With the Götz von Berlichingen's combat units in tatters (the 38th SS Regiment had been reduced to a strength of about 800 men by November 15, 1944[4]) and with no command structure, Hitler authorized the division to withdraw from Metz. The American infantry and tank force advanced to Moosburg, and without delay attacked the defensive positions of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division in front of the town. Nationality: German Crime Location: Dietfurt (Mittelfranken) Victims: Jews Crime Location: Ellwangen/Jagst At this time its armored vehicle strength comprised 62 assault guns (of which 47 were operational) as well as two Panzer IV tanks. The only Panzer Grenadier division in Normandy, the 17. lacked many vehicles, yet had a full complement of modern StuG IV assault guns. I tried to cover all the key points that i found interesting and the ones that one might miss on a first glance of the document. [3] It was then ordered to take part in the Mortain Offensive, codenamed Operation Lüttich. The division was then held in Army Group Centre reserve near Bolkhov. [11] Replacements, in the form of Army officers, were received the next day. In February 1944, the division still lacked vehicles. By Christmas Eve 1942, the division fielded only eight operational tanks and one anti-tank gun. The quality of these replacements was far below that of the division's original elements. In October 1940, Arnim was given command of the 17th Panzer Division. The event occurred within the boundaries of Montmartin-en-Graignes in France on June 17, 1944. [10], The division had suffered heavy losses during those events and was re-supplied near Görlitz, now renamed Kampfgruppe 17th Panzer Division due to being severely under strength and being no more in size than a regiment. Country where the crime was committed: Germany The attack was defeated by the 23rd Tank Battalion of the US 12th Armored Division under the command of Captain John C. 'Jack' Lee, Jr., the former prisoners themselves, and anti-Nazi elements of the Wehrmacht under the command of Major Josef 'Sepp' Gangl, who died in the battle. x 3 x 4 x 2 x 6 x 1 x 1 The 18th Panzer Division was formed on 26 October 1940 at Chemnitz from parts of the 4th Infantry Division, 14th Infantry Division, and four battalions of submersible tanks. SS-Panzergrenadier-Division "Götz von Berlichingen")[1] was a German Waffen-SS division that saw action on the Western Front during World War II. Subject of the proceeding: Shooting of a number of foreign concentration camp prisoners, in part for trying to escape; mishandling of civilians, who had made derogatory remarks about Hitler, and demolition of the 'Josefinum' in Ellwangen, Case Nr.201[20] When the division pulled back to the Maginot Line in mid November, its strength had been reduced to around 4,000 men (of which about 1,700 were infantry) and 20 armored vehicles. Crime Category: Final Phase Crimes Early in April, it had retreated southwest into Moravia, where in quick succession it came under the order of 17th Army and 1st Army. The 13. Their effort was frustrated when the commander of the 14th Armored Division learned of the plan, and ordered his Combat Command A to take Moosburg, capture the bridge across the Isar River, and most importantly, secure and protect the Allied Prisoners of War. In what the Americans dubbed the Battle of Bloody Gulch, the Germans routed two paratroop companies before their attack was stopped by the arrival of Combat Command A of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division. It was then part of the 1st Panzer Armee in the Kamenets-Podolsky Pocket, where it lost most of its own heavy equipment, but escaped as a whole. : 11-18 (U.S. vs. Erwin Wilhelm Konrad Schienkiewitz) Review Date: 470404 The Götz von Berlichingen, together with 36th Volksgrenadier Division, attacked the US 44th and 100th Infantry Divisions around the town of Rimling. These small units managed to escape encirclement in the Falaise Pocket, but suffered heavy losses and remained in almost constant combat against the advancing Americans until the end of the month, when the division was transferred to Metz for a much-needed rest and refit. During this period, the Götz von Berlichingen suffered heavy losses and by the beginning of July, its strength was reduced to 8,500 men. Accused: Küster, Friedrich Erich 10 Years 3 Months It took part in the Battle of Białystok–Minsk, where it recorded up to 100 Soviet tanks destroyed in a single day, 9 July, at Orsha. The division was then concentrated at Orel and advanced towards Tula, where it was engaged in a failed attempt to encircle the city. Agency: Waffen-SS 17.SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 'Götz von Berlichingen' After heavy fighting for the American bridgeheads at Dornot and Arnaville, the division fell back and began to prepare to defend Metz itself. It was formed from scratch, with the majority of its original cadre coming from replacement units and conscripts, many of whom were Romanian Germans and French volunteers. SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 37, supported by the assault guns of the division's Panzer battalion and Oberst (colonel) Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte's 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment, attacked the advancing American paratroopers. By 27 February, the division had been reduced to less than 2,000 men, six tanks and ten anti-tank guns but was saved by the Soviet forces retreating behind the Donets river. This map shows an example of the pace of Rommel's operations and hasty attacks on the 17th of May. [nb 2] Obersturmbannführer Otto Binge oversaw the formation of the division, with the newly promoted Brigadeführer Werner Ostendorff taking command in January 1944. Geissler: Panzer im Osten – Kampf einer Division in Sowjetrußland – 17. Agency: Waffen-SS SS-Ersatz- und Ausbildungsbataillon 5 'Götz von Berlichingen' The 17th SS Division subsequently retreated across the German border and went into a defensive posture along the Blies River. US forces liberated Metz on November 22, 1944. By March, most of the major combat formations were fully motorised, although two of the six infantry battalions were still on bicycles. After the winter battles, the division was reconstituted near its front line positions in the early summer of 1942. It took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, and in the … After the failure of this offensive, the division was split into four Kampfgruppen, 'Braune', 'Gunter', 'Fick' and 'Wahl'. File Number: US0018[18] A very nice M42 Panzer SS Tunic here from the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, Götz von Berlichingen. Panzer-Division) was a formation of the Wehrmacht in World War II. In 1943, a propaganda book was published about the 27th ID in France 1940, titled Über Somme, Seine, Loire (English: Across the Somme, the Seine, the Loire). 17th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht) The 17th Panzer Division (17.) From there, it marched towards Kotelnikovo and joined the 4th Panzer Armee for a relief attack, Operation Wintergewitter, for the 6th Armee at Stalingrad, together with the 6th Panzer Division and the 23rd Panzer Division. The 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Götz von Berlichingen" (German: 17. Case Nr. In July, the division had the following strength in tanks, of which 84% were operational:[11], In September, it retreated from the Donets to positions behind the Dnjepr river, taking up a defensive line on the western side of the river. In the end, the involved German tank divisions were halted by the Red Army 12 km from the pocket but the troops inside managed to break through, abandoning their heavy equipment. The 17th Panzer Division (German: 17. The Americans secured the town and were advancing south by the morning of June 13. Court: LG Nürnberg-Fürth 581001 It received approximately 50 tanks of the type Panzer III and Panzer IV. [8] Under serious pressure because of infantry losses, the SS division was granted a reprieve when the Americans moved into a defensive posture on December 18. 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