The 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend (" The German Nazi party established the Hitler Youth (in German: Hitler-Jugend or HJ) in 1926. The Party set up the HJ youth-training system for young Germans to gain military training and to develop their understanding of and obedience to Nazi ideology. The HJ grew out of the Jugendbund... Hitler Youth") was a The word German can mean: From or related to Germany or its predecessor states - see also the German language Germanic tribes Holy Roman Empire (843-1806) German Confederation (1815-1866) North German Confederation (1867 - 1871) German Empire (1871-1918) Weimar Republic (1919-1933) Nazi Germany (1933-1945) West Germany (1949... German Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. Its roots lay with various German paramilitary organizations that formed the Freikorps and those of the Nazi party such as the SA and that were later absorbed into the SS-Verf... Waffen SS Alternative meanings: vehicle armour, Armor (novel) A hoplite wearing a helmet, a breastplate and greaves (and nothing else). Armour (also spelled armor in American English), is protective plates or clothing meant to shield a human from intentionally inflicted harm. Armour has been in use for all recorded history, beginning with... armoured This article is about the arithmetic operation. For other uses, see Division (disambiguation). In mathematics, especially in elementary arithmetic, division is an arithmetic operation which is the reverse operation of multiplication, and sometimes it can be interpreted as repeated subtraction. Specifically, if a × b = c, where b is not zero... division of German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The German invasion... World War II. It was one of only two German divisions to carry Hitler's name and was formed as an extension of 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler".

The 12th SS was remarkable because the motorized infantry of its two Panzergrenadier regiments were drawn entirely from members of the The German Nazi party established the Hitler Youth (in German: Hitler-Jugend or HJ) in 1926. The Party set up the HJ youth-training system for young Germans to gain military training and to develop their understanding of and obedience to Nazi ideology. The HJ grew out of the Jugendbund... Hitler Youth born in 1926.

Formation and Training

Hitler decided to create a Hitlerjugend division in 1943. It was initially created as a This article needs cleanup. Please edit this article to conform to a higher standard of article quality. Panzergrenadier in German means motorized infantry. Mechanized infantry is also a new concept in World War II, like tank warfare and aircraft. The concept of Panzergrenadier divisions is to provide fast, rapid transport... Panzergrenadier (mechanized infantry) division, but was upgraded to a 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. Panzers were used in both Waffen-SS and Wehrmacht. Panzer models... Panzer division almost as soon as its formation was complete. 8,000 HJ recruits entered basic training on May 1st 1943. The Division's officers, NCOs and specialists were taken from the The Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler started life in the early days of the NSDAP as Adolf Hitlers personal elite bodyguard. As the Waffen (or armed) SS increased in size throughout the 1930s and into the war years, so the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler evolved into a full sized division, the 1st... 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, a highly experienced formation with a good record on the Eastern Front.

Advanced training took place at Beverloo in Belgium. Instructors, most of whom were LSSAH veterans, adopted an unusual training regime. Drill was almost totally replaced by realistic combat exercises, and physical training took the form of games and sport. This, combined with the HJ's fanatical commitment to the Nazi cause, meant the Division had exceptionally high morale.

Normandy Campaign

At the start of June 1944, the Division was declared ready for combat operations. SS-Brigadeführer Fritz Witt, an LSSAH veteran, was the Commanding officer. The Division's tank strength at complement was 81 Panther D The Panther was a medium tank of the German Army in World War II. Until 1944 it was designated as the PzKpfw V Panther, and also had the Ordnance inventory designation of SdKfz 171. The Panther was a direct response to the Soviet T-34. First encountered on... Panther ausf A / G and 104 General Characteristics (Ausf H) Length: 5.89 m Width: 2.88 m Height: 2.68 m Weight: 23 t Speed: 38 km/h (road) 16 km/h (off-road) Range: 300 km Primary armament: 75 mm KwK 40 L/48 gun Secondary armament: Two 7.92 mm machine guns... Panzer IV ausf H / J tanks. The Division was also equipped with Jagdpanzer IVL70 tank destroyers, 3 prototype The Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind (Whirlwind in German) was an anti-aircraft vehicle based on the Panzer IV. It was developed in 1944 as a successor to the earlier AA tank Möbelwagen. The Panzer IVs turret was removed and replaced with an open-top, nine-sided turret which housed... Wirbelwind flak vehicles, along with a number of 20mm, 37mm and 88mm American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. Various guns and cannons have been used in this role since the first military aircraft were used in World War I, growing... flak guns, The Hummel (‘Bumble Bee’) was a self-propelled artillery unit based on the Geschutzwagen III/IV chassis, armed with a 150 mm howitzer. It was used by the German Wehrmacht in World War II from late 1942 until the end of the war. Contents // 1 Development 2 Combat... Hummel, The Wespe (German for wasp) was a German self-propelled artillery vehicle during World War II based on the Panzer II tank. Overview In 1940, during the Battle of France, it was quite apparent that the main tank of the German forces, the Panzer II, was unsuitable as a direct... Wespe and The SiG33 appears to be the designation of the 150mm artillery gun which was placed on various chassis. Various chassis were used - PzKpfw I, II and the 38(t). One variant on the Panzer III chassis fitted a fixed box like structure with an almost vertical front glacis plate and... sIG 33 SP guns and regular tube artillery.

However, its Self-propelled anti-tank vehicles, generally known as tank destroyers, are a type of armoured fighting vehicle, used primarily in the defensive role in destroying enemy tanks. They may mount an ATGM launcher or a high-velocity dedicated anti-tank gun. Contents // 1 World War II 1.1 The US... tank destroyer unit, SS-Panzerjägerabteilung 12, was not ready for action and was understrength in Jagdpanzer IV/48 The Jadgpanzer IV, Sd.Kfz 162 was a tank destroyer based on the Panzer IV chassis built in three main variants. It was developed against the wishes of Heinz Guderian, then inspector general of the Panzertruppen, as a replacement for the Stug III. Guderian objected against the... Jagdpanzer IV.

The 12th's Panzer Regiment was one of the first Panzer units into action, attacking British and Canadian units landed at Gold Beach was the codename for one of the invasion beaches during the World War II Allied invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1944. It lay roughly in the centre of the invasion area, between Omaha Beach and Juno Beach. The beaches of D-Day are still known by their invasion... Gold, Juno Beach was one of the landing sites for Allied invaders on the coast of Normandy during D-Day, the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, a turning point of World War II. It was situated between Sword Beach and Gold Beach. It is also known as the Canadian... Juno and Sword Beach was the codename for a landing area for the Allied invaders on the coast of Normandy during D-Day on June 6, 1944. The area was assigned to the British Second Army. Stretching 8 km from Ouistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer it was the furthest east of... Sword beaches shortly after D-day.

On 14 June, Witt was killed by a British naval bombardment, and command of the division passed to SS-Standartenführer Kurt Meyer, a veteran of LSSAH and the youngest divisional commander of the war.

Meyer led the division in its defense of the Carpiquet Aerodrome and the villages of Authie is the name of several places in France: Communes Authie, commune of the Calvados département Authie, commune of the Somme département River Authie, French river This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. If an... Authie and Buron. After a month's fighting, he withdrew the remnants of the division behind the Orne river, abandoning Caen Région Basse-Normandie Département Calvados Arrondissement 24 cantons 287 communes 389,973 habitants Cantons chief town of 9 cantons (13 common, 162,707 habitants) Habitants Caennais Population (1999) 117,157 habitants Intercommunality (2004) Agglomeration 217,805 habitants Area 2,6 km² Caen is a city and a... Caen. During the month of fighting north of Caen, the HJ had suffered horrific casualties, being reduced from 22,000 down to just over 5,000 men. The division's armour was virtually wiped out.

Despite a further stand against the Poles and Canadians advancing on 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. It marked... Falaise, the HJ was cut off and trapped in the Falaise pocket. Meyer led the pitiful remnants of the division out of the pocket.

The division then joined in the retreat from the Seine and reformed in Belgium - Meyer being captured by Belgian partisans in the process.

Battle of the Bulge

The Hitlerjugend Division was part of the 1st SS Panzer Corps, the lead German formation in the The Battle of the Bulge Conflict World War II Date December 16, 1944 – January 15, 1945 Place The Ardennes Result Allied victory Combatants United States Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower Gerd von Rundstedt Strength 80,000 men, 400 tanks, 400 guns (Dec 16 - start of the Battle) 200,000 men... Battle of the Bulge.

The 1945 Lake Balaton Offensive

The Hitlerjugend Division took part in the spring 1945 offensive along Lake Balaton - Landsat satellite photo Lake Balaton (Hungarian Balaton; German Plattensee; Slovak Blatenské jazero, meaning approximately muddy lake, probable origin of the name), located in Hungary, is the largest lake of Central Europe with a surface area of 592 km². Its length is 77 kilometres and the width ranges from... Lake Balaton in The Republic of Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. It is known locally as the Country of the Magyars or Magyarország. Magyar Köztársaság (Flag) (Coat of Arms) National motto: none Official languages Hungarian... Hungary, Operation Frühlingserwachen.

See also

• This is a list of German divisions in WWII. Contents // 1 Artillery Divisions 2 Fortress Divisons 3 Infantry Divisions 4 Light Divisions 5 Mountain Divisions 6 Panzer Divisions 7 Panzergrenadier Divisions 8 Parachute Divisions 9 Training Divisions Artillery Divisions German 18th Artillery Division German 310th Artillery Division German 311th Artillery... List of German divisions in WWII

External links

• 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend entry at Axishistory.com (http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=1963)