| Panzergrenadier Division "Großdeutschland" Division "Großdeutschland" | |
|---|---|
| Panzergrenadier-Division "Großdeutschland" "Großdeutschland"-Division | |
.svg) Insignia of theGroßdeutschland Division | |
| Active | 19 May 1942 – 9 May 1945 |
| Country |  Germany |
| Branch |  German Army |
| Type | Panzergrenadier |
| Size | Division |
| Part of | |
| Garrison/HQ | Grafenwoehr Training Area, nearGrafenwöhr,Bavaria,Germany Military training area near Zielenzig,Brandenburg,Germany |
| Nicknames | Die Feuerwehr ("The Fire Brigade")[1] |
| Mottos | Gott, Ehre, Vaterland ("God, Honor, Fatherland")[2] |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | |
| Insignia | |
| Cuff title |
|
ThePanzergrenadier Division "Großdeutschland",[notes 1] also commonly referred to simply asGroßdeutschland[notes 2] orGroßdeutschland Division, was an elite combat unit of theGerman Army (Heer) that fought on theEastern Front inWorld War II.
Originally formed in 1921, it was known as theWachregiment Berlin[3] and served as aceremonial guard unit and by 1939 had grown into aregiment of the combinedWehrmacht German armed forces. The regiment would later be expanded and renamedInfanterie-Division Großdeutschland in 1942, and after significant reorganization was renamedPanzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland in May 1943. In November 1944, while the division retained its status as aPanzergrenadier division, some of its subordinate units were expanded todivisional status, and the whole group of divisions were reorganized asPanzerkorps Großdeutschland.
TheInfantry Regiment Grossdeutschland was activated on 14 June 1939. The regiment saw action inFrancein 1940, and took part in theinvasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. It was attached toPanzer Group 2 in the opening phases ofBarbarossa, and was nearly destroyed in theBattle of Moscow in late 1941. On the last day of February 1942, the remnants of the regiment absorbed two battalions of reinforcements that arrived fromNeuruppin and the regiment was reconstituted. It later moved toOrel, and on 1 April 1942 the former Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland was reinforced and expanded into theInfanterie-DivisionGroßdeutschland (mot.) (motorized Infantry Division Grossdeutschland) using newly arrived troops from Germany.[4]
The division was assigned toXXXXVIII Panzer Corps during the opening phases ofFall Blau, the Wehrmacht's 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. During the combined Soviet winter offensivesOperation Uranus andOperation Mars in late November through mid-December, the divisionfought near Rzhev, where it was rendered combat ineffective. By November 18, 1942, the division only had 7Panzer II, 1Panzer III, 19Panzer IV, and 3Sd.Kfz. 265 Panzerbefehlswagen operational.[5]
In January–February 1943,Großdeutschland and XXXXVIII Panzer Corps, along with theII SS Panzer Corps took part in theThird Battle of Kharkov. The division had 5 Panzer II, 20 Panzer III, 85 Panzer IV, 9 Tiger I, 2 Panzerbefehlswagen, and 26 Flammpanzer III available at that time.[6] The division fought alongside the1.SS DivisionLeibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler,2. SS DivisionDas Reich and3.SS DivisionTotenkopf during these battles.[7] The division's losses as total write-offs at that time amounted to 1 Panzer III, 12 Panzer IV, and 1 Tiger I.[6] After the conquest of Kharkov, theGroßdeutschland was again pulled back and refitted.
On 19 May 1943, with the addition ofarmoured personnel carriers andTigers the division was redesignatedPanzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland (Armored Grenadier Division Grossdeutschland),[8][9] though, in reality, it now had more armored vehicles than most full-strengthpanzer divisions.
The newly re-equipped division was subordinated to theXXXXVIII Panzer Corps, part ofFourth Panzer Army, and took part in theBattle of Kursk. During the buildup period, aregiment of two battalions were equipped with the newPanther tanks, which were plagued by technical problems, suffering from engine fires and mechanical breakdowns before reaching the battlefield. The division has 4Panzer II, 23Panzer III, 68Panzer IV, 15Tiger I, 8 command tanks, and 14 Flammpanzer III available.[10] By 7 July, the division had only 80 of its 300 tanks still fit for combat.[11] After the Kursk offensive was canceled, the division was transferred back toArmy Group Center and resumed its role as a mobile reserve. The Tiger I tank company was expanded to a battalion, becoming the III. Battalion of the Panzer Regiment. Großdeutschland saw heavy fighting aroundKarachev before being transferred back to XLVIII Panzer Corps in late August.[12] For the rest of 1943,Großdeutschland retreated acrossUkraine, and in 1944 into Romania, where it took part in theFirst Battle of Târgu Frumos. By May 31, 1944, the division had 14 Panzer IV, 90 Panthers, and 40 Tiger I tanks.[13]
In early August, the division was transferred toEast Prussia fromArmy Group South Ukraine.[14] Over the next months,Großdeutschland was involved in heavy fighting in both East Prussia, including a counter-attack onWilkowischken and theBaltic States, suffering high casualties in both men and materiel.[15][16] The division was nearly destroyed during the battles in theMemel bridgehead.
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In November 1944, while the division and several attached units were redesignated asPanzerkorps Großdeutschland. By March 1945, the Panzer Grenadier DivisionGroßdeutschland had been reduced to around 4,000 men after the Battle of Memel.[17] It had only 1 StuG III, 1 Panzer IV, 5 Panthers, and 6 Tiger I tanks by March 15, 1945.[18] By 25 April 1945, the division was engaged in heavy fighting in the battles aroundPillau.[citation needed] Eight hundred men of the division were evacuated on ferries via theBaltic Sea and surrendered to British forces in Schleswig-Holstein on May 9. The rest were either killed or captured during the fighting inPillau or surrendered to Soviet forces on May 9 on the Vistula spit.
During the battle of France, soldiers of the division perpetrated thesummary executions of hundreds of Black prisoners of war in French service. These executions were racially motivated, as German troops had been conditioned by Nazi propaganda to see Black people as subhuman. In several instances, Black prisoners of war were separated from White ones and murdered by soldiers of the division, including on 10 June 1940, where 150 Black prisoners were massacred inErquinvillers. Another mass killing committed by the division was theChasselay massacre, where on 19 and 20 June hundreds of Black prisoners of war were murdered inChasselay, Rhône.[19]
The bookGerman Army and Genocide mentions the following incident, from theinvasion of Yugoslavia:
When one German soldier was shot and one seriously wounded inPancevo, Wehrmacht soldiers and theWaffen SS rounded up about 100 civilians at random...the town commander, Lt. Col. Fritz Bandelow conducted the Courts 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.
— [20]
Part of the photographic presentation for the book includes a photo where theGroßdeutschland cuff title on the officer is clearly visible. The subject of Grossdeutschland's complicity in many subsequentwar crimes in Russia and Ukraine, was the subject of the book byOmer BartovThe Eastern Front, 1941–45, German Troops, and the Barbarization of Warfare (1986,ISBN 0-312-22486-9).
Under existing international law at the time, reprisals were permitted though the Allied nations and Nazi Germany had differing interpretations of the law. In postwar war crimes trials, reprisal killings were deemed to be illegal, a conclusion enshrined in international law by theUnited Nations.[21][22]
Structure of the division:[23]
Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland
Infantry/Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland
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Media related toDivision Großdeutschland at Wikimedia Commons