The Armoured Panzer Grenadier Battalion, 1942 to 1943
The halftrack mounted Schutzen had made their first major appearance during the invasion of France in 1940. At that time, they were largely restricted to a single Armoured Rifle Company in one Battalion. This situation persisted into June 1941, when the Panzers turned eastwards. During the invasion of Russia there was still normally just one halftrack equipped Rifle Company per Panzer Division, though a few elite formations had a full Armoured Schutzen Battalion.
At the end of 1941, in preparation for the next major offensive against the Red Army, an effort was made to give each Panzer Division a minimum of one fully Armoured Panzer Grenadier Battalion.
The Panzer Grenadier Battalion, circa 1942
Battalion Headquarters (5 Officers, 17 men)
Communications Platoon (23 men)
Battalion Train and Maintenance (6 Officers, 59 men)
Heavy Company (5 Officers, 197 men)
Company HQ (1 Officer, 14 men)
Anti-tank Platoon (1 Officer, 36 men)
Two Infantry Gun Platoons, each (1 Officer, 28 men)
Pioneer Platoon (1 Officer, 52 men)
Anti-tank Rifle Group (21 men)
Company Train and Maintenance (18 men)
Three Rifle Companies (3 Officers, 214 men), each comprised of;
Company HQ (1 Officer, 13 men)
Company Train and Maintenance (23 men)
Heavy Platoon comprised of;
Platoon HQ (1 Officer, 12 men)
Mortar Section (16 men)
Two Heavy Machine Gun Sections, each (11 men)
Three Rifle Platoons, each comprised of;
Platoon HQ (1 Officer or NCO, 6 men)
Three Rifle Squads, each comprised of 12 men
Total Strength of 963 all ranks (25 Officers and 938 men)
The Panzer Grenadier Battalion, circa 1943
Battalion Headquarters (5 Officers, 16 men)
Communications Platoon (24 men)
Battalion Train and Maintenance (5 Officers, 60 men)
Heavy Company (5 Officers, 199 men)
Company HQ (1 Officer, 15 men)
Anti-tank Platoon (1 Officer, 36 men)
Infantry Gun Platoon (1 Officer, 24 men)
Pioneer Platoon (1 Officer, 58 men)
Cannon Platoon (1 Officer, 37 men)
Company Train and Maintenance (29 men)
Three Rifle Companies (4 Officers, 223 men), each comprised of;
Company HQ (1 Officer, 13 men)
Company Train and Maintenance (25 men)
Heavy Platoon comprised of;
Platoon HQ (1 Officer, 12 men)
Mortar Section (16 men)
Cannon Section (8 men)
Two Heavy Machine Gun Sections, each (11 men)
Three Rifle Platoons, each comprised of;
Platoon HQ (1 Officer or NCO, 6 men)
Three Rifle Squads, each comprised of 12 men
Total Strength of 995 all ranks (27 Officers and 968 men)
Points of note
It should be stressed that the overall personnel totals were liable to change from one Battalion to another, and should be regarded more as approximations rather than absolutes. The composition of the Heavy Company in particular was subject to variation dependent upon the equipment available.
The elements of the Battalion
Battalion Headquarters - comprised the command staff of the Battalion, provided with two halftracks, plus varying numbers of field cars and motorcycles. During 1943 halftrack transport was changed to a single SdKfz 251/3 command vehicle and two SdKfz 251/8 ambulances.
Communications Platoon - fulfilled the same role as that in the Infantry of maintaining radio and line communications within the Battalion.
Anti-tank Platoon - by 1942 the inadequacies of the 3.7-cm Pak were all too apparent. A successor existed in the far more capable 5-cm Pak 38, but German industry was excruciatingly slow at providing sufficient numbers to equip both the Panzer Divisions and the Infantry arm, who were particularly vulnerable to the Red Army's burgeoning tank force. The Panzer Grenadier Battalion was authorised three 5-cm Pak in its Anti-tank Platoon, though it would seem reasonable to assume that some 3.7-cm guns could still be found in use. Towing vehicles were three SdKfz 251 halftracks, plus one for ammunition and an SdKfz 250/1 at Platoon HQ.
During 1943, the decision was made to upgrade the anti-tank gun to the more powerful 7.5-cm Pak 40, the equivalent of the British 17-pr or American 3-inch weapons. The Pak 40 was intended to be the standard anti-tank gun of the Wehrmacht from around 1943 onwards, but there were simply too many Divisions to outfit. As a result, the previous 5-cm weapons were as likely to be found, as well as the Pak 36/39(r). This was actually a 76-mm Russian field gun, ample stocks of which had been captured in the opening months of Barbarossa. The Germans had re-chambered them to Pak 40 standard to fill the yawning gap in their defences against the Red Army's T34 and KV tanks. These weapons were turned against their former owners in the East, and even made it as far out as North Africa. The Platoon was still authorised just three weapons, all its vehicles now SdKfz 251, with an additional halftrack carrying ammunition.
Infantry Gun Platoon - each Infantry Gun Platoon was authorised a pair of towed 7.5-cm infantry guns, with three SdKfz 251/4 halftracks acting as their tractors and ammunition carrier, plus a SdKfz 251 at HQ. During 1943 one of the two Platoons was deleted.
Cannon Platoon - in early 1943 the Heavy Company was reinforced by a Cannon Platoon. This fielded six self-propelled 7.5-cm guns, each mounted on an SdKfz 251/9 armoured halftrack, plus an HQ vehicle and ammunition carrier. It seems an odd duplication of assets, but the two units were maintained in parallel for a period at least until the towed Platoon was deleted in 1944.
Pioneer Platoon - the Pioneer Platoon contained four ten man Sections, each with a light machine gun and carried in its own SdKfz 251/5 armoured engineer vehicle. Platoon HQ added an SdKfz 250 and several trucks for equipment. During 1943 this was amended to three Squads, each now fifteen strong with two light machine guns and carried in two SdKfz 251/7 armoured halftracks. Platoon HQ had graduated to an SdKfz 251/10 with 3.7-cm gun and there was an extra truck for flamethrower gear.
Heavy Anti-tank Rifle Group - the German Army was constantly seeking new means to stem the flood of Russian armour which threatened to engulf their forces in the East. Among the variety of close assault methods and antitank rifle grenades appeared something of an oddity in the shape of the 2.8-cm sPzB 41.
This strange little weapon was towed on a two wheeled carriage, and looked not unlike a minimized version of the Pak 38. It used an unusual 'tapered bore' effect which involved squeezing the projectile down a narrowing barrel (eventually just 2-cm) to impart greater kinetic energy, and thus armour penetration. In the Armoured Battalion each gun was mounted on an SdKfz 250/11 light halftrack. Most Allied observers viewed the adoption of what was in essence another antitank rifle as something of a step back in German thinking. However, it provided a stopgap and like many such interim weapons was still in use at the end of the war.
The Rifle Company - the original twelve man Rifle Squad represented the most powerful unit of its size deployed by the German Army during the war.
It comprised a leader and assistant, armed with a machine pistol and rifle respectively. They commanded two light machine gun teams, each with a gunner and loader, and a group of four riflemen. The two gunners each carried an MG34 and pistol, their two assistants both pistols, the remaining four men each a rifle. A driver and assistant were responsible for the vehicle, each armed with a rifle. The SdKfz 251/1 armoured halftrack mounted its own light machine gun behind a splinter shield. It was the responsibility of the assistant driver to man this weapon, and a 'spare' machine pistol was carried in the vehicle. One of the two MG34s carried by the Squad could be placed on a rear mounting on the halftrack, enabling it to be used in the anti-aircraft role where required. The concentration of light machine guns was enormous for such a small unit. In action, the driver and assistant would remain with the vehicle, the latter providing cover fire from the vehicle machine gun. The dismounted troops could split into two teams, each with a leader, two riflemen and a two-man gun team. This helped negate the weakness of riflemen covering a moving machine gun team with clunky bolt action weapons. One rifle in each Squad was provided with a grenade launcher during 1942.
Three such Squads operated under a Platoon Headquarters comprised of a Platoon Commander, NCO, two messengers, driver, stretcher bearer and motorcycle orderly. The first and second Platoons were commanded by Officers, the third by a senior NCO. The Commander carried a machine pistol, the NCO and medic a pistol, the others all rifles, and there was also an on board machine pistol. The Platoon HQ vehicle also provided some useful fire support. Early on, an anti-tank rifle was carried, one of the messengers doubling as operator. During 1941, the SdKfz 251/10 halftrack, which mounted its own 3.7-cm Pak in place of a light machine gun, became the Platoon HQ vehicle. As a means of tank defence it was mostly outdated, but it offered a handy means of projecting fire in support of the Squads. It remained in use into 1943, when a light machine gun was also added.
(The Rifle Platoon of 1939 to 1941 in all probability looked much like this, but also had its own 5-cm light mortar. It seems likely this would have been carried in the Platoon HQ vehicle, possibly still with a three-man crew).
The most powerful element of the Rifle Company was its Heavy Platoon, with a Mortar Section and two Machine Gun Sections. The Mortar Section had a pair of 8-cm mortars, each carried in its own SdKfz 251/2 armoured halftrack, and could be fired from the vehicle. The Machine Gun Sections each deployed two MG34s on sustained fire tripods for a total of four in the Company, each Section carried by an SdKfz 251/1. During 1943 this firepower was augmented by a Cannon Section with two 7.5-cm infantry guns mounted in their own SdKfz 251/9 halftracks.
Company HQ was equipped with two SdKfz 251/3 command halftracks, and as well as providing the usual command functions administered the Company Train and maintenance detachment.
Summary
The above organisation, where there were sufficient men and equipment to implement it, represented perhaps the most formidable Battalion sized infantry unit fielded by the Wehrmacht during the war. It combined considerable firepower with a good pool of riflemen and carried the whole in lightly armoured vehicles, making it the perfect accompaniment to the Panzer Battalions.
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The Armoured Panzer Grenadier Battalion
German Divisional Organisations