Panzer Brigade Panzer Grenadier Battalion
There can be no doubt that the German Army of World War Two was second to none in issuing organisational tables. Countless such documents were produced, outlining formations with truly formidable levels of firepower. Providing the troops in the field with the weapons and equipment proposed in these tables was another matter entirely.
Perhaps the most striking example of this tendency was found in the Panzer Brigade. These units were activated during July and August of 1944. At their core was a reduced strength Panzer Battalion, supported by a modified Panzer Grenadier Battalion, plus Pioneers and tank destroyers, but no artillery. The original Panzer Grenadier Battalion was substantially altered in August, leading to one of the most unusual organisations fielded by the Wehrmacht. Whether any of these short-lived Battalions even approached their intended strength is a matter of some debate. However, having finally been able to decipher their intended composition I thought it may be of use to anyone who was as confused by the matter as myself.
Panzer Brigade Panzer Grenadier Battalion, circa July 1944
Battalion Headquarters (4 Officers, 21 men)
Communications Platoon (1 Officer, 22 men)
Supply Company (7 Officers, 142 men)
Company HQ (2 Officers, 11 men)
Medical Detachment (1 Officer, 4 men)
Maintenance Detachment (3 Officers, 71 men)
Fuel Detachment (11 men)
Munitions Detachment (14 men)
Supply Detachment (1 Officer, 31 men)
Heavy Company (4 Officers, 143 men)
Company HQ (1 Officer, 18 men)
Heavy Cannon Platoon (1 Officer, 31 men)
Two 12-cm Mortar Platoons, each (1 Officer, 47 men)
Two Rifle Companies (3 Officers, 187 men), each comprised of;
Company HQ (1 Officer, 20 men)
Heavy Platoon comprised of;
Platoon HQ (1 Officer, 6 men)
Mortar Section (15 men)
Cannon Section (8 men)
Heavy Machine Gun Section (13 men)
Flak Section (12 men)
Three Rifle Platoons, each comprised of;
Platoon HQ (1 Officer or NCO, 7 men)
Three Rifle Squads, each comprised of 10 men
Total Strength of 724 all ranks (22 Officers and 702 men)
Panzer Brigade Panzer Grenadier Battalion, circa August 1944
Battalion Headquarters (4 Officers, 21 men)
Communications Platoon (1 Officer, 22 men)
Supply Company (7 Officers, 187 men)
Company HQ (2 Officers, 11 men)
Medical Detachment (1 Officer, 4 men)
Maintenance Detachment (3 Officers, 91 men)
Fuel Detachment (18 men)
Munitions Detachment (20 men)
Supply Detachment (1 Officer, 43 men)
Heavy Company (4 Officers, 143 men)
Company HQ (1 Officer, 18 men)
Heavy Cannon Platoon (1 Officer, 31 men)
Two 12-cm Mortar Platoons, each (1 Officer, 47 men)
Flak Company (3 Officers, 96 men)
Company HQ (1 Officer, 17 men)
Three Flak Platoons, each (1 Officer or NCO, 26 men)
Rifle Company (3 Officers, 143 men)
Company HQ (1 Officer, 17 men)
Two Flak Platoons, each (1 Officer or NCO, 26 men)
Two Rifle Platoons, each comprised of;
Platoon HQ (1 Officer or NCO, 6 men)
Three Rifle Squads, each comprised of 10 men
Two Rifle Companies, each (4 Officers, 145 men)
Company HQ (1 Officer, 17 men)
Heavy Platoon comprised of;
Platoon HQ (1 Officer, 6 men)
Mortar Section (15 men)
Cannon Section (8 men)
Flak Platoon (1 Officer, 26 men)
Two Rifle Platoons, each comprised of;
Platoon HQ (1 Officer or NCO, 6 men)
Three Rifle Squads, each comprised of 10 men
Total Strength of 932 all ranks (30 Officers and 902 men)
Points of note
Again I should caution the above personnel totals are approximations, and as regards these units in particular were unlikely to have been reached in practice.
In effect, the July table simply took existing subunits and altered the ratio. The Battalion was reduced to just two Rifle Companies, but as a partial compensation the 12-cm mortar complement was doubled. The August Battalion was substantially different, and if ever enacted would have provided perhaps the most powerful Panzer Grenadier formation of its size.
As the various Battalion Headquarters elements and the Heavy Company have already been detailed on The Armoured Panzer Grenadier Battalion 1943 to 1944 and the July Panzer Grenadier Company is also detailed in full, this examination will focus on the August unit.
The elements of the Battalion
Flak Platoon - each of the three Rifle Companies contained either one or two Flak Platoons, supplemented by the dedicated Flak Company for a massive total of forty two weapons in the Battalion. The same Platoon was used in all these Companies and was equipped with six SdKfz 251/22 'Drilling'. Vehicle armament consisted of a triple array of 2-cm MG151/20 cannon, which were primarily to be found in various Luftwaffe fighters, including the FW190. The 1.5-cm MG151 could also be substituted in the same arrangement. It is entirely a matter for conjecture as to how many of these potentially devastating equipments Battalions actually had on hand.
The Rifle Company - the Battalion deployed two types of Rifle Company. The most striking feature was that neither included any MG34 or MG42 heavy machine guns. Instead they relied upon a mixture of SdKfz 251/22 and Stg44 assault rifles to generate their automatic firepower.
The first type of Rifle Company deployed two Rifle Platoons and two Flak Platoons. The latter each had six SdKfz 251/22 halftracks as described above. The Rifle Platoons were practically identical to those found in The Armoured Panzer Grenadier Battalion 1943 to 1944 aside from the Platoon HQ vehicle. This was simply a standard SdKfz 251/1 mounting just a light machine gun, manned by the assistant driver. Personal weapons were unaltered, each Squad having two light machine gun teams, with a further such weapon on the halftrack.
The major change came in the second type of Rifle Company, of which there were intended to be two. This Company had a single six gun Flak Platoon, plus a Heavy Platoon. This was a cut down version of the normal version, with two SdKfz 251/9 in the Cannon Group and two SdKfz 251/2 in the Mortar Group, each mounting an 8-cm tube. As mentioned, the dismounted heavy machine guns teams were eliminated entirely. Its two Rifle Platoons were markedly different. Platoon HQ still consisted of a commander, NCO, two messengers, medic, driver and assistant, carried in an SdKfz 251/1. The medic and assistant driver carried pistols, the others all having submachine guns. In the three Rifle Squads, the driver and assistant were armed as usual, but the remaining eight men were each armed with the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle. This was perhaps the first emergence of the concept of the Sturm Platoon in German thinking, in which one or two Platoons of a Rifle Company were entirely armed with fully automatic short range weapons. Indeed, it seems the only light machine gun available to the Squad was that mounted on their halftrack.
The same functional Company HQ was used for both types of Rifle Company and indeed the Flak Company, with two SdKfz 251/3 command halftracks plus Kettenkrads and Kubelwagens.
Summary
The Panzer Brigades represented a tactical dead end, into which far more resources were directed than should have been the case. It did however provide a proving ground for subsequent developments, such as the Sturm Platoon and within six months the Type 45 Panzer Regiment, with one tank and one infantry Battalion, both even further reduced from the original Panzer Brigades. It marked the beginning of the fixation with increasing numbers of automatic weapons and heavier calibre mortars as an antidote to falling levels of manpower. The emphasis on the Flak element in the August model is a particularly telling indication of the effect of allied airpower on German forces in Normandy. Yet by this stage in the war such innovations could do nothing to deny the colossus in the East, or the Allied juggernaut in the West.
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