PANZERS IN THE SAND PANZERS IN THE SAND STACKPOLE BOOKS Dedicated to the Soldiers of Panzer-Regiment 5 and Panzer-Abteilung 5. English translation © 2010 by Battle Born Books and Consulting Published in 2010 by STACKPOLE BOOKS 5067 Ritter Road Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 www.stackpolebooks.com All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 I Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hartmann, Bernd. [Geschichte des Panzerregiments 5, 1935–1943 und der Panzerabteilung 5, 1943–1945. English] Panzers in the sand : the history of Panzer-Regiment 5 / Bernd Hartmann. p. cm. “Originally published in German in 2002 as Geschichte des Panzerregi- ments 5, 1935–1943 und der Panzerabteilung 5, 1943–1945”—T.p. verso. ISBN 978-0-8117-0723-7 1. Germany. Heer. Panzer-Regiment, 5. 2. World War, 1939–1945—Cam- paigns—Africa, North. 3. World War, 1939–1945—Regimental histories— Germany. 4. World War, 1939–1945—Tank warfare. I. Title. D757.575th H37 2010 940.54'1343—dc22 2010032170 CONTENTS Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 CHAPTER 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Establishment of the Panzertruppe after World War I and the Formation of Panzer-Regiment 5 CHAPTER 2....................................... 41 Panzer-Regiment 5 from 1936 to August 1939 CHAPTER 3...................................... 112 Panzer-Regiment 5 in the Campaign in Poland, 1939 CHAPTER 4...................................... 137 Panzer-Regiment 5 in the Campaign in the West, 1940 CHAPTER 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Panzer-Regiment 5 prior to Employment in Africa CHAPTER 6...................................... 200 Panzer-Regiment 5 in the Campaign in North Africa, 1941 v FOREWORD After more than half a collapse of Heeresgruppe Mitte century since the end of on the Eastern Front in the the Second World War, the summer of 1944. Reconstituted writing of the history of Panzer- anew, they were first committed Regiment 5 and Panzer-Abteilung on the Western Front, before 5 was a difficult undertaking, especially with regard they fought outside of Berlin and in Mecklenburg to the detail in which it is presented. The author, at the end of the war. The author made every effort who did not take part in the war, was compelled to present events truthfully, since history is obligated to study the sources in his work. Many gaps in the to the truth. Consequently, the unfortunate and narrative and even contradictory statements made annoying tendency to load up any treatment of the work more difficult. Particularly unfortunate historical events with ideology—especially from the was the fact that the names of many members of the German viewpoint—is avoided. In addition, it was formations in leadership roles, such as battalion and important not to observe the history of the oldest company commanders, could not be determined formation of the Panzertruppe in an isolated manner completely. Despite those deficiencies, it was high but to present it in the context of the war and military time for the history of the regiment to be written, history. since all previous efforts at a comprehensive portrait This work is not intended to appeal just to had failed for one reason or another, and the only veterans. Instead, it is designed to inform members thing available were individual contributions or of the younger generation about those times. broad portrayals. Graphics are kept as simple as possible, with the aim The time frame under discussion here was rel- of making the situation and conduct of the fighting atively short, but it was marked by important events understandable even to non-military professionals. that still influence us today. The soldiers of the regiment fulfilled their duties bravely and in a self- Bernd Hartmann, Oberstleutnant a.D. sacrificial way for our German fatherland. They fought Spokesman for the Veterans Association of Former in Poland, France and North Africa. Reconstituted as Panzer-Regiment 5 Panzer-Abteilung 5, they landed in the middle of the vi A Word of Introduction Thanks to tremendous effort and a great deal of professionalism, the author has assembled a history of Panzer-Regiment 5—a regiment that led the way for the Panzertruppe in all of the theaters of war—that honors and memorializes all members of the regiment, the living and the dead. This book is a fitting tribute to my old regiment. Werner Grün, Major a.D. Former Battalion Commander in Panzer-Regiment 5 1 CHAPTER 1 Establishment of the Panzertruppe after World War I and the Formation of Panzer-Regiment 5 1. 1920–26: The Seeckt Era From 1920 to 1926, Generaloberst Hans Seeckt The military defeat of the Germans in 1918 also meant was the Chief-of-Staff of the Army. Seeckt made the the end of the numerically very small German armor German Army into a gigantic school of leadership, branch, which consisted of only nine battalions, each which later proved itself immensely1 and which with five tanks. Independently operating armored attempted to do its bidding in the establishment of formations—a separate armored force—did not a modern army with special emphasis on technical exist in the First World War. proficiency and the mastery of weapons under the The lack of a sufficient number of German watchful eyes of the Inter-Allied Control Commission. armored vehicles contributed in part to the defeat Under Seeckt’s authority, German soldiers and of the German forces during that conflict, especially aviators received training on aircraft and fighting in the face of the masses of tanks employed on the vehicles, under the strictest of secrecy, in the Soviet Allied side. Union. According to Article 171 of the Treaty of Following the disestablishment of the Panzerwaffe Versailles, Germany was prohibited from having any in the wake of the First World War, the tradition of “armored vehicles” or “any similar such materiel that combat vehicles was maintained in the Kraftfahr- could suit the purposes of war.” Those provisions were Abteilung of the Reichswehr.2 The motorized force monitored by an “Inter-Allied Control Commission” consisted of seven battalions, which all reported to that was in force in Germany until February 1927. one of the seven divisions for mobilization purposes. In order to train for an armored force, which The main mission of the battalion was to assure the was vitally necessary in modern warfare, the German flow of supplies for the divisions. armed forces were reduced to using wheeled Supervisory responsibility for the motorized dummies that were pushed by soldiers or mounted battalions fell to the Inspektion der Kraftfahrtruppen3 on the chassis of light automobiles. The picture in the Ministry of Defense. presented to the soldier on the ground by such displays was not well suited to conveying the elements 1. Author’s Note: Nehring, Die Geschichte der deutschen of firepower, mobility and armor that defined the Panzerwaffe, 40. Hereafter referred to as Nehring. values of an armored vehicle or convincing them of 2. Translator’s Note: Kraftfahr-Abteilung = Motorized Bat- the power and lethality of that new and modern type talion. Reichswehr = Federal Armed Forces. of weapons system. 3. Translator’s Note: Inspectorate for Motorized Forces. 22 Establishment of the Panzertruppe after World War I 3 2. 1927–33: From “Motorized Forces” to Thus, the development of modern armored forces “Motorized Combat Forces” was based on the concept of fast armored formations At the end of the 1920s, the Inspector General of capable of large-scale actions at operational level, the motorized forces at the time, General der Artillerie could accomplish missions independently and were Vollard-Bockelberg, who has been called the capable of fighting as combined arms. “trailblazer for the Panzertruppe,”4 gradually had the That concept became the basis for the command motorized battalion reorganized with motorcycle and control and doctrine of the Panzertruppe in infantry companies and combat vehicle training the Second World War. It proved itself without companies (armored cars and dummy tanks). reservation, and it still enjoys validity to this day in These would prove to be the nucleus of the future all modern armies. Guderian was the father of that Panzertruppe. Thus, an increasingly motorized and concept. combat-capable force evolved from what was once a After Guderian was promoted to Oberstleutnant transportation element. in 1930 and assumed command of a motorized In 1922, Hauptmann Guderian was transferred battalion, he returned to the Directorate of into the Motorized Forces Directorate from his Motorized Forces on 1 October 1931 as its Chief-of- light infantry battalion in Goslar. He was tasked with Staff. He reported to Generalmajor Oswald Lutz, who exploring the usage of motorized and armored forces had been designated the head of the directorate on 1 and developed concepts for their employment, which April 1931. On 1 May 1933, the motorized battalions later led to the idea of operational-level employment. of the armed forces were redesignated as motorized He wrote in his memoirs: combat battalions. Both men complemented each other well, with By studying military history, the exercises Lutz eventually becoming known as the “father of in England and our own experiences with army motorization” and Guderian as the “creator of our dummy tanks, I was reinforced in my the Panzertruppe.”6 One of Guderian’s closest staff belief that tanks were only capable of their officers was Major i.G.7 Walther K. Nehring, who was best performance if the other branches, on assigned there in January 1932. whose help they always relied, were brought After four years of hard work—often against the to the same status in terms of speed and resistance of higher levels of command that were not cross-country mobility. prepared to accept armored vehicles as a separate In that formation, the tanks always had branch—they created the prerequisites for the to play the most important role; the other establishment of the first three armored divisions in branches had to orient on the tanks. October 1935. One could not put the tanks in infan- try divisions; instead, one had to estab- lish armored divisions, in which all of the branches that the tanks needed to be com- bat effective were present.5 4. Author’s Note: Ritgen, Die Schulen der Panzertruppe des 6. Author’s Note: Nehring, 60. Heeres, 8. Hereafter referred to as Ritgen. 7. Translator’s Note: im Generalstab = General Staff. This 5. Author’s Note: Guderian, Erinnerungen eines Soldaten, suffix was appended after the rank of all officers ac- 18. cepted in the General Staff.