Won the Battles but Lost the War: Defeated by Forces Vastly Superior in Numbers after 2,077 Days of Battle in the European Theater (II)

Unidentified Waffen-SS Panzer crew captured by the Americans

Elements of Landstorm Nederland taken POWs and marched off

French volunteers of SS-Div. Charlemagne prior to their execution

U.S. Army enclosure at Remagen, part of the Rheinwiesenlager

Most of the predominantly Nordic and Volksdeutsche 11.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland along with a volunteer battalion of the French 33.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS Charlemagne fought to annihilation in the Battle of Berlin after the Soviet offensive of April 16 1945. A few survivors broke out of the city on May 2 1945. Scattered elements that avoided encirclement surrendered to Western Allied forces along the Elbe River. Most were handed over to their respective countries and tried as traitors, some serving prison time and a few even receiving the death penalty. Danish volunteers were branded as traitors by the post-war Danish government, despite having had permission to serve in the Waffen-SS granted by the Danish government and the king during World War II. Others were shot upon capture, for example, the French General Philippe Leclerc was presented with a group of 12 captured French volunteers of the Charlemagne division. General Leclerc asked them why they wore German uniforms, according to Company Commander Fritz Hall, one of the volunteers replied by asking the General why he wore an American uniform. General Leclerc ordered the group of French Waffen-SS men to be executed without any form of military tribunal procedure. The main body of the Charlemagne surrendered in May 1945 to Allied forces near Salzburg in Austria. The Belgian 27.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Langemarck of Flemish background had fought itself to virtual extinction as a part of SS-Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner's SS-Panzer-Armeeoberkommando 11. Reduced to a SS-Kampfgruppe it surrendered to the Soviets at Mecklenburg on May 8 1945. The Belgian 28.SS-Freiwilligen-Grenadier-Division Wallonien of Walloon background held as best they could during the final Soviet offensives in April 1945, but after several unsuccessful counterattacks, SS-Standartenführer Léon Degrelle ordered his troops to make it to Lübeck, where they eventually surrendered to British troops. The final Soviet Berlin offensive on April 16 1945 broke the lines of communication between the two SS-Kampfgruppen of the Dutch 23.SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nederland. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 49 de Ruyter was attacked by a large number of Soviet tanks. In heavy fighting, the SS-Kampfgruppe halted the enemy attack before it broke out to the west, surrendering to the U.S. Army. Meanwhile, elements of SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 48 General Seyffardt withdrew south of Berlin, cought in the Halbe pocket. The remnants of General Seyffardt were absorbed into SS-Kampfgruppe Vieweger of the Latvian 15.Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS. During the hellish fighting in Battle of Halbe, the General Seyffardt was annihilated. The survivors surrendered to American forces along the Elbe in May 1945. After the war, the volunteers were tried and imprisoned in the Netherlands, and several were murdered by Dutch Communists in acts of revenge. Individual Dutch Waffen-SS veterans joined the French Foreign Legion after World War II, and several hundred regained some measure of their rights by volunteering to fight with the Dutch Army in Korea. The much reduced 4.SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division fought its way across the Elbe were it surrendered to U.S. forces in May 1945. Although greatly reduced in numbers, the German-Latin 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Götz von Berlichingen took part in the defense of Nürnberg, where its SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 38 was destroyed by April 20 1945. About 200 of its Grenadiers are presumed to have been captured and subsequently killed by the U.S. 42nd Infantry Division (Rainbow) on April 19 – 20 1945. The rest of Götz von Berlichingen continued fighting until May 6 1945 when it surrendered to the U.S. 101st Airborne Division south of Kufstein. 6.SS-Gebirgs-Division Nord remained on the western front after the Nordwind offensive, fighting the Americans. Destroyed as a division the survivors fought on with elements of 38.SS-Grenadier-Division Nibelungen before surrendered to U.S. forces in Bayern in May 1945. Top image: Waffen-SS Panzer crew captured in Dorste in Niedersachsen by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division in April 1945. U.S. Army Signal Corps. Second image: the Dutch volunteer SS-Untersturmführer Evert Verton marches with his company into Canadian captivity, Netherlands May 11 1945. The soldiers belonged to 34.SS-Freiwilligen-Brigade Landstorm Nederland. Third image: of those 12 Frenchmen murdered by the 2nd Free French Armoured Division on May 8 1945 in Bad Reichenhall, only five have been positively identified. They all belonged to the Charlemagne. From the left SS-Obersturmführer Serge Krotoff born 1911 in Tananarive, Madagascar, SS-Untersturmführer Paul Briffaut born 1918 in Hanoi, Vietnam, when executed he was still in the uniform of the Wehrmacht worn by the LVF (Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism), facing the camera SS-Untersturmführer Jean Robert Daffas born 1908 in Auch, France and without a cap SS-Schutze Raymond Payras born 1922 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 1979, the SS volunteer Jacques Ponnau was identified from photographs of General Philippe Leclerc in the presence of the victims prior to their killing. On October 1981, a commemorative cross was erected at the site of the execution. Bottom image: U.S. POW camp at Sinzig-Remagen, which held around 200,000 POWs at capacity in June 1945. Many thousands died there from dehydration, starvation, and exposure while the U.S. army refused to supply shelter and food, though it was readily available. Even the Red Cross was prohibited from providing aid and visit the camps until 1946. U.S. Army Signal Corps. All photos in the PD.

ϟϟ-Ogruf. Paul Hausser's II.ϟϟ-Panzerkorps in the Battle of Kursk

Commander of the Leibstandarte SS-Oberf. Teddy Wisch

SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Das Reich

Pz.Kpfw. Tiger S13 of 8./SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 Das Reich

The advance would be executed from the Orel salient to the north of Kursk and from Belgorod to the south. The most powerful elements of the German attack force, however, were concentrated on the southern flank of the Kursk salient, where Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein had command of SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser's II.SS-Panzerkorps. It was to form the spearhead of Generaloberst Hermann Hoth's 4.Panzer-Armee when final orders were issued for the initial assault. The SS-Panzergrenadier-Divisions Leibstandarte SS, Das Reich and the Totenkopf were deployed next to each other. Each of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiments was given a Soviet strongpoint as an objective and were to attack simultaneously to batter through the Soviet defence lines. Top image: the 34-year-old SS commander Theodor ‘Teddy’ Wisch during the opening phases of Operation Citadel. Wisch succeeded Josef ‘Sepp’ Dietrich as commander of SS-Panzergrenadier-Divisions Leibstandarte SS in April 1943. In July of that year, at the time of the Kursk offensive, Wisch was further promoted to SS-Oberführer. He was later seriously wounded by a naval artillery barrage in the Falaise Pocket on Aug. 20 1944. Theodor Wisch ended the war as SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS having been awarded the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords. He died aged 87 on Jan. 11 1995 in Norderstedt in Schleswig-Holstein. c. Bundesarchiv. Middle image: Tiger S13 of the 8th Company of SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 Das Reich moves forward on the Russian steppe during Zitadelle as SS-Panzergrenadiers consolidate their positions. Tank S13 was commanded by the Austrian former Messerschmitt pilot of the Jagdgeschwader 27 Paul Egger. Photo taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Friedrich Zschäckel on July 5 1943 west of Yakhontov in the Belgorod Oblast. c. Bundesarchiv. Bottom image: here's another shot of the Tiger ace Paul Egger and S13. The then SS-Oberscharführer Paul Egger is seen coordinating actions with infantry. This photo was taken by SS-KB Hermann Grönert just moments after Zschäckel's more famous photo of the tank climbing the slope. Das Reich's 8th Company used a unique company symbol known as the Springender Teufel. According to veteran and Panzer ace SS-Standartenjunker Will Fey a member of SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 Das Reich found a strange metal figure in the streets of Kharkov after the battle in March 1943. He named it the Jumping Devil and the gnome was adopted by Das Reich's heavy Tiger company in the early summer of 1943 and stenciled onto the turrets for the Kursk offensive. The gnome is well visible on Grönert's photography. U.S. National Archives.

ϟϟ-Panzergrenadier-Division „Wiking“ – Reserve Force during Zitadelle

Commander of the Wiking Herbert Gille as SS-Gruf.

SS-Panzer-Regiment 5 Wiking

SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Wiking was moved to Izyum on the Donets River in Kharkov Oblast under command of SS-Brigadeführer Herbert Gille in late June 1943 where it, along with 17.Panzer-Division was to form the reserve force for Feldmarschall Erich von Manstein's Army Group South during the approaching Operation Citadel. Before the Wiking moved to the area of Izyum the Finnisches Freiwilligen-Bataillon der Waffen-SS had been replaced by Estnisches SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Bataillon Narwa. Von Manstein ordered the reserve force to move up to the vicinity of Kharkov so that this corps could exploit any major success. It began moving from the Donbas in the evening of July 10 1943 with orders to move to Belgorod. While the operation was in effect the Wiking was engaged against enemy forces near Kharkov, with the newly added Estonian battalion Narwa. The Estonians acquitted themselves well throughout the action, destroying around 100 Soviet tanks over several days. Because of the tardiness of von Manstein's decision, Army Group South's reserve would not be present on the battlefield when it was needed most; thus, the II.SS-Panzerkorps would be left to fight the critical Battle of Prokhorovka with only its own resources. When Citadel was cancelled, the Wiking was still involved in halting Soviet attacks. It remained fully capable of fighting and destroyed various enemy tank formations during the operation. Further to the south, on the Mius-Front, a major Soviet offensive, Operation Rumyantsev, threatened to break the German lines. The Wiking spent the rest of the year fighting in the slow retreat to the Dnieper River. Credit: Prof. at the USAWC Jonathan Klug. Top image: Wiking Commander Herbert Gille as SS-Gruppenführer. Photo taken by SS-KB Alois Jarolim during the Kowel encirclement in March 1944. U.S. NARA. Bottom image: an SS-Panzergrenadier of the Wiking speaking through Feldfernsprecher 33, while behind him the Panthers hit the dusts. The Panthers in the background numbered II011 and II014 belonged to the 2nd Battalion's recon platoon of SS-Panzer-Regiment 5 Wiking. The photo was most probably taken during the one day military Op. Ilse on April 27 1944 south of Kowel. According to the author Dennis Oliver, Panther II011 was commanded by SS-Untersturmführer and Zugführer Dr. Manfred Renz. Photo by SS-Unterscharführer Ernst Baumann, staff member of Germania. c. Bundesarchiv.

Operation Zitadelle – the Southern Sector was to be the Major Theatre

SS-Sturmbannführer Christian Tychsen with fellow officer

LSSAH part of Paul Hausser's II.SS-Panzerkorps

The first attacks went in on schedule, with small groups of infantry and grenadiers infiltrating through minefields and rushing the Soviet trenches. In two hours of hand-to-hand combat, the Soviet outposts were captured and the main attack was ready to roll at just after dawn – 04:05 hours – on July 5 1943. In the north, Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model's 9th Army blunted its spearhead against the Soviet minefields. The southern offensive, spearheaded by SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser's II.SS-Panzerkorps and the Großdeutschland Division made more headway, unlike in Model's sector, it was not halted, and broke through. Left image: Knight's Cross holder SS-Sturmbannführer Christian Tychsen, commander of the 2nd battalion of Das Reich's SS-Panzer-Regiment 2, seen here in conversation with an SS-Untersturmführer, certainly one of his company commanders. Tychsen is wearing the tanker's camouflage non-reversible coverall worn by the Waffen-SS. The Panzerbefehlswagen III's name likely reads Karracho - schnelle Bewegung. Photo taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Hermann Grönert during the Kursk battles in July 1943. Credit: Ghermán Mihály. U.S. NARA. Right image: a Leibstandarte SS soldier raising the SS runes in their camp in the summer of 1943. Photo taken in the southern sector of the Kursk salient by SS-Kriegsberichter Waldbach just days before one of the largest series of armored clashes in all history. U.S. NARA.

Soviet Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation – The Fall of Berlin

Mosquito 8K-K bombed Berlin 31 times bf its final sortie in April 1945

Youngsters conscripted into combat roles for the last defence of Germany

Civilians in downtown Berlin under Soviet bombardment in April 1945

Königstiger n°101 of s.SS-Pz.Abt.503 at Potsdamer Platz in May 1945

Soviet T-34 in bombed-out Berlin in May 1945

Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered 20 armies, 8,500 aircraft, and 6,300 tanks to march toward Berlin in April 1945. According to the author and historian Antony Beevor about 1,500,000 Soviet soldiers took part in the assault on the Berlin Defence Area. The forces available to General Helmuth Weidling for the city's defence included roughly 45,000 soldiers in several severely depleted German Army and Waffen-SS divisions. These divisions were supplemented by the police force, boys in the compulsory Hitlerjugend, and 40,000 elderly men of the Volkssturm. Civilian life in Berlin continued despite what is sometimes described as the largest artillery bombardment in history. The weight of ordnance delivered by Soviet artillery during the battle of Berlin was greater than the total tonnage dropped by Western Allied bombers on the city. People struggled to work in their offices, shops, and factories, while housewives lined up to exchange their ration tickets for the last amounts of food in the city. The most amazing feat accomplished by the people of Berlin was perhaps the fact that even at this time the post office still delivered letters to residents of the city. In the meantime, British Royal Air Force Mosquitos were conducting large tactical air raids against German positions inside Berlin on the nights of April 1945 and only over a 5-day period a total of 380 bombers were targeting the Berlin Defence Area. As the perimeter shrank and the surviving defenders fell back, they became concentrated into a small area in the city centre. By then there were about 10,000 German soldiers in the city centre, which was being assaulted from all sides. The Soviet Red Army committed heinous atrocities during, and in the days immediately following the assault in many areas of the city, vengeful Soviet troops engaged in mass rape, pillage and murder. They looted stores and banks, shot innocent civilians, and raped countless number of women. Over 90,000 women visited doctors in Berlin as a result of rape. Berliners, especially women anxiously waited and prayed for Allied troops to come and liberate them from the systematic rape and torture of the Red Army. But American and British troops did not arrive to help them, not before a two-month long Red Army occupation. According to the author Peter Antill the number of German losses in Berlin was about 22,000 military dead and 22,000 civilian dead. In A Statistical Reference to Casualty and Other Figures by the author Micheal Clodfelter, the number of civilian casualties is unknown, but 125,000 are estimated to have perished during the entire operation which included the battles of Seelow Heights and the Halbe. Top image: according to the author Barry Blunt this particular British RAF de Havilland Mosquito ML963 code 8K-K of 571 Squadron completed 31 bombing raids on Berlin before it was finally lost on a raid to Berlin on April 10/11 1945. Credit: Nathan Howland. Second image: Stettin and Stralsund teens from a so-called Hitlerjugend Volks­sturm in conversation with a HJ leader and former Panzerjäger Leutnant d. R. Rudolf Krause. During the Battle of Berlin, Hitlerjugend and even some pre-teen Deutsches Jung­volk formed part of the last line of German defenses and were reportedly among the fiercest fighters. The picture was not taken in Berlin itself but at the Pyritz front north-east of Berlin in Feb. 1945. Immensely outnumbered, they didn't stand a chance. This was around the time Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin met at the Yalta Conference to discuss the division of Europe along their respective spheres of influence. Third still from the intensive Soviet artillery bombardment of Berlin in April 1945. Fourth image: a knocked out Königstiger n°101 of the Waffen-SS near the Columbushaus at Potsdamer Platz in May 1945. Potsdamer Platz was almost completely destroyed during the Battle of Berlin. Only Weinhaus Huth and the ruins of the Hotel Esplanade were left standing in the once so lively square. Bottom image: Soviet Red Army in vanquished Berlin in May 1945. Credit: Olga Shirnina. SU stock photo. All photos in the PD.

ϟϟ-Sturmbannführer der Waffen-SS Schreiber

Helmuth Schreiber as SS-Hauptsturmführer

Original SS-Regiment Deutschland Officer's Cuff Title

Helmuth Schreiber volunteered for the SS-VT at age 21. He was assigned to SS-Standarte Deutschland, where he underwent tough physical and military training. Following his training at SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz and additional specialized training in Wien in Austria, he was assigned back to his former division, SS-Division Reich, as a platoon leader in SS-Infanterie-Regiment Deutschland. Schreiber distinguished himself in the fighting on the Eastern Front. The young officer learned all facets of the infantry war: Conducting assaults while covered by friendly mortar fire; fighting in trenches for enemy positions; combat patrols with attached flamethrower teams or snipers; house-to-house fighting in nameless villages; to name just a few aspects. Schreiber's company often experienced several days of intense fighting without a break. It demonstrated itself to be a tough unit. The regiment experienced great success in the fighting to retake Kharkov at the beginning of 1943. When SS-Obersturmführer Schreiber and his company of daredevils were victorious against a numerically superior Soviet combat formation, he personally received the German Cross in Gold from SS-Obersturmbannführer Heinz Harmel's hand. Schreiber was promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer on June 21 1943. On July 8 1943, during the Battle of Kursk, the Soviets attacked the positions of SS-Hauptsturmführer Schreiber's battalion, supported by strong tank forces. In the sector of Regiment Deutschland, 83 enemy tanks were destroyed. Shortly after 16:00 hours the enemy broke through the open left flank. Schreiber immediately recognized the danger threatening the battalion. He mustered together a platoon of his company and conduted a textbook assault into the flank of the enemy. After a bitterly hard battle the enemy was thrown out of his positions. Taking advantage of the initial success, Schreiber began a further attack on his own initiative and advanced  through no-man's-land. In a sweeping attack the enemy positions were overrun and captured. Schreiber's actions closed the enemy's essential escape route. For those actions, he was awarded the covered Knight's Cross on July 30 1943. On April 1944, Schreiber was promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer and given command of III./SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment Deutschland. After an urgently needed reconstitution in France, the experience and combat power of 2.SS-Panzer.Division Das Reich were brought to bear on the Invasion Front in May 1944. But against the material superiority of the British and the Americans, even the battle-scarred Waffen-SS veterans were powerless. Despite it all, however, Schreiber had some success during the defensive fighting at Caen and Falaise. SS-Sturmbannführer Helmuth Schreiber and the equally highly decorated SS-Brigadeführer Sylvester Stadler surrendered to the Americans in Austria on May 4 1945. Before the proud SS veteran took this final difficult step, he had the presence of mind to save his awards from the greedy hands of the victors. The Knight's Cross and the Close Combat Clasp in Gold lasted through the months of captivity in the hollow wooden leg of an officer comrade. As a result, the deserving warrior had those awards until his last day of life. Schreiber was one of only 98 German soldiers that received both the Knight's Cross and the Close Combat Clasp in Gold. Source: Florian Berger: The Face of Courage. Top image: Helmuth Schreiber, here as SS-Hauptsturmführer, in a formal sitting. Credit: Pink. Fair use.

Leibstandarte ϟϟ Knight's Cross Recipients during Operation Zitadelle

SS-Oberscharführer Kurt Sametreiter

SS-Unterscharführer Franz Staudegger

Left photo shows the Austrian platoon commander in SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 1 of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS SS-Oberscharführer Kurt Sametreiter during the award of the Knight's Cross on July 31 1943. Sametreiter knocked out 24 Soviet tanks in one engagement during the Battle of Kursk. He ended the war as an officer and SS-Obersturmführer. Kurt Sametreiter died aged 95 on Jan. 28 2017 in Bad Gastein in Austria. Photo by SS-KB Max Büschel. Right photo shows the very first Tiger tank commander to be awarded the Knight's Cross the Austrian SS-Unterscharführer Franz Staudegger. On July 7 1943, a single Tiger n°1325 of SS-Hauptsturmführer Heinz Kling's 13th (heavy) Company of SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 LSSAH engaged a Soviet group of some 50 T-34 tanks approaching from the northwest in the southern sector of the Kursk salient. The panzer crew commanded by the 20-year-old Staudegger consisted of the driver SS-Sturmmann Herbert Stellmacher, the gunner SS-Pz.Schütze Heinz Buchner, the loader SS-Pz.Schütze Walter Henke and the radio operator SS-Pz.Schütze Gerhard Waltersdorf. They arrived just in time to rescue elements of the SS Infantry battalion Deutschland of Das Reich from being overrun. Guided by the Waffen-SS infantry Staudegger knocked out astonishing 17 Soviet tanks before the enemy started retreating. He then ordered his crew to pursuit the retreating Soviets and knocked out another five tanks – a feat that would earn the young Austrian the coveted Knight's Cross. Staudegger ended the war in the schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 101 where he reached the rank of SS-Oberscharführer. This heavy tank battalion was present at the Battle of Normandy in 1944 under the command of SS-Oberführer Heinz von Westernhagen. Franz Staudegger died aged 68 on March 16 1991 in Frankfurt am Main. Photo taken after the award ceremony on July 10 1943. c. Bundesarchiv.

Leibstandarte ϟϟ on Anti-Partisan duty in Italy - The Boves Massacre

Austrian-born Adolf Hitler meets with Italian Benito Mussolini

SS-Ostuf. checking papers of Italian civilians in Northern Italy

SS-Stubaf. Joachim Peiper and fellow officers in Reggio Emilia

SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 2 LSSAH in Reggio Emilia

Because the Allied invasion of Sicily began during Operation Zitadelle, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was forced to divert troops to meet the Allied threat in the Mediterranean. After the failure at Kursk, which had emboldened fascist dictator Benito Mussolini's opponents, Hitler met with Mussolini in Feltre on July 19 1943. Hitler began the meeting by blaming the Italians for their weak military performance. The Germans had lost faith in the Italians and were only interested in occupying northern and central Italy, leaving the Italian army alone to defend the country from the Allies. Italian official propaganda put up a brave fight to pretend that the country was still in the war, while all the time negotiations for surrender were going on quietly. The SS-Pz.Gren.Div. Leibstandarte SS was sent to North Italy for security duties and to act as a core for the creation of a new and more fervently fascist Italian army that would bolster Mussolini's crumbling empire. The division was transferred from the Kursk salient in late July 1943 and arrived on the Pianura Padana in Northern Italy on Aug. 8 1943. While serving in this role, the elite Leibstandarte SS only conducted anti-partisan operations in Northern Italy. During this rather short period, the 28-year-old SS-Stubaf. Joachim Peiper's battalion was involved in several skirmishes with Italian partisans. On one occasion, Peiper was met by an Italian officer who warned that his forces would attack unless Peiper's unit immediately vacated the Province of Cuneo. Peiper refused, which as intended goaded the Italians into attacking. The Italians were no match for the Eastern Front veterans of the Leibstandarte SS who defeated them and then proceeded to disarm the remaining Italian forces in the area. On Sept. 19 1943, following the Italian surrender, an incident in the village of Boves took place that is known as the Boves massacre. Two of Peiper's NCOs had been kidnapped and were held by partisans in the vicinity of Boves. Peiper reacted characteristically by leading his battle-hardened SS grenadiers to the rescue. On arrival a fire fight took place and the Leibstandarte SS shelled the village. Peiper's men were freed, but some 20 civilians died in the process. The region around Boves remained a hotspot for partisan activities and German reprisals. In Dec. 1968, an Italian court decided that there was insufficient evidence for a war crimes case and German District Court in Stuttgart reached the same conclusion, terminating any potential prosecution of Peiper. During its brief period in Northern Italy, the Leibstandarte SS was reformed as a full panzer division, and redesignated 1.SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS. In early Nov. 1943, the division was ordered back to the Eastern Front of the Axis. Credit: hist. Gerhard Schreiber i.a. For reading about overlooked massacres in Italy committed by the U.S. 45th Infantry Division: The Biscari and Comiso Massacres. Top image: Schloss Klessheim Salzburg 22-4-44. Heinrich Hoffmann Photo Archive. Fair use. Second image: an unidentified SS-Ostuf. check identification papers of civilians to weed out possible communist and anti-Mussolini partisans in Northern Italy. As part of its pacification campaign in Italy the Leibstandarte SS was expected to assist other German security personnel. The German commanders did not even use Leibstandarte SS in halting the Allied advance in Italy. This clearly was a waste of one of the German military's most potent units. Photo by Hitler's private cameraman OLt. d. LW Walter Frentz. Walter Frentz Collection. Fair use. Clips: SS-Hstuf. Paul Guhl, SS-Stubaf. Joachim Peiper and SS-Ustuf. Werner Wolff marching with the SS-Pz.Reg.2 through the city of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy in Aug. 1943. Footages by SS-KB Ferdinand Rottensteiner. Die Deutsche Wochenschau.

II.ϟϟ-Panzerkorps on the Southern Flank of the Kursk Salient

Pz.Kpfw. Tiger S23 of SS-Pz.Gren.Div. Das Reich

SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Das Reich

SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Das Reich

Reports and combat records of SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser's II.SS-Panzerkorps show, first of all, that Hausser's corps began with far fewer tanks than previously believed and, more important, that they suffered only moderate losses. The number of Waffen-SS tanks actually involved in the battle has been variously reported as high as 600 by some authorities, however, on July 4 1943, the day before Operation Citadel was launched, Hausser's three SS divisions possessed a total of 327 tanks between them, plus a number of command tanks. The SS Corps used temporary divisional markings instituted for the Battle of Kursk. This was to confuse the Soviets with unit identification. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Das Reich used two vertical bars with a footer in place of the Wolfsangel insignia (until the fall 1943). The Totenkopf used three bars without a footer in place of the Totenkopf insignia. The Leibstandarte SS were assigned a marking of two and a half bar with a footer in place of the Dietrich insignia but was never used. Credit: author George M. Nipe. Top image: Das Reich Tiger S23 moves forward followed by a column of Tigers in the vicinity of Yakhontov near Belgorod. The photo is most likely taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Hermann Grönert or possible by SS-Kriegsberichter Friedrich Zschäckel during the early phase of Zitadelle in July 1943. Note that this is not the same photograph as the more classic photo-shoot of Tiger S23 taken moments before by Zschäckel. The houses behind seem to suggest the photo is taken on slightly higher ground. Middle image: four SS Panzergrenadiers are visible in the background of this photo (mid-left) taken on the same slope as the previous photo. It appears to be Zschäckel standing to the left of the group taking the iconic photo of the Austrian SS-Oberscharführer Paul Egger's Tiger S13 climbing the slope. Photo taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Hermann Grönert. Bottom image: Tiger of the Das Reich passes Soviet prisoners of war while it moves forward at Kursk to consolidate the positions on the exposed Russian steppe. Footage from Die Deutsche Wochenschau.

Soviet POWs Captured by ϟϟ-Panzergrenadier-Division „Das Reich“

Wounded Soviet Sgt. captured by the Waffen-SS in the Battle of Kursk

Waffen-SS tankers giving first aid to wounded Soviets in the Kursk salient

Operation Citadel - the Battle of Kursk

SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS and Das Reich were the most successful units on the German southern wing on the first day of the Citadel offensive. The Leibstandarte SS were overrunning the first Soviet defensive belt in heavy fighting against Soviet Paratroops of 9th Guards Airborne Division. The Das Reich tore through the Soviet defences and pushed upwards of 65 kilometers into the southern sector of the bulge and captured numbers of Soviet troops, but the Wehrmacht got bogged down. The German High Command (OKW) hoped that large numbers of Soviet prisoners would be captured during Citadel to be used as slave labour in the German armaments industry. More than three million Soviet prisoners died in German prisoner-of-war camps during World War II, about 60 percent of all Soviet prisoners. Similar death rates prevailed among German soldiers in Soviet captivity. German Wehrmacht prisoners had of course much higher survival rate than volunteers and conscripts of the Waffen-SS and other elite units. It was actually more dangerous to be in a prisoner-of-war camp than to be on the Eastern front line as an infantryman. In fact, the poor conditions were not caused primarily by incompetence or lack of preparation: harsh treatment of prisoners was a matter of policy. The capturing government itself, not the Waffen-SS nor any other frontline organization, was responsible for what happened behind the front lines. The top photo shows a wounded sergeant of the Soviet Red Army lying on the ground. A Waffen-SS Panzergrenadier with a Soviet PPSh-41 submachine-gun slung across his back is apparently calling the medics to see his condition. The middle and bottom photos from the same occasion show Soviet prisoners captured by tankers of the Waffen-SS being treated on the battlefield by an SS-Scharführer of Das Reich. Photos by war correspondent SS-Kriegsberichter Hermann Grönert. Grönert served with Das Reich at Kharkov and Kursk. U.S. National Archives.

ϟϟ-Panzergrenadier-Division „Totenkopf“ in the Battle of Kursk

Knight's Cross holder SS-Oberführer Hermann Prieß

SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Totenkopf moments before attack

SS-Totenkopf Panzergrenadier inspect a knocked out T-34

SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser was determined to press forward the attack and ordered the II.SS-Panzerkorps to wheel northwestwards in a coordinated attack. Their objective was to seize the crossings over the River Psel and breach the Soviet third line. SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 6 Theodor Eicke of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Totenkopf led the advance on the western flank battling through the 52nd Guards Rifle Division pakfronts, while SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS was forming the spearhead. In the late morning the Totenkopf broke the back of the Soviet defence and was able to make big gains. However, in the afternoon large Soviet counterattacks by 2nd Guards Tank Corps battered the division's right flank. Wave after wave of Soviet tanks surged forward, with some attacks involving more than 300 tanks. They were picked off one-by-one by the SS-Panzers and Panzergrenadiers picked off those that came too close and shot any tank-ridding infantry on their hulls. Thousands of Soviet infantrymen were mown down by well aimed artillery fire that was called down within a few hundred meters of the Waffen-SS new frontline. Top clip: Commander of SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Totenkopf SS-Oberführer Hermann Prieß observe the battlefield at Kursk in early July 1943. He was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS on July 15 1943. Prieß would go on to become one ​of Nazi Germany's most highly decorated soldiers. He was one of the elite few to be awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves and Swords – an honour that was awarded to only 159 men of the approximately 15 million who served in the German armed forces during World War II. Middle clip: the armoured fighting vehicles of the Totenkopf carrying SS-Panzergrenadiers in the run-up to a combined-arms attack during Zitadelle in July 1943. Bottom clip, taken on a later occasion, shows a SS-Panzergrenadier of the Totenkopf carefully inspect a knocked out Soviet T-34 on the Eastern front. Footages: Die Deutsche Wochenschau.

Luftwaffe Support Crucial for the Success of Operation Zitadelle

Formation of Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers in flight

FlaK-Abteilung of the Leibstandarte SS at Kursk

Famous and feared 8.8 cm FlaK during Zitadelle

The advance was well supported by the Luftwaffe, which greatly aided in breaking Soviet strong points and artillery positions. At the start of the Citadel offensive, the Germans dominated the air, sweeping the skies clear of Soviet aircraft, attacking anti-aircraft guns and taking a terrible toll of Soviet armour. By the end of the first week, Luftwaffe sorties began to drop off sharply due to attrition and fuel shortages. Soviet sorties increased. By the end of July 1943, the Soviets had gained air supremacy. Germany recorded the loss of 194 aircraft. Soviets acknowledge losing 1,130 aircraft. The Soviets could replace their losses - Germany could not replace theirs. Top image: a formation of Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka dive bombers in flight. The Stuka was heavily involved in Citadel. The Ace Hauptmann Hans-Ulrich Rudel's cannon-equipped Ju 87 Gs had a devastating effect on Soviet armour at Orel and Belgorod. Rudel was the most decorated German serviceman of World War II, being the sole recipient of the Knight's Cross with Golden Oakleaves, Swords, and Diamonds in Jan. 1945. The Ju 87s participated in a huge aerial counter-offensive in July 1943 against a Soviet offensive at Khotynets and saved two German armies from encirclement. The Stuka arm lost eight of their Knight's Cross during the Kursk offensive. In the wake of the defeat at Kursk, Ju 87s played a vital defensive role on the southern wing of the Eastern Front. To combat the Luftwaffe, the Soviets could deploy 3,000 fighter aircraft. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Middle image: Anti-Aircraft gunners of the Leibstandarte SS alert the Luftwaffe Stuka dive bomber pilots operating over the Kursk battle area of their position to prevent friendly fire. Credit: Royston Leonard. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Bottom clip: the famous German 8,8 cm FlaK gun became one of the most feared anti-tank weapons of World War II. It performed well in its original role of an anti-aircraft gun and it proved to be a superb anti-tank artillery gun as well. Thousands of 88 mm guns were produced throughout the war in various models and mounts. Die Deutsche Wochenschau.

Operation Zitadelle and the Battle of Kursk

Waffen-SS and Heer officers during Zitadelle

Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger

Waffen-SS Maschinengewehr 34 gunners

The advance continued with village after village having to be cleared of Soviet defenders. The Wehrmacht and the SS constantly fought offensive battles. Subsequently, they then defended themselves, then went on to counterattacks. Hand grenades and MG 42 machine guns were their weapons of choice for close-quarter combat with Soviet infantry. The II.SS-Panzerkorps zone of battle, contrary to the impression given in many accounts, was approximately 15 kilometers wide, with SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Totenkopf on the left flank, Leibstandarte SS in the center and Das Reich on the right flank. The South Tyrol-born war correspondent SS-Obersturmführer Friedrich Zschäckel's contact sheets from Operation Citadel reveal numerous groups of Soviet POWs awaiting transport to the rear and an uncertain fate in captivity. Many, however, died during the death marches from the front lines or under inhumane conditions in German prisoner-of-war camps and concentration camps. Top image: an SS-Untersturmführer of the Leibstandarte SS and veteran from the Battle of the Crimea with two Wehrmacht officers before their next assault on Soviet positions during Citadel. Photo taken by war correspondent SS-Unterscharführer Max Büschel. Credit: OTL Marwan. U.S. National Archives. Middle image: an early model of the Tiger tank accompanied by supporting panzergrenadiers entering a burning village and driving the enemy out. Credit: Rui Manuel Candeias. Commons: Bundesarchiv. Bottom image: Waffen-SS MG gunners in camo smocks stride through a burned-out Soviet village in the summer of 1943. Photo taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Obermüller who served with Wiking and bandit-fighting 8.SS-Kavallerie-Division. Note: some sources identify this image as being from Demyansk showing the Danish machine-gunner SS-Rottenführer Kaj Buchardt in the center. Waffen-SS volunteer Buchardt survived the war and died in 2009. Credit: Doug Banks. Commons: Bundesarchiv.

Operation Zitadelle and the Battle of Kursk

Kursk salient July 1943

Kursk salient July 1943

The Combat medics were armed and did not wear the Red Cross armbands on the Eastern Front because of the fear of snipers. Both the Soviets and the Germans often intentionally aimed for medics working on the front lines. Many combatants in the 20th Century have not honored the immunity that should be accorded medical personnel in combat, and as a result many countries that previously did not arm combat medics now do so. Images: an SS-Panzergrenadier armed with a Maschinenpistole 40 gives a wounded Soviet tanker water from his field flask in early July 1943, while the remains of a T-34 Model 1943 blazes in the background. The final tally of the battle was gruesome. Tens of thousands lay wounded from both sides, scattered across the Kursk salient - abandoned and left for dead. There was none to give them medical aid when they were struggling between life and death. Both photos were taken by war correspondent SS-Unterscharführer Max Büschel who served with the SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS at Kursk and Zhitomir. Max Büschel survived World War II and managed to evade captivity when the 1.SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS surrendered to American forces in Austria in May 1945. He made his way back to his family in Berlin, but was apparently shot by Soviet Occupation Forces when they found out he had been a member of the much feared Waffen-SS units. U.S. National Archives. Fair use.