Panzer-Grenadier-Division Großdeutschland

Panzer Grenadier Division Großdeutschland (Greater Germany)
Active Created 1942, Surrendered 1945
Country Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Branch Heer
Type Panzergrenadier
Part of Expanded from Regiment to become Motorized Infantry Division 1942 and Panzer Grenadier Division 1943.
Garrison/HQ Berlin, Cottbus, Akhtyrka
Nickname(s) die Feuerwehr (The Fire Brigade)
Motto Our honor is the fulfillment of our duty!
Engagements Eastern Front
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Generalleutnant Hasso von Manteuffel
Generalmajor Karl Lorenz
Insignia
Cuff title

The Panzer Grenadier Division Großdeutschland[notes 1] (also commonly referred to simply as Großdeutschland[notes 2] or Grossdeutschland or Großdeutschland Division or Grossdeutschland Division or Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland) was a combat unit of the German Army (Heer) that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. Großdeutschland was one of the best-equipped units of the German Army.

History

The unit originally started out as a ceremonial guard unit in the 1920s and by the late 1930s had grown into a regiment of the Wehrmacht. The regiment would later be expanded and renamed Infantry Division Großdeutschland in 1942, and after significant reorganization was renamed Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland in May 1943. In November 1944, while the division retained its status as a panzergrenadier division, some of its subordinate units were expanded to divisional status, and the whole group of divisions were reorganized as Panzerkorps Großdeutschland.

Early history

The roots of the unit go back to 1921 when the guard unit of the city of Berlin (Wachregiment Berlin) was created. The unit was used for ceremonial duties such as parades and guard duties in the capital. The unit was later reformed as Kommando der Wachtruppe[notes 3]. The unit grew in size, function and responsibility throughout the 1930s. In the first week of 1939, Hitler ordered that the unit be renamed Infanterie-Regiment Großdeutschland.[notes 4] The unit was now a permanent cadre, and unlike other regiments of the German army during World War I (which were raised from a particular region), the recruits of the Großdeutschland were to come from across the nation. The unit was activated on 14 June 1939.

The regiment saw action in France in 1940. It was attached to Panzer Group 2 in the opening phases of Barbarossa, and was nearly destroyed in the fighting outside of Moscow in late 1941. On the last day of February 1942, Rifle Battalion Großdeutschland (all that was left of the original regiment) was disbanded and two battalions formed a new Großdeutschland Regiment out of reinforcements arriving from Neuruppin. The regiment later moved to Orel after, and on 1 Apr 1942 the former Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland was expanded to the Infantry Division Großdeutschland.[1]

Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland (mot.)

Map courtesy of deutschesoldaten.com.

While resting and refitting near Orel, the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland reorganized and expanded to become Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland (mot.). The existing Regiment became Infanterie-Regiment Großdeutschland 1, and was joined by the newly formed Infanterie-Regiment Großdeutschland 2. Supporting units in the form of a Panzer battalion, an assault gun battalion and increased flak, artillery and engineers were added with the upgrade to divisional status.

After the reorganization, the Großdeutschland Division was assigned to XLVIII. Panzerkorps during the opening phases of Fall Blau, Wehrmacht's 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. The division took part in the crossing of the upper Don river and to capture Voronezh. In August, the division was pulled back to the north bank of the Donets and held as a mobile reserve and counterattack force. During the combined Soviet winter offensives Operation Uranus and Operation Mars, the Division was involved in heavy winter fighting near Rzhev. The Division sustained heavy losses in the Rzhev salient, making the division combat ineffective. It was pulled out of the lines and refitted.

Distinctive unit markings of the Panzer Battalion Großdeutschland Division based on photos taken in September 1942 of PzKpfw IVs of the Panzer Abteilung "Großdeutschland Division". Courtesy deutschesoldaten.com.

Kharkov

In January–February 1943, Großdeutschland and XLVIII.Panzerkorps, along with the II SS Panzer Corps took part in the Third Battle of Kharkov. The division fought alongside the 1.SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 2.SS Division Das Reich and 3.SS Division Totenkopf during these battles. After the fall of Kharkov, the Großdeutschland was again pulled back and refitted.

Panzer Grenadier Division Großdeutschland

In May 1943, with the addition of armoured personnel carriers and Tigers the division was redesignated Panzer Grenadier Division Großdeutschland,[2] though in reality it now had more armoured vehicles than most full strength panzer divisions.

Operation Citadel

Großdeutschland Division soldiers, Kursk, July 1943

The newly re-equipped division was subordinated to the XLVIII Panzer Corps (which was part of Fourth Panzer Army commanded by Hermann Hoth), and was to play a role, alongside the II SS Panzer Corps, in Operation Citadel, the German offensive to sever the Kursk salient. During the buildup period, a brigade of two battalions equipped with the new tanks, Panther Ausf. D, was integrated into the OOB of Großdeutschland Division. After the launch of Operation Citadel, the division was involved in the fighting aimed at penetrating the southern shoulder of the salient. The new Panthers were plagued by technical problems, suffering from engine fires and mechanical breakdowns, with many becoming disabled before reaching the battlefield. The Großdeutschland division did not take part in the tank battle of Prokhorovka, and the Panther tanks were not engaged as most were broken down by the time the battle started. The division fought on until it was pulled back to Tomarovka on 18 July 1943.

Defensive battles after Operation Citadel

After the Kursk offensive was cancelled, the division was transferred back to Heeresgruppe Mitte, and resumed its role as a mobile reserve. The Tiger tank company was expanded to a battalion, becoming the III. Battalion of the Panzer Regiment. Großdeutschland saw heavy fighting around Karachev before being transferred back to XLVIII Panzer Corps in late August. For the rest of 1943, Großdeutschland was engaged in the fighting withdrawal from the eastern Ukraine, taking part in battles around Kharkov, Belgorod, and finally on the Dnieper, ending the year in fighting near Michurin-Rog, east of Krivoi-Rog.

Activities in 1944

Großdeutschland continued fighting in the area of Krivoi-Rog early in January 1944 until it was transferred west for rest and refit. During this period, 1./Panzer Regiment 26 (Panther) joined the Panzer Regiment Großdeutschland, and Großdeutschland's I. Bataillon moved to France to refit and train with the new tanks; they did not rejoin the Division until after the Normandy invasion.

Panzer Regiment Großdeutschland saw action in the battles to relieve the Cherkassy pocket in late January 1944 while the rest of the division was involved in heavy fighting from the Dniester to Northern Bessarabia. On 4 March 1944 the First, Second and Third Ukrainian Fronts launched a major attack on the north, central and southern flanks of Army Group South, and Großdeutschland moved to Kirovgrad and was later withdrawn to Rovnoye to the southwest. On 16 March the division began the move to the Dniester River, and by the end of March had entered Romania.

In April 1944, Großdeutschland, as a part of LVII.Panzerkorps, fought defensive battles near Iaşi, including the First Battle of Târgu Frumos, slowly retreating to Târgul Frumos in Moldavia. A renewed Soviet offensive began on 2 May, aimed at breaking through to the Romanian oil fields. The defensive action at the Second Battle of Târgu Frumos was the focus of several NATO studies during the Cold War.

In mid May, the infantry and reconnaissance components of the division were equipped with armored personnel carriers (Schützenpanzerwagen) and other armoured vehicles. The Füsilier regiments were downsized from four battalions to three. The division was then sent back to the front, where it was involved in the fighting around Podul Iloaiei. After a brief rest in early July, the division was again committed to heavy fighting in northern Romania.

In late July, the division was transferred to East Prussia. Over the next months, Großdeutschland was involved in heavy fighting in both East Prussia, including a counter-attack on Wilkowischken and the Baltic States, suffering large casualties in both men and materiel. The division was nearly destroyed during the battles in the Memel bridgehead.

Panzer Corps Großdeutschland

Panzers of the division in Romania, 1944

In November 1944, while the division retained its status as a Panzergrenadier division, several attached units were expanded to divisional status, and the Panzerkorps Großdeutschland[notes 5] was formed.

The Corps was made up of primarily two Divisions - Großdeutschland and the Brandenburg Division which have its origins strongly linked to the Großdeutschland.

By March 1945, the Panzer Grenadier Division Großdeutschland had been reduced to around 4,000 men. These escaped by ferry from the collapsing Memel bridgehead. They landed at Pillau and were put straight back into combat. By 25 April 1945, the division ceased to exist, having been completely destroyed in the battles around Pillau. Of the survivors only a few hundred were able to make their way to Schleswig-Holstein and surrendered to British forces. The majority of the men were left behind and were forced to surrender to the Russians where they often faced death or an indefinite amount of time in Gulag.

Panzer Grenadier Division Kurmark had been created out of Großdeutschland remnants in early 1945 and had fought throughout the last months of the war. Men of both the Brandenburg and Kurmark units were entitled to wear Großdeutschland insignia.

List of commanders

Personal accounts

The unit became known in the West through the book The Forgotten Soldier, by the Alsatian veteran, Guy Sajer (a pseudonym), who served as a volunteer. The book was first published in 1967 in France as Le Soldat Oublié. While the historical accuracy of Sajer's autobiographical work has been questioned, it nevertheless offers a vivid and moving account of the horrors of war on the Eastern Front.

A more recent account was written by Alfred Novotny, entitled The Good Soldier, which focuses on both his experiences in Panzerfüsilier Regiment Großdeutschland from 1944, but also his captivity in the Soviet Union after the German surrender. Jurgen Herbst, emeritus professor of history at the University of Wisconsin, recounts his experience as a young volunteer who joined the Division in 1945 in his book Requiem for a German Past.

War crimes

The book German Army and Genocide (ISBN 1-56584-525-0) mentions the following incident, from the invasion of Yugoslavia:

When one German soldier was shot and one seriously wounded in Pancevo, Wehrmacht soldiers and the Waffen SS rounded up about 100 civilians at random...the town commander, Lt. Col. Fritz Bandelow conducted the Court's Martial...The presiding judge, SS-Sturmbannführer Rudolf Hoffmann sentenced 36 of those arrested to death. On April 21, 1941, four of the civilians were the first to be shot...On the following day eighteen victims were hanged in a cemetery and fourteen more were shot at the cemetery wall by an execution squad of the Wehrmacht's Großdeutschland regiment.

— German Army and Genocide, page 42

Part of the photographic presentation for the book includes a photo where the Großdeutschland cuff title on the officer is clearly visible. The official Großdeutschland history by Helmuth Spaeter mentions that only "draconian measures were occasionally required to halt looting by the civilian population" in Belgrade. The events of 21 April in Pancevo are not discussed directly, though many references are made to "security duties" in Yugoslavia.

The subject of Grossdeutschland's complicity in war crimes was the subject of the book by Omer Bartov The Eastern Front, 1941–45, German Troops, and the Barbarization of Warfare (1986, ISBN 0-312-22486-9).

Organization and structure

Insignia

The "Großdeutschland" cuff title

Members of the Grossdeutschland wore an intertwined GD on the shoulder straps and a cuff title. Some examples of the green cuff title worn by Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland were still seen late in the war, but the most common title was the pattern introduced in 1940, with Sütterlin script on a black backing. All divisional elements were granted this cuff title. As an army formation, Grossdeutschland wore their cuff title on the right sleeve.

Order of Battle as of September 1943

Divisional Headquarters

Divisional Staff (32 Officers, 143 NCOs and enlisted)

maps and the divisional war diary, liaison with neighbouring units, and structuring component units of the division.

Divisional Escort Company

On formation of Grossdeutschland as a Panzergrenadier Division, a 219-man Divisional Escort Company was added to Divisional headquarters. Modelled after the escort companies of Waffen SS Divisions, this unit was intended to guard divisional headquarters, serve as a mobile reserve, and was in essence a small battle group suited to all operational circumstances. It included, according to varying sources, some or all of the following:

Feldgendarmerie (Military Police)

Military Police Troop - Numbering one platoon of men, the Military Police detachment (recruited like the rest of the Army's MPs from civilian police) were equipped with light cars and motorcycles. Almost all military policemen not holding officer rank were NCOs (Unteroffizier or higher) excepting some drivers, in order to provide authority for their duties - including maintenance of discipline, but most importantly collection of prisoners and traffic control duties. Grossdeutschland had several hundred motorized vehicles which had to be moved over great distances both rapidly and efficiently.

Kriegsberichter (War Correspondent Platoon)

Responsible for recruitment and propaganda literature. Grossdeutschland was unusual in having its own correspondents permanently assigned to the division.

Panzer Grenadier Regiment Grossdeutschland

Mechanised troops of Großdeutschland, Russia 1943
Großdeutschland mortar position, Russia 1943

Panzerfüsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland

As for Panzergrenadier Regiment Grossdeutschland, above

Artillerie-Regiment Großdeutschland

A Großdeutschland soldier operating a flak rangefinder
Großdeutschland artillery position, Russia 1943

Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion Grossdeutschland

Großdeutschland Flakvierling quadmount anti-aircraft gun, November 1943

Reorganizations in June 1943 involved renumbering the 3.7 FlaK batteries 1 and 2, and the addition of 6 Battery

Panzerjäger (Anti-Tank) Battalion "Großdeutschland"

Panzer Aufklärungs (Armoured Reconnaissance) Battalion Grossdeutschland

Kradschützen (motorcycles) and light armoured vehicles of Großdeutschland, during Operation Bagration, August 1944
Großdeutschland radio vehicles and others, 1942
Lieutenant of Division "Großdeutschland" with Sturmpistole, 1943

Upon expansion to a panzergrenadier Division, this battalion adopted golden-yellow waffenfarbe and cavalry traditions for all its companies.

Panzer (Tank) Regiment "Großdeutschland"

Oberst Karl Lorenz Commander of the "Großdeutschland" regiment, meeting with the crew of a Panther in south Russia
Großdeutschland troops training in a Panzer IV, November 1943
Tiger of III Battalion, Russia, September 1943

Sturmpionier (Assault Pioneer) Battalion "Großdeutschland"

Großdeutschland Sturmpionier with flamethrower, November 1943

This company was outfitted with armoured personnel carriers after Kursk.

Sturmgeschütz (Assault Gun) Battalion "Großdeutschland"

Großdeutschland StuG IIIs on parade, April 1943

Formed from 16th Company, Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland and the 192nd Assault Gun Battalion.

Panzer Nachrichten (Armoured Signals) Battalion "Großdeutschland"

Formed from IR Grossdeutschland Signals Company and remnants of 309th Signals Battalion

Medical Battalion "Großdeutschland"

A Großdeutschland medical soldier tends to a wound, Russia 1942

Supply Services

Field Post Office

Formed from IR Grossdeutschland Supply Services

Großdeutschland troops unloading a supply truck

Commanding officers

Infantry Division Grossdeutschland (1 Apr 1942 - 1 Jun 1943)

Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland (June 1943 - 8 May 1945)

Generalmajor (later Generalleutnant) Walter Hörnlein 1 April 1942 - 27 January 1944
General der Panzertruppen Hermann Balck (temporary command) 3 Apr 1943 - 30 Jun 1943
Generalleutnant Hasso von Manteuffel 27 January 1944 - 1 September 1944
Oberst (later Generalmajor) Karl Lorenz 1 September 1944 - May 1945
Artillery Regiment Grossdeutschland
Oberst Georg Jauer 15 Mar 1942 - Dec 1942
Oberst Reinke
Oberstleutnant Albrecht
Hauptmann Dr. Ritter
Burchardt
Panzer Regiment Grossdeutschland
Oberst Hyacinth Graf Strachwitz von Groß-Zauche und Camminetz January 1943 - November 1943
Major Pfeffer (PanzerAbteilung 51, in temporary command of Pz Regt Grossdeutschland)
Oberst Otto Büsing (Killed in Action 8 March 1944)
Oberst Willy Langkeit 1 March 1944 - 1 November 1944
Oberstleutnant Bruno Kahl 1 November 1944 - May 1945
Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland 1 (1 Apr 1942 - 1 Oct 1942)

Grenadier Regiment Grossdeutschland (1 Oct 1942 - June 1943)
Panzergrenadier Regiment Grossdeutschland (June 1943 - 8 May 1945)

Oberst Köhler 1 Apr 1942 - 1 Dec 1942 (Killed in Action)
Oberst Karl Lorenz 1 Dec 1942 - 14 Dec 1942
Oberst Kurt Moehring 14 Dec 1942 - 14 Jan 1943
Oberst Karl Lorenz 14 Jan 1943 - 1 August 1944
Major Hugo Schimmel 1 August 1944 - August 1944
Major Harald Kriegk (?) October 1944
Major Wolfgang Heesemann November 1944 - Feb 1945 (Killed in Action)
Major Friedrich-Karl Krützmann Feb 1945 - War's End
Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland 2 (1 Apr 1942 - 1 Oct 1942)

Füsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland (1 Oct 1942 - June 1943)
Panzerfüsilier Regiment Grossdeutschland (June 1943 - 8 May 1945)

Oberst Eugen Garski 1 Apr 1942 - 30 Sep 1942 (Killed in Action)
Oberst Erich Kahsnitz 21 Oct 1942 - 3 July 1943 (fatally wounded and died of wounds on 29 July 1943 in Germany)
Oberst Hermann Schulte-Heuthaus 7 July 1943 - 4 Sep 1943 (Wounded in action)
Major Rudolf Watjen 4 Sep 1943 - 18 Sep 1943
Major Wack 18 Sep 1943 - 15 Oct 1943
Oberst Horst Niemack 16 Oct 1943 - 24 August 1944
Oberst Heinz Wittchow von Brese-Winiary 3 Sep 1944 - 13 Feb 1945 (Dismissed, captured 18 Feb 1945)
Oberstleutnant Maxemilian Fabich 13 Feb 1945 - May 1945

Notes

  1. ↑ Großdeutschland means "greater Germany" or "united Germany
  2. ↑ The formation went through various stages of expansion, reorganization and name changes, but "Großdeutschland" stayed through all the changes
  3. ↑ Literally "Guard Troop Command"
  4. ↑ Often simply referred to as Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland or Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland
  5. ↑ literal-translated as Panzer Corps Großdeutschland

References

  1. ↑ Spaeter, Helmuth. History of the Panzerkorps Großdeutschland Volume I. Page 290
  2. ↑ Wolfgang Schneider (2005). Tigers In Combat II. p. 21. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  3. ↑ Sharpe, Michael and Brian L. Davis Grossdeutschland: Guderian's Eastern Front Elite, p. 39

Printed references

Further reading

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