I am looking forward to seeing Normandy again next month , the nature of the xcountry side definately lent itself to the defenders. Once ashore and there in numbers Rommel was proven to be right - the outcome would not be in doubt.
My Beligan friend usually takes in the major collectors fairs - I won't be buying much given the present exchange rate - if I get some photos taken it will be the height of it. At the moment no sure what is on the agenda will have to wait and see.
Anyone going to Normandy.Take a moment for me. For all my dear friends that never came home. 12 SS was in my mind the very best SS Div,That includes the AH SS panzer None of them came anywhere near to the fighting qualities of the Hitler Youth. I get quite angry when I read some authors opinions about the battles. Let me tell you this. We reduced the 12 SS to a horrible shambling mess. A bedraggled and unkempt, badly shocked gathering of troops. While we reduced them to a shadow of their former self. I must still admire their tenacity. But it is true, we left their bodies in large quantities all over that area of Normandy. They did have the advantage of the most heavily defended area in the whole of the invasion coast. Culminating in Hillman, Even then, we hoisted him out on his bloody neck. I liked the sapper that crawled along on his back under the wire. a cigarette in his mouth, a pound of guncotton on his chest with a detonator and primer, with a little safety fuse. Lit the safety fuse with his cigarette....and shoved it through the gun slit over his head. A pound of Gun cotton inside an enclosed area aint much fun....! 12 SS? we bloody slaughtered them, come to that, every other as well that came within our theatre of operations. By the way if you come across a 12SS man? ask him what he thought of the British Arty barrages. I know that they were "Impressed" Sapper
Some shots of Panzer IV's from 3rd Platoon, 6th Kompanie, SS-Panzer-Regiment 12. 1. 2. 3. Anyone known what it says/means on the barrel? 4.
The photos may have been taken in Belgium , the leather jackets and trousers were said to have been ex Italian navy issue which the SS laid hands on. I would have to agree with Sapper in respect of our own Armies preformace , desperate as the 12th SS were and hard they held , remember that it was our guys who took it from them.
Hi James, Was just reading about them refitting in December 44 during the build up for Watch on the Rhine (Die Wacht am Rhein) and saw the pictures ref to Bundesarchives so thought I'd post them up. The archives suggest it's late 43 which would place them where you say and there's no leaves on the trees which would go along with your thinking. Just Babel-Fished 'Braun-Ark' on the barrel and it translates to 'Brown Ark'. Would it have had a brown paint job then? Cheers Andy
Braun ark apparently indicates the oil that should be used (andy, babelfish will fail you, ark is no common German word. Or none I know of anyway).
What I find funny about this is recognizing old friends! The first 2pics in this latest post by Drew's I remebrer from good old "Panzer Colors" by Squadron/Signal from the late 70s
Has anyone heard the story of Emil Durr? For the Allies he was on the "wrong" side but brave men wore both uniforms; “The tank has to go” They had carried him from the burning house, which the enemy tank guns had picked as their target in the St. Manvieu park, to a hollow under the old shady trees. There he lay, both thighs wrapped in makeshift dressings, quite and withdrawn. His blue eyes clear and calm, his lips pale, pressed together in pain. His comrades stood around him. They would have liked to do something to help him through those last moments he had to live. But there was nothing to do or say. Yes-he only had moments to live. Sighing, the medic had turned away from him, the dressings dripping with unstoppable blood…Did he know that he had to die? The Kompanie commander asked him if he had a wish. Yes-please lift his head a little. If only they had a pillow to offer him a soft headrest-but there was only a gas mask which they carefully pushed under his head. The guns of the enemy tanks surrounding the park sent shell after shell, without pause, into the tree covered terrain. The gable of the house in which the Bataillon command post was located, blew apart with a bang. The beams were smoldering. Here and there the dry ground, set afire by the searing tongues of the flame thrower tanks, was burning. Smoke and dust were creeping through the trees to the hollow. A fine rain drizzled with hopeless monotony on the leaves. The wounded man turned his head a little. He sought to see something. But he only spotted the smoke, the fumes, and the clouds of dust. “You must not let them into the park”, he said. He spoke calmly, as if there was nothing to worry about for him. Then he asked for a cigarette. Many hands were extended towards him. He smiled. Yes-the comrades-they knew he was about to begin a long journey, but they did not sense that he, too, knew it. He smoked, composed, as was his manner. He held the cigarette in his right hand, black with Norman soil, a few blood stains on the crust of dirt. His hand, too, was steady, eerily so. His left caressingly stroked the grass on which he was bedded. Under this grass, he would soon be sleeping, sleeping forever… “There is nothing behind us”, he said. “You must hold on until they have a new line behind us…” He seemed to want to say more as his lips continued to move, but no words were formed. His left hand gripped the grass more firmly as if it was looking for a hold… “Give my love to my wife”, he said. “And the little one…take care of them…And do not be sad-there is nothing sad.” Then the cigarette dropped from his hand. He closed his eyes. Once more he breathed, deep and heavy. Then the blood stopped, as did his heart. His comrades took off their helmets and instinctively folded their hands. And tears were running down quite a few cheeks. They were not ashamed in front of each other. Heavier and heavier, the shells from the tanks hammered the park. The beams of the house were splintering, bricks were flying from the park wall. The earth was trembling. In the early morning hours of 26 June 1944, while the sun was still resting behind the Norman hills, the English barrages had set in. For almost three hours they laid salvo after salvo on the line of main defense outside the village of St. Manvieu and on the village itself. And on the grenadiers of I.Bataillon of a Regiment of the SS panzderdivision “Hitlerjugend”, which had been awaiting the major enemy offensive on the Carpiquet airfield and on the Orne river for days now, in front of the gates of Caen. Foxholes were filled in, machineguns were smashed, men were mercilessly ripped apart. Ammunition depots blew apart, telegraph posts tumbled with hollow screams, and wires ripped singing across the roads…Houses caught on fire, gables came crashing down. The earth moaned with it’s wounds, dug into the ground in countless numbers. When, three hours later, the enemy guns fell quiet and only shrapnels were whirling and howling through the air, enemy tanks advanced through the smoke and , the stench, and the fog. They broke through the positions and overran St. Manvieu. Like a pack of hungry wolves they surrounded the park. The handfull of men in the Bataillon command post could count 15 Shermans, with there naked eyes. They were sitting in front of the wall which enclosed one side of the park, and in the grain field on the other side. Whoever had arms left to fight was sent into action in the park, messengers, clerks, orderlies. If they roll over the bridge thought the Grenadiers, if they break through the walls, if they push into the park-well, then it would be over. Then the battered Bataillon would lose it’s leadership, the cornstone of the uneven battle would be overthrown. Then the desired English breakthrough would succeed, because that is what they wanted-to break through here, to the Orne river, to the last undamaged bridge near St. Andrè, to reach the road Caen-Falaise, to encircle Caen from the south. The Bataillon command post had suddenly become an important bastion-and it had no heavy weapons. They had sub-machineguns and rifles. They had Panzerfausts and Magnetic explosives. And only a hand full of men. This could only have a minor effect against a few dozen tanks. Minor effect? Who could predict it? And they had Unterscharführer Dürr. But no one could forsee the outcome at this critical hour. The young, blond haired Unterscharführer himself did not know of it… But two mortars were still sitting in the park, massive and mighty. And their crews had twenty five shells left. These they fired among the tanks, into this corner and that. The shells exploded with bangs and caused confusion. Sharp shooters crept to the hedges and wall ledges and fired at the commanders who came out of there hatches too soon. Some of the tanks turned away. They assumed that the forces in the park were much stronger and did not dare to break through. But the calm did not last long, the tanks returned and fired from all barrels. They picked the house as their target and damaged it so badly that the wounded had to be carried out. Then, suddenly, there was a shout of alarm within the doggedly defending troop. A flame thrower tank had set up at the entrance to the park, dominating the path to the command post, and able to harass any movement. “That tank has to go”, the commander ordered. He said it as he was walking by, he had no time to stop. He was needed out there with his men, here and there and everywhere. Unterscharführer Dürr had heard the order. He did not hesitate. “I’ll go”, he said, and was gone. He took a Panzerfaust and went to scout the situation. It was difficult to get close to the tank. It was sitting in a postition that dominated the terrain on all three sides. Unterscharführer Dürr did not calculate for long. He jumped across the inner wall of the yard and ran straight at the tank. But the Panzerfaust did not pierce the tank. Maybe he did not aim accurately in his excitement. Then Dürr felt a blow to the chest, and immediately a warm substance was running down his thighs. Hit! shot in the chest! Angry, Dürr pulled himself up and ran back the path he had come. He picked up another Panzerfaust and ran up to the tank a second time. This time, since the distance was unfavorable, he aimed at the tracks. The tank rattled, the track ripped. But again, Dürr was covered by violent machinegun fire. Crawling, he worked his way back. With one jump he scaled the wall, out of the range of fire. He spotted a magnetic charge and quickly grabbed it. A comrade wanted to hold him back:”your bleeding…” Dürr did not let himself be stopped. The tank had to go … For a third time he had set out on his dangerous journey. For the third time, already quite weakened, he jumped across the wall. He ran, stumbling, toward the tank, paying no attention to the bullets. Now he was very close, one more jump-attached the charge-He was about to get away when he heard a rumbling sound behind him-the charged had dropped to the ground… Not even seconds were left for him to consider, no time to contemplate his duty, desires, wishes…the tank had to go-And once again he was at the Flame thrower tank like a flash. He grabbed the charge with a strong fist, pressed it against the tank, staggered once, pushed, gasping, against the diabolic dynamite… Then came the bang-flickering fire, flames, darkness in front of his eyes…. As he hit the ground, he saw that the tank was burning. He wanted to jump up- but he could not, as if paralyzed he lay on the ground. He tried it once more, felt a stabbing pain in his thighs…he looked down at his bleeding legs and his heart turned cold with shock… Was it desperation which gave him superhuman strength now? He crawled back down the path, now open, to the command post. The comrades spotted him, pulled him in, took him to the medic. Four hours later his life came to a end. Not a word of complaint had come across his lips. “You must not let them into the park”, he said. And he calmly smoked a cigeratte as if he was saying goodbye to his comrades before going on a extended leave. They were silently standing around him, watching this brave man slide into immortality…Over his grave the commander awarded him the Knights Cross to the Iron Cross-as the first non-commissioned officer of the 12. SS-Panzerdivision “Hitlerjugend”… And beyond his grave shines the absolute readiness of this absolute soldier” Date of Birth: 11. June 1920 Decorations: Iron Cross II: 23. June 1944 Iron Cross I: 24. June 1944 Knight’s Cross: 23. August 1944 Honor Roll Clasp: 15. September 1944 Date of Death: 27. June 1944 This comes from the work of Hubert Meyer. The 12th SS "Hitlerjugend" were probably the most fanatical troops in the Normandy battle on the German side. They had grown up with the Nazi propaganda and I think were mostly (the troopers ) born in 1926.
I had the the opportunity to speak to a veteran of the 12th SS who fought in Normandy. He had originally volunteered for the LSSAH and was later transferred to the 12th SS. He had the utmost regard for the Canadians they fought, often in hand to hand fighting. But he was still adamant that had they not received the order to dig in, they could have pushed the Allies back to the sea!
I believe they tried to do just that on June 7th/8th 1944, without success. The 12th SS moved forward towards the front starting at dawn on D-Day but air attacks slowed their advance. The division's vanguard, the 25th Panzer Grenadier Regiment, commanded by Colonel Kurt Meyer moved into the area west of Caen. Meyer established his headquarters in the Ardennes Abbey on June 7 (D-Day + 1) and discovered the Canadian 9th Brigade advancing toward Carpiquet airport. The 25th Panzer Grenadiers attacked the exposed Canadian flank with two battalions supported by tanks. The Germans struck with great force and in vicious close quarter battles forced the Canadians out of Authie and Buron after heavy losses in tanks and men. In defence, the Canadians infantry proved as stubbornly ferocious as the Germans, especially once they were able to bring their artillery to bear. In Normandy artillery was the most lethal weapon on both sides, causing three out of every four wounds. Supported by the big guns of a British cruiser, and the 12 remaining Sherbrooke Fusiliers tanks, the 9th Brigade fought their way back in forcing the Germans in turn to withdraw from Buron. The vanguard of the 9th Brigade was decimated. The North Nova Scotia casualties were 84 killed, 30 wounded and 128 captured. The Sherbrookes casualties were 26 killed and 34 wounded along with 28 tanks destroyed or damaged. The Germans had also paid, the Sherbrookes claiming to have destroyed up to 35 German tanks, thus reducing the effectiveness of the 25th Panzer Grenadier Regiment. At dawn on June 8th the 26th Panzer Grenadier Regiment of the 12th SS attacked the Canadian 7th Brigade that had advanced up to the Caen-Bayeux road. The Germans attacked the town of Putot-en-Bessin with two battalions and surrounded the Winnipeg Rifles. The Canadian Scottish supported by the 1st Hussars moved back into the village under a creeping artillery barrage. After two hours of fierce fighting the Canadians recaptured Putot-en-Bessin and linked up with the remnants of the Winnipegs still holding on. A third German battalion attacked Bretteville. The Regina Rifles stubbornly defended the town and the battle raged all night in the village streets. At dawn the next morning the 12th SS retreated after suffering heavy losses. To stop the German counter attack the Canadians paid a high price. The Winnipeg Rifles lost 256 men including 105 killed. The Canadian Scottish lost 125 men, including 45 killed while the Regina Rifles losses were smaller. Many of the Winnipeg Rifles had been taken prisoner and were among the 45 Canadians executed by the 12th SS at the Abbey of Ardenne on June 8th. The previous day, 23 Canadian prisoners from the North Novas and Sherbrookes were shot by the men of the 12th SS. After the war Kurt Meyer would be held responsible for these war crimes and sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted to life imprisonment. The German army had become experts in defensive techniques on the Russian front. They were able to use the Normandy terrain to their advantage and inflict heavy losses on the Allies when they advanced. However when the Germans attempted offensive operations in Normandy they were faced with the same difficulties. The Allies superior artillery brought overwhelming firepower down on the Germans and decimated them. Starting with the 21st Division counter attack on June 6th and in subsequent attacks, the Germans suffered their heaviest losses when they left their defensive positions and attacked the Allies. "Holding Juno" by Mark Zuehlke
The real truth of the matter, is that the enemy had prepared "defence in depth" They took years over it with Russian POWs. That defence in depth, wanted some getting over. Bedsides, our job was to Bleed The panzer's strength, by constant attacks while the Americans got on with Cherbourg and the breakout. That is exactly what we did, we destroyed the SS and their panzer's...... The culmination, and the proof of the strategy, was shown at Falaise, when It all came together in a blood letting session of such horrific proportions, it has seldom be seen in battle before. Monty's plans all came to fruition with the conquest of Normandy, and the total destruction of his forces, ten days to a fortnight ahead of the schedule. Anyone in any doubt, should have been to Le Bisely wood, where a hand to hand fight took place between the 12 ss and our men,The bodies lay about where they fell literally in each others arms. Sapper
I think a lot of the post-war arguments that we have heard about British and Commonwealth units being sticky in Normandy come from the bigger strategic arguments that certain 'Historians' have bandied about, particularly Carlo D'Este. I dont know if anyone has read 'Decision in Normandy' but basically the argument is that Monty got it wrong around Caen, the Germans fought the British to a standstill and the Americans had to come to the rescue and make the breakout in the west. Despite the fact that this had been the plan all along. It was the plan that Monty presented at his pre-D-Day Conference, and we were on the Seine exactly when he predicted. Yet still people try and disparage the performance of certain units and I can't help but think that its thanks to the bigger strategic argument overshadowing things.
I think the attraction of the German forces around Caen "happened" when the city didn't fall and it became a linchpin for them. My view is that saying the British got it wrong is wrong , for few plans "survive first contact with the enemy" and what took place was influenced by what the Germans did and ordered to stand they fought very well as one observer put it "the Germans don't have much left but they sure know how to use it". The ground favoured the defenders and whilst opportunities were lost the Americans did have a clearer run at things and in saying this I certainly do not make light of their losses nor do I promote an "us and them" view of events. For a break out to occur the German forces committed to Normandy had to be reduced it was a bloody and costly undertaking for all concerned. Driving around to Hill 112 and over it to Caen put much of the battle into context for me a two hour drive by car , unhurried was no such easy drive in 1944. I hope to get back again this year if all works out.( Fingers crossed).
Anyone going to Normandy.Take a moment for me. For all my dear friends that never came home. 12 SS was in my mind the very best SS Div,That includes the AH SS panzer None of them came anywhere near to the fighting qualities of the Hitler Youth. I get quite angry when I read some authors opinions about the battles. Let me tell you this. We reduced the 12 SS to a horrible shambling mess. A bedraggled and unkempt, badly shocked gathering of troops. While we reduced them to a shadow of their former self. I must still admire their tenacity. But it is true, we left their bodies in large quantities all over that area of Normandy. They did have the advantage of the most heavily defended area in the whole of the invasion coast. Culminating in Hillman, Even then, we hoisted him out on his bloody neck. I liked the sapper that crawled along on his back under the wire. a cigarette in his mouth, a pound of guncotton on his chest with a detonator and primer, with a little safety fuse. Lit the safety fuse with his cigarette....and shoved it through the gun slit over his head. A pound of Gun cotton inside an enclosed area aint much fun....! 12 SS? we bloody slaughtered them, come to that, every other as well that came within our theatre of operations. By the way if you come across a 12SS man? ask him what he thought of the British Arty barrages. I know that they were "Impressed" Sapper Brian, The numbers would seem to support your view on this. During the approx. 12 weeks from D-Day to the end of August 1944, the 12th SS suffered horrendous casualties. Some would say that as a fighting foce they were virtually annihilated. 12th SS losses during the fighting in Normandy were, 55 officers, 229 NCO's and 1,548 killed. A further 128 officers, 613 NCO's and 3,684 wounded with 58 officers, 182 NCO's and 2,012 reported missing. A combined total of 241 officers, 1,024 NCO's and 7,244 men. 8,569 from an original divisional strength of 20,540. The much maligned volunteer, citizen soldiers seemed to have given them all they could handle.
The Allied air and artillery superiority are very often described as if they were unfair advantages. Without them the implication is that we would have lost. The 88's, armour, Mg's, mortars, etc. on the Germans side don't get the same treatment. because the 88's, armour, Mg's, mortars where all good weapon systems but none of them leads to air or artillery superiority. and no one can deny the damn bodacious (not unfair! whatever the word unfair in war means) advantage of air and artillery superiority.
Canuck. We did not have it all our own way ...In the end the Third British Infantries casualties were roughly equal to their full strength.. I was one of them... But we did make a terrible bloody awful mess of some of those proud elite SS Divs...We slaughtered them and reduced them to a complete shambles. Sapper
