Special Association 288

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The Sonderverband 288 was a fully motorized unit of the Wehrmacht , set up for use in Iraq , Iran and India .

Lineup

From June 1941 tropical soldiers, including many mountain hunters , were assembled in the Hohenlohe barracks in Potsdam to set up Sonderverband 288 . With a good 2,000 men, the association had the strength of a regiment , but was more versatile in its weapons equipment and troop composition for independent use. In addition, the unit had, among other things, a medical company with tropical medicine, 20 Arabs as translators, a mobile printer that could produce Arabic-language leaflets, and a team for the operation of oil production facilities.

The basis for the establishment of Sonderverband 288 was the instruction number 32 of Adolf Hitler of June 11, 1941: "Preparations for the time after Barbarossa." With 'Barbarossa' the conquest of the Soviet Union ( Operation Barbarossa ) was meant. In this directive 32, among other things, the "attack" of the Wehrmacht "through Iran" is planned, ie the invasion of India. For this purpose, a translator group was formed for the special association 288, who spoke Indian languages.

commitment

In September / October 1941, Sonderverband 288 was transferred to Greece for further training . In mid-November 1941, parts of the unit were flown to Libya to support the Africa Corps in defending against British attacks. In January 1942, all troops of the unit were then transferred to Africa by airplanes and ships and took part in the changeful fighting in Libya.

The actual reason for the relocation of the Special Unit 288 to North Africa was to go with the Africa Corps over the Nile and the Suez Canal in order to then advance largely independently into Iraq and Iran to conquer the oil fields there.

In June 1942, the association was involved in the storming of the heavily defended Bir Hacheim desert position and the subsequent conquest of Tobruk . During the battles of El Alamein , in early September 1942 and late October / early November 1942, the Special Unit 288 was always in reserve so that it is the only well-rested combat unit as a rear guard the long retreat of the Afrika Korps from Egypt to Tunisia covered. On October 31, 1942, Sonderverband 288 was officially renamed the Panzer Grenadier Regiment Africa , but it was still called Sonderverband 288.

In February 1943 , Rommel launched an attack ( Operation Spring Wind ) against the Americans who landed in Morocco and Algeria ( Operation Torch ) in November 1942 , whereby the special unit 288 captured the important Kasserine Pass . With the surrender of the Afrikakorps in May 1943, the soldiers of Sonderverband 288 were also taken prisoners of war.

The commander of Sonderverband 288 was Colonel Otto Menton, a Duz friend of Erwin Rommel , the commander of the Africa Corps , since the First World War .

literature

  • Heinz Werner Schmidt: With Rommel in the Desert. Panther Books, London 1955.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Roland Kaltenegger : The German Mountain Troop 1935-1945. Weltbild Verlag, Augsburg 2000, ISBN 3-8289-0351-7 . Pages 229-233.
  2. ^ Walther Hubatsch : Hitler's instructions for warfare 1939-1945. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 1965, pages 151–152.
  3. ^ Charles Whiting: Kasserine . Jove Books, New York 1991. ISBN 0-515-10618-6 . Pages 159-232.