German Units
10th SS Panzer Division at the Arnhem Battles II
After the first reports of Allied airborne landings in the southern sector of the city, Colonel Henke of the 1st Parachute Training Staff, located at the Nebo Monastery south of the city, sounded the alarm for all ground units quartered in Nijmegen. With men from the homeland defense units, permanent personnel of the training staff, men from the railroad security…
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German Infantry – Eastern Front
In the spring of 1943, German forces were no longer the undisputed masters of the battlefield. In North Africa they were being pushed back into an enclave in Tunisia, facing defeat by the combined Allied forces, and in Russia they were on the back foot after Stalingrad. The battle of…
DAK
The German forces in Africa developed a renown for their fighting qualities. Many of British whom they fought against were under the impression that it was an elite force, but the Afrika Korps was made up of common German soldiers from the Wehrmacht. They had no special training prior to…
Oslo-Fornebu airport 1940
Hitler decided on 3 March 1940 to conduct operations against Norway prior to the start of the Campaign in the West. To that end, he directed the use of a parachute battalion. Student recommended against that, but his objections were overruled. In order not to tear apart Sturmabteilung Koch, which…
THE SIXTH ARMY GERMAN SOLDIER
There was little hurrah patriotism in the ranks of the German Sixth Army and no artificial Nazi propaganda and feelings concerning the likely outcome of this war were mixed. The average Landser (German equivalent to `Tommy’) was inclined to be cynical. He was well trained, hardy and frugal, aggressive in…
Panzers between Poland and France I
Though there had been no significant tank-versus-tank engagements during the Polish campaign, German planners were aware that against the French and British, they would face superior numbers, better armed and armored vehicles, and not least stronger antitank defenses. As the Wehrmacht began the process of deploying westward, the armored force…
Panzers between Poland and France II
Light tank chassis were nevertheless good for something. The towed antitank gun was still considered satisfactory as the backbone of antitank defense. The army’s offensive mind-set, however, encouraged active defense to the point where the initial title of Panzer Abwehr (tank defense) was changed prewar to Panzerjäger (tank hunter). The…