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Author: Chris Ellis Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 108
Book Description
The new Spearhead series is designed to look at the cutting edge of war, dealing with units capable of operating completely independently in the forefront of battle. Each volume in the series examines a historic unit's origins, history, organization, order of battle, battle history, insignia and markings. The 21st Panzer Division gained greatest fame in North Africa, but also served in Normandy and on the Russian Front. Each Spearhead title includes an evaluation of the units combat effectiveness as seen by the unit, its opponents and subsequent researchers, and a research section including a bibliography and a listing of museums, websites, re-enactment groups and memorials.
Author: Chris Ellis Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 108
Book Description
The new Spearhead series is designed to look at the cutting edge of war, dealing with units capable of operating completely independently in the forefront of battle. Each volume in the series examines a historic unit's origins, history, organization, order of battle, battle history, insignia and markings. The 21st Panzer Division gained greatest fame in North Africa, but also served in Normandy and on the Russian Front. Each Spearhead title includes an evaluation of the units combat effectiveness as seen by the unit, its opponents and subsequent researchers, and a research section including a bibliography and a listing of museums, websites, re-enactment groups and memorials.
Author: Jean-Claude Perrigault Publisher: Heimdal ISBN: 9782840481577 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 527
Book Description
In February 1941, the German High Command decided to dispatch an expeditionary force to north Africa in support of the Italian forces which were in a difficult situation against the British. This contingent included elements that a few months later were to form the 5th Light Division, and in 1942, the 21st Panzer-Division. As the keystone of the Deutsches Afrika Korps, this division was involved in the hardest battles in that theater of operations until it was finally driven out of the continent of Africa along with the rest of the Axis forces in May 1943. A new division was then formed in France from the surviving elements. Poorly equipped, partly with old models of French and German tanks, the division showed great initiative in turning these salvaged vehicles into formidable fighting weapons. On 6 June 1944, 21st Panzer-Division was the first German armored formation to be launched in a counter-attack against the Allied landings in Normandy. After getting as far as the coast, the division was forced back. However its action on D-Day held up British troops' attempts to capture the city of Caen for a whole month. It was almost wiped out in the British offensive west of Caen on 18 July 1944, but fought on in the hedgerows before retiring eastwards across France. Following the failed German counter-attack in Alsace in 1945, the division was transferred to the eastern front where it was annihilated in the Halbe pocket shortly before the end of the war.
Author: Werner Kortenhaus Publisher: Helion ISBN: 9781912174140 Category : History Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
For years, one of the most essential sources for study of the Normandy invasion was known only to a select few and nearly unobtainable even to those who knew of its existence. It has never before been translated. None of the major English language histories of the Normandy Invasion refer to it, even though it is the history of the only German armored division that was in place in the Caen area at the moment of the invasion. It reveals key facts that are missing elsewhere. At long last, Werner Kortenhaus' history of the 21st Panzer Division has been published in English. Kortenhaus's account of the division's subsequent commitment, in the Lorraine - Saar Region - Alsace area provides intriguing detail on this little known sector as the southern wing of Patton's 3rd Army strove for the Upper Rhine area of Germany. The last section follows the division after its hasty transfer to the Oder Front, facing the final Russian onslaught on Berlin. In revising and updating his account, originally released in two massive typed volumes, Die Schlalcht um Caen, 1944, Caumont, Falaise Seine, der Einsatz der 21. Panzer Division" in 1989 and "Lothringen Elsa, der Ostfront, der Einsatz der 21. Panzer Division" in 1990, Werner Kortenhaus has exhaustively researched all available sources in German, French and English to supplement his own experiences and those of his fellows and the many individuals whom he interviewed. The result is a seamless account of the Normandy invasion in the British sector from the German viewpoint that sheds new light on many controversial issues. The account continues, following the division and surrounding events during the retreat to the Seine and the division's later commitment in Alsace - Lorraine and, finally, on the Oder Front against the Soviet Union, and its eventual demise in the horrors of the Halbe pocket. The account is not restricted to the history of the 21st Panzer Division, but includes detailed analysis and exposition of actions of adjoining divisions and of the larger picture, from the German viewpoint. Elements of the 21st Panzer Division were committed separately prior to the Normandy invasion on both sides of the River Orne, in the vicinity of Caen. Although the 21st Panzer Division was the only German armored division stationed in the Caen area, it stood by in frustration with engines running for hours awaiting orders for action. Even then it was handicapped by its prior dispersed commitment. Elements of the 21st Panzer Division fought against the British airborne force at Pegasus Bridge, while other elements launched a counterattack that almost reached Sword Beach. The division's Kampfgruppe von Luck was a major part of the German defense east of the Orne. North of Caen, to the west of the Orne, along with the 12th SS-Hitler Jugend Panzer Division the 21st Panzer Division blocked the unrelenting British frontal attacks on Caen that culminated in "Operation Charnwood. The division subsequently played a major role in halting the British assault east of Caen, "Operation Goodwood," short of its final objectives. The division was then shifted westward where remnants of the division then defended against Montgomery's "Operation Bluecoat" that resulted in the final British Breakthrough on their western flank as the Americans broke through to Avranche and beyond. As the German counterattack at Mortain failed and allied forces moved toward encircling the German Fifth Panzer Army and Seventh Army, the 21st Panzer Division was shifted again and attached to the I SS-Panzer Korps. Its two combat groups were separated by the advance of the II Canadian Corps, Kampfgruppe Rauch and elements of Panzer Aufklarungs Abteilung 21 ending up inside the Falaise Pocket, Kampfgruppe von Luck on the outside. Following the retreat to the Seine, the reconstituted, but much depleted, 21st Panzer Division then fought in Lorraine against Patton's 3rd Army. As one of the few armored divisions not included in Hitler's build up of forces for the impending Ardennes Offensive, the division became a "fire brigade," shifted from one hot spot to another, constantly counter attacking as the German front was forced back from Lorraine into the Saar region and then into Alsace. Kortenhaus presents an unusual and detailed insight into the "poor man's war" against the southern arm of Patton's thrust through the Saar region to the upper Rhine, as a few hard-pressed remnant formations tried to "hold the line" while the bulk of the remaining German forces were massed and reconstituted for Hitler's last great offensive in the Ardennes. As the Ardennes operation failed, the 21st Panzer Division took part in "Operation Nordwind" and fought on in Alsace, until the Russian assault over the Vistula shattered the frail German Eastern Front. Within a matter of weeks the Russian forces reached the Oder and broke into East Prussia and Silesia. On 31 January 1945 Hitler ordered that the 21st Panzer Division be pulled out of Alsace and dispatched in extreme haste to the Eastern Front in the Kustrin area. A mere shadow of even what it was when it entered the fighting in Lorraine, the division established contact with the garrison of "Fortress Kustrin" before it was, again, hastily shifted south into northern Silesia in the Sagan - Bunzlau area on the Lausitzer Neie River. After initial eventful fighting the division fell back to the west bank of the Lausitzer Neie River, where it dug in. As the Russian offensive focused on other sectors, the defensive line along the Lausitzer Neie River was successfully held by the 4th Panzer Armee until mid-February 1945. / While the Russians concentrated forces for their last offensive, the "Battle of Berlin," the Oder Front remained relatively quiet, except on the boundary between the 4th Panzer Armee and 17th Armee, where the "Battle for Lauban" developed as the last major offensive of the German Army. A combat group and command staff from the 21st Panzer Division took part in the offensive, which, while successful, faded into insignificance in comparison with the magnitude of Russian forces. Faced with the concentration of the Soviet forces for the final offensive on Berlin, the German Supreme Command repositioned forces, transferring the 21st Panzer Division to the Weiwasser - Spremberg area, on the left wing of the 4th Panzer Armee, of Heeresgruppe Mitte, initially as Armee reserve. The division was ordered to dig in in the "Mathilda" Position, in the German second line of defense. Marshal Koniev's 1st Ukrainian Front launched its final offensive as the last elements of the division arrived. The division was quickly drawn into the fighting. Fighting in desperate defense, the division fell back on Cottbus. The Russian breakthrough in the area between Spremberg and Cottbus split the German V Armee Korps, including the 21st Panzer Division, off from the left wing of the 4th Panzer Armee/Heeresgruppe Mitte, forcing it to the north, into the sector of Heeresgruppe Weichsel, where it was attached to the German 9th Armee. The division met its end as the 9th Armee was cut off and destroyed in the Halbe Pocket, while Russian forces fought within the city of Berlin. Helion's English edition includes a significant number of rare photographs and many maps. Werner Kortenhaus' study represents a significant contribution to English language material available regarding a Heer panzer division, besides its extensive coverage of German armoured operations in Normandy, Lorraine, Alsace and elsewhere.
Author: Tim Saunders Publisher: Pen and Sword Military ISBN: 1526757370 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 499
Book Description
The history of the armored division comprised of German teenagers in the Normandy campaign, drawing on new materials from former Eastern Bloc archives. Raised in 1943 with seventeen-year-olds from the Hitler Youth movement, and following the twin disasters of Stalingrad and ‘Tunisgrad,’ the Hitlerjugend Panzer Division emerged as the most effective German division fighting in the West. The core of the division was a cadre of officers and NCOs provided by Hitler’s bodyguard division, the elite Leibstandarte, with the aim of producing a division of ‘equal value’ to fight alongside them in I SS Panzer Corps. During the fighting in Normandy, the Hitlerjugend proved to be implacable foes to both the British and the Canadians, repeatedly blunting Montgomery’s offensives, fighting with skill and a degree of determination well beyond the norm. This they did from D+1 through to the final battle to escape from the Falaise Pocket, despite huge disadvantages, namely constant Allied air attack, highly destructive naval gunfire, and a chronic lack of combat supplies and replacements of men and equipment. Written with the advantage of new materials from archives in the former Eastern Bloc, this book is no whitewash of a Waffen SS division and it does not shy away from confronting unpalatable facts or controversies. Includes photographs
Author: David Stahel Publisher: Macmillan + ORM ISBN: 0374714258 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 301
Book Description
An authoritative revisionist account of the German Winter Campaign of 1941–1942, with maps: “Hair-raising . . . a page-turner.” —Kirkus Reviews Germany’s winter campaign of 1941–1942 is commonly seen as its first defeat. In Retreat from Moscow, a bold, gripping account of one of the seminal moments of World War II, David Stahel argues that instead it was its first strategic success in the East. The Soviet counteroffensive was in fact a Pyrrhic victory. Despite being pushed back from Moscow, the Wehrmacht lost far fewer men, frustrated its enemy’s strategy, and emerged in the spring unbroken and poised to recapture the initiative. Hitler’s strategic plan called for holding important Russian industrial cities, and the German army succeeded. The Soviets as of January 1942 aimed for nothing less than the destruction of Army Group Center, yet not a single German unit was ever destroyed. Lacking the professionalism, training, and experience of the Wehrmacht, the Red Army’s offensive attempting to break German lines in countless head-on assaults led to far more tactical defeats than victories. Using accounts from journals, memoirs, and wartime correspondence, Stahel takes us directly into the Wolf’s Lair to reveal a German command at war with itself as generals on the ground fought to maintain order and save their troops in the face of Hitler’s capricious, increasingly irrational directives. Excerpts from soldiers’ diaries and letters home paint a rich portrait of life and death on the front, where the men of the Ostheer battled frostbite nearly as deadly as Soviet artillery. With this latest installment of his pathbreaking series on the Eastern Front, David Stahel completes a military history of the highest order. “An engaging, fine-grained account of an epic struggle . . . Mr. Stahel describes these days brilliantly, switching among various levels of command while reminding us of the experiences of the soldiers on the ground and the civilians caught up in the Nazi ‘war of annihilation.’” —The Wall Street Journal
Author: Marc Milner Publisher: University Press of Kansas ISBN: 0700625240 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 396
Book Description
In the narrative of D-Day the Canadians figure chiefly—if at all—as an ineffective force bungling their part in the early phase of Operation Overlord. The reality is quite another story. As both the Allies and the Germans knew, only Germany’s Panzers could crush Overlord in its tracks. The Canadians’ job was to stop the Panzers—which, as this book finally makes clear, is precisely what they did. Rescuing from obscurity one of the least understood and most important chapters in the history of D-Day, Stopping the Panzers is the first full account of how the Allies planned for and met the Panzer threat to Operation Overlord. As such, this book marks nothing less than a paradigm shift in our understanding of the Normandy campaign. Beginning with the Allied planning for Operation Overlord in 1943, historian Marc Milner tracks changing and expanding assessments of the Panzer threat, and the preparations of the men and units tasked with handling that threat. Featured in this was the 3rd Canadian Division, which, treated so dismissively by history, was actually the most powerful Allied formation to land on D-Day, with a full armored brigade and nearly 300 artillery and antitank guns under command. Milner describes how, over four days of intense and often brutal battle, the Canadians fought to a literal standstill the 1st SS Panzer Corps—which included the Wehrmacht’s 21st Panzer Division; its vaunted elite Panzer Lehr Division; and the rabidly zealous 12th SS Hitler Youth Panzer Division, whose murder of 157 Canadian POWs accounted for nearly a quarter of Canadian fatalities during the fighting. Stopping the Panzers sets this murderous battle within the wider context of the Overlord assault, offering a perspective that challenges the conventional wisdom about Allied and German combat efficiency, and leads to one of the freshest assessments of the D-Day landings and their pre-attack planning in more than a decade.
Author: Otto Carius Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 0811769089 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 407
Book Description
WWII began with a metallic roar as the German Blitzkrieg raced across Europe, spearheaded by the most dreaded weapon of the 20th century: the Panzer. No German tank better represents that thundering power than the infamous Tiger, and Otto Carius was one of the most successful commanders to ever take a Tiger into battle, destroying well over 150 enemy tanks during his incredible career.
Author: Pier Paolo Battistelli Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 1472800435 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 285
Book Description
This volume provides a detailed examination on the late-war changes to the German Army Panzer forces and the formation of new units, from the collapse on the Eastern Front, through operations on the Western Front in Normandy and the Ardennes, to the final battle for Berlin in 1945. The major organizational changes that took place in this intensive period are examined, together with the adaptation of German armoured doctrine, tactics, and the command. Details of unit histories and operations, illustrated in colour maps, are also provided in this packed treatment.
Author: Yves Buffetaut Publisher: Casemate Publishers ISBN: 1612005268 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 173
Book Description
“Certainly my first recourse from now on when looking at the SS panzer divisions. Give yourself a treat and buy a copy ASAP if tanks are your thing” (Army Rumour Service). The Das Reich Division was the most infamous unit of the Waffen-SS. Originally a paramilitary formation raised to protect the members of the Nazi Party, it was founded in 1934 as the SS-Verfügungstruppe. During the invasion of Poland, the unit fought as a mobile infantry regiment. After the Battle of France, the SS-VT was officially renamed the Waffen-SS, and in 1941, the Verfügungs-Division was renamed Reich, later Das Reich. By the time Das Reich took part in the battle of Moscow, it had lost sixty percent of its combat strength. It was pulled off the front in mid-1942 and sent to refit as a panzer-grenadier division. Returning to the Eastern Front, Das Reich took part in the fighting around Kharkov and Kursk. Late in the year, it was designated a panzer division. In 1944, the unit was stationed in southern France when the Allies landed in Normandy. The following days saw the division commit atrocities, hanging one hundred local men in the town of Tulles in reprisal for German losses, and massacring 642 French civilians in Oradour-sur-Glane, allegedly in retaliation for partisan activity in the area. Later in the Normandy fighting, Das Reich was encircled in the Roncey pocket by US 2nd Armored Division, losing most of their armored equipment. Das Reich surrendered in May 1945. “Another fascinating piece of military history from the opposite point of view . . . this doesn’t purport to be an illustrated history of the Reich, but it damn well is!” —Books Monthly
Author: Chris Ellis
Author: Chris Ellis
Author: Jean-Claude Perrigault
Author: Werner Kortenhaus
Author: Tim Saunders
Author: David Stahel
Author: Marc Milner
Author: Otto Carius
Author: Ernst Rebentisch
Author: Pier Paolo Battistelli
Author: Yves Buffetaut