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Jul

2009

The Battle of the Bulge (3)

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Category : Battle of the Bulge, The Bulge (CMH)

Tags: 10. SS Panzer Division, 15. Army, 17. SS Panzer Grenadier Division, 21 Panzer-Division, 246. Volksgrenadier, 3rd Army (US), 49. Infanteriedivision, 5 Panzer Army, 6 SS Panzer, 6 SS Panzer Army, 7. Army, 7th Army (US), 89. Infanteriedivision, Aachen, Ahr River, Alois Hitler, Alois Schicklgruber, Alzette River, Amblève River, American West, Angela Hitler, Arlon, Army Group B, Army Group G, Army Group Student, Attert, Austria, Austrian, Baraque de Fraiture, Bastogne, Belgian Chasseurs Ardennais, Bitburg, Bonn, Braunau am Inn, Brussels, Catholic Benedictine Monastery, Clerf River, Cologne, Condroz, Dasburg, Daun, Diekirch, Dinant, Düren, Echternach, Edmund Hitler, Eifel, Ettelbruck, Eupen, Euskirchen, Famenne Depression, Fichtenhain, Fischlham, German Bavaria, Givet, Grevenmacher, Hakenkreuz, Herve, Hitler, Hohes Venn, Huertgen Forest, James Fenimore Cooper, Jodl, Johann Georg Hiedler, Karl May, Klara Pölzl, Koblenz, Kochem, Krebs, Kyll River, L'Homme River, La Roche, Lambach, Leonding, Lesse River, Libramont, Liège, Linz, Longwy, Lorraine, Losheim Gap, Luxembourg, Malmedy, Marche, Maria Anna Schicklgruber, Maria Schicklgruber, Maubeuge, Mayen, Mersch, Metz, Meuse River, Model, Monschau, Moselle River, Namur, Netherlands, Neufchateau, OB WEST, OKW, Old Shatterhand, Ortheuville, Our River, Ourthe River, Panzer Lehr Division, Paula Hitler, Plateau Des Tailles, Prüm River, Richthofen Cavalry Corps, Rochefort, Rundstedt, Saarbrucken, Salm River, Salzburg, Sauer River, Saverne Gap, Schlieffen Plan, Schnee Eifel, Semois River, Sepp Dietrich, Sierck, Sinzig, Spa, St Vith, Stavelot, Strasbourg, Sure River, Trier, Verviers, Vianden, Vienna, Virton, Wacht am Rhein, Wasserbillig, Westphal, Wiltz River, Wittlich

Chapter 3 – Troops and Terrain & The Order of the Battle

After-The-Battle-Of-The-Bulge-Belgium

During the long-drawn debate over the extent of the counteroffensive, the objective, and the attack form to be employed, the order of battle for Wacht am Rhein took form. This also led to differences of opinion and interpretation.
- How should the armies be aligned ?
- What forces, missions, and zones should be assigned to each particular army ?
- How many divisions, armored and infantry, would be available for use in the attack ?
The answers to these and like questions turned on the Solution adopted and the maneuver employed but will be set forth independently in an attempt to bring some order out of the confused interplay between Hitler, Jodl, Rundstedt, and Model.
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Jul

2009

The Battle of the Bulge (2)

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Category : Battle of the Bulge, The Bulge (CMH)

Tags: 12. SS Corps, 17. Bayerisches Kavallerie Regiment, 2. Motorcycle Rifle Battalion, 2. Panzer Div (WH), 25. Kavalerie Regiment, 2nd Baltic Front, 2nd Belorussian Front, 3. Preussisches Kavallerie Regiment, 5 Panzer Army, 52. Infantry Regiment von Alvensleben, 6. Prussian Infanterie Division, 7. Panzer Grenadier Brigade, 8. Panzer Division, Abwehrschlacht im Westen, Adolf Hitler, Africa, Alpbachtal, Antwerp, Arlon, Army Group Afrika, Army Group B, Army Group Center, Army Group North, Army Group Vistula, Arnhem, Arras, Aufmarschanweisungew, Austria, Baccarat, Bamberg, Baranovichi, Battle of Bastogne, Battle of Berlin, Battle of France, Battle of Kursk, Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, Battle of Verdun, Belgian Ardenne, Belgium, Belgorod, Belorussia, Berlin, Berlin-Krampnitz, British Troops, Brussels, Canadians Troops, Charles V. P. von Luttichau, Colonel Friedrich August von der Heydte, Courland Pocket, Diekirch, Division von Broich, Dnieper River, Dr. Schuster, Dresden, Echternach, Eifel, Epinal, Erich von Manstein, Erwin Rommel, Estonia, Feldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt, Fichtenhain, France, Free Democratic Party of Germany, Freikorps, Friedrich von Mellenthin, Galicia, Geilenkirchen, General der Infanterie Hans Krebs, General der Kavellerie Siegfried Westphal, General der Panzertruppen Hasso-Eccard von Manteuffel, General Erhard Raus, General Gotthard Heinrici, General Konstantin Rokossovsky, Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel, Generalleutnant Bodo Zimmermann, Generalleutnant Friedrich John, Generalmajor Franz von Rantau, Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, Generaloberst der Waffen-SS Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, Genthin, Georg von Küchler, Georg-Hans Reinhardt, George S. Patton J, German Bundestag, German Revolution, German Spring Offensive, Gestapo, Givet, Grenadier Division Großdeutschland, Guard Ersatz Division, Günther von Kluge, Hans von Seeckt, Hans-Jürgen von Arnim, Heinz Guderian, Heinz Harmel, Hermann Balck, Hermann Breith, Hermann Göring, Hermann Hoth, Herta Huyssen, Hürtgen Forest, Hussar Regiment, Imperial German, Iohnca, Ivan Konev, Jodl, Joseph Goebbels, Kalinin, Kampfgruppen, Kavallerie Regiment Erfurt, Kharkov, Kirovograd, Koln, Konstantin, Krefeld, Kremlin, Kriegsschule, Lama River, Leningrad, Liège, Lithuania, Lokhvitsa, Longwy, Lorraine, Lt Gen George S. Patton Jr, Ludwig Beck, Lützkampen, Luxembourg, Lvov, Maastricht, Marshal Georgy Zhukov, Martelange, Mecklenburg, Metz, Meuse River, Minsk, Monschau, Montbéliard, Moscow, Namur, Nancy, Narva, Neisse, Netherlands, Neufchateau, Nuremberg, OB WEST, Oberbefehlshaber West, Oder River, OKW, Oosterbeek, Operation Alcase, Operation Bagration, Operation Barbarossa, Operation Buffalo, Operation Citadel, Operation Herbstnebel, Operation Holland, Operation Kutuzov, Operation Liège, Operation Lorraine, Operation Luxembourg, Operation Market-Garden, Operation Mars, Operation Typhoon, Otto Sponheimer, Panzer Group 3, Panzer Group Eberbach, Panzer Troop Command, Panzer Troop School II, Poland, Potsdam, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Randow Swamp, Rathenow, Red Army, Reichswehr, Reith, Rhine River, Rokossovsky, Romania, Roslavl, Rostov, Run, Schild und Schwert, Seelow Heights, Semois River, Seymour Freiden, Sittard, Smolensk, Somme, Soviet Union, Stettin, Sudetenland, Susteren, Sychevka, Thuisko von Metzch, Truppenamt, Tunisia, Tyrol, Ukraine, US Military Academy West Point, V-1 Rockets, V-2 Missiles, Vesoul, Vilnius, Volkhov, Wacht am Rhein, Warsaw, Wasserbillig, Wehrmachtfuehrungsstab, Weimar Republic, Western Front, Western Pomerania, Willi Bittrich, William Richardson, Zhitomir, Ziegenberg

CHAPTER II
Planning the Counteroffensive

Details of the Plan

About 25 September Generalorberst Alfred Jodl was ordered to begin a detailed analysis of the Hitlerian concept, the only function now left to the great General Staff. Some latitude remained to the individual staff officers and those favored few in the high echelon of command who retained access to the Führer in kneading and shaping the very general outline handed down by Hitler into an operations plan. The outline as it now had taken shape contained these major points :

(a) the attack should be launched sometime between 20 and 30 November;
(b) it should be made through the Ardenne in the Monschau – Echternach sector;
(c) the initial object would be the seizure of bridgeheads over the Meuse River between Liège and Namur;
(d) thereafter, Antwerp would be the objective;
(e) a battle to annihilate the British and Canadians would ultimately be fought north of the line Antwerp, Liège, Bastogne (1);
(f) a minimum of thirty divisions would be available, ten of which would be armored;
(g) support would be given by an unprecedented concentration of artillery and rocket projector units;
(h) operational control would be vested in four armies and two panzer armies abreast in the lead, two armies composed largely of infantry divisions to cover the flanks;
(i) the Luftwaffe would be prepared to support the operation;
(j) all planning would aim at securing tactical surprise and speed;(k) secrecy would be maintained at all costs and only a very limited number of individuals would be made privy to the plan.

Jul

2009

German Airborne Operations (3)

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Category : Airborne Operations, Archives Movies, Fallschirmjäger, German Airborne

Tags: (Operation Seeloewe), 1. Armee, 22 Luftland Division, 27-BCA, 28 Alpine Infantry Division, 3. Imperial Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment, 352. Infanterie Division, 5. Gebirgsjäger Division, 601 GIA, 602 GIA, 7-BCA, 7. Fallschirmjäger Division, Ahnhem, Airborne Panzer Korps, Airborne Training Center, Algeria, Alikaneos, Allied Airborne Operations, Alsace, Ardenne Offensive, Ardennes 1944, Ardennes Forest, Army Group B, Arnemuisen Isthmus, Avignon-Pujaut, Aviorex 120, Aviorex 130, BA112, Balkans, Baraki, Bavaria 6. Infanterie Division, Bavarian 3. Armee Korps, Bavarian Staff College, Berlin, Blue Division, Boys AT Rifles, BR 7 squadron, Brigade Schmalz, British Expeditionary Force, British Prime Minister, British SAS, Calais, Carbine Berthier Mle1892 M16, Catania, Caucasus, Claus Von Stauffenberg, Compagnie d’Infanterie de l’Air, Corinth, Corinth 1941, Corinth Canal, Crete, Crete 1941, Crown Prince, Czechoslovakia, Dachau, Dnepr, Dora Radio Set, Durance River, East Prussia, Emil, England, Equipe, Erma-Vollmer, Fallschirmtruppe, Farman 224, Fifth Column, Flessingue Airbase, Fliegerfuehrer, Flossenbürg, FM 24/29 LMG, Fort Eben Emael, France, Fred Geille, French Air Force, French Maquis, French Paratroopers, Friedrich Radio Set, Gela, Gen Haller, General Conrath, General der Fallschirmtruppen Eugen Meindl, General der Flakartillerie August Schmidt, General der Infanterie Guenther Blumentritt, General der Kavallerie Siegfried Westphal, General Erich von Manstein, General Franz Halder, General Gerd von Rundstedt, General Ludwig Beck, General Max Halder, General Walther von Brauchitsch, General Walther von Reichenau, General Wilhelm Keitel, General Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, Generalleutant Max Pemsel, Generalleutant Werner Ehrig, Generalmajor Hellmuth Reinhardt, Generaloberst Kurt Student, German Second Air Force, German Stosstruppen, Gestapo, Greek Island Leros, Groupe Franc, Groupement Franc, Groupes de l’Infanterie de l’Air, Haguenau, Hermann Goering Panzer Division, Holland, Hotchkiss Mle1914, Infanterie de l’Air, Isthmus of Corinth, Italy, Kastelli Hill, Khania, Kremenchug, Lebanon, Lembach, Leningrad, Lentini, LeO 213, Leros 1943, Low Countries, Luftgau VI, Luftwaffe, Maleme Airfield, Malta, Marshal Tukhachevski, MAS-38 SMG, MG-34, Montélimar, Munich, Munich Agreement, Munster, Narvik, Neville Chamberlain, Niederbronn, Nijmegen, North-Africa, OB Southwest, OB WEST, Oberkommando des Heeres, Oberquartiermeister, Oberst Albert Emmerich, Oberst Freiherr August Friedrich von der Heydte, Oberst Fritz Ziegelmann, OKW, Operation Barbarossa, Paleochora, Peloponnesus, Poland, Potez 650, Prague, Primosole, Reichswehr War Ministry Training Branch, Reims, Reinhard Heydrich, Romania, Royal Bavarian Army, Section d’Eclaireurs Skieurs, Sicily, Simeto, Sizaine, Sollbruchstellen, Soviet Union, Sudetenland, Suomi M-31, Syria, Tarnopol, Trentaine, Ukraine, Vassieux, VB Launcher, Von Richthofen Corps, Wehrkreis Kdo VI, Wehrkreis VI, Wehrmacht, Westphalia, Wurzburg, XVIII Korps, Zossen Conspiracy

BillLee Section 8
Reflection on the Absence of Russian Air Landings
It is surprising that during World War II the USSR did not attempt any large-scale airborne operations. Although Soviet Russia was the first country in the world which during peacetime had experimented with landing troops by air and had organized special units for this purpose*, its wartime operations were confined to the commitment of small units which were dropped back of the German front for the purpose of supporting partisan activities and which had no direct tactical or strategic effect. The reasons can only be surmised and might have been any or all of the following :
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Jul

2009

Fallschirmjäger Operations WW-2 (2)

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Category : Fallschirmjäger

Tags: (Operation Seeloewe), 1. Armee, 22 Luftland Division, 3. Imperial Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment, 352. Infanterie Division, 5. Gebirgsjäger Division, 7. Fallschirmjäger Division, Ahnhem, Airborne Panzer Korps, Alikaneos, Allied Airborne Operations, Ardenne Offensive, Ardennes 1944, Ardennes Forest, Army Group B, Balkans, Bavaria 6. Infanterie Division, Bavarian 3. Armee Korps, Bavarian Staff College, Berlin, Brigade Schmalz, British Expeditionary Force, British Prime Minister, Catania, Caucasus, Corinth, Corinth 1941, Corinth Canal, Crete, Crete 1941, Crown Prince, Czechoslovakia, Dachau, East Prussia, Emil, England, Fallschirmtruppe, Fifth Column, Flossenbürg, Fort Eben Emael, France, French Maquis, Gela, General Conrath, General der Fallschirmtruppen Eugen Meindl, General der Flakartillerie August Schmidt, General der Infanterie Guenther Blumentritt, General der Kavallerie Siegfried Westphal, General Erich von Manstein, General Franz Halder, General Gerd von Rundstedt, General Ludwig Beck, General Max Halder, General Walther von Brauchitsch, General Walther von Reichenau, General Wilhelm Keitel, General Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, Generalleutant Max Pemsel, Generalleutant Werner Ehrig, Generalmajor Hellmuth Reinhardt, Generaloberst Kurt Student, German Second Air Force, Gestapo, Greek Island Leros, Hermann Goering Panzer Division, Holland, Isthmus of Corinth, Italy, Kastelli Hill, Khania, Leningrad, Lentini, Leros 1943, Low Countries, Luftgau VI, Luftwaffe, Maleme Airfield, Malta, Munich, Munich Agreement, Munster, Narvik, Neville Chamberlain, Nijmegen, OB Southwest, OB WEST, Oberkommando des Heeres, Oberquartiermeister, Oberst Albert Emmerich, Oberst Freiherr August Friedrich von der Heydte, Oberst Fritz Ziegelmann, OKW, Operation Barbarossa, Paleochora, Peloponnesus, Poland, Prague, Primosole, Reichswehr War Ministry Training Branch, Reinhard Heydrich, Romania, Sicily, Simeto, Sollbruchstellen, Soviet Union, Sudetenland, Ukraine, Vassieux, Von Richthofen Corps, Wehrkreis Kdo VI, Wehrkreis VI, Wehrmacht, Westphalia, Wurzburg, XVIII Korps, Zossen Conspiracy

Fallis-001 Section 4
Air Transported Troops

The original German plan to use Army troops for this purpose and to equip and train them accordingly was abandoned early in the war. The 22. Infanterie Division, which had been selected in peacetime for the purpose, participated in airborne operations only once, in Belgium and in Holland in 1940. It was found that their double equipment-one set for regular ground combat, the other for use in air-landing operations constituted an obstacle; consideration for their special mission limited their employment for ground combat. When a fresh commitment in line with their special mission became a possibility in Crete, it was found impossible to bring them up in time. On the other hand, as early as the Norway campaign, mountain troops were flown for commitment at Narvik without much prior preparation. While in this case non tactical transport by air was involved, the previously mentioned commitment in 1941 of the 5. Gebirgsjaeger Division in the airborne operation against Crete took place after only short preparation and was entirely successful.
On the basis of these experiences the idea of giving individual Army units special equipment for airborne operations was abandoned. The German High Command set about finding ways and means to adapt all Army units for transport by air with a minimum of changes in their equipment. The results were never put into practice because after Crete the Germans did not undertake any other airborne operations on a large scale. Crete, however, proved that the German mountain troops, because of their equipment and the training which they had received, as well as their combat methods, were particularly suited for missions of this nature. In the future the goal must be to find a way of committing not only mountain and infantry divisions but panzer and motorized formations in airborne operations. Their equipment and organization for this purpose will depend upon the evaluation of technical possibilities which cannot be discussed in detail here. The chief demand which the military must make upon the technical experts is that the changes required for such commitment be kept to a minimum. A way must be found to determine the best method for such a change so that the troops can undertake it promptly at any time.

Jun

2009

Anzio Beach Head (1)

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Category : Anzio Beach Head, Italy

Tags: 1-504th Parachute Regiment, 15th Panzer Grenadier Division, 16. SS Panzer Grenadier Division, 16th SS Panzer Grenadier Division, 1st Irish Guards, 1st Parachute Division, 24th Grenadier Brigade (Br), 26th Panzer Division, 26th Panzer Grenadier Division, 278th Infanterie Division, 29th Panzer Grenadier Division, 2nd Armored Division (US), 3. Panzer Gren Div (WH), 334th Infantrerie Division, 356th Infantry Division, 35th Tank Battalion, 371st Infanterie Division, 44th Infanterie Division, 4th Parachute Division, 51 Gebirgsjäger Korps, 56th Rocket Regiment, 5th Grenadier Guards, 65th Infanterie Division, 751st Armored Battalion (US), 76 Panzer Korps, 82nd Airborne Division (US), 87 Armee Korps, 90th Panzer Grenadier Division, 955th Infantry Regiment, Add new tag, Adriatic Sea, Alban Hills, Albano-Anzio Road, Alps, American Fifth Army, Americano, Ancona-Venice, Antiaircraft Battalion, Antitank Battalion, Anzio, Anzio-Nettuno, Apennines, Aprillia Road, Army Group B, Astura Mouth, Avazzano, B IV, Bernhard Line, Bologna, Borgo Piava, Brigadier General Pfeiffer, Brigadier General Schemer, Brigadier General Westphal, British Eighth Army, Cacina sector, Canale S. Lorenzo, Cas. Terre Spaccassassi, Cas. Tre di Padiglione, Cassino, Cecina, Cisterna, Civitavecchia, Cle Vallerata, Colonel Hauser, Colonel Wentzell, Combat Group Ens, Combat Group Von Bohr, Engineer Battalion, Foggia, Fusilier Battalion, Gaeta, Garigliano River, General of the Infantry Toussaint, General von Mackensen, General von Vietinghoff, Genoa, Goliath, Gothic Line, Gulf of Genoa, Gustav Line, I Fallschirmjäger Korps, Isola Bella, Istria, Istrian Peninsula, Italian Armed Forces, Italian Republican Government, Jager, Jager Division, La Spezia, Lake Bracciano, Lieutenant General Kubler, Lieutenant General Witthoft, Ligurian Sea, Liverno, Livorno, Macchia del Casale, Marshal Graziani, Marshal Kesselring, Marshal Rommel, Mescarello Creek, Moletta Creek, Motorized Artillery Regiment, Motorized Infantry Regiments, Mount Lepini, Mouth of the Tiber, Mussolini Canal, Naples, Northern Italy, Operation Richard, Operation Shingle, Ortona, Ost-Bataillonen, Panzer, Panzer Antitank Battalion, Panzer Artillery Regiment, Panzer Division, Panzer Division Herman Goering, Panzer Engineer Battalion, Panzer Grenadier, Panzer Grenadier Division, Panzer Grenadier Regiment, Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion, Panzer Services Battalion, Panzer Signal Battalion, Pesaro, Pescara-Ancona, Piombino, Po Bassin, Porto Civitanova, Pz. Heavy TD Rhinoceros, Pz. III, Pz. III Assault Howitzer Hornet, Pz. IV, Pz. V Panther, Pz. VI Tiger I, Rimini-Ravenna, Rome, Salerno, Sector Tarquinia, Signal Battalion, Spaccasassi, Swiss Border, Tarquina-Terracina, TD Elephant, TD Ferdinand, Termoli, Terracina-Rome-Orbatollo, Tiber Mouth, Tiger Assault Gun, US 26th Infantry Division, US 34th Infantry Division, Vetralla, Voralpen Line, X Armee, XI Luft Korps, XIV Armee, XIV Panzer Korps

30-bmg-position-at-anzio-italy The following study of German operations against the Allied beachhead at Anzio, from 22-01-44 to 31-05-44, is based on the available journals and records of the German X and XIV Armies. It should be noted that the facts and opinions expressed in the text reflect the German point of view, all statements on Allied troop strength, are German estimates. Records of the German Luftwaffe were not available, therefore the details of air action against the beachhead has not been included. The expressions like Panzer (tanks, armored), Jager (light infantry), and Panzer Grenadier (armored infantry), have been left in the German for purposes of clarification.
The daily reports list German and Allied losses. The Allied losses are limited to prisoners taken in most instances, and to weapons or materials known to have been destroyed. The German losses seem always to be minus at least one division, which means the German loss figures are probably grossly under-reported, for whatever reason. In addition, the German figures almost never reflect any material losses, so they do not show the number of tanks, trucks, airplanes, artillery pieces, etc., lost in the day-to-day fighting.
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