Panzer Lehr Division in Saar Region, November 1944

German Heer 1935-1945.

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jlchacon
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Panzer Lehr Division in Saar Region, November 1944

Post by jlchacon »

I am doing some research on the Panzer Lehr Division attack in the Saare region into the Saverne Gap, 23 - 26 November 1944.

Does anyone have any information on the employment of the Division's Panzeraufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung 130 during this battle? None of the sources I've found, including the NARA FMS D-322 and ETHINT-67 by Bayerlein, mention the Reconnaissance Battalion.

I am also looking at confirmation on the number and types of tanks used by the Division during this battle. Conflicting reports are making it difficult for me to have confidence in the number and type of tanks used.

I am waiting for copy of Helmut Ritgen's Die Geschichte der Panzer-Lehr-Di​vision im Westen: 1944-1945 but if anyone has any further information on this period, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!

Joe
jlchacon
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Re: Panzer Lehr Division in Saar Region, November 1944

Post by jlchacon »

Thank you, Prosper.

Those links are good for an overview of the battle. I also like: http://efour4ever.com/44thdivision/schalbach.htm for an American view.

Unfortunately, I am looking for deeper level of detail specifically if the Panzeraufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung 130 was deployed during the attack.

Joe
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tigre
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Re: Panzer Lehr Division in Saar Region, November 1944

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; hey joe here goes something................................

130th Armored Reconnaissance Lehr Battalion in Alsace.

The advance of the 7th (US) Army to Strassburg had torn a frightful gap between Nordvogesen and Strassburg. It had to quickly be closed, if the enemy forces were to be cut off. On 26 November the 1st Army wanted to construct a defensive line between Wingen-Pfaffenhoffen-Bischwiller. In addition, two divisions rolled out of the Netherlands. On that day, the corps level command "Höheres Kommando Vogesen" (LXXXIX Army Corps after 29 November) ordered Panzer Lehr to dispatch the 130th ALA into the area east of the Nordvogesen. They were to secure to the south along the Moder between Ingwiller and Schweighouse (approximately a 22 kilometer front) until the 245th Infantry Division arrived.

On 27 November the 130th ALA reported its command post was located in Uhrwiller, with security in Pfaffenhoffen and on the Uhrwiller-Hagenau road. The first infantry and artillery formations of the 245th Infantry Division to arrive on 27 November were also ordered to Pfaffenhoffen. Reconnaissance conducted on 27 November established that Ringeldorf and Obermorden were both occupied by the enemy.

On 28 November the enemy broke through on both sides of Ingwiller, several kilometers toward Rothbach. The 130th ALA, with its weak forces, could initially only conduct a delaying battle against the attacking enemy. On 29 November the enemy resumed his attack from a line southern edge of Rothbach-Bischholtz-Mulhausen-Zutzendorf, but, after ten platoons from the 245th Infantry Division had arrived, the German resistance stiffened.

On 30 November the 245th Infantry Division had almost entirely arrived. Correspondingly, German resistance stiffened. Temporarily, the 130th ALA remained the backbone and fire-power of the defense. December brought cold and wet weather. Nevertheless, on 3 December they captured Gundershoffen and, therefore, penetrated into the new German defensive line behind Zinsel stream. On 5 December the 130th ALA withdrew, as ordered, from the front, in order to march to the north. Behind them, the enemy occupied the hills north and southwest of Oberbronn on that day.

Source: [J.J. Fedorowicz] The Western Front 1944 - Memoirs of a Panzer Lehr Officer. Helmut Ritgen Oberst A.D.

Hope be useful . Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
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