Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland

The Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland 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 Battle 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.[4]

The Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland reorganized and expanded to become Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland (mot.). The division was assigned to German XLVIII Panzer Corps during the opening phases of Fall Blau, Wehrmacht's 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. During the combined Soviet winter offensives Operation Uranus and Operation Mars, the division fought near Rzhev, where it was rendered combat ineffective.

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.[5] After the fall of Kharkov, the Großdeutschland was again pulled back and refitted.

In 19 May 1943, with the addition of armoured personnel carriers and Tigers the division was redesignated Panzer Grenadier Division Großdeutschland,[6][7] though in reality it now had more armoured vehicles than most full strength panzer divisions.

Großdeutschland Division soldiers, Kursk, July 1943

The newly re-equipped division was subordinated to the XLVIII Panzer Corps, part of Fourth Panzer Army, and took part in the Battle of Kursk. During the buildup period, a brigade of two battalions equipped with the new Panther tanks, which were plagued by technical problems, suffering from engine fires and mechanical breakdowns before reaching the battlefield. By 7 July, the division had only 80 of its 300 tanks still fit for combat.[8] After the Kursk offensive was cancelled, the division was transferred back to Army 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 around Karachev before being transferred back to XLVIII Panzer Corps in late August.[9] For the rest of 1943, Großdeutschland retreated across Ukraine, and in 1944 into Romania, where it took part in the First Battle of Târgu Frumos.

In early August, the division was transferred to East Prussia from Army Group South Ukraine.[10] 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 high casualties in both men and materiel.[11][12] The division was nearly destroyed during the battles in the Memel bridgehead.

Panther tanks of the division in Romania, 1944

In November 1944, while the division and several attached units were redesignated as Panzerkorps Großdeutschland. By March 1945, the Panzer Grenadier Division Großdeutschland had been reduced to around 4,000 men after the Battle of Memel.[13] By 25 April 1945, the division was engaged in heavy fighting in the battles around Pillau. 800 men of the division were evacuated on ferries via the Baltic Sea and surrendered to British forces in Schleswig-Holstein on may 9. The rest were either killed or captured during the fighting in Pillau or surrendered to soviet forces on may 9 on the Vistula spit.

During the campaign in France, Großdeutschland carried out racially motivated murders of hundreds of captured black African members of the French army, which fell into the hands of the infantry regiment. The soldiers of Großdeutschland murdered captured blacks on account of their race, which they believed to merit their separation from white soldiers, and then their execution. For example, on June 10, 1940, at least 150 captured black soldiers were separated and murdered by Großdeutschland in the Erquinvillers area. On 19 and 20 June 1940, Großdeutschland carried out a series of massacres of captured blacks in the Chasselay area, in which the regiment together with the SS division 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf murdered about 100 black soldiers for racial reasons.[14]

The book German Army and Genocide 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 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.

— [15]

Part of the photographic presentation for the book includes a photo where the Großdeutschland cuff title on the officer is clearly visible. The subject of Grossdeutschland's complicity in many subsequent war crimes in Russia and Ukraine, 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).

Structure of the division:[16][17]

• Headquarters
• Grossdeutschland Reconnaissance Battalion
• Grossdeutschland Panzer Regiment
• Grossdeutschland Panzergrenadier Regiment
• Grossdeutschland Fusilier Regiment
• Grossdeutschland Engineer Battalion
• Grossdeutschland Artillery Regiment
• Grossdeutschland Tank Destroyer Battalion
• Grossdeutschland Army Anti-Aircraft Battalion
• Grossdeutschland Assault Gun Battalion
• Grossdeutschland Signal Battalion
• Grossdeutschland Divisional Supply Group

Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland

• Oberstleutnant Wilhelm-Hunold von Stockhausen, July 1939 – February 1940
• Oberstleutnant Gerhard Graf von Schwerin, February 1940 – March 1940
• Oberst Wilhelm-Hunold von Stockhausen, March 1940 – August 1941
• Oberst Walter Hörnlein, August 1941 – April 1942

Infantry/Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland

• Generalmajor Walter Hörnlein - 1 April 1942 – 3 April 1943
• Generalleutnant Hermann Balck - 3 April - 30 June 1943
• Generalleutnant Walter Hörnlein - 30 June 1943 - 1 February 1944
• Generalleutnant Hasso von Manteuffel - 1 February 1944 – August 1944
• Generalmajor Karl Lorenz - 1 September 1944 - 7 May 1945

• Guy Sajer

Informational notes

Citations

Bibliography

• Hamburg Institute for Social Research, ed. (1999), The German army and genocide : crimes against war prisoners, Jews, and other civilians in the East, 1939-1944, New York: New Press, ISBN 978-1-56584-525-1
• Nafziger, George. "Organizational History of Miscelleanous German Named Infantry and Panzer Grenadier, Brigades, Verbands & Divisions, 1939-1945" (PDF). Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library. US Army Combined Arms Center. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
• Sharpe, Michael; Davis, Brian L (2001), GROSSDEUTSCHLAND: Guderian's Eastern Front Elite, Compendium Publishing Ltd, ISBN 0-7110-2854-0
• Solarz, Jacek. Division/Korps "Großdeutschland" 1943-1945 Vol. I and II. (Polish/English edition by Wydawnictwo "Militaria", Warsaw, 2005) ISBN 83-7219-237-5
• Spaeter, Helmuth (1992), The History of the Panzerkorps Großdeutschland Vol I, Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, ISBN 0-921991-12-6
• Spaeter, Helmuth (1995), The History of the Panzerkorps Großdeutschland Vol II, Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, ISBN 0-921991-27-4
• Spaeter, Helmuth (2000), The History of the Panzerkorps Großdeutschland Vol III, Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, ISBN 0-921991-50-9
• Spaeter, Helmuth (1990), Panzerkorps Grossdeutschland: A Pictorial History, Pennsylvania, USA: Schiffer Books, ISBN 0-88740-245-3
• Ziemke, Earl F. (2002), Stalingrad to Berlin: The German Defeat in the East, Washington, D.C: Center of Military History, ISBN 9781780392875

Further reading

• Jung, Hans Joachim (2000). Panzer Soldiers for "God, Honor and Fatherland": The History of Panzerregiment Grossdeutschland. Winnipeg, Canada: J.J. Fedorowicz. ISBN 0-921991-51-7.
• Herbst, Jurgen (2002), Requiem for a German Past: A Boyhood among the Nazis, Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN 978-0-299-16414-0
• de Lannoy, François; Perrigault, Jean-Claude (1998). La Grossdeutschland: du régiment au Panzerkorps, 1939–1945 [Grossdeutschland: A Regiment of the Panzer Corps 1939–1945] (in French). Bayeux, France: Heimdal. ISBN 2-84048-110-3.
• Lucas, James (1978), Germany's Elite Panzer Force: Grossdeutschland, London: Macdonald and Jane's, ISBN 0-35401-165-0
• McGuirl, Thomas & Remy Spezzano (1997), God, Honor, Fatherland: A Photo History of Panzergrenadier Division "Grossdeutschland" on the Eastern Front 1942 - 1944, Connecticut: Southbury, ISBN 0-9657584-0-0
• Novotny, Alfred (2002), The Good Soldier: From Austrian Social Democracy to Communist Captivity with a Soldier of Panzer-Grenadier Division Grossdeutschland, Bedford, Pennsylvania: Aberjona Press, ISBN 0-966638-99-9
• Quarrie, Bruce (1977), Panzer-Grenadier Division Grossdeutschland, London: Osprey Publishing Group, ISBN 0-85045-055-1
• Scheibert, Horst (1987). The Panzer Grenadier Division "Grossdeutschland": The Panzer Grenadier Division "Grossdeutschland" and Panzer-Korps Grossdeutschland, Panzer Division Brandenburg, Führer Begleit Division, Panzer Division Kurmark: A Pictorial History with Text & Maps. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications. ISBN 978-0-89747-061-2.