NationMaster - Encyclopedia: 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen

SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen
17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen

The 17. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen was a German Waffen-SS mechanised infantry division which saw action on the Western Front during World War II. Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... See Western Front (disambiguation) for other meanings. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km (over 11 miles) into the air. ...

Formation and Training

The 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division was raised near Poitiers, France in October 1943. It was formed from scratch, with the majority of it's original cadre coming from replacement units and conscripts, many of Romanian extraction. The division was granted the honour-title Götz von Berlichingen. The name referred to the 15th century German Knight who had, after losing his right hand in battle, worn an iron prosthetic hand. In keeping with this, the divisions emblem was to be a clenched iron fist. SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Binge oversaw the formation of the division, with the newly promoted SS-Brigadeführer Werner Ostendorff taking command in January 1944. The Götz von Berlichingen was placed under the LXXX Army Corps, a part of Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe D. Location within France Poitiers (population 85,000) is a small city located in west central France. ... An 18th Century engraving of Götz von Berlichingen. ... Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (December 12, 1875 - February 24, 1953) was a Field Marshal of the German Army during World War II. He remains known as one of Germanys best generals, as well as for being apolitical throughout his career. ...

In February 1944, the Götz von Berlichingen was still lacking vehicles. On orders of the LXXX Army Corps, the division began to round up French vehicles in an attempt to complete it's mobilisation. By March, most of the major combat formations were fully motorised. On 1 June the Götz von Berlichingen found itself at Thouars in France, with no tanks (although the Panzer Abteilung was equipped with assault guns), only a few month's training and below strength for officers and NCOs. June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... The Brummbar was a German assault gun used in World War II An assault gun is an armoured fighting vehicle similar to a tank, but typically does not have a traversable turret, and may have an open roof. ...

Battles for Normandy

After the D-Day allied invasion, the Götz von Berlichingen was ordered to Normandy to take part in the efforts to reduce the allied beachhead. On 11 June, the division first met the enemy in combat. The reconnaissance abteilung engaged in combat with the paratroopers of the US 101st Airborne Division near the town of Carentan. Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... A beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit (by sea) reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements (hopefully) help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. ... June 11 is the 162nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (163rd in leap years), with 203 days remaining. ... Shoulder sleeve patch of the United States Army 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles. ... Carentan is a commune of the Manche département in Normandy, France. ...

The Americans secured the town and were advancing south by the morning of 13 June. June 13 is the 164th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (165th in leap years), with 201 days remaining. ...

SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 37, supported by the StuG's of the division's Panzer Abteilung and Oberst Frederich August Freiherr von der Heydte's 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment, attacked the advancing paratroopers. In what the Americans dubbed The Battle of Bloody Gulch, the Germans routed several paratroop companies before their attack was stalled by the arrival of Combat Command A of the US 2nd Armored Division. StuG III Ausf G The Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) assault gun was one of Germanys most produced AFVs during World War II. It was built on the chassis of the Panzer III. Initially intended as a mobile, armoured light gun for infantry support, the StuG was continually modified... Tiger II, perhaps the most advanced Panzer Panzer is an abbreviation of Panzerkampfwagen, a German compound noun which translates as Armoured Combat Vehicle. It became synonymous with German tanks during the 1930s, and is usually shortened to become PzKpfw. ... Categories: Military stubs | German airborne units | Airborne | Infantry ... Shoulder sleeve patch of the United States Army 2nd Armored Division, Hell on Wheels. ...

For the rest of the month, the division was engaged in heavy fighting for the bocage country near Saint Lô and Coutances. During this period the Götz von Berlichingen suffered heavy losses, and by the beginning of July it's strength was reduced to 8,500 men. The division was in the line of advance for Operation Cobra, and suffered heavy losses attempting to halt the allied offensive. It was then ordered to take part in the Mortain Offensive, codenamed Operation Luttich. After the failure of this offensive, the division was split into four Kampfgruppes, KG Braune, Gunter, Fick and Wahl. Thes small units managed to escape the encirclement in the Falaise Pocket, but suffered heavy losses and remained in almost constant combat with the advancing Americans until the end of the Month, when the division was transferred to Metz for a much needed rest and refit. Bocage is a French word referring to a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture, with tortuous side-roads and lanes bounded on both sides by banks surmounted with high thick hedgerows limiting visibility. ... Saint-Lô is a city and commune of France, the préfecture (capital) of the Manche département, in Normandy. ... Coutances is a commune of Normandy, France, in the Manche département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... Operation Cobra was the codename for the World War II operation planned by United States Army general Omar Bradley to break out from the Normandy area after the previous months D-Day landings. ... During World War II, the Falaise pocket (also known as the Chambois pocket, Chambois-Montcormel pocket, Falaise-Chambois pocket) was the area between the four cities of Trun-Argentan-Vimoutiers-Chambois near Falaise, France, in which United States 12th Army Group encircled and destroyed the German Seventh Army. ... Location within France Rhine watershed Metz is a city in the North-East of France, capital of the Lorraine région and of the département of Moselle (57). ...

Metz and the Saar

In early September, the division absorbed the 49th and 51st SS Panzergrenadier Regiments, raising the strength of it's panzergrenadier contingent. However, the replacement Panzers and StuGs were arriving slowly. On 8 September, the division was put back into the line and was tasked with destroying the newly formed bridgehead over the Moselle River held by the US 5th and 80th Infantry Divisions. After heavy fighting for the allied bridgehead, the division fell back towards the Saar region and began to prepare to defend Metz itself. Over the next two months, the division saw very heavy fighting in the Saar region around Foret De Facq, suffering very heavy casualties. On 8 November, a USAAF bomb raid hit the divisional command post. With the Götz von Berlichingens combat units in tatters and now with no command structure, Hitler authorised the division to withdraw from Metz. The remains of the division was pulled back to the Maginot Line, near Faulquemont to rest and refit. During this time, the Götz von Berlichingen was transferred to SS-Gruppenführer Max Simon's XIII SS Corps. US forces liberated Metz on 22 November 1944. September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... Moselle River/Germany The Moselle (French Moselle, German Mosel) is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany, joining the Rhine river at Koblenz. ... ... The 80th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. Prisoners of Ebensee, one of the sub-camps of Mauthausen-Gusen, upon liberation by 80th Division World War I Activated: September 1917. ... With an area of 2570 km² and 1. ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... USAAF recruitment poster. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... Maginot Line fortification, 2002 The Maginot Line was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other defenses which France constructed along her borders with Germany and with Italy in the wake of World War I. Generally the term describes either the entire system or just the... November 22 is the 326th day (327th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Refit and Nordwind

When the division pulled back to the Maginot Line in mid November, it's strength had been reduced to around 4,000 men and 20 armoured vehicles. Throughout the early months of December 1944, the Götz von Berlichingen received resupply and reinforcement. The Panzergrenadier regiments were brought up to full strength with the addition of Volksdeutsche replacements. The quality of these replacements was far below that of the division's original cadre. Despite this, on paper, the division was back up to strength by the end of 1944. As a part of Simon's XIII SS Army Corps, the division participated in Operation Nordwind, the ill-fated last German offensive in the West. After engaging in heavy combat with the US 7th Army in the eastern Saar with not much success, the majority of the divisional staff were releived on 3 January. Replacements, in the form of Heer officers, were received on the next day. When Nordwind was cancelled on 5 January, the Götz von Berlichingen remained engaged in combat on the Alsatian Plain, performing a fighting withdrawal towards the West Wall. Volksdeutsche (ethnic Germans) is a historical term which arose in the early 20th century to apply for Germans living outside of the German Empire. ... Operation Nordwind (North Wind) was an attack conducted by the German Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS during January 1945 in Alsace and Lorraine. ... The Seventh United States Army, also known as USAREUR, is the main American force in Europe. ... January 3 is the 3rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Heer ( listen?) is the German word for army. ... January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Bunker on the Siegfried line The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany along their border with France in 1916-1917 during World War I. However, in English, Siegfried line more commonly refers to the similar World War II defensive line, built...

West Wall - End of the War

The Götz von Berlichingen took part in the defence of the West Wall until March 1945, when on the 18th the Americans broke through. On the 22 March, SS-Oberführer Fritz Klingenberg was killed in action. That day, the division abandoned all it's vehicles and began a retreat across the Rhine into Germany. March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ...

By 1 April, the divisions strength was again reduced to roughly 7,000 men. Despite this, it was assigned to the defence of Nuremburg, and continued fighting against hopeless odds here until on 24 April the division fell back to Donauwörth on the Danube. On 7 May 1945, the shattered remnants of the Götz von Berlichingen surrendered to US forces near the town of Achensee April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... April 24 is the 114th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (115th in leap years). ... Known as Nordschwabens freundliche Mitte (North Swabias Friendly Center), Donauwörth is a city in the German State of Bavaria (Bayern), in the region of Swabia (Schwabenland). ... Length 2,888 km Elevation of the source 1,078 m Average discharge 30 km before Passau: 580 m³/s Vienna: 1,900 m³/s Budapest: 2,350 m³/s just before Delta: 6,500 m³/s Area watershed 817,000 km² Origin Black Forest (Schwarzwald-Baar, Baden- Württemberg, Germany... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

War Crimes

While the Götz von Berlichingen was tried for 4 cases of 'Final Phase Crimes' committed during the closing days of the war, a recent History Channel story (titled D-Day: The Secret Massacre) has accused the Götz von Berlichingen of a large scale massacre during the early days of the Normandy Invasion. The History Channel is a cable television channel, dedicated to the presentation of historical events and persons, often with frequent observations and explanations by noted historians as well as reenactors and witnesses to events, if possible. ...

Allegedly, the advance elements of the division ran into the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the US 82nd Airborne Division near the town of Graignes. According to the documentary, under 200 Paratroopers held off an entire regiment for nearly a week before fleeing. The retreating Americans left their wounded behind under the care of the townspeople in the church. Allegedly, then the Waffen SS men executed the wounded along with several French villagers. No trial was brought forward during the Waffen-SS war-crimes trials, and so the story seems highly suspect. The 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army was formed originally as the 82nd Infantry Division on August 25, 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia. ...

As it stands, with the exception of the actions of a few fanatics in the closing days of the war, the record of the Götz von Berlichingen is the record of a combat unit rather than an Einsatzgruppen-style extermination unit. A member of Einsatzgruppe D prepares to murder a Jew kneeling before a filled mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, in 1942. ...

Commanders

June 15 is the 166th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (167th in leap years), with 199 days remaining. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... June 20 is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 194 days remaining. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Order of Battle

References