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10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg

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10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg
10. SS-Panzerdivision "Frundsberg"
Divisional insignia
Active2 January 1943 – 8 May 1945
Country Nazi Germany
BranchSchutzstaffel Waffen-SS
TypePanzer
RoleArmoured warfare
SizeDivision
Engagements

The 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg" (German: 10. SS-Panzerdivision "Frundsberg")[1] was a German Waffen-SS armoured division during World War II. The division's first battles were in Ukraine in April 1944. Afterwards, the unit was then transferred to the west, where it fought the Allies in France and at Arnhem. The division was moved to Pomerania, then fought south east of Berlin in the Lusatian area until the end of the war.

History

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The division received the honor title "Frundsberg" after the 16th-century German commander Georg von Frundsberg.[2] The division was mainly formed from conscripts. It first saw action at Tarnopol in April 1944 and later took part in the relief of the German troops cut off in the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket.

It was then sent to Normandy to counter the Allied landings, where, along with the SS Division Hohenstaufen, it took part in fighting against the Allied Operation Epsom.[3] They spent the rest of July repulsing British attacks against Hill 112 and Hill 113, most notably during Operation Jupiter. After two weeks of fighting in August against the British during Operation Bluecoat and the Americans at Domfront the division was like many other units encircled at Falaise. They were intended to take part in the counterattack conducted by the II. SS-Panzerkorps but due to the confusion and chaos in the pocket the attack broke down. SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 21 struck towards St. Lambert but got repulsed. After that the planned attack of the Frundsberg was abandoned and they were ordered to break out between St. Lambert and Chambois. The division suffered heavy casualties and retreated into Belgium before being sent to be reconstituted near Arnhem, where it soon fought the Allied airborne troops during Operation Market Garden at Nijmegen, in the Netherlands, when together with the 9th SS Panzer division it constituted the II SS Panzer Corps.[4] The division however suffered heavy losses in the ensuing counter offensive against the Nijmegen salient in early October. After rebuilding, it fought in the Alsace in January 1945. It was then sent to the Eastern Front, where it fought against the Red Army in Pomerania and then Saxony. Encircled in the Halbe Pocket, the division effected a breakout and retreated through Moritzburg, before reaching the area of Teplice in Czechoslovakia, where the division surrendered to the US Army at the end of the war.[5]

Notable personnel

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German writer and Nobel laureate Günter Grass was trained as a tank crewman with the SS division at the age of 17 in November 1944. He was wounded in action on 25 April 1945 and captured in a hospital.[6] He did not reveal until 2006 that he had been a member of the Waffen-SS.[7]

Organisation

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The organisation structure of this SS formation was as follows:[8]

Designation (English)[9] Designation (German)[10]
  • SS Panzer Regiment 10
  • SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 21 (before: SS Pz. Gren. Rgt. 1 "Fundsberg")
  • SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment 22 (before: SS Pz. Gren. Rgt. 2 "Fundsberg")
  • SS Panzer Artillery Regiment 10
  • SS Motorcycle Riflemen Regiment
    • SS Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion 10
    • SS Assault Gun Battalion 10
    • SS Anti-tank Battalion 10
    • SS Panzer Engineer Battalion 10
    • SS Panzer Communications Battalion 10
    • SS Division's Supply Troops 10
    • SS Maintenance Battalion 10
    • SS Provisioning Battalion 10
    • SS Medical Battalion 10
    • SS Replacement Battalion 10
  • SS-Panzer-Regiment 10
  • SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 21 (vorher: SS-Pz. Gren. Rgt. 1 "Frundsberg")
  • SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 22 (vorher: SS-Pz. Gren. Rgt. 2 "Frundsberg")
    • SS-Panzer-Aufklärungsabteilung 10
  • SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 10
  • SS-Kradschützen-Regiment 10
    • SS-Flak-Abteilung 10
    • SS-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 10
    • SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 10
    • SS-Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon 10
    • SS-Panzer-Nachrichten-Abteilung 10
    • SS-Divisions-Nachschubtruppe 10
    • SS-Panzer-Instandsetzungsabteilung 10
    • SS-Wirtschaftsbataillon 10
    • SS-Sanitätsbataillon 10
    • SS-Feldersatz-Bataillon 10

Commanders

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No. Portrait Commander Took office Left office Time in office
1
Michael Lippert
Lippert, MichaelSS-Standartenführer
Michael Lippert
(1897–1969)		1 February 194315 February 194314 days
2
Lothar Debes
Debes, LotharSS-Gruppenführer
Lothar Debes
(1890–1960)		15 February 194315 November 1943273 days
3
Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld
Treuenfeld, KarlSS-Gruppenführer
Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld
(1885–1946)		15 November 194327 April 1944164 days
4
Heinz Harmel
Harmel, HeinzSS-Brigadeführer
Heinz Harmel
(1906–2000)		27 April 194428 April 19451 year, 1 day
5
Franz Roestel
Roestel, FranzSS-Obersturmbannführer
Franz Roestel
(1902–1974)		28 April 19458 May 194510 days


Area of operations

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  • France, (January 1943 – March 1944 on formation)
  • Eastern Front, Southern sector (March – April 1944)
  • Poland, (April – June 1944)
  • France, (June – September 1944)
  • Belgium & the Netherlands, (September – October 1944)
  • West Germany, (October 1944 – February 1945)
  • Northwest Germany, (February – March 1945)
  • East Germany and Czechoslovakia, (March – May 1945)
  • Surrender and disbandment

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Official designation in German language as to "Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv" in Freiburg im Breisgau, stores of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS.
  2. ^ Tucker-Jones, A. (2022:91). Hitler's Armed SS: The Waffen-SS at War, 1939–1945. United Kingdom: Pen and Sword.
  3. ^ Zetterling, pp. 298, 305
  4. ^ "Defending Arnhem © 2006". Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  5. ^ Georg Tessin, Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS, Vol. III, p. 188, Osnabrück: Biblio Verlag, 1974
  6. ^ Irving, John (19 August 2006). "Günter Grass is my hero, as a writer and a moral compass". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 20 August 2006. Retrieved 19 August 2006.
  7. ^ "Günter Grass im Interview: 'Warum ich nach sechzig Jahren mein Schweigen breche'". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Archived from the original on 8 August 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  8. ^ GORDON WILLIAMSON: "The SS Hitler's Instrument of the power"; published by KAISER; appendix, page 244, "Schlachtordnung der Waffen-SS / Waffen-SS order of battle"; copyright 1994 by Brown Packaging Books Ltd., London.
  9. ^ MILITÄRISCHES STUDIENGLOSAR ENGLISCH Teil II/ Teil III, Deutsch – Englisch, Abkürzung Begriff, Bundessprachenamt (Stand Januar 2001).
  10. ^ Official designation as to "Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv" in Freiburg im Breisgau, stores of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS.

Bibliography

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  • Zetterling, Niklas (2019). Normandy 1944: German Military Organization, Combat Power and Organizational Effectiveness (Fully revised ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Casemate. ISBN 978-1-61200-816-5.
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