Poshly Equipped, the 6th SS Panzer Army is loaded for Bear
Following the Ardennes Offensive the 6th Panzer Army was in a bad state. Personnel losses could be replaced--not with the same quality of soldier, but with warm bodies--but materiel losses were far more difficult to fix, given the losses suffered and the lavish equipment compliment that the 6th was used to.
Four SS Divisions made up the 6th Panzer Army: The Leibstandarte Adolph Hitler, the 3rd SS Totenkopf, the 12th SS Hitlerjungend and 9th SS Hohenstauffen Division. These were the core of the Army. Various units were attached, the most important of which was the Fuhrer Grenadier Brigade (once part of the Grossdeutschland Division.)
The rest of the units were light divisions or collections of various shattered divisions. The 10th Fallschirmjaeger wasn't really a parachute division but the remnants of Luftwaffe units from Yugoslavia to Italy. There was also 117th Jaeger Division that had been performing anti-partisan actions across the Balkans.
At the start of Operation Wacht Am Rhein, both the 1st (Leibstandarte Adolph Hitler) and the 3rd had recently been rebuilt--mostly with Panther G's but with a large number of Royal Tiger abteilungs attached. Nevertheless, the backbone of the division was the PzKwIVH and J models. These units had a compliment of well over 200 AFV's.
The 12th and 9th Divisions were, technically, Panzergrenadier Divisions, but were nonetheless lavishly supplied with tanks and enjoyed the services of Royal Tiger groups as well.
The infantry enjoyed the latest and best equipment, including assault rifles, panzershrecks, 120mm mortars, etc. And despite the general lack of experience and a great deal of losses among its officer corps, these were keen National Socialists. Perhaps not all of them were truly "volunteers" as such, but they had been raised under a Nazi flag and knew nothing other than life under the Hitler regime. They also had their backs to the Reich--to their families and property--and subject to the most horrible propaganda about what would happen to both if the Soviets won. Finally, they knew surrender was not an option with their SS sleeve markers. So maybe not the best of the SS crop, but certainly solid soldiers.
These troops snaked their way from the Ardennes through the torn-up railway system to eastern Austria. The norm for transportation in Germany through the war was 240 units per day. By February of 1945, the Reichsbahn was moving 10 units per day. Now, the 6th SS Army certainly had priority, but at the same time they were not only moving units but their equipment and supplies as well.
Meanwhile, in the upper echelons of the crumbling Third Reich command structure, there was a lot of debate about what should be done. In their memoirs, both Guderian and Dietrich claim they begged Hitler to let them defend in front of Berlin. But Hitler would have none of it. Access to the fuel in Southern Hungary was vital for the war effort. Defending in front of Berlin would have been a static affair because there would be no fuel to allow maneuver. Not only this, but if we are to believe Guderian Vienna was just as important to Hitler as Berlin. Probably, there was a certain amount of despondency and fatalism involved in the decision as well.
Thus, the existential battle for the Third Reich would take place not in Eastern Germany but in Western Hungary. The 6th SS Panzer Army was to reform in Eastern Austria and before they could embark on Fruhlungswachen, they would have to drive the Soviets back to the Danube north of Lake Balaton to protect their flanks as well.
While the early attacks, were not expected to be difficult, they did mean that the 6th Army could not expect the element of surprise when they kicked off the battle moving East.
The 6th SS Panzer Army was lavishly supplied with the very last of the very best weapons the Reich could supply: Royal Tigers, PzJgIVs and the last of the air support the Luftwaffe could provide. Forming up in Eastern Austrian towns like Steyer and Wiener Neustadt, the Germans did all they could to assure success in the upcoming attack.
Four SS Divisions made up the 6th Panzer Army: The Leibstandarte Adolph Hitler, the 3rd SS Totenkopf, the 12th SS Hitlerjungend and 9th SS Hohenstauffen Division. These were the core of the Army. Various units were attached, the most important of which was the Fuhrer Grenadier Brigade (once part of the Grossdeutschland Division.)
The rest of the units were light divisions or collections of various shattered divisions. The 10th Fallschirmjaeger wasn't really a parachute division but the remnants of Luftwaffe units from Yugoslavia to Italy. There was also 117th Jaeger Division that had been performing anti-partisan actions across the Balkans.
At the start of Operation Wacht Am Rhein, both the 1st (Leibstandarte Adolph Hitler) and the 3rd had recently been rebuilt--mostly with Panther G's but with a large number of Royal Tiger abteilungs attached. Nevertheless, the backbone of the division was the PzKwIVH and J models. These units had a compliment of well over 200 AFV's.
The 12th and 9th Divisions were, technically, Panzergrenadier Divisions, but were nonetheless lavishly supplied with tanks and enjoyed the services of Royal Tiger groups as well.
The infantry enjoyed the latest and best equipment, including assault rifles, panzershrecks, 120mm mortars, etc. And despite the general lack of experience and a great deal of losses among its officer corps, these were keen National Socialists. Perhaps not all of them were truly "volunteers" as such, but they had been raised under a Nazi flag and knew nothing other than life under the Hitler regime. They also had their backs to the Reich--to their families and property--and subject to the most horrible propaganda about what would happen to both if the Soviets won. Finally, they knew surrender was not an option with their SS sleeve markers. So maybe not the best of the SS crop, but certainly solid soldiers.
These troops snaked their way from the Ardennes through the torn-up railway system to eastern Austria. The norm for transportation in Germany through the war was 240 units per day. By February of 1945, the Reichsbahn was moving 10 units per day. Now, the 6th SS Army certainly had priority, but at the same time they were not only moving units but their equipment and supplies as well.
Meanwhile, in the upper echelons of the crumbling Third Reich command structure, there was a lot of debate about what should be done. In their memoirs, both Guderian and Dietrich claim they begged Hitler to let them defend in front of Berlin. But Hitler would have none of it. Access to the fuel in Southern Hungary was vital for the war effort. Defending in front of Berlin would have been a static affair because there would be no fuel to allow maneuver. Not only this, but if we are to believe Guderian Vienna was just as important to Hitler as Berlin. Probably, there was a certain amount of despondency and fatalism involved in the decision as well.
Thus, the existential battle for the Third Reich would take place not in Eastern Germany but in Western Hungary. The 6th SS Panzer Army was to reform in Eastern Austria and before they could embark on Fruhlungswachen, they would have to drive the Soviets back to the Danube north of Lake Balaton to protect their flanks as well.
While the early attacks, were not expected to be difficult, they did mean that the 6th Army could not expect the element of surprise when they kicked off the battle moving East.
The 6th SS Panzer Army was lavishly supplied with the very last of the very best weapons the Reich could supply: Royal Tigers, PzJgIVs and the last of the air support the Luftwaffe could provide. Forming up in Eastern Austrian towns like Steyer and Wiener Neustadt, the Germans did all they could to assure success in the upcoming attack.
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