Stopping enemy tanks

If the enemy attack was pressed forward, then the panzergrenadiers would be ordered to hold their ground to try to separate the enemy tanks from their supporting infantry. Usually Soviet tank crews would press on forward deep behind the German frontline, even if their tank-riding infantry had been mortared and machine-gunned as they crossed the panzergrenadiers' trench line. For Waffen-SS soldiers, letting Red Army tanks roll over their foxholes and trenches before dealing with follow-on infantry required not only skill but also nerves of steel.

More Marder self-propelled antitank guns, StuGs and 88mm flak guns would now be in a position to block the Red Army tanks as they moved around the division's rear area. Carefully prepared tank-killing zones would be created in which the heavy anti-tank weapons could deal with any threats at long range.

The panzer reserve

Only as a last resort would the Waffen-SS division commit its panzer regiment in "penny packets" to deal with small numbers of enemy tanks. The panzers, usually teamed with the halftrack battalion, would be held back to counterattack against any enemy penetrations that looked like creating dangerous breakthroughs, or to strike deep into the heart of the enemy's own defences to turn the tables on them.

On 31 December 1942, attempts by the German Army to break through to the trapped Stalingrad garrison had failed, and Hitler turned to the SS Panzer Corps to restore the situation. The Leibstandarte and Das Reich Divisions were loaded on to almost 500 trains and shipped eastwards from 9 January 1943 onwards. Totenkopf (which on its own required 120 trains to ship it to the East) was given an extra month's grace after Eicke persuaded the Führer that he needed more time to lick his division into shape for combat. He also raided the French countryside for cars and trucks to ensure his division had adequate transport.

prev | next