The 509th Heavy Panzer Battalion (german: "schwere Panzerabteilung 509"; abbreviated: "s PzAbt 509") was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

heavy

Panzer This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht ...

Abteilung ''Abteilung'' (; abbrv. ''Abt.'') is a German word that is often used for German or Swiss military formations and depending on its usage could mean detachment, department or battalion; it can also refer to a military division. In German, it ...

'' (an independent

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

-sized unit), equipped with heavy tanks, during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

History

The 509th was ordered formed on 9 September 1943, taking most of its personnel from ''Panzer-Regiment 204'' of the disbanded

22nd Panzer Division The 22nd Panzer Division was a German Panzer Division in World War II. It was formed September 1941 in France. It was transferred to the southern sector of the Eastern Front in March 1942. The 22nd was the last Panzer Division to be issued wi ...

. The battalion received forty-five Tiger Is. It was committed to action in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

as a part of

Army Group South Army Group South (german: Heeresgruppe Süd) was the name of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland Army Group So ...

. Reaching the Front in October 1943, the 509th saw action near Kirovograd and Krivoi Rog, and participated in Wehrmacht's retreat. In early 1944, the 509th was involved in the

Second Battle of Kiev The Second Battle of Kiev was a part of a much wider Soviet offensive in Ukraine known as the Battle of the Dnieper involving three strategic operations by the Soviet Red Army and one operational counterattack by the Wehrmacht, which took pl ...

and then retreated across Ukraine. In late May, the depleted 509th was pulled back for refitting. After receiving a full complement of Tiger 1s, the battalion was sent back to the front on 1 June 1944. On 22 June 1944, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

launched

Operation Bagration Operation Bagration (; russian: Операция Багратио́н, Operatsiya Bagration) was the codename for the 1944 Soviet Byelorussian strategic offensive operation (russian: Белорусская наступательная оп ...

, and the 509th, attached to Army Group Centre, was in their line of advance. On 8 September 1944, the detachment lost sixteen Tigers in under 24 hours near Kielce,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. In late September the battalion was pulled back to be equipped with

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.' ...

s. After it had received forty-five new Tiger IIs in December 1944, the detachment was attached to

IV SS Panzer Corps The IV SS Panzer Corps was a panzer corps of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany which saw action on the Eastern Front and in the Balkans during World War II. History The Panzerkorps was formed in August 1943 in Poitiers, France. The formation was o ...

, which was preparing an attempt to relieve the encircled garrison of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. Launched on 18 January 1945, the operation, codenamed '' Konrad III'', was ultimately a failure. During the operation, the 509th had lost forty of its forty-five Tiger IIs, with ten being total losses. The 509th was transferred to III Corps, to support

Operation Frühlingserwachen Operation Spring Awakening (german: Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen) was the last major German offensive of World War II. The operation was referred to in Germany as the Plattensee offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton defensive oper ...

in March, and retreating to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. It took part in the Battle of Vienna in April, before retreating to the American lines. On 9 May 1945, the 509th surrendered to the U.S. Army near

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

Commanders

* Hauptmann

Hannibal von Lüttichau __NOTOC__ Hannibal Siegfried Wolff Curt von Lüttichau (2 February 1915 – 25 January 2002) was officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He was a member of the Lütticha ...

(? Aug 1943 - ? Nov 1943) * Hauptmann

Hans-Jürgen Burmester Hans-Jürgen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Hans-Jürgen Abt of Abt Sportsline, a motor racing and auto tuning company based in Kempten im Allgäu, Germany * Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (1889–1962), German colonel-general (Ge ...

(? Mar 1944 - ? Feb 1945)

References

Jentz, Thomas L. ''Panzer Truppen, Vol. 2: The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1943-1942''. Atlgen, PA: Schiffer, 1996 {{Subject bar , portal1=Military of Germany , portal2=Tanks , portal3=World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 509sPzAbt

History

Commanders

See also

References