By Phil Yates UPDATED ON 11 SEPTEMBER 2014 1 PANZER BRIGADES ON THE EASTERN FRONT Y HIL ATES B P Y After the destruction of Army Group Centre in Byelorussia by the Soviet Operation Bagration, there was little left to stop them short of the German border, 600 kilometres to the west. Hitler ordered twelve new panzer brigades created to ‘surprise and destroy the attacking armoured spearheads’. The first four of these entered combat on the Eastern Front in late August 1944, launching immediate counterattacks against the Red Army’s deepest thrusts. When the Red Army launched its counteroffensive after the The first four were to be ready in just over one month. Bearing Battle of Kursk in August 1943, the German Army had little in mind that a panzer division was usually given six months to stop it. The much vaunted panzer divisions had worn to rebuild after being mauled at the front, the timetable for themselves out attacking the Soviet defences around Kursk, creating whole new units was incredibly short. The Army had leaving the new Panther and Tiger battalions being rushed to suggested rushing refitting panzer divisions back to the front, the front as the only significant armoured forces. A number but Hitler had insisted on forming new units instead. of Kampfgruppen, ad hoc battlegroups, were formed around The first of these was 101. Panzerbrigade under the command these battalions and the remains of various panzer divisions of the highly decorated Generalmajor Hyacinth Graf von under the command of experienced panzer leaders. Wherever Strachwitz und Camminetz (Major-general Hyacinth Count they were employed these powerful battlegroups halted and of Strachwitz and Camminetz), known as the Panzergraf or threw back the Red Army’s thrusts. ‘Panzer Count’. Von Strachwitz was awarded the Knight’s It was natural then, when the Red Army launched Operation Cross with Swords as commander of the Grossdeutschland Bagration on 22 June 1944, that the German Army would (Greater Germany) Panzer Regiment, the lowest ranking attempt to recreate their success in halting the Soviet rampage. officer given the award at the time, and was then the third The idea was mooted by Hitler on 2 July, and by 11 July Army officer to be awarded the Knight’s Cross with Diamonds orders had been issued to form twelve new panzer brigades. for the relief of the Cherkassy Pocket. 2 The core of the brigade was 2101. Panzerabteilung Army. The other six divisions were to attack from Lithuania (2101st Arm oured Battalion) equipped with 36 Panther up the main road from Tauroggen (now Tauragè) through tanks. It was planned to equip the battalion with a light Schaulen (Siauliai) to Mitau (Jelgava), cutting off the Soviet company equipped with Panzer IV/70 self-propelled guns 2nd Guards Army. This route added 100 km (60 miles) to the as well, but these had not yet been produced. The brigade’s distance they needed to cover, but would clear the main road other battalion was the small 2101 Panzergrenadierbataillon and railway line to Riga. (2101st Armoured Infantry Battalion) with two companies Von Strachwitz punched through the Soviet 51st Army to mounted in Sd Kfz 251 armoured half-tracks and a company link up with Sixteenth Army the next day, then moved south of mortars and assault guns. The resulting battle group was to retake Mitau (Jelgava). The attacks by 39th and 40th equipped with the best Germany had to offer, but had less Panzer Corps were not as successful. While the Germans had than half the number of Panther tanks and armoured half- been bringing up their armoured divisions, the Red Army tracks of a Panzer division, not to mention lacking the Panzer had reinforced its positions with the 5th Guards Tank Army. IV tanks, motorised infantry, and artillery that made up the The reinforced defences stopped all of the German divisions bulk of the division. after advances of just six to twenty kilometres (four to twelve On 18 August, 1944, three days after its hasty formation, miles). The German attacks were called off and much of the 101. Panzerbrigade went into combat as Panzerverband von ground won was given up. Strachwitz (Armoured Unit von Strachwitz) alongside SS- The Red Army, thinking that the Germans had given up, Panzerbrigade Gross, an even more hastily-formed group of withdrew the 5th Guards Tank Army, only to be caught by SS training units. The Soviet offensive had reached the Baltic surprise when the German Third Army launched a concen- Sea coast just west of Riga in Latvia, cutting off the German Sixteenth and Eighteenth Armies. High Command had ordered Operation Doppelkopf (Doubled Head), an attack FINLAND by the Panzerverband and six armoured divisions under the WEDEN NORWAY 39th and 40th Panzer Corps of the Third Panzer Army to cut S ESTONIA off the Soviet spearhead and re-open communications with Moscow the trapped armies. LATVIA Panzerverband von Strachwitz was given the northern-most LITHUANIA position, attacking from Frauenberg (now Saldus) towards Tukums where it would link up with an attack by Sixteenth DENMARK SOVIET UNION THE RELIEF OF GERMANY ARMY GROUP NORTH, Berlin Warsaw AUGUST 1944 SIXTEENTH Tukums RIGA ARMY 22 ARMY 18 Aug L ATVIA PANZERVERBAND 20 Aug VON STRACHWITZ CORPS KLEF Libau Frauenberg 43 ARMY CORPS (Liepāja) (Saldus) Doblen 51 ARMY (Dobele) Mitau (Jelgava) THIRD PANZER ARMY 25 Aug 1 ARMY CORPS 2ND BALTIC FRONT COUNTERATTACK Auce 43 ARMY 6 GUARDS ARMY 12 PZ DIV 2 GUARDS ARMY 4 PZ DIV 20 Aug 5 PZ DIV 1ST BALTIC FRONT THIRD 5 GUARDS Schaulen TANK ARMY Dünaburg PANZER (Siauliai) (Dvinsk, ARMY Daugavpils) 14 PZ DIV MEMEL Kvederne 20 Aug (KLAIPEDA) ė (Kv darna) 7 PZ DIV Kelmė 5 ARMY L ITH U ANIA TH GD PZG DIV Rossenie 40 PZ CORPS (Raseiniai) Skaudvilè t 0 Miles 50 100 s u 0 Kilometres 50 100 150 Tauroggen g u A (Tauragè) 3 1 E A S T 39 ARMY e n i l P R uss IA t n 3 o r F 101. PANZERBRIGADE PANZERBRIGADE HQ 2101. PANZERGRENADIER- BATAILLON 2 7 5 6 6 1. KOMPANIE 2101. PANZERABTEILUNG 2 1 3 4 1 1 1 1 3 1. KOMPANIE 3 3 3 2 2 2 2. KOMPANIE 3 3 3 2. KOMPANIE 2 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 3 3. KOMPANIE 3. KOMPANIE 2 2 3 3 3 6 5 2 5 2 KEY Panzerpionier Company Panzergrenadier Platoon Aufklärungs Platoon 12cm sGW43 Panther G Möbelwagen Sd Kfz 251/9 Sd Kfz 251/1 Sd Kfz 251/16 Sd Kfz 251/1 Sd Kfz 251/17 Sd Kfz 251/2 (7.5cm) Stuka zu Fuss (Flamm) (2cm) (8cm) 4 trated attack from Doblen (Dobele) a week later. This succeeded in widening OPERATIONS BY PANZERVERBAND Hungerburg von Stachwitz’s corridor to 30km, but (Narva-Jõesuu) left the highway and rail line in Soviet VON LAUCHERT TALLINN hands. EIGHTEENTH LENNINGRAD ARMY FRONT On 24 August, Oberst (Colonel) Meinrad von Lauchert took over from Dagö Lake Peipus (Hiiumaa) von Strachwitz, who had been injured N ESTONIA (Peipsi jarv) in a car crash. Panzerverband von Ösel 23 Sep 17 Sep Lauchert as it was now known, moved (Saaremaa) Pernau Dorpat north into Estonia, defending Tartu (Pärnu) (Tartu) near Lake Peipus. When the Red Army launched their operation to clear Estonia 3RD BALTIC on 17 September, the Panzerverband FRONT formed the rearguard as the German Army Group Narva was evacuated SIXTEENTH KURLAND ARMY through Pernau, finally leaving on (COURLAND, 26 September. When it arrived back in 2ND BALTIC KURZEME) RIGA FRONT Riga, the SS-Panzerbrigade Gross was Tukums disbanded, leaving 101. Panzerbrigade Libau Doblen (Liepāja) (Dobele) to fight on alone. Mitau LATVIA (Jelgava) Auce Jakobstadt Now just a shadow of its former self, (Jēkabpils) THIRD the panzer brigade formed the rear- PANZER guard in early October, fighting across ARMY 6 Oct Schaulen 1ST BALTIC MEMEL (Siauliai) the old battlefields of Schaulen, Kelmė, FRONT (Klaipeda) 9 Oct DÜNABURG and south to Tauroggen, counterattack- Kvederne 8 Oct (Dvinsk, ing at Skaudvilè and Kvederne on the (Kvėdarna) Daugavpils) Tauroggen 8 and 9 October. Retreating through 7 Oct (Tauragè) Tilsit (Sovetsk), it fought at Gołdap, Tilsit LITHUANIA Wirballen (Virbalis) and Nemmersdorf (Sovetsk) (Mayakovskoye) on the East Prussian Gummbinnen VILNIUS border in mid October. By this time (Gusev) Wirballen (Vilnius) the brigade was almost completely de- 20 Oct (Virbalis) SOVIET 16 Oct RD stroyed and at the end of the month, KÖNIGSBERG 3 BYELORUSSIAN FRONT UNION the survivors were used to reform the (Kaliningrad) 20th Panzer Division. GERMANY 0 Miles 50 100 MINSK Despite its small size, 101. Panzer- 0 Kilometres 100 200 brigade had formed an important part of the German defence of the Baltic THE DESTRUCTION OF States at a critical time, vindicating ARMY GROUP NORTH, the panzer brigade concept in combat SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1944 against the Red Army. 5 PANZERKOMPANIE Armoured Company Tank Company MOTIVATION AND SKILL RELUCTANT CONSCRIPT With the Red Army on the borders of East Prussia, it is do-or-die time for the German Army. CONFIDENT TRAINED Despite its hasty formation, the new Panzerbrigade is performing well, throwing back the FEARLESS VETERAN Russian spearheads wherever it fights. The Panzerkompanie is rated as Confident Trained. HEADQUARTERS You must field one platoon from each box shaded black and may field one platoon from each box shaded grey. Panzerkompanie HQ 7 HEADQUARTERS ARMOUR ANTI-AIRCRAFT INFANTRY 9 Panzergrenadier Platoon 7 Panther Platoon Anti-aircraft Gun 7 Platoon INFANTRY 12 COMBAT PLATOONS PLATOONS COMBAT WEAPONS PLATOONS PLATOONS WEAPONS Panzerpionier Platoon ARMOUR 13 Aufklärungs Platoon 13 VERBAND SUPPORT PLATOONS SUPPORT VERBAND Volksgrenadier Platoon 15 7 SS-Grenadier Platoon Panther Platoon ARMOUR ARTILLERY 15 Naval Gunfire Support 14 SS-Artillery Battery 7 Panther Platoon AIRCRAFT 14 Air Support REICH DIVIDED Heer and SS Platoons in your force are Allies and follow the Allies rules on page of 70 rulebook.