Martin Groß

Martin Groß
Born 15 April 1911
Frankfurt, Germany
Died 1 March 1984 (aged 72)
Germany
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch Waffen-SS
Years of service 1933–45
Rank Obersturmbannführer
Unit 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
SS Panzer Brigade Gross
Commands held II./1st SS Panzer Regiment LSSAH
12th SS Panzer Regiment.12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
SS Panzer Brigade Gross
Battles/wars World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Iron Cross 1st Class
Iron Cross 2nd Class
German Cross in Gold
Infantry Assault Clasp in Bronze
Wound Badge in Gold
Tank Combat Badge

Martin Groß (15 April 1911 – 1 March 1984) was an Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel), in the Waffen-SS (SS number 6684) during World War II.

Background

He was born in Frankfurt on 15 April 1911. Information about his early life is sparse.

Career in the Waffen-SS

He was a Battalion commander in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler where he commanded the II/Battalion of the SS Panzer Regiment 1. It was when he was in command of this battalion, during the Battle of Kharkov in 1943,[1] when he was awarded the Knight's Cross in July 1943 for a three-hour engagement when his battalion destroyed 90 Soviet tanks.[2]

In August 1944, Groß was given command of a new Panzer Brigade, known as SS Panzer Brigade Gross. The brigade was formed from elements of the SS Panzer Troop Training and Replacement Regiment at Dundaga (German: Dondagen), Latvia, along with SS Panzer Troop Training Regiment "Seelager". By 16 August, the brigade had attained a personnel strength of 2,500 and was attached to a new and temporary Divisional Command: Panzer Division Strachwitz.

The brigade first went into action against the Soviet 51st Army units in and around the town of Tukums on 20 August. In September, Brigade Gross was detached from Panzer Division Strachwitz and dispatched to the Tartu area to counter another Soviet offensive. The brigade fought in the Baltic area from September to October 1944.

In November the unit was withdrawn from the Baltic and sent to the Waffen SS Troop Training Area Sennelager near Danzig, East Prussia (present-day Gdańsk, Poland). From there it was sent to another training area in Westphalia. There the brigade was broken up and its men sent to the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen and the 12th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, which were a part of the 6th Panzer Army. The disbanding of Brigade Gross was disguised as the forming of a new panzer regiment: SS-Panzer-Regiment 26 Reichsmarschall.[3][4]

In March 1945 Groß was transferred to the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend and was the last commander of the SS Panzer Regiment 12.[5]

Decorations

Promotions

SS Panzer Brigade Gross Order of Battle (8 Aug. 1944–Nov. 1944)[6]

References

  1. ↑ Panzer Aces By Franz Kurowski p.309
  2. ↑ Panzer Aces By Franz Kurowski p.311
  3. ↑ "SS-Panzer-Brigade "Gross"".
  4. ↑ Antonio J. Munoz - Forgotten Legions: Obscure Combat Formations of the Waffen-SS
  5. ↑ The 12th SS Volume Two By Hubert Meyer p.381
  6. ↑ Antonio J. Munoz - Forgotten Legions: Obscure Combat Formations of the Waffen-SS