9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen
| 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen | |
|---|---|
 Insignia of 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen | |
| Active | 1 February 1943 - 8 May 1945 |
| Country |  National Socialist Germany
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| Allegiance | Adolf Hitler |
| Branch |  Waffen-SS
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| Type | Panzer |
| Size | Division |
| Garrison/HQ | Berlin-Lichterfelde |
| Engagements | Falaise pocket Operation Market Garden Battle of the Bulge Operation Frühlingserwachen |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |
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The 9th Waffen SS Panzerdivision "Hohenstaufen" (German: 9. SS-Panzer-Division „Hohenstaufen“) was a German Waffen-SS armoured division which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II.
Contents
History
The 9th SS-Panzer-Division Hohenstaufen was formed, along with its sister formation 10th SS-Panzer-Division Frundsberg, in France in February 1943. The division was mainly formed from RAD conscripts. Originally, Hohenstaufen was designated as a Panzergrenadier division, but in October 1943 it was promoted to full Panzer Division status. At its formation, Hohenstaufen was commanded by SS-Obergruppenführer Willi Bittrich. The title Hohenstaufen came from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, a Germanic noble family who produced a number of kings and emperors in the 12th and 13th centuries A.D.. It is believed that the division was named specifically after Friedrich II, who lived from 1194-1250.
After the encirclement of Generaloberst Hans-Valentin Hube's 1st Panzerarmee near Kamenets Podolsky in Ukraine, Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein requested that the Hohenstaufen and Frundsberg divisions be sent to attempt to link up with the trapped force.
Arriving in the east in late March 1944, the divisions were formed into the 2nd SS-Panzerkorps and were sent into the attack near the town of Tarnopol. After heavy fighting in the horrible conditions caused by the rasputitsa ("mud season"), the division effected a linkup with Hube's forces near the town of Buczacz. During these battles, Hohenstaufen had suffered heavy casualties, and in late April was pulled out of the line to refit. The 2nd SS Panzerkorps was to act as reserve for Heeresgruppe Nordukraine, performing "fire brigade" duties for the Army Group. After the Allied invasion of France on 6 June 1944, the II. SS-Panzerkorps, including Hohenstaufen, was sent west on 12 June 1944 to defend Caen in Normandy.
Invasion in Normandy
Hohenstaufen suffered losses from Allied Jabos (fighter-bombers) during its move to Normandy, delaying its arrival until 26 June 1944. The original plan for Hohenstaufen to attack towards the Allied beachhead was made impossible by a British offensive to take Caen. The II. SS-Panzerkorps was instead put into the line to support the weakened forces defending Caen. Hohenstaufen was involved in ferocious fighting until early July, suffering 1,200 casualties. On 10 July, the division was pulled back into reserve, to be replaced by the 277 Infanterie-Division.
After the launching of another British offensive aimed at taking Caen, Hohenstaufen was again put back into the line, this time defending Hill 112, taking over the positions of the battered Frundsberg. After more heavy fighting, Hohenstaufen was again pulled out of the line on 15 July. The division's depleted Panzergrenadier regiments were merged to form Panzergrenadier Regiment Hohenstaufen. The division saw heavy action defending against British armour during Operation Goodwood, suffering heavy losses, but succeeded in holding the line.
After the launch of the Canadian Operation Totalize, Hohenstaufen performed a fighting withdrawal, avoiding encirclement in the Falaise pocket, and fighting to keep the narrow escape route from this pocket open. By 21 August, the battle of Normandy was over, and the German forces were in full retreat. SS-Obersturmbannführer Walter Harzer was now placed in command of the division. The division fought several rear-guard actions during the retreat through France and Belgium, and in early September 1944, the exhausted unit was pulled out of the line for rest and refit near the Dutch city of Arnhem. By this time, Hohenstaufen was down to approximately 7,000 men, from 15,900 at the end of June. Upon arriving in the Arnhem area, the majority of the remaining armoured vehicles were loaded onto trains in preparation for transport to repair depots in Germany. On Sunday, 17 September 1944, the Allies launched Operation Market-Garden, and the division fought in the Battle of Arnhem.[5] The British 1st Airborne Division was dropped in Oosterbeek, to the west of Arnhem. Only the division's reconnaissance battalion, equipped mostly with wheeled and half tracked vehicles, was ready for action.
Operation Market Garden
Bittrich ordered Hohenstaufen to occupy Arnhem and secure a vital metal girder bridge (later torn down, rebuilt in concrete and named John Frost Bridge). The division encountered stiff resistance from the British Rote Teufeln (Eng. "Red Devils") 1st Airborne Division. The Reconnaissance Battalion, a 40-vehicle unit commanded by Hauptsturmführer Viktor Eberhard Gräbner, was sent south over the bridge to scout the area around Nijmegen. The bridge had already been captured by the Germans. Meanwhile, Colonel John Frost's 2nd Battalion of the British 1st Airborne Division had advanced into Arnhem and prepared defensive positions at the northern end of the bridge. They destroyed Gräbner's unit, which lost 12 vehicles out of 22 in the assault and around 70 men killed, including Gräbner. In all, the British 1st Airborne Division suffered 7,167 casualties out of 10,095 men. This action is depicted in the film A Bridge Too Far.
Ardennes Offensive
After the battle of Arnhem, Hohenstaufen moved to Paderborn for a much-needed rest and refit. On 12 December 1944, the division moved south to the Munstereifel. It was to act as a reserve for Sepp Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer Army, a part of the Ardennes offensive (Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein). The 6th Panzer Army was to attack in the north, along the line St. Vith–Vielsalm. Initially, only the divisional reconnaissance and artillery units were involved in the fighting but on 21 December, the entire division was committed. The 9th SS Division tried to breakthrough defensive positions of the 82nd Airborne Division but failed.
When the attack in the north stalled, the division was sent south to assist in the attacks on Bastogne, where it took heavy casualties from the American defenders and lost much of its equipment to Allied ground attack aircraft. On 7 January 1945, Hitler called off the operation and ordered all forces to concentrate around Longchamps, Belgium.
Hungary and surrender
Throughout the rest of January 1945, Hohenstaufen retreated to the German border. At the end of the month, the division was transferred to the Kaifenheim-Mayen area to be refitted. At the end of February, the division was sent east to Hungary as a part of the reformed 6th SS Panzer Army under Sepp Dietrich. The division, along with the majority of the SS Panzer units available, was to take part in Operation Spring Awakening, the offensive near Lake Balaton, which was aimed at relieving the forces encircled in Budapest by the Red Army.
The attack got under way on 6 March 1945. Due to the condition of the roads, the division had not reached its jump-off position when the attack began. A combination of mud and stiff Soviet resistance brought the offensive to a halt and on 16 March a Soviet counter-offensive threatened to cut off the 6th SS Panzer Army. Hohenstaufen was involved in the fighting to escape the Soviet encirclement. During these actions, Hohenstaufen destroyed 80 Soviet T-34 and IS tanks. On 1 May 1945, the greatly depleted division was moved west to the Steyr–Amstetten area. On 8 May 1945, Hohenstaufen surrendered to the Americans.
Eyewitness report from Karl Schmidt
Radio operator Karl Schmidt (b. November 1925) from the Hohenstaufen Division was 19 when he was taken prisoner in May 1945:
- "I experienced the last Christmas of the war in 1944. On the afternoon of 24 December around 3 p.m. we attacked the US positions with around 12 tanks near St. Vith during what later became known as the “Ardennes Offensive”. I had to watch as my best comrade, Hans Krämer from Mannheim, in the tank next to us, was unable to get out of the burning tank after being hit by the enemy PAK and burned to death inside. The offensive failed, the war was lost and a few months later we were taken prisoner by the US as prisoners of war in Steyr an der Enz on 7 May 1945. A day later, the bridge over the Enz was closed. The river was the demarcation line between Russians and Americans and anyone who did not cross the bridge to the west before the armistice on 8 May 1945 was no longer allowed to cross and had to remain in Soviet captivity. [...] After four weeks we were taken to an even larger forest camp and then in July with almost 40,000 men to the former Ebensee concentration camp, which had been set up for only 20,000 people. The barracks had now been cleared out; there were no beds or other furniture. We slept on the bare floor like pegs in a can. For 30 men there was bread and a bowl of thin soup every day. Between ten and twenty men were brought out every day – they literally starved to death. In mid-October we were moved from Austria and taken to the Babenhausen prisoner of war camp near Darmstadt in cattle cars with 40 men each, without toilets or food. Luckily this trip only lasted two days. We were sorted out there. All prisoners under the age of 21 were sent to a separate camp for young people, but they were all Waffen-SS men. Since we were all very emaciated, we were supposed to get a little better food. In fact, from that point on we were given an extra batch of sweet biscuit soup for breakfast every day. [...] On Christmas Day 1945 we suddenly saw a group of civilians appear in front of the fence, who refused to be held back by the Americans. There were relatives of prisoners who pushed against the fence to see their boys. The prisoners also pressed against the fence from the inside, although it was strictly forbidden to approach the fence within five meters. If the call was violated, shots were fired immediately. A friend from my hometown also received a visit from his parents. I hadn't had a chance to send any news to my parents because they had evacuated and I didn't know if they were still alive. So I gave the comrade's parents a message to my relatives. They should tell me that I had survived the war and was now in Babenhausen. This was the first message my parents had received from me in more than half a year. On 15 January 1946, 1,200 men in Babenhausen were handed over to the French. I came to the south of France and I had to spend three more Christmases as a prisoner of war before I was finally released home."[1]
Structure 1944
- SS-Panzer-Regiment 9
- SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 19
- SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 20
- SS-Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 9 (Artillery )
- SS-Flak Artillerie-Abteilung 9 (Anti-Aircraft)
- SS-Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 9 (Assault Gun)
- SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 9 (Reconnaissance)
- SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 9 (Tank Destroyer)
- SS-Werfer-Abteilung 9 (Rocket Launcher)
- SS-Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon 9 (Engineer )
- SS-Panzer-Nachrichten-Abteilung 9 (Signal)
- SS-Versorgungseinheiten 9 (Divisional Supply Group)
People
Commanders
- February 1943 to March 1943 SS-Gruppenführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Wilhelm Bittrich
- 29. Juni 1944 bis 10. Juli 1944 SS-Standartenführer Thomas Müller (delegated with the leadership)
- Juli 1944 SS-Standartenführer Sylvester Stadler
- August 1944 SS-Oberführer Friedrich-Wilhelm Bock
- September bis 10. Oktober 1944 SS-Obersturmbannführer Walter Harzer
- 10 October 1944 to May 1945 SS-Oberführer Sylvester Stadler
Notable members
- Hermann Borchers (battalion commander)
- Friedrich Entress (division doctor)
- Willi Hardieck (regimental commander)
References
- ↑ Karl Schmidt: Wie ich meine erste Friedensweihnacht 1945 erlebte, 2013
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