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1313th Battalion
The Ardennes Counteroffensive, commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge, was a massive military operation undertaken by Nazi Germany in southern Belgium and northern Luxembourg which lasted from 16 December 1944 until 25 January 1945. The intent of the offensive was to split the ground forces of the Western Allies from each other and encourage them to make peace with Germany, leaving all of Germany's military might to fight off the resurgent USSR. The operation was conceived entirely by German head of state and armed forces chief Adolf Hitler. The plan was vigorously opposed by the two ranking generals who would oversee the assault, who saw only a waste of men and materiel with little chance of success. The Fūhrer dismissed all objections, convinced that the elite German forces would roll over the war-weary and/or inexperienced American formations in the Ardennes Forest and drive all the way to the English Channel port of Antwerp. In order to mislead any Allied intelligence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of The Bulge Progress
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force commitment. An engagement with only limited commitment between the forces and without decisive results is sometimes called a skirmish. The word "battle" can also be used infrequently to refer to an entire operational campaign, although this usage greatly diverges from its conventional or customary meaning. Generally, the word "battle" is used for such campaigns if referring to a protracted combat encounter in which either one or both of the combatants had the same methods, resources, and strategic objectives throughout the encounter. Some prominent examples of this would be the Battle of the Atlantic, Battle of Britain, and Battle of Stalingrad, all in World War II. Wars and military campaigns are guided by military strategy, whereas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sixth Panzer Army
The 6th Panzer Army (german: 6. Panzerarmee) was a formation of the German Army, formed in the autumn of 1944. The 6th Panzer Army was first used as an offensive force during the Battle of the Bulge, in which it operated as the northernmost element of the German offensive. The army was subsequently transferred to Hungary in early 1945 and used in both offensive and defensive actions there. The final battles of the 6th Panzer Army were fought in Austria, preventing its fall to Soviet forces. The remnants of the army eventually surrendered to the United States Army. The army's commander throughout its existence, SS-'' Oberstgruppenführer'' Josef Dietrich said in early 1945: We call ourselves the "6th Panzer Army", because we've only got 6 Panzers left. . Unit history The 6th Panzer Army is best noted for its leading role in the Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944 – January 25, 1945). Although it never received an SS designation, calling it the ''6th SS Panzer Army'' cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
LVIII Panzer Corps
LVIII Panzer Corps was a panzer corps in the German Army during World War II. This corps was established on 28 July 1943 as LVIII. Reserve-Panzerkorps in Wehrkreis V. On 6 July 1944, it was renamed LVIII Panzerkorps. It was sent to Le Mans in France on 20 July 1944 to fight the allies. It retreated through France before fighting in the Ardennes Offensive in winter 1944-1945. It ended the war in the Ruhr Pocket in April 1945. Commanders * General der Panzertruppen Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg - From 28 July 1943 to 30 November 1943 * General der Panzertruppe Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck - From 1 December 1943 to 10 February 1944 * General der Panzertruppe Walter Krüger - From 10 February 1944 to 25 March 1945 * Generalleutnant Walter Botsch __NOTOC__ Walter Hugo Botsch (27 February 1897 – 7 January 1969) was a German general during World War II who commanded the 19th Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Awards * Iro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heinrich Freiherr Von Lüttwitz
Diepold Georg Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz (6 December 1896 – 9 October 1969) was a Prussian Junker, Olympic equestrian, and German officer who served in both World Wars, retiring as a ''General der Panzertruppe''. Lüttwitz's team competed at the 1936 Summer games in Berlin but they came away without a medal. This failure was viewed as a disgrace by the Nazi regime and, as a consequence, he was left in professional obscurity for the next few years. He eventually went on to command two Panzer Divisions and the XLVII. ''Panzerkorps'' (47th Panzer Corps), where he earned infamy for his demand of the surrender of the American 101st Airborne Division. Early and Interwar years Lüttwitz excelled in school and, like many Prussian aristocrats, took up riding at an early age, becoming an accomplished equestrian. He was pursuing professional equestrianism when the First World War broke out. Despite the family tracing their military ancestry back to the 14th century and his father ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XLVII Panzer Corps (Germany)
XLVII Panzer Corps (also: 47th Panzer Corps or XXXXVII. ''Panzerkorps'' or XXXXVII Panzer Corps) was a panzer corps of the German Army in World War II that was formerly designated as XLVII Corps. Various formations of the corps fought in the French campaign of 1940, in the invasion of Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, and on the Western Front from June 1944 until April 1945. Initial Formation The first formation of the XLVII Corps was on 20 June 1940, during the Campaign in France. This formation was shortly thereafter disbanded on 1 July 1940. The corps was formed again as a motorized corps on 25 November 1940 in Military Region XI. The new corps was initially stationed in Germany as part of Army Group C. Eastern Front In May 1941, the corps was subordinated to Panzer Group 2 (later 2nd Panzer Army) and took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa, in 1941. On 21 June 1942, the corps was retitled XLVII Panzer Corps. The corps remained on the Russian front ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Decker
Karl Decker (30 November 1897 – 21 April 1945) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II who committed suicide in the Ruhr Pocket on 21 April 1945. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Military career Karl Decker was born on 30 November 1897 as son to an officer in Borzęcino, Gmina Barwice, Borntin in Pomerania. He joined the military service on 3 August 1914 and first saw action in East Prussia. He was promoted to an officer candidate for bravery before the enemy and also was awarded the Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class. Decker was again promoted in 1915 to ''Leutnant'' and shortly afterwards received the Iron Cross 1st Class. That same year, he fought in Poland, Russia and Courland (now Latvia) He then served as ''Zugführer (military), Zugführer'' (platoon leader) of a machine gun unit after he was transferred to the ''Feldkriegsschule'' of the German 8th Army in 1916. He was transferred to the Western F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
XXXIX Panzer Corps (Germany)
The XXXIX Panzer Corps (german: XXXIX.Panzerkorps, also previously designated the ''XXXIX.Armeekorps (mot)'') was a German panzer corps which saw action on the Western and Eastern Fronts during World War II. Operational history The Corps whose home station was formed (as the XXXIX Army Corps) in 1940 for the German invasion of France, in which it was part of Group Guderian, the 2nd and 1st Armies. In June 1941 the Corps was assigned to Army Group Centre for Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. It initially attacked towards Vilnius and then took part in the first Battle of Minsk. By August, it was assigned to Army Group North for the attack on Leningrad. In 9 July 1942 the Corps was reorganised as the XXXIX Panzer Corps. It was shifted to the Rzhev salient, under the 9th Army of Army Group Centre, where it was involved in Battle of Rzhev in the summer of 1942. Army Group Centre evacuated the Rzhev salient early in 1943. During the autumn, the Cor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hasso Von Manteuffel
Freiherr Hasso Eccard von Manteuffel (14 January 1897 – 24 September 1978) was a German baron born to the Prussian noble von Manteuffel family and was a general during World War II who commanded the 5th Panzer Army. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds of Nazi Germany. After the war, he was elected to the Bundestag (West German legislature) and was the spokesman for defense of the Free Democratic Party. A proponent of rearmament, he was responsible for coining the new name for the post-World War II German armed forces, the Bundeswehr. Early career Hasso von Manteuffel began his military career during the First World War. In 1919, he joined the ''Freikorps'' and then the newly created ''Reichswehr''. In February 1937 he joined the Panzer Troop Command of the OKH, and in February 1939 became a senior professor at Panzer Troop School II in Berlin. World War II During Operation Barbarossa, Manteuffel commanded a batta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fifth Panzer Army
5th Panzer Army (german: 5. Panzerarmee) was the name of two different German armoured formations during World War II. The first of these was formed in 1942, during the North African campaign and surrendered to the Allies at Tunis in 1943. The army was re-formed in France in 1944, fought in Western Europe and surrendered in the Ruhr pocket in 1945. History Formation in Italy and deployment in North Africa On 17 November 1942, the ''Stab Nehring'' staff, assigned to the German general in Rome, was reformed to become the LXXXX Army Corps. This staff was soon repurposed to become the 5th Panzer Army. The 5th Panzer Army was created on 8 December 1942 as a command formation for armoured units forming to defend Tunisia against Allied attacks which threatened, after the success of the Allied Operation Torch landings in Algeria and Morocco. The army fought alongside the Italian First Army as a part of Army Group Afrika. The army capitulated on 13 May 1943, along with its commander G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Otto Hitzfeld
Otto Maximilian Hitzfeld (7 May 1898 – 6 December 1990) was a German general during World War II. He was listed as a recipient of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords by the West German Association of Knight's Cross Recipients. He is the uncle of retired football manager Ottmar Hitzfeld. Career Hitzfeld received command of the 102nd Infantry Division in April 1943. He was promoted to Generalleutnant early November 1943 and had to turn over command of the Division. He then took command of the infantry school in Döberitz and again turned over command on 1 November 1944. Hitzfeld was given command of the LXVII Army Corps, which he led in the Battle of the Bulge. He was promoted to General of the Infantry on 1 March 1945 and made commanding general of the LXVII Army Corps. He became commander of the 11th Army in April 1945. He declared Göttingen, which was crowded with refugees, as an open city. He was taken prisoner of war by American forces on 19 April 1945 from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willi Bittrich
Wilhelm Bittrich (26 February 1894 – 19 April 1979) was a high-ranking Waffen-SS commander of Nazi Germany. Between August 1942 and February 1943, Bittrich commanded the SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer, in rear security operations ('' Bandenbekämpfung'', literally: "bandit fighting") in the Soviet Union. From July 1944 until the end of the war Bittrich commanded the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in Normandy, during Market Garden and in Hungary. After his arrest in May 1945, Bittrich was extradited to France on charges of having ordered the execution of 17 members of the French Resistance. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. Following his release from prison, Bittrich became active in HIAG, a revisionist organization and a lobby group of former Waffen-SS members and served as chairman during the 1970s. World War I and inter-war career Born in 1894 into the family of a traveling salesman, Bittrich volunteered for military service after the outbreak of Worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
II SS Panzer Corps
The II SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern and Western Front (World War II), Western Fronts during World War II. It was commanded by Paul Hausser during the Third Battle of Kharkov and the Battle of Kursk in 1943 and by Wilhelm Bittrich on the Western Front in 1944. World War II 1942–1943 The II SS Panzer Corps was formed to take command of SS Division Leibstandarte, SS Division Das Reich and SS Division Totenkopf in July 1942 as the SS Panzer Corps. In August, it was sent to northern France before taking part in the Case Anton, the occupation of Vichy France in November, during which it captured Toulon. In early February 1943, the corps, under the command of SS-Gruppenführer Paul Hausser, was attached to Army Group South in Ukraine and participated in the Third Battle of Kharkov. The corps was renamed II SS Panzer Corps in June 1943, after the I SS Panzer Corps was created during that same ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
