherman tanks with a ground, but also were immediately vehicles, even including wood-gas fu short 75-mm gun. The German panzer trained for and thus associated with eled trucks, and Captain Franz regiment had two battalions of medi the unit they would be joining in com Thelen, adjutant of Pz.Gren.Rgt. 111, ums, one of the older Panzer IV, now bat. The training cadre were members found himself going up to Paris to mounting a high-velocity 75-mm gun, of the division, and could imbue the requisition whatever he could. the other with the newer Panther, with new recruits with their combat experi an even more powerful 75-mm gun. Likewise, only one of the three pan ence and their unit procedures and es The 1st Battalion of Panzer Regiment zer artillery battalions was self-pro prit. This ensured unit cohesion and 15 had received its Panthers at the pelled, the others being halftrack morale, generally considered the most Grafenwohr training area in 1943, towed, while all three American ar important ingredients in the motiva shortly before the battle of Kursk. The mored artillery battalions were self tion of soldiers to fight. (Many who new tanks had numerous mechanical propelled, on the tracked M7 carriage. have analyzed the capabilities of the problems, especially with hydrostatic But all the American howitzers were German Army have unfavorably con lock and the final drives, according to 105mm, with a range of 12,000 yards trasted the American "scientific man Walter Rahn, then battalion adjutant, ( 11 ,000 meters), whereas the German agement" method of processing indi and Martin Lange, a corporal in the division included 150-mm pieces with vidual replacements through replace- ARMOR - March-Apri/1994 27 ment depots, the hated "repple dep tacked by the Jabos - Jagdbombers, take the initiative and act decisively pIes," and allocating them to units as or fighter-bombers, troops would pile and independently. needed.) out of the vehicles while crews would put up a barrage of fire. As in Russia, the policy for the com But maintaining this regional rela bat companies (panzer, panzer grena tionship proved ever more difficult Allied artillery had plentiful ammu dier, and recon) was that a third of the given wartime demands, and by 1944 nition, and its effectiveness was en unit be rotated back to the field re replacements were usually allocated hanced by accurate observation and placement detachment. They would by Anny and Anny Group headquar corrections from spotter planes aloft. get a rest, would be available as a re ters as needed. It was the nucleus of Panzer artillery fire control exercises serve, and would provide an experi veterans and the unit commanders, emphasized coordination of artillery, enced cadre in case of extensive casu who now provided the cohesion and rocket, and mortar fue on concentra alties in the company, given the tre continuity that kept the IIth Panzer tion points, and rapid displacement to mendous enemy fuepower. In the an effective combat organization. The avoid counter-battery fire. Wire com course of the coming campaigns, one unit commanders came from within munication would be destroyed by is struck by the heavy casualties suf the division, and the battalion com shell fire and by bombing; radio fered, especially among unit com manders of 1944 had been lieutenants would be the primary means of com manders - in the next eight months in 1940.

Load more