{{Unreferenced, date=January 2008 Kampfgruppe 1001 Nights (german: 1001 Nacht) 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 **Ger ...

Kampfgruppe In military history, the German term (pl. ; abbrev. KG, or KGr in usage during World War II, literally "fighting group" or "battle group") can refer to a combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the of Nazi Germa ...

formed on the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

front during the final German offensive of 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 opposin ...

, taking part in the failed attack on Genschmar on 27 March 1945.

History

Kampfgruppe 1001 Nights was formed from the guards at the

V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...

launch sites in March 1945. Three companies of V-2 guards arrived at the

German Ninth Army The 9th Army (german: 9. Armee) was a World War II field army. It was activated on 15 May 1940 with General Johannes Blaskowitz in command. History 1940 The 9th Army first saw service along the Siegfried Line during its involvement in the invas ...

HQ on the

river in early March, 1945. Simultaneously, three companies of

Hetzer The ''Jagdpanzer'' 38 ( Sd.Kfz. 138/2), originally the leichter Panzerjäger 38(t), known mostly post-war as ''Hetzer'', was a German light tank destroyer of the Second World War based on a modified Czechoslovakian Panzer 38(t) chassis. Germa ...

panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' (German language, German "armour-hunters" or "tank-hunters", abbreviated to ''Pz.Jg.'' in German) was a branch of service of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht during the World War II, Second World War. It was an Anti-tank war ...

from the 560th SS Tank Destroyer Battalion, which had been used for training purposes, were sent to join

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 (similarl ...

on the Oder front. General

Theodor Busse Ernst Hermann August Theodor Busse (15 December 1897 – 21 October 1986) was a German officer during World War I and World War II. Early life and career Busse, a native of Frankfurt (Oder), joined the Imperial German Army as an officer cade ...

, Ninth Army's commander, decided to form these troops into a ''Kampfgruppe'' which could be used as a mobile reserve. Major Gustav-Adolf Blancbois was placed in command. Soon after its formation, a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

company and several

anti-tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...

guns, armoured cars and a company of StuG III

assault gun Assault gun (from german: Sturmgeschütz - "storm gun", as in "storming/assaulting") is a type of self-propelled artillery which uses an infantry support gun mounted on a motorized chassis, normally an armored fighting vehicle, which are designed ...

s from the 27th SS Volunteer Division ''Langemarck'' were added to the Kampfgruppe. The Kampfgruppe's strength was about 500 infantry and 43 serviceable armoured vehicles. The Kampfgruppe was divided into three combat formations, named ''Suleika'', ''Harem'' and ''Sultan''. Suleika was commanded by Sturmbannführer Wost and later by Haupsturmführer Markowz with a staff, a supply company, three Jagdpanzer-Kompanien with 14 Hetzer each and a fourth with Sturmgeschütze and back up recovery tanks. On 27 March, the Kampfgruppe was ordered into action near the town of Genschmar, in an attempt to reduce the Red Army's bridgehead over the Oder, which it failed to do. On 16 April, the

battle of Seelow Heights The Battle of the Seelow Heights (german: Schlacht um die Seelower Höhen) was part of the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation (16 April–2 May 1945). A pitched battle, it was one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions ...

began as 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, after ...

attacked the German defensive lines on the Oder. The Kampfgruppe was sent with the

25th Panzergrenadier Division The 25th Infantry Division was a military unit of the German Wehrmacht. It was later reclassified to 25th Infantry Division (mot.), and in June 1943 to the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division. The 25th Panzergrenadier Division fought in the central s ...

and the 111th StuG-Lehr Brigade to support the 606th Infantry Division near the town of

Wriezen Wriezen () is a town in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 11 km southeast of Bad Freienwalde. Demography File:Bevölkerungsentwicklung Wriezen.pdf, Development of Population since 1875 within the Curr ...

. The Germans were driven back, with the Kampfgruppe reduced to 18 functioning armoured vehicles and 50 men. The Kampfgruppe was dissolved near

Müncheberg Müncheberg is a small town in Märkisch-Oderland, Germany approximately halfway between Berlin and the border with Poland, within the historic region of Lubusz Land. Geography Prior to 2003 the area today covered by Müncheberg was organized as ...

during the withdrawal to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. Its remnants were encircled and destroyed in the

Halbe pocket The Battle of Halbe (german: Kesselschlacht von Halbe, russian: Хальбский котёл, Halbe pocket) was a battle lasting from April 24 – May 1, 1945 in which the German Ninth Army—under the command of General Theodor Busse—was dest ...

; few of its men survived the war. One exception was Blancbois himself, who, along with a small number of his men, escaped to the west and surrendered to the

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

on the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...

Commander

*''Oberstleutnant'' Gustav-Adolf Blancbois

Order of battle

*Kampfgruppe HQ *Element ''Suleika'' - 560th SS Tank Destroyer Battalion (SS-Sturmbannführer Wöst) **3 x companies of

s **company of Sturmgeschütze **company from 600th SS Parachute Battalion *Element ''Harem'' - Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung ''Speer'' **Motorcycle company **

Sd.Kfz. 231 ''Sonderkraftfahrzeug'' (abbreviated ''Sd.Kfz.'', German for "special purpose vehicle") was the ordnance inventory designation used by Nazi Germany during World War II for military vehicles; for example ''Sd.Kfz.'' 101 for the Panzer I. Sd.Kfz. nu ...

company **

Anti-Tank Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...

platoon *Element ''Sultan'' - Marschregiment 2 ** 3 x Schutzen-Kompanie Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations of Germany in World War II Works based on One Thousand and One Nights Ad hoc units and formations