101st Heavy SS Panzer Battalion (german: Schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 101) was a

German heavy tank battalion A German heavy tank battalion (german: "schwere Panzerabteilung", short: "s PzAbt") was a battalion-sized World War II tank unit of the German Army (1935–1945), equipped with Tiger I, and later Tiger II, heavy tanks. Originally intended to fi ...

in the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. With the introduction of new

Tiger II The Tiger II is a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B,'' Panzerkampfwagen'' – abbr: ''Pz.'' or ''Pz.Kfw.'' (English: "armoured fighting vehicle"), ''Ausf.' ...

tanks in late 1944, the unit was renumbered as the ''501st Heavy SS Panzer Battalion'' (german: Schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 501).

Operational history

The battalion was created on July 19, 1943, as a part of the

I SS Panzer Corps The I SS Panzer Corps (german: I.SS-Panzerkorps) was a German armoured corps of the Waffen-SS. It saw action on both the Western and Eastern Fronts during World War II. Formation and training The corps was raised on 26 July 1943 in Berlin-L ...

, by forming two new heavy tank companies consisting of

Tiger I The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...

tanks and incorporating the 13th (Heavy) Company of the 1st SS Panzer Regiment. It was attached to 1st SS Panzer Division ''Leibstandarte'' and sent to Italy on August 23, 1943, where it stayed until mid-October. The 1st and 2nd company were then sent to the Eastern Front while the rest of the unit stayed in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

. With the anticipated Allied invasion of

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

approaching, elements of the battalion in the East were ordered to the West in April 1944. On June 1, 1944, the battalion was located near

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

, north-west of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. Of its 45 Tigers, 37 were operational and eight more were under repair. With the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

landings on June 6, it was ordered to

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

where it arrived on June 12 and 13. Fighting its first battle on 13 June, Kompanie 2, led by

Michael Wittmann Michael Wittmann (22 April 19148 August 1944) was a German Waffen-SS tank commander during the Second World War. He is known for his ambush of elements of the British 7th Armored Division during the Battle of Villers-Bocage on 13 June 1944. Whil ...

inflicted severe damage on the British in Villers-Bocage, resulting in the ending of

Operation Perch Operation Perch was a British offensive of the Second World War which took place from 7 to 14 June 1944, during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy. The operation was intended to encircle and seize the German occupied city of Caen, which w ...

. The battalion lost 15 of its 45 Tigers by July 5, including in the

Battle of Villers-Bocage The Battle of Villers-Bocage took place during the Second World War on 13 June 1944, one week after the Normandy Landings, which had begun the Western Allies' conquest of German-occupied France. The battle was the result of a British attempt to ...

. At this time the unit's surplus crews began outfitting with the new Tiger II tanks. By August 7 the division left in Normandy had 25 Tigers of which 21 were operational. On August 8, 1944, three of its seven Tigers, committed to a counter-attack near

Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil () is a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Le Castelet. Population Personalities This village is known as th ...

, were destroyed by British

Sherman Fireflies The Sherman Firefly was a tank used by the United Kingdom and some armoured formations of other Allies in the Second World War. It was based on the US M4 Sherman, but was fitted with the more powerful 3-inch (76.2 mm) calibre British 17- ...

, and two more were destroyed by the 27th Canadian Armored Regiment, killing

. The battalion lost virtually all its remaining Tigers in the Falaise pocket and the subsequent German retreat from France. On September 9, the remains of the unit were ordered to rest and refit with the new Tiger IIs. With this change on September 22, 1944, it was redesignated the 501st Heavy SS Panzer Battalion. On March 15, 1945, it reported a strength of 32 tanks, of which eight were operational.Jentz 1996, p. 247 Four days later,

Heinrich Kling Heinrich Kling (10 September 1913 – 30 September 1951) was a German Waffen-SS commander during the Nazi era, who served with the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). Biography Kling graduated from the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz in 1938. On N ...

was appointed as commander of the unit.

Commanders

* SS-Sturmbannführer

Heinz von Westernhagen Heinz von Westernhagen (29 August 1911 – 19 March 1945) was a SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' in the Waffen-SS during World War II. He was a member of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) and commander of the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battali ...

(19 July 1943 - 8 November 1943) * SS-Obersturmführer Otto Leiner (8 November 1943 - 13 February 1944) * SS-Oberführer Heinz von Westernhagen (13 February 1944 - 20 March 1945) * SS-Sturmbannführer

(20 March - 8 May 1945)

Notes

References

* * {{Authority control 101 101 101 Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

Operational history

Commanders

See also

Notes

References