PANZER DIVISIONS - PANZERGRENADIER DIVISIONS - PANZER BRIGADES of the Army and the Waffen SS in the West Autumn 1944 - February 1945 - Ardennes and Nordwind Volume I [Part 4A]

December 1944 Refitting & Re-equipment

 

This is a multi-volume series on the organisation, strengths and equipment of the Panzer and Panzer-Grenadier Divisions and Panzer Brigades, and is an accurate, precise and highly detailed tabulation of what the Army and Waffen SS formations had in the way of men, weapons, transport and other equipment. Also includes the theoretical tables as well as what in fact, each unit was equipped with. This data has been abstracted from the contemporary war-time unit returns. For the first time the correct and precise details are published. The author wishes to make it absolutely clear that:-

1. None of the information in this series has been taken from any published source.
2. The author has sourced all the volumes without exception from the original contemporary official reports that were made by the formations & units that took part in the operation.
3. The author has built an archive of over 100,000 facsimile copies of such documents - some are A4 in size, many are A3 and some even as large as A2, apart from that he has also over 100 microfilms - many of these films have details of over 1000 documents.
This archive has been acquired personally by the author - he has visited archive repositories in the UK, USA and Germany and checked the content to ascertain precisely when the reports were made and by whom to verify their accuracy.

The first volumes will detail the rebuilding of the Panzer / Panzer-Grenadier formations after the debacle of Normandy, the information will also show how some of the Panzer Brigades were incorporated into the Panzer divisions there by speedily creating the Army and Waffen SS formations that assaulted the lines of the US Army in the Ardennes in the winter of 1944.

The later volumes will provide the details of the strengths of the formations during the operations from the original attack to January 1945 when the campaign ended . These volumes will show in detail why particular units acquitted themselves better than others. Not only will the weapon and equipment strengths be included but also the equipment details of the support elements of the formations.

Publications prior to these volumes have either failed to provide such details or in most cases, provided inaccurate and misleading information. Since the end of World War II there have been numerous books published on the Panzer formations of the German Army and Waffen SS. Some have described the battles and others have examined the equipment, but they have failed to give the correct organisation and strengths of these formations in the field.

Whilst the official theoretical tables of organisation of the Panzer and Panzergrenadier formations of both the Army and Waffen SS are readily available, the correct details of manpower, weapons and equipment each of these formations had on establishment at a particular time has not until now accurately detailed.

Unlike previous publications which have either shown the theoretical details or only highlighted the tank strengths - invariably inaccurately - this series of publications will detail the actual strengths and losses of not only the Tanks, but also the Personnel/Manpower, Tank Destroyers, Assault Guns, Self-propelled Artillery, Armoured Cars, Armoured Personnel Carriers, Field Cars and Trucks (both the military, civilian and captured enemy types), Artillery, Anti-Tank Guns, Flak Artillery and Guns, Nebelwerfers and Mortars, Machine Guns etc.

The Divisional/Brigade component units - such as Tank, Tank Destroyer, Reconnaissance, Panzergrenadier, Artillery, Engineer, Anti-Tank &c as well as support units are shown with their precise strengths and organisations. The detail includes the individual vehicles of that particular unit. Often these tables include those vehicles that were being repaired at the time - and whether the repair was minor or major and so rendering the equipment unavailable for some time. In addition this series will highlight the shortfall in strength of or, possibly surprisingly, surpluses in the units.

Of particular interest to the reader will be the comparison between the Army and Waffen SS formations - it has always been the belief that Waffen SS units received the best equipment and in greater quantity than those of the Army - this was far from the case - when it came to the armoured elements in particular it will be seen that Army and Waffen SS formations equipment establishments were similar in numbers and quality. Where the Waffen SS Panzer Divisions differed were in the Panzergrenadier and support elements. In fact there was no discernible difference in combat effectiveness of the Army and Waffen SS Panzer Divisions - rather that the manoeuverability of the Waffen SS Panzer Divisions suffered because of the size of their "tail". The reader will also be able to see clearly why certain units did not perform as well in action as others - because the detailed tables will show the equipment deficiencies that had lowered their combat effectiveness.

 

Volume I [Part 4 A] December 1944 Refitting & Re-equipment:
Includes the actual organisations and strengths of Panzer Lehr(130), 2, 9, 21, 2 SS Das Reich, 9 SS Hohenstaufen Panzer Divisions 15 Panzer Grenadier Division. Also those of the 103, 106 Feldherrnhalle, Führer Panzer Brigades.

J Dugdale

Softcover large format 156pp

Book Code:  EX0747