Panzer Brigade 107

The Panzer Brigade 107 was a fully armored unit of the German Wehrmacht in World War II . The brigade was used in defensive battles in the Netherlands in autumn 1944 , including during Operation Market Garden and the Battle of Overloon .

Badge of the Panzer Brigade 107

Lineup

The 107 Panzer Brigade was set up on July 28, 1944 at the Milau military training area in Defense District I from the remains of the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division, which had been destroyed in Operation Bagration . The vast majority of staff came from replacement units. Panzerabteilung 2107 emerged from the remains of Panzer detachment 125 and Reserve Panzer detachment 8. The staff of the brigade and the Panzergrenadier Battalion 2107 emerged from the remains of the 25th Panzergrenadier Division.

structure

Brigade staff

Reconnaissance platoon (armored)
Message train (armored)

Panzer Division 2107

Company each 11 × Panther
Company each 11 × Panther
Company each 11 × Panther
Company each 11 × Jagdpanzer IV L / 70

Panzergrenadier Battalion 2107 ( armored )

5 companies, including one heavy company

Panzer Pioneer Company 2107 (armored)

Use of the brigade in the west

From September 15, 1944, the brigade, although intended for the Eastern Front, was transferred to the Western Front by rail . The brigade was originally intended to be used in counter-attacks by the 5th Panzer Army in the Épinal area. However, the brigade was diverted to Venlo - Roermond . There the brigade and its main parts were unloaded on the evening of September 18, 1944, and unloading was completed on September 19. On the same day, the brigade marched over the Maas to Zuid-Willemsvaart under constant air raids . The reason was an attack order from the LXXXVI. Army Corps of September 18, 1944. Contrary to previous orders, the brigade was not deployed as a closed unit.

The brigade marched through Helmond to Son and attacked the right flank of the British 2nd Army , which was advancing towards Nijmegen and Arnhem. All attacks in autumn 1944 were directed against this long right flank. The British tried to replace the bridge over the Wilhelmina Canal near Son , which had been blown up by German troops, with a pontoon bridge . The brigade attempted to take this bridge on September 19, but failed. However, the brigade managed to keep the bridge and road under fire, delaying the British advance. Under pressure from American counterattacks by the 101st Airborne Division , the brigade had to relinquish its pressure on Son on September 20, 1944 and divert 3 kilometers east to Nuenen . Due to a lack of fuel , some tanks had to be blown up.

On the evening of September 21, 1944, the brigade was ordered to move to Bakel . She would take part in an attack by Kampfgruppe Walther . In addition to the brigade, this included the I. / Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 18 , III./ SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 19 , II./ SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 21 , the Grenadier-Ersatz u. Training Btl 16, an artillery replacement department 22 and the Flak department 52. The task of Kampfgruppe Walther was to interrupt the British advance from Eindhoven to Nijmegen near Veghel on the Zuid-Willemsvaart and thus establish a connection with the 59th German To establish infantry division attacking from the west. This would cut off the British corridor. The operation was similar to the brigade's attack on the Son Bridge, but now the losses were much greater. In foggy weather, on the morning of September 22, 1944, the combat group attacked the southern edge of Veghel with the brigade. The attack got stuck there under murderous anti-tank and artillery fire. Once again the brigade had the goal in mind, so it briefly interrupted the supply of the British 2nd Army and forced them to regroup their troops. It slowed the advance of the British, but could not stop him.

The brigade attacked twice more. The first time on the night of September 22nd to 23rd, the second time on September 23rd. The attacks kept getting stuck and the Allies grew stronger, with great losses in people and material. The commander of the Panzer Division 2107, Major von Plüskow, fell into the battle. After the third attack, the enemy launched a counterattack with tanks. The commander of the Panzergrenadier Battalion 2107, Captain Wild, was also killed. On the afternoon of September 23, the brigade had to defend itself. Heavy air strikes by the Allies forced the brigade to retreat 6 to 10 kilometers southeast in the evening in order to defend itself against the pursuing enemy on September 24, 1944.

Due to the losses on September 23, 1944, the brigade was so weakened that no further action was taken to interrupt the British advance. The brigade returned 6 kilometers to Gemert and took up a defensive position around this place, but was not attacked there. The further developments were characterized by the supply of strong Allied troops. They pushed the German troops so far from their main route of advance that it was out of their reach. The brigade advanced to Overloon on September 25, 1944 to protect the left wing of the combat group from the danger of encirclement. Since the brigade had lost a third of its staff and many officers, it needed a break in the battle for reorganization and repairs. However, this was not granted to her. The brigade immediately received a new order. The destination was the Oploo area . There the brigade had to set up a defense position around the place, as part of a larger security line that extended as far as the Meuse. The enemy was expected from the north and northwest.

On September 27, the attack by the US 7th Armored Division began with great superiority in terms of personnel, weapons and ammunition. The brigade made several counter-attacks. Oploo was lost on September 29th. The new position was now at Overloon. On September 30, the brigade had a strength of 1,975 men with 19 panthers, 7 tank destroyers and flak tanks and 133 armored personnel carriers. A breakthrough by the Americans north of the village was cleared up on October 1, 1944 by a counterattack by the Panzergrenadier Battalion 2107, again with heavy losses. The brigade increasingly suffered from the fragmented deployment of its troops during the heavy fighting for Overloon.

PzKpfWg V Panther of the Panzer Brigade 107, killed at the Battle of Overloon by 2nd Battalion, East Yorkshire Regiment on October 13, 1944. On display in the Overloon Museum

On October 12, 1944, the Panzergrenadiers were again completely thrown into battle. Only seven men returned on October 16, 1944, the rest were wounded or killed. The Panzergrenadier Battalion suffered most in these battles. In the second half of October 1944, the battalion received personnel replacement in a resting position east of the Meuse, but the battalion was deployed again before the end of October. This time, however, in a branch line in the Reichswald and without contact with the enemy. In addition, the widespread use of the individual brigade parts in the defensive battle for Overloon and after their fall over the Venlo bridgehead caused chaos that could hardly be unraveled. On October 31, the brigade had a strength of 1977 men, 11 panthers, 8 tank destroyers and flak tanks and 134 armored personnel carriers. Finally, on November 4, 1944, the parts of the brigade were withdrawn from the Venlo bridgehead, collected and transferred to Kaldenkirchen east of the Maas. They reached the Baumholder military training area by train.

resolution

The 107 Panzer Brigade was disbanded in Baumholder on November 7, 1944 in order to restore the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division. The Pz.Gren.Btl. 2107 was transferred to the I./Pz.Gren.Rgt. 119 reclassified, the Pz.Abt. 2107 was renamed to Panzer Department 5.

Commanders

rank	Surname	From	To
major	Berndt-Joachim Freiherr von Maltzahn	July 28, 1944	October 13, 1944 (fallen)
major	Heinrich Volker	October 13, 1944	November 7, 1944

literature

Jack Didden and Maarten Swarts: Kampfgruppe Walther and Panzerbrigade 107 - A Thorn in the Side of Market Garden, 2017, ISBN 978-90-800393-9-1
Robert Kershaw: It never Snows in September - The German View of MARKET-GARDEN and the Battle of Arnhem, September 1944, 2004, ISBN 978-1-910809-61-7 .
Rolf Stoves: The armored and motorized German large formations 1935-1945, 2003, ISBN 978-3-89555-102-4
Thomas L. Jentz : Die deutsche Panzertruppe, Volume 2, 1943-1945, 1999, ISBN 978-3-7909-0624-0

swell

Russian-German project for the digitization of German documents in the archives of the Russian Federation | File 91. Documents of the Ia department of Panzerabteilung 2107 (later renamed Panzerabteilung 5) of Panzerbrigade 107: KTB No. 1 of Panzerabteilung 2107, July 30, 1944 to January 25, 1945, including attachments and a. Retrieved May 21, 2020 .

Individual evidence

^ Walter Spielbreger, Hilary Doyle, Thomas Jentz: Leichte Jagdpanzer . 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-03363-4 , p. 150 .
^ Robert Kershaw: It Never Snows in September . 2013th edition. Ian Alllan Publishing Ltd., 2004, ISBN 978-0-7110-3322-1 , pp. 175-179 .
↑ Jack Didden and Maarten Swarts: Kampfgruppe Walter and Panzerbrigade 107 . 2nd Edition. De Zwaard Visch, 2018, ISBN 978-90-800393-9-1 , pp. 414 .
↑ Lieutenant Leibenfrost: KTB No. 1 of the Panzer Department 2107, July 30, 1944 to January 25, 1945 . Ed .: Panzer Department 2107th Volume 1 , September 23, 1944.

[1] Walter Spielbreger, Hilary Doyle, Thomas Jentz: Leichte Jagdpanzer . 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-03363-4 , p. 150 .

[2] Robert Kershaw: It Never Snows in September . 2013th edition. Ian Alllan Publishing Ltd., 2004, ISBN 978-0-7110-3322-1 , pp. 175-179 .

[3] Jack Didden and Maarten Swarts: Kampfgruppe Walter and Panzerbrigade 107 . 2nd Edition. De Zwaard Visch, 2018, ISBN 978-90-800393-9-1 , pp. 414 .

[4] Lieutenant Leibenfrost: KTB No. 1 of the Panzer Department 2107, July 30, 1944 to January 25, 1945 . Ed .: Panzer Department 2107th Volume 1 , September 23, 1944.