Panther Tanks: Germany Army and Waffen SS, Normandy Campaign 1944

Dennis Oliver

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781526710932
• eBook ISBN: 9781526710956
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

History buffs, modelers, and wargamers will find "authentic orders of battle and narratives of the actual situations these units faced in Normandy" ( Schopenhauer's Workshop).
 
Central to the German strategy of dealing with an Allied landing in France was the availability of a strong, mobile armored reserve. In June 1944, as part of this force, the Army in the West was able to deploy over 300 Panther tanks, perhaps the best armored fighting vehicle produced by Germany during the Second World War. British and American tank crews found to their horror that the Panthers could often survive numerous hits while a single round from one of their 75mm guns was enough to destroy any enemy tank.
 
In his third book in the TankCraft series, Dennis Oliver uses archive photographs and painstakingly researched, exquisitely presented color illustrations to examine the part these powerful tanks played in the Normandy battles and also the battalions that operated them. As with previous titles in the TankCraft series, a large part of this book showcases available model kits and aftermarket products and accessories, complemented by a gallery of skillfully constructed and painted models.
 
"As with other books in this series there are many excellent photographs and color drawings, with clear text providing all of the background information to the deployment and actions of the
Panther in Normandy."— Firetrench
 
"Very much a modellers book but tied in so well with the details of the tank and the context of the history surrounding it. Good value and well worth adding to your reference shelf."— Military Model Scene

THE ARMY PANTHER BATTALIONS

The German Army fought the battles for Normandy with eight armoured battalions equipped with the Pzkw V Panther tank. Including the tanks on hand on 6 June 1944 and replacements received in the following weeks and months, approximately 650 Pzkw V Panther tanks were committed to the fighting, allocated to four Army and four Waffen-SS battalions. By the end of July 197 of those tanks had been destroyed or captured and in the retreat of August, a further 41 were lost. Following are brief histories of the Panther units and although some details pre-date our study they are taken into account to give the reader a more complete picture of the development and history of these formations. I have included the Panther battalion of the Grossdeutschland division which took no part in the fighting but was in France on 6 June 1944 at the Mailly-le-camp training centre. Similarly I have not listed Panzer-Regiment 15 of 11.Panzer-Division which was serving in France at this time but much further to the south.

PANZER-REGIMENT GROSSDEUTSCHLAND

A Pzkw V Panther ausf A of 2.Kompanie, Panzer-Regiment Grossdeutschland photographed in France in 1944, probably during late Spring. Note the debris guard over the mantlet of the main gun and that the tube for the gun cleaning rods has been moved from its usual position on the hull side to the hull rear, both field modifications. This tank has the horizontally-mounted jack and twin engine exhaust manifold cooling pipes indicating that this vehicle was assembled in January or February 1944.

Raised on 13 January 1943 this regiment was assigned to the elite Panzergrenadier-Division-Grossdeutschland.

From the commencement of the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 this division served in the east and the regiment is included here as I.Abteilung was in France completing its conversion to the Panther when the Allies landed in Normandy. By May 1944 the battalion had been allocated a total of seventy-eight new tanks. Attached to 116.Panzer-Division it was initially anticipated that the battalion would take part in the Normandy fighting but it was transferred to the east in June, coming under the command of 6.Panzer-Division and finally returning to its parent formation by the end of the year. An example of one of the battalion’s Panthers, as they appeared in France during the summer of 1944, is shown in the camouflage and marking section on page 23.

SCHWERE PANZER-ABTEILUNG 654

Formed in September 1943 from Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654 this battalion was the first unit to be equipped with the Jagdpanther tank destroyer. On 15 June 1944, although still under strength, the battalion was sent to the Normandy front, expecting that new vehicles would arrive in the combat area once they were available (1).

In addition to the tank destroyers allocated to the three companies, the battalion headquarters staff had three Befehlspanzerwagen V Panther command tanks on hand in June and an example of one of these tanks is shown in the illustration section on page 23.

It is almost certain that two of these tanks, and perhaps the third, were lost in Normandy. This battalion and the other Jagdpanther units which served in the west will be covered in a future title in this series.

Notes

1. This may have included only the headquarters and 2.Kompanie and it is likely that as few as twelve Jagdpanthers took part in the Normandy fighting.

PANZER-REGIMENT 3

Formed on 15 October 1943 with two battalions, each comprising four companies, the regiment was attached to 2.Panzer-Division. On 10 May 1942, I.Abteilung was detached and renamed III.Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 33. In March 1943 a new I.Abteilung was raised but very soon after transferred from the regiment to form schwere Panzer-Abteilung 507, an independent Tiger unit (1). By June the battalion had reverted to its original title of I.Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 3 and began its conversion to the Panther and by the end of February 1944, had returned to 2.Panzer-Division.

The division had been stationed in France since the winter of 1943/44 and at the time of the D-Day landings was almost at full strength, reporting just prior to the invasion that I.Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 3 had seventy-nine serviceable Panthers on hand. Although a number of damaged vehicles would be returned from the workshops and repair depots during the fighting in Normandy, the regiment would not receive any new replacement vehicles and was soon badly depleted.

Ordered to the front from Amiens on Friday, 9 June 1944, the forward units of 2.Panzer-Division were engaged in combat as early as the following Monday, although the complete division would not be in the frontline for another week.

Crucially, the missing units included all the tanks of Panzer-Regiment 3 and most of the self-propelled guns of Artillerie-Regiment 74, the division’s most powerful elements, which had been forced to detour via Paris undertaking most of the journey on their own tracks. When the tanks finally arrived many were in need of repair and a general lack of spare parts would hamper the regiment throughout the campaign.

During the next weeks the division operated in the area to the south-west of Rouen and on 26 June was preparing an attack to take the crossroads town of Caumont -L’Eventé, between St. Lô and Villiers-Bocage, just as the British launched a major offensive codenamed Epsom, breaking through the front held by Panzer-Lehr-Division near Tilly-sur-Seulles. The Panther battalion of Panzer-Regiment 3 was immediately detached to support 12.SS-Panzer-Division in its attempt to restore the front and by the end of the month claimed to have destroyed over fifty enemy tanks.

However, these local victories did little to change the overall picture and with half the regiment’s tanks occupied elsewhere, the original 2.Panzer-Division operation to retake Caumont -L’Eventé was doomed to failure.

On 16 July the Panthers of I.Abteilung, supported by elements of Panzer-Lehr-Division, took part in a counterattack against British units that had broken through to the west of Villiers-Bocage. Although the Germans achieved some initial successes, they were eventually driven back after losing several tanks and a number of men including Oberst Traugott Köhn, the regiment’s commander.

A Pzkw V Panther ausf A of 3.Kompanie, Panzer-Regiment 3 photographed in August 1944. The unit insignia of 2.Panzer-Division is just visible on the turret side. This tank is shown and discussed further in the Camouflage and Markings section on page 20.

Notes

1. The Tiger battalion was eventually formed around a cadre from Panzer-Regiment 3 and part of its story can be read in Tiger I and Tiger II Tanks, German Army and Waffen-SS, Eastern Front 1944, the first book in this series.

Disabled near Broiuze, south-east of Falaise, in mid-August 1944 this tank is one of just fifty Panther ausf A models assembled by Demag before the company switched to the production of the Bergepanther in February 1944. The identification with Panzer-Regiment 3 and the tank’s unusual markings are discussed on page 21.

On 21 July most of the division began withdrawing, to be gradually replaced by the inexperienced 326.Infanterie-Division, leaving the tanks of Panzer-Regiment 3 at the front and until 27 July were they were employed wherever they were needed. The Panther battalion supplied a company of tanks which formed a Kampfgruppe with the division’s anti-tank battalion (1).

During the first weeks of August, the division took part in Operation Lüttich, the counterattack on US positions around Mortain. All available assets were concentrated in a Kampfgruppe led by Oberst Hans Schacke, commanding officer of the division’s Panzergrenadier-Regiment 304. This large battle group contained the first battalion of Oberst Schacke’s regiment supported by the fifteen serviceable Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyers of the division’s Panzerjäger-Abteilung 38 and I.Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 24, which had been detached from the relatively fresh 116.Panzer-Division and had perhaps sixty operational Panthers on hand. Oberst Schacke’s battle group also contained elements of II.Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 3, equipped with a number of Pzkw IV tanks and the infantrymen of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 2. Added to this were two battle groups made up of troops from 1.SS-Panzer-Division which would come under Schacke’s command when they reached the front. This armoured battlegroup was the strongest unit available for the offensive and was able to make some gains, the Panthers reaching St. Barthelemy, just north of Mortain. However, the strong American response, especially their overwhelming superiority in the air, was able to halt the Panzers and then push them back and by the end of the battle the regiment was reduced to almost half its authorised strength (2). Among the casualties was Major Ferdinand Schneider-Kostalski who had replaced Oberst Köhn as the commanding officer of the Panzerregiment.

The fighting around Mortain and the subsequent withdrawal had exhausted the division and on 19 August 1944 the survivors were ordered to retreat from the area around Falaise through St Lambertsur-Dives and reached their destination before noon of the following day. By 28 August the last units of 2.Panzer-Division crossed the Seine, Panzer-Regiment 3 reporting that just five tanks were left.

Notes

1. This tank company was probably formed around the thirteen fully operational Panthers on hand at the time.

2. By this time it was not unusual to see German tank crews simply abandon their vehicles at the first sight of Allied fighter-bombers.

TANK STRENGTH. I.ABTEILUNG, PANZER-REGIMENT 3

Tanks of I.Abteilung, Panzer-Regiment 6...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• The Normandy Battlefield
• The 1944 Panzer-Regiment
• The Army Panther Battalions
• Camouflage & Markings
• Model Showcase
• Modelling Products
• The Waffen-SS Panther Battalions
• Technical Details and Modifications
• Product Contact List