Führer Grenadier Brigade
The Führer Grenadier Brigade (formerly Führer Grenadier Battalion later Führer Grenadier Division) was an élite German Army combat unit which saw action during World War II. The Führer Grenadier Brigade is sometimes mistakenly perceived as being a part of the Waffen-SS, whereas it was actually an Army unit and technically assigned to the Großdeutschland Division. This misconception comes from its original duty of guarding Adolf Hitler's East Prussian Wolfsschanze Headquarters, a task which sounded similar to the original one of Waffen-SS 1. Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler", which in turn stemmed from the Führer's original bodyguard corps. Fighting on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, the brigade surrendered to U.S. forces in Austria in 1945. Creation and Early History The Führer Grenadier Battalion was raised in April, 1943 to act as a second guard unit on the outer perimeter of Hitler's ''Wolfsschanze'' in Rastenburg, East Prussia. Despite the idea o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Mechanized Infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs) or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). As defined by the United States Army, mechanized infantry is distinguished from motorized infantry in that its vehicles provide a degree of armor protection and armament for use in combat, whereas motorized infantry are provided with "soft-skinned" wheeled vehicles for transportation only.Infantry Division Transportation Battalion and Transportation, Tactical Carrier Units. (1962). United States: Headquarters, Department of the Army. p. 15 Most APCs and IFVs are fully tracked or are all-wheel drive vehicles (6×6 or 8×8), for mobility across rough ground. Some nations distinguish between mechanized and armored (or armoured) infantry, designating troops carried by APCs as mechanized and those in IFVs as armored. The support weapons for mechanized infantry are also provided with motorized transport ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous city and state. A landlocked country, Austria is bordered by Germany to the northwest, the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The country occupies an area of and has a population of 9 million. Austria emerged from the remnants of the Eastern and Hungarian March at the end of the first millennium. Originally a margraviate of Bavaria, it developed into a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1156 and was later made an archduchy in 1453. In the 16th century, Vienna began serving as the empire's administrative capital and Austria thus became the heartland of the Habsburg monarchy. After the dissolution of the H ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
6th 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'' came ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula () was an Army Group of the ''Wehrmacht'', formed on 24 January 1945. It lasted for 105 days, having been put together from elements of Army Group A (shattered in the Soviet Vistula-Oder Offensive), Army Group Centre (similarly largely destroyed in the East Prussian Offensive), and a variety of new or ad hoc formations. It was formed to protect Berlin from the Soviet armies advancing from the Vistula River. Establishment and history Heinz Guderian had originally urged the creation of a new army group as an essentially defensive measure to fill the gap opening in German defences between the lower Vistula and the lower Oder. The new Army Group Vistula was duly formed from an assortment of rebuilt, new and existing units. Guderian intended to propose Field-Marshal Maximilian von Weichs as commander. However, in a reflection of Hitler's desire to transfer control of the conflict from the ''Wehrmacht'' to the SS, Heinrich Himmler was appointed. Himmler, who la ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
7th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 7th Army () was a World War II field army of the German land forces. History Origins The 7th Army was activated in Stuttgart on August 25, 1939 with General Friedrich Dollmann in command. At the outbreak of the war, the 7th Army defended the French border and manned the Westwall in the Upper Rhine region. At the start of the Campaign in the West in 1940, the 7th Army was part of General Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb's Army Group C. On 14 June 1940, Army Group C attacked the Maginot Line after it had been cut off by armored units of the XXXXI Panzer Corps. Lead elements of the 7th Army reached the area in front of Colmar and later pursued parts of the French 2nd Army Group into Lorraine. At the conclusion of the campaign, the 7th Army was in eastern France. From July 1940 until April 1941, the 7th Army guarded a region of the coast in southwestern France. From 18 April 1941, the 7th Army was responsible for coastal defense in Brittany and Normandy. By mid-1944, the 7th Arm ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cuff Title
The cuff title (German: ''Ärmelstreifen'') is a form of commemorative or affiliation insignia placed on the sleeve, near the cuff, of German military and paramilitary uniforms. The tradition can be traced back to the foundation of the "Gibraltar" band, which was authorised in 1783 by King George III for regiments of the Electorate of Hanover. Cuff titles are often associated with the Second World War and units of the ''Waffen SS'' but were widely used by all branches of the German military, including paramilitary and civilian organizations. Description The base portion of a cuff title is made of either wool, cotton, rayon or a cotton/rayon mix. It is approximately 4 cm (1.6 inches) wide and bears a name or symbol that identifies the wearer belonging to a particular unit or has served in a specific campaign. Machine woven cuff titles became more common as the second world war progressed and newer titles were introduced. The colors of the fabric as well as the lettering v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Battle Of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Republic, France during the Second World War. On 3 September 1939, France French declaration of war on Germany (1939), declared war on Germany following the German invasion of Poland. In early September 1939, France began the limited Saar Offensive and by mid-October had withdrawn to their start lines. German armies German invasion of Belgium (1940), invaded Belgium, German invasion of Luxembourg, Luxembourg and German invasion of the Netherlands, the Netherlands on 10 May 1940. Fascist Italy (1922-1943), Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940 and attempted an Italian invasion of France, invasion of France. France and the Low Countries were conquered, ending land operations on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front until the Normandy l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Hermann Göring Division
Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Missouri, a town on the Missouri River in the United States ** Hermann AVA, Missouri wine region * The German SC1000 bomb of World War II was nicknamed the "Hermann" by the British, in reference to Hermann Göring * Herrmann Hall, the former Hotel Del Monte, at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California * Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, a large health system in Southeast Texas * The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI), a system to measure and describe thinking preferences in people * Hermann station (other), stations of the name * Hermann (crater), a small lunar impact crater in the western Oceanus Procellarum * Hermann Huppen, a Belgian comic book artist * Hermann 19, an American sailboat design built by Ted Herman ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
5th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
The 5th Panzer Division ( en, 5th Tank Division) was an armoured division of the German Army during World War II, established in 1938. The division fought in Poland, France, the Balkans and in the Soviet Union; first as part of Army Group Centre (1941–44) and then Army Group North. The division surrendered to Soviet and Western Allied forces in April and May 1945. History The 5th Panzer Division was formed in Oppeln, now Opole in Poland, on 15 November 1938 as part of a second wave of new armoured divisions in Germany following the creation of the original three tank divisions in 1935. Alongside the 5th Panzer Division the 4th had been formed in Würzburg five days earlier. The personnel of the division was mainly made up of Silesians and Sudeten Germans, the Sudetenland having been annexed by Germany shortly before.Mitcham, p. 65. The division took part in the invasion of Poland in 1939 but played no major role in it, being part of the southern thrust of the German advance ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gumbinnen
Gusev (russian: Гу́сев; german: Gumbinnen; lt, Gumbinė; pl, Gąbin) is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border with Poland and Lithuania, east of Chernyakhovsk. Population: History The settlement of Gumbinnen (from lt, Gumbinė: pumpkin) in the Duchy of Prussia, a vassal duchy of the Kingdom of Poland, was first mentioned in a 1580 deed. A Protestant parish was established in Gumbinnen at the behest of the Hohenzollern thanks to Duke Albert of Prussia about 1545 and the first church was erected in 1582. It became part of Brandenburg-Prussia in 1618, remaining a fief of Poland. From the 18th century, it was part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Between 1709 and 1711 the area was devastated by the Great Northern War plague outbreak and had to be redeveloped under the rule of the "Soldier King" Frederick William I of Prussia, who granted Gumbinnen town ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
4th Army (Wehrmacht)
The 4th Army () was a field army of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Invasions of Poland and France The 4th Army was activated on 1 August 1939 with General Günther von Kluge in command. It took part in the Invasion of Poland of September 1939 as part of Army Group North, which was under Field Marshal Feodor von Bock. The 4th Army contained the II Corps and III Corps, each with two infantry divisions, the XIX Corps with two motorized and one panzer divisions, and three other divisions, including two in reserve. Its objective was to capture the Polish Corridor, thus linking mainland Germany with East Prussia. During the attack on the Low Countries and France, the 4th Army, as part of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group A, invaded Belgium from the Rhineland. Along with other German armies, the 4th Army penetrated the Dyle Line and completed the trapping of the Allied forces in France. The then Major-General Erwin Rommel, who was under Kluge, contributed immensely ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
XXVII Korps
The XXVII Corps (german: XXVII. Armeekorps, or ''XXVII.AK'') was an infantry corps in the German army. It fought in several notable actions during World War II. The corps was originally raised in August 1939 in Wehrkreis VII. Wartime service 1939 Organisation (September 1939): 16th, 69th, 211th and 216th Infantry Divisions During September 1939 the XXVII Corps was used to screen the Dutch-German border. 1940 Organisation (June 1940): 211th, 213th, 218th and 239th Infantry Divisions The Corps participated in Nazi Germany's Invasion of France as part of Army Group C. In May, it crossed the southern Netherlands and Belgium towards Roubaix, where it helped in surrounding the French 1st Army. Later in the campaign, it attacked from the east bank of the Rhine towards Colmar. It then remained on occupation duties in eastern France until the following year. 1941 Organisation (November 1941): 86th, 129th and 162nd Infantry Divisions; '' Gruppe'' Landgraf (parts of 6th a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |