SS PANZERS THE LAST STAND
“THESE DIVISIONS WERE TRUE TO THEIR REPUTATION AS FIERCE, FANATICAL COMBAT FORMATIONS DEDICATED TO NAZI IDEOLOGY AND WILLING TO DIE FOR THE FÜHRER. AND DIE THEY DID”
Allied deception, tactical differences of opinion among top field commanders and Hitler’s intransigence combined in June 1944. It proved to delay the elite Waffen-SS panzer and panzergrenadier divisions in confronting the Allies during the landings in Normandy and in the campaign that followed. But once committed, these divisions were true to their reputation as fierce, fanatical combat formations dedicated to Nazi ideology and willing to die for the führer.
And die they did, by the thousands under a hail of artillery, air attacks, naval gunfire and the relentless thrusts of Allied ground troops. Nevertheless, the Waffen-SS exacted a heavy toll in lives and equipment while sacrificing its strength to halt the enemy in Normandy.
Highly motivated and led by dedicated veteran officers, the SS soldiers were deployed with the best weaponry available. From early June to late August 1944, six divisions – First SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, Second SS Panzer Division Das Reich, Ninth SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen, Tenth SS Panzer Division Frundsberg, 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend and 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen – were deployed in Normandy, and were later joined by the 101st and 102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalions in the death struggle.
These divisions were equipped with tanks that had proven superior to their Allied opposition. The 29-ton PzKpfw. IV medium tank – the workhorse of the German formations – mounted a 75mm cannon, while the 45-ton PzKpfw. V Panther – arguably the best all-around tank of the war – was outfitted with the long-barrelled, high-velocity 75mm cannon, and the 56-ton PzKpfw. VI Tiger mounted the lethal 88mm high-velocity cannon. These weapons generally possessed greater range than the guns of Allied tanks, while their armour protection provided enhanced survivability.
Infantrymen were equipped with the reliable Mauser K98k bolt-action rifle, squad-level automatic weapons such as the MP-38 and MP-40 sub-machine guns, and the superb MG-34 and MG-42 machine guns – reliable weapons with rates of fire well above those of any weapon in the Allied inventory.
The SS troops and German army in Normandy held an advantage: in defensive combat they
