Heavy tank destroyer detachment 653

Heavy tank destroyer detachment 653
active	March 1943 to May 8, 1945 (surrender)
Country	German Empire
Armed forces	Wehrmacht
Armed forces	army
Branch of service	Panzerjäger troop
Type	Panzerjäger detachment
structure	Headquarters company 1. – 3. Company workshop company
Second World War	Eastern Front (1943/44) Italian Front ( 1944) Western Front (1944/45)

The heavy tank destroyer division 653 was a military unit of the German Wehrmacht during World War II . As one of two heavy tank destroyer divisions of the Wehrmacht, it was equipped with the Jagdpanzer VI "Jagdtiger".

Tank destroyer Elefant

Lineup

Tank destroyer Elefant

The heavy tank destroyer division 653 was formed from the assault gun division 197 in March 1943 and equipped with 45 Elefant tank destroyers. The structure of the department was as follows:

structure

• Combat staff
  • Group leader with command Panther , command Tiger , Fla Vierling on Panther, radio S rotect p anzer w agen (radio SPW) and sanitary-SPW
  • Baggage train

• Headquarters company
  • Panzerjägerzug with six Elefant tank destroyers and a T-34 for transporting ammunition
  • Exploration train with SPW
  • Pioneer train
  • Anti-tank anti-aircraft train with three anti-aircraft quadruplets on a tank chassis
  • News train
  • Motor vehicle maintenance relay
  • War train
  • Medical Corps
  • Relay for administration and replenishment
  • Catering pack
  • Baggage train

• 1st tank destroyer company
  • Group leader with two tank destroyers Elefant
  • 1. Panzerjägerzug with four Elefant tank destroyers
  • 2. Panzerjägerzug with four Elefant tank destroyers
  • 3. Panzerjägerzug with four Elefant tank destroyers
  • Vehicle Repair relay
  • Battalion I with armored recovery vehicle and two ammunition tanks
  • Battleship II
  • Baggage train

• 2. Panzerjäger company
  • (same structure as 1st Panzerjäger Company)

• 3rd Panzerjäger Company
  • (same structure as 1st Panzerjäger Company)

• Workshop company
  • Group leader
  • 1. Workshop train
  • 2. Workshop train
  • 3. Mountain train
  • Arms mastery
  • News equipment workshop
  • Entourage

Deployment in 1943

Damaged tank destroyer Elefant in Italy (1944)

In June 1943, the 653 heavy tank destroyer department was transferred to the Eastern Front together with the 654 heavy tank destroyer department . Together with the Sturmpanzer -teilung 216 they formed the Panzerjäger-Regiment 656. During the offensive in the Kursker Bogen in July the Panzerjäger-Regiment 656 belonged to the XXXXI. Panzer Corps of the 9th Army in Army Group Center . In the period from July 5 to July 27, 1943, the division destroyed 320 enemy armored vehicles. In contrast, 13 Elefant tank destroyers and 24 dead and missing crew members were lost. The division remained on the Eastern Front and fought against the Soviet offensive on the promontory near Orel . From September to November it carried out (the heavy tank destroyer detachment 654 handed over its remaining vehicles to the 653 and relocated to France to be converted to Jagdpanther) through retreat battles as far as the area around the Nikopol bridgehead .

Kill statistics November 1943	tank	Tank destroyers	Artillery pieces	PaK
Kills	582	103	133	344

On December 16, 1943, the 656 Panzerjäger Regiment was disbanded and the 653 Heavy Panzerjäger detachment continued to fight as an independent army detachment.

Deployment in 1944

Tank destroyer "Elefant" at Nettuno 1944

Between January and March 1944, all the remaining Elefant tank destroyers were sent back to the Nibelungen factory for repairs. In February the 1./653 was sent to Italy with a workshop train to the Anzio-Nettuno landing head . On June 25, 1944, the 1./653 only had two Elefant tank destroyers. Most had fallen victim to mechanical breakdowns due to the rough terrain. After the overhaul in the Nibelungen factory, except for 1./653, the entire 653 Panzerjäger detachment was moved by rail to the Eastern Front in April. There she fought as part of the 1st Panzer Army ( Army Group Northern Ukraine ) in the Tarnopol area . On July 1st, the 653 heavy tank destroyer detachment had 34 Elefant tank destroyers. After the major Soviet offensive broke out on July 18, 1944, the operational strength sank to less than company strength. The fighting dragged on until August 3, 1944, when twelve "surviving" Elefant tank destroyers were finally withdrawn from the front. All were in need of repair. The two elephant armored recovery vehicles had been destroyed. In the meantime, the 1./653 had returned from Italy to the department, which was now to be reorganized with the latest weapon of the German Reich.

Jagdtiger tank destroyer VI

education

Jagdtiger tank destroyer VI

On September 9th, training for the new Jagdpanzer VI Jagdtiger began in Fallingbostel at the 500 tank training and reserve battalion.

structure

Heavy tank destroyer division 653	All in all	Officers	Officer	NCOs	Teams	Volunteers
personal target strength	925	28	5	261	618	13

Heavy tank destroyer division 653	Jagdtiger tank destroyer VI	Armored recovery vehicle V Panther	SPW	Motorcycles	Car	truck	Zgkw. 1-5 t	Zgkw. 8-18 t	MG
material target strength	45	5	10	20th	39	121	8th	13	68

• Combat staff (Commander Major Rudolf Grillenberger, Adjutant Oberleutnant Kurt Scherer, Ordonnanzoffizier Lieutenant Hermann Knack)

• Headquarters Company (Leader Captain Konnack)
  • Group leader with three SPW
  • Reconnaissance platoon with seven SPWs
  • Explorer and pioneer train with three SPW
  • Anti-aircraft platoon with three anti-aircraft quadruplets on SPW
  • Anti-tank anti-aircraft train with eight flak on an armored chassis
  • Motor vehicle maintenance relay
  • War train
  • Medical Corps
  • Relay for administration and replenishment
  • Catering pack
  • Baggage train

• 1st Panzerjäger Company (Fuhrer Oberleutnant Werner Haberland)
  • Group leader with two tank destroyers VI Jagdtiger
  • 1. Panzerjägerzug with four Jagdtiger tank destroyers (Fuhrer Leutnant Knippenberg)
  • 2. Panzerjägerzug with four Jagdtiger tank destroyers (Fuhrer Oberfeldwebel Koss)
  • 3. Panzerjägerzug with four Jagdtiger tank destroyers (Fuhrer Oberfeldwebel Kinnberger)
  • Motor vehicle maintenance relay
  • Battalion I with armored recovery vehicle and two ammunition tanks
  • Battleship II
  • Baggage train

• 2nd Panzerjäger Company (Fuhrer Oberleutnant Robert Wiesenfarth)
  • Group leader with two tank destroyers VI Jagdtiger
  • 1. Panzerjägerzug with four Jagdtiger tank destroyers (Fuhrer Leutnant Braun)
  • 2. Panzerjägerzug with four Jagdtiger tank destroyers (Fuhrer Leutnant Feineisen)
  • 3. Panzerjägerzug with four Jagdtiger tank destroyers (Fuhrer Leutnant Zwack)
  • Motor vehicle maintenance relay
  • Battalion I with armored recovery vehicle and two ammunition tanks
  • Battleship II
  • Baggage train

• 3rd Panzerjäger Company (First Lieutenant Franz Kretschmer)
  • Group leader with two tank destroyers VI Jagdtiger
  • 1. Panzerjägerzug with four Jagdtiger tank destroyers (Fuhrer Oberfeldwebel Issler)
  • 2. Panzerjägerzug with four Jagdtiger tank destroyers (Führer Oberfeldwebel Schwarz)
  • 3. Panzerjägerzug with four Jagdtiger tank destroyers (Fuhrer Leutnant Goeggerle)
  • Motor vehicle maintenance relay
  • Battalion I with armored recovery vehicle and two ammunition tanks
  • Battleship II
  • Baggage train

• Supply company (Leader Captain Helmut Ulbricht)
  • Group leader
  • First aid team
  • Repair relay
  • Armor repair groups
  • Mountain relay with four mountain panthers
  • Fuel scale
  • Ammunition squadron
  • Administrative relay

• Workshop company (First Lieutenant Dipl.-Ing.Karl Schulte)
  • Group leader
  • 1. Workshop train
  • 2. Workshop train
  • 3. Mountain train
  • Arms mastery
  • News equipment workshop
  • Entourage

Deployment in 1944

Jagdtiger destroyed by the US Army in January 1945 near Rimlingen in Lorraine

In October 1944 (the department was now in Döllersheim ) the first twelve brand-new Jagdtiger tank destroyers arrived at the department. The training continued, with soldiers from the department working directly in the Nibelungenwerk (the manufacturer's factory) to familiarize themselves with the tank destroyers. Another seven tank destroyers were assigned in November. In December, the division moved 16 tank destroyers to the Western Front to take part in the German attack in the Ardennes . The unfavorable course of the offensive prevented the department from being deployed, which was instead to take part in the Nordwind company .

Deployment in 1945

From January 4, 1945, the first three tank destroyers took part in attacks. On January 9th, the first Jagdtiger was destroyed by an American bazooka shooter. All six inmates were killed. Even after the first missions, it became apparent that the tank destroyers were very susceptible to mechanical failure, which limited the operational strength to a few vehicles. Smaller attacks were carried out against bunkers near Auenheim until the end of the month .

Jagdtiger tank destroyer VI	January 4th	February 5th	4th of March	March 30	3rd of April	April 14th	26th of April
available	7th	41	39	28	23	17th	14th
ready to use	6th	22nd	31	6th	1	10	1
under repair	1	19th	8th	22nd	22nd	7th	13

At the beginning of February the department was relocated to the Hagenauer Forst / Weißenburg area and remained on standby there. On March 15, French troops attacked the Moder , which was crossed after two days of fighting. The department repeatedly counter-attacked. By the end of the month, nine tank destroyers had been so badly damaged by missile attacks from the air and by artillery that they had to be blown up. The commander Major Grillenberger was demoted to lieutenant because of tactical failure. Major Rolf Fromme became the new commander. In April the department carried out retreat fights via Nordheim - Ludwigsburg - Crailsheim - Nuremberg. Then the department withdrew fighting in the direction of Munich – Salzburg. On May 5, parts surrendered to the American troops in Strengberg , Austria. The rest surrendered on May 8, 1945.

Conclusion

Only 30% of the Jagdtigers were lost to enemy fire. The rest were either blown up or left behind due to mechanical breakdowns. In the four months of operation, the department was able to destroy well over 200 Allied tanks and vehicles.

literature

• Andrew Devey: Jagdtiger, the strongest king - use, fight, technology, Podzun-Pallas Verlag 2001, ISBN 3-7909-0722-7 .
• Karlheinz Münch: The Combat History of German Heavy Anti-Tank Unit 653 in World War II , JJ. Fedorowicz Publishing 1997, ISBN 0-921991-37-1 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Karl-Heinz Frieser , Klaus Schmider , Klaus Schönherr , Gerhard Schreiber , Krisztián Ungváry , Bernd Wegner: The German Reich and the Second World War The Eastern Front 1943/44 - The War in the East and on the Secondary Fronts . On behalf of the MGFA ed. by Karl-Heinz Frieser, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt , Stuttgart 2007, XVI, 1320 S., ISBN 978-3-421-06235-2 , S. 163
2. ↑ Andrew Devey: Jagdtiger The Strongest King , pp. 24/25.
3. ↑ Andrew Devey: Jagdtiger The Strongest King , p. 25.
4. ↑ Andrew Devey: Jagdtiger The Strongest King , pp. 25-26.
5. ↑ Andrew Devey: Jagdtiger The Strongest King , p. 74.
6. ↑ Andrew Devey: Jagdtiger The Strongest King , pp. 36-47.
7. ↑ Andrew Devey: Jagdtiger The Strongest King , pp. 48-100.
8. ↑ Andrew Devey: Jagdtiger The Strongest King , p. 100.