12th SS Panzer Division in Normandy

Hi All,

I am opening this thread to facilitate discussion on the 12th SS Panzer 'Hitlerjugend' Division in Normandy. The thread will not necessary deal with the Division's story in chronological order, but it is confined to the period June - August 1944. Within those guidelines, members can add their own posts as they so desire.

Firstly, a quick overview of the Division as it presented on the 6th June 1944.

In his book 'The Germans in Normandy', Richard Hargreaves describes the Division's formation almost a year earlier:

As I understand it, the 12th SS Panzer was one of the strategic armoured divisions which Hitler retained control of and held well back from the north coast of France immediately prior to D-Day. It appears to have been placed in a large area south east of Caen, roughly south of Rouen and west of Paris.

The Division's Order of Battle as of June 1944 is set out at the bottom of the Wiki page here.

I am not an expert on German divisions and so am depending on readers to correct any errors which I may make - hopefully there are none of mine above

More follows...

Regards,

Pat

 

Hi Allan,

Yes, Montgomery's strife with his two airmen, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham and Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, appears to have been the failure to take the airfield at Carpiquet and then later the slow progress to capture new sites for ALGs to the south east of Caen.

I read last night in the Stackpole book that the 12th SS Panzer grenadiers, although fanatically brave in combat, did make some tactical mistakes in the defence of Caen. Most likely this was a direct result of the shortage of NCOs and Officers.

Kind of begs the question how many more weeks and lives would it have taken to capture Caen if the Division had had the correct ratio of NCOs and Officers?

Regards,

Pat

 

Thanks Allan,

I received your attachments and will add them to our Green Room Library later.

I was anxious to see exactly where and how the 12 SS Panzer first came into contact with the Allied invasion forces. It appears the description at the start of chapter 0.3 in the book 'The 12th SS - The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division: Vol. 1' by Hubert Meyer, can answer this question. The chapter is titled 'The Deployment' and commences on page 99.

In a message from the German 15th Army at 02:30 hours, the 12th SS Panzer were ordered - ..."without diminishing its role as OKW reserve" - to commence reconnaissance to the north in the area held by the 711th Infantry Division where this unit had already begun operations against the British Airborne landings east of the Orne River. Indeed the fighting could be heard from the 12th SS Panzer's HQ at Chateau le Quesnay which lies nine kilometers west of Pont-l'Eveque and north of Glanville according to this book. If I am interpreting the location correctly, I take the chateau to be the property marked on IGN mapping as 'Domaine du Quesnay':

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Anyone able to confirm the location please?

If I am correct, then the chateau came under the eye of Lt Gerald M Adams, 14th PRS / 7th PRG, USAAF in Spitfire XI MB 955 'Lease Fleece' on the 6th June as he flew reconnaissance sortie US7GR/1751. Below is an screenshot from the NCAP site showing the chateau at lower centre left on frame 2068:

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BTW, 'Lease Fleece' was lost with another 14th PRS pilot, Paul A. Balogh on the 19th September 1944 over Langkamp, Holland (MACR #9170).

Anyway, I digress; the orders received by the 12th SS Panzer were to both establish contact with the 711 Infantry Division and also to watch for airborne landings in their own area. To this end, a reconnaissance patrol was sent out under the command of Obersturmfuhrer (1st Lt.) Peter Hansmann, chief of the Division's Panzerspahkompanie (armoured car company). His orders were to report to his commander within 30 minutes with ten armoured reconnaissance vehicles and two squads of motorcycle riflemen.

Hansmann briefed his men thus:

The column set out firstly for the Abteilung command post (which, I presume, was where Lt Hansmann's commander was located) with one squad of motorcycle riflemen in the lead, followed by the eight wheeler and four wheeler armoured cars alternating positions, fifty meters apart and travelling at 40 kilometers per hour. The rear of the column was brought up by the other squad of motorcycle riflemen.

Upon arrival at what is described as 'the reinforced Ab-teilung command post' after a short fifteen minute journey, Lt Hanmann's commander, Sturm-bannfuhrer Bremer briefed the assembled men, informing them that reports were imprecise, but it was known that enemy landings had occurred to the rear of the coastal fortifications on a front running from west of the mouth of the Seine to Carentan.

Sturm-bannfuhrer Bremer then split Lt Hanmann's men into four scouting parties:

1. Untersturmfuhrer (2nd Lieutenant) Kudoke - Bernay/Lieurey/Pont l'Eveque & coastal sector Villers sur Mer/Deauville to Honfleur.
2. Unterscharfuhrer (sergeant) Zinbmeister - Lisieux/Branville & coastal sector Houlgate/Dives/Cabourg and east of the mouth of the Orne river.
3. Unterscharfuhrer Fingerhut - Caen area and west of the mouth of the Orne river to Riva-Bella and the coastal sector up to St. Aubin.
4. Obersturmfuhrer (1st Lieutenant) Hansmann - Bayeux area and eastern coastal sector to Courseulles.

The four groups were ordered to report their positions if contact was made with the enemy or when their destinations had been reached. They were to avoid engaging in fighting if possible and bring back any prisoners immediately.

The four scouting parties departed at 04:00 hours.

More follows...

Regards,

Pat

 

Don't know Allan,

I am getting a measurement of just over ten miles from the chateau to the middle of DZ 'V' at Varaville, so I suppose the sound of fighting might just about be heard on a still night. More likely a proposition is that the HQ staff could see AA fire to their west as they stood outside scanning all directions looking to get a better idea of what was happening.

- All assuming of course I have the right location for Chateau le Quesnay :s

Regards,

Pat

 

Hi All,

Here is an interesting account of Lt Hansmann's reconnaissance patrol from Andrew Holborn's 'The 56th Infantry Brigade and D-Day':

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It would appear the Lieutenant held out little hope of his division being able to push the invasion back on D-day because of its distance from the bridgehead.

Regards,

Pat

 

Hi Allan,

They could well have heard the 'Ruperts' much closer to the chateau than DZ 'V'.

As Lt Hansmann departs on his assigned patrol to the Bayeux area, he now has with him two eight wheeler armoured cars commanded by two veterans of the Russian Campaign, Hans Krapf and Heinz Dahmann.

The route of the Hansmann group is described thus:

When Lt Hansmann returned to his men in the armoured cars, he discovered that Lt Fingerhut had also arrived with his group from the Panzerspahkompanie. Having briefed his comrade, Lt. Hansmann then sent a situation report to the Abteilung. (I am not quite clear on this term 'Abteilung' - can anyone enlighten please?)

The patrol then drives through the centre of Caen and exits at the west side of town onto the Bayeux road where he finds even more traffic congestion and a heavy cloud of smoke drifting in a southeasterly direction, which he takes to be from a successful fighter-bomber attack. He is glad that the straight road to Bayeux is tree lined and the villages along the route were surrounded by wooded areas. Their destination was now twenty kilometers away.

Upon reaching Bayeux, a sergeant tells Lt Hansmann that there is heavy fighting going on in the bay of Arromanches and that the English are landing troops from hundreds of ships. This is the first confirmation that the Obersturmfuhrer has of seaborne landings.

Leaving Bayeux for the coast, Lt Hansmann states:

I wonder if its possible to find the farm where the patrol is observing the invasion fleet? The report which Lt. Hansmann sends back over the radio is a bit confusing on this point:

Something is not right here - "...three kilometers south of Magny." is just outside and to the east of Bayeux yet when the radio report is sent, Lt Hansmann walks "a few hundred meters east in the direction of Ryes".

I am wondering if the location spoken of in the radio report should read 'three kilometers south of the coast' that would put him slightly north of Magny but on the high ground around the hamlets of La Rosiere and La Noe. There is a large chateau and associated farm buildings located at the latter:

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Live Map - Press F5 to Reset​

You cannot see the sea from the road outside, but it is the high ground and I have no doubt there is an excellent view down to Arromanches from the chateau or other buildings at the property. If you were to walk "a few hundred meters east", you would indeed be walking towards Ryes - OK, rather Ryes would be slightly to the south east, but that's a minor point.

What do you guys think?

Regards,

Pat

 

Thanks Allan,

I was reading another interesting story from Vol. 1 of the Stackpole Books work on pages 237-241 concerning the death of the Division's commander, SS Brigadefuhrer Fritz Witt on the morning of the 14th June.

Apparently it had been Witt's custom to visit different units of the Division each morning since the Invasion begun eight days previously. These tours allowed him to become familiar with the exact positions of his men and to listen in on local situation reports as issued each morning. His presence no doubt also helped bolster the moral of the young men under his command.

On the evening of the 13th June, the Division's first general staff officer (Ia), Sturmbannfuhrer Hubert Meyer asked Witt if he could do the next morning's tour as he wanted to survey the terrain in the sector of Regiment 26 in order to study the planned course of a new main line of resistance. Witt granted his subordinate's request and on the morning of the 14th, remained in the divisional command post at Venoix, near Caen. It was a fatal decision which was to cost him his life.

Sturmbannfuhrer Meyer set off for the morning tour with his driver, Rottenfuhrer (Corporal) Helmut Schmieding, in his VW-Kubelwagen. His tour is described thus:

The two men were relieved to suddenly hear nearby light anti-aircraft fire directed onto the enemy aircraft. It turned out that a Zug of four-barrel Flak on Panzer IV chassis was in position nearby and brought down the aircraft before it could press its attack on the Kubelwagen occupants.

The Flak unit turned out to be part of II. Panzerabteilung and was commanded by Hauptscharfuhrer Karl-Wilhelm Krause. After thanking the Flak troops for their deliverance, the two men once more set off for the command post of I./26. There Meyer and the unit’s commander, Sturmbannfuhrer Bernhard Krause, walked to an observation post at the northwest edge of St. Manvieu. There they noticed, on the far side of the Mue creek and half way up the far slope, the downed enemy aircraft which had attacked the Kubelwagen. As they surveyed the scene in front of them, a Canadian ambulance drove up to the crashed aircraft with a medical orderly waving a large Red Cross flag and standing on the vehicle’s left running board. As they continued to watch, the ambulance crew took the pilot onto a stretcher and slowly drove back out of no-mans-land hence they came.

Soon after this event, an urgent telephone call came through from the divisional command post at Venoix, requesting that Sturmbannfuhrer Hubert Meyer return as soon as possible. No details were given over the phone due to the risk of enemy interception, but it was clear that the matter was of a serious nature.
As Meyer and his driver arrived at the command post, they noticed broken tree branches on the road, clearly the result of shell fire. On first sight the house seemed intact but on entering the command post, they were informed that the divisional commander, SS Brigadefuhrer Fritz Witt had been killed in ‘an attack by ships’ artillery’, along with his orderly officer, Obersturmfuhrer Georg Wilhelm Hausrath. Also killed by the naval fire was one NCO and one enlisted man from the staff company. Ten others had been wounded.

When asked for details, Meyer was told that most of the men involved were inside the command post when heavy calibre shells were heard passing overhead. The commander and some others went out to the rear of the house to observe where the shells were impacting. The apparent target was the 10. Batterie located in the Odon valley, a few hundred meters to the southeast. Suddenly another shell fell on the other side of the CP, across the road. It now became apparent what the real target was! Witt ordered his staff into the blast shelters at the rear of the house, jumping down into a trench last himself. Just then a shell exploded in the overhead tree canopy and a large fragment hit him on the head, killing the 12th SS Panzer Division’s commander instantly.

SS Brigadefuhrer Fritz Witt was buried that afternoon in the park of the chateau at Tillieres-sur-Avre, where he had been quartered since his arrival in Normandy and where he had celebrated his 36th birthday on the 27th May. Following the liberation of the village by the Allies in August, his body was moved to a corner of the village cemetery and later was reburied in the German Cemetery at Champigny St Andre de l’Eure.

Following the death of Fritz Witt, command of the 12th SS Panzer Division passed to Standartenfuhrer Kurt Meyer.

As there is good digitised cover of the Caen area in the NCAP archive, I would be interested to see if there is any evidence of the naval fire which killed Fritz Witt on the 14th June. Does anyone know the location of the Division’s CP in Venoix?

It would also be interesting to see if the downed 'fighter-bomber' can be found on reconnaissance cover from the description of the crash site location above.

Regards,

Pat

 

Wait a minute...

'Venoix, near Caen' - does he mean the Abbaye d'Ardenne?

Anyone able to clarify?

Pat

 

Thanks Guys,

Sean, is this your location?

I have craters to the north on the 15th June...

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...but no sign of them three days previously on the 12th:

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However, the complex I am looking at (circled yellow) is southwest of the railway bridge :huh:

Have I the wrong spot?

The report of the attack given to Sturmbannfuhrer Hubert Meyer on his return to the CP by an officer named as Bernhard Meitzel states that he had decided not to take shelter in the trenches as he noted the house had several chimneys in thick walls facing the enemy and he took refuge at the base of one such wall in the house. This sounds to me to be quite a large structure.

Allan, I am having a look next for the 'fighter-bomber', which is very likely a RAF Spitfire or Typhoon. There is no time given for the downing of the aircraft, but it sounds to be late morning. The Flak unit commander, Hauptscharfuhrer Karl-Wilhelm Krause also gave a report to the author which states:

Regards,

Pat

 

Sean and Allan,

Thanks for the screenshot Sean. The Stackpole book has the Battle for Caen broken down into four periods with a two page map spread for each.

• 6th - 10th June
• 11th - 18th June
• 25th - 30th June
• 4th - 10th July

The reproduction quality is not the best, but now that you have pointed out the CP in the screenshot, I can see a triangular black flag marker at your location on the map for the 6th - 10th June period. It is missing from the other three maps.

I would not expect to see a crater for the shell which killed Brigadefuhrer Fritz Witt as the account states it impacted in the overhead tree canopy above the blast trench into which he was leaping when hit. The account does seem to imply that the others killed in the same attack were hit by at least one other round which probably did impact on the ground.

I found some IGN cover last night dated 1945 and cannot see any craters. However, there are numerous trees on the property which may be shielding any of these from aerial view.

There is at least one photo in Vol. 1 (p. 272) which was taken at the CP. The caption reads:

The three men are sitting at a table under a tree canopy. There is a large open space in the background, which must be the open area we see in the aerial cover to the south of the buildings. Its interesting to ponder if the photo was taken on the 14th - perhaps just prior to the naval attack.

Allan, thanks for the 2TAF loss data table. I don't know that Hauptscharfuhrer Krause had all seven kills on the 14th June. I deduced, perhaps incorrectly, that he had seven kills since the 6th June (perhaps even going back further to when he arrived in Normandy).

Regards,

Pat