In December 1942 Hermann Balck wiped out a force ten times his size in the most brilliantly fought divisional battle in modern military history. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by Historynet LLC, the world's largest publisher of history magazines. There is no division that performed well consistently for the entire duration of the war. It was obvious to Balck that the Soviets’ next move would be an attempt to roll up the 336th Infantry Division. by krichter33 » 06 Mar 2014, 07:48, Return to “German Strategy & General German Military Discussion”. 8. The Best Division in CoD WW2. Creating these elite units meant that the regular units were depleted of these soldiers. Describing one of his earliest actions with the 11th Panzer Division, Balck wrote: I did not issue a written order, but oriented my commanders with the help of a detailed war game and extensive terrain walks. Balck did not have the combat power to eliminate the Soviets. Instead, he held onto the money until the fall of 1944, when the 11th Panzer Division was again under his command as part of Army Group G. He then used all of the money “to cover the costs of a pleasant evening” with all of the members of the division who had fought with him in Russia. The 26th Infantry Division was a pre-World War II German Infantry Division of the 1st mobilisation wave. Balck never hesitated to exercise that prerogative. Balck led another night march and before dawn on December 19 once again took a superior Soviet force completely by surprise. On the night of December 1, the 11th Panzer Division was alerted to move south from Roslavl to shore up the collapsing sector of the Romanian Third Army. To close the gap between the regiments I organized a counterattack with [the motorcycle company of the Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion] and some tanks. The Panzerkampfwagen V or Panther was the best German tank of World War II and possibly the best medium tank fielded by any of the combatants in World War II. “Balck has strong claims to be regarded as our finest field commander,” declared Maj. Gen. Friedrich-Wilhelm von Mellenthin. Any attempts at defense would mean our destruction. Balck, however, ran afoul of German Gestapo chief Heinrich Himmler and was unceremoniously fired by Hitler in late December. When the 11th Panzer Division intercepted the transmission, Balck knew he had his enemy in a trap. 4. fschj, 90 leichte, 1. Balck’s losses for the same period were 16 tanks, 12 antitank guns, 215 soldiers killed in action, 1,019 wounded, and 155 missing. But Balck, leading from the front, reacting instantly to each enemy thrust, repeatedly parried, surprised, and wiped out superior Soviet detachments. Crush them. December 1942 was a time of crisis for the German army in Russia. Then repeat the process the next day some 10 or 20 kilometers farther west or east. The 94th Infantry Division (German: 94. There were no misunderstandings. The Fifth Tank Army had been virtually destroyed. Original WW II German Collectibles. When his exhausted troops collapsed to the ground after they crossed the river, Balck walked to the head of the column, picked up a rifle, and pointed to the high ground ahead that was his regiment’s objective. No change in plans. At the start of World War II, Balck commanded the lead infantry regiment that spearheaded the crossing of the Meuse River by Guderian’s panzers in May 1940. Several days later Balck and his operations officer were conferring over a map when a low-flying Soviet fighter plane made a strafing run at them and put several bullet holes into the map between them. Before dawn on December 8, just as the Soviets were starting their move, he struck. Our *3* weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency; and almost fanatical devotion. Get your order fast and stress free with free curbside pickup. The initial mission of the 11th Panzer Division was to form the reserve of the XLVIII Panzer Corps’ advance on Stalingrad. Balck had pulled off a modern-day Cannae, and from that point on the 11th Panzer Division was known by the code name “Hannibal.”. Despite being supported by Balck’s 15th Panzer Regiment, the 336th Infantry Division was unable to prevent the Soviet I Tank Corps from penetrating ten miles beyond the Chir, reaching State Collective Farm 79 by nightfall on December 7. It rated . He later wrote in his memoirs: In my position as Inspector of Mobile Troops I could only maintain my authority through fresh experience at the front. Along the 37-mile sector where the Chir ran mostly north to south before turning east and flowing into the Don, the Romanians had the flimsiest of defensive lines, with only a single 150mm howitzer for fire support. 72. inf, 1.skij, 12. The only thing standing in front of them was a thin defensive screen of scratch units. After the war Balck supported his family by working as a manual laborer in a supply depot. The other contender for the accolade of best tank is the Soviet T34, earlier versions of … He was always one step ahead of his enemy, even in the relatively few situations when he was initially taken by surprise. With only twenty operational tanks and one understrength infantry battalion, Balck moved toward Skassyrskaya to block the oncoming Soviets. But arriving with its lead elements was the division commander, Hermann Balck, who was about to execute one of the most brilliant performances of battlefield generalship in modern military history. 18. by Jeff Leach » 24 Feb 2014, 19:38, Post For the next three days Balck and his division fought a series of running battles, eliminating bridgeheads across the Chir as soon as the Soviets established them. Our 2 weapons are fear and surprise; and ruthless efficiency. TANK DIVISIONS (Panzer-Divisionen) 1. There was no single characteristic that made Balck such an outstanding combat leader. We would just have to hope—against reason—that the hodge-podge of troops covering Morosovskaya would hold for a day. ‘Take them by surprise. In the bright moonlit night the Russians had attacked at the boundary between the two Panzergrenadier regiments. by krichter33 » 06 Mar 2014, 02:56, Post It was mobilised for World War II on September 26, 1939, disbanded on September 10, 1944, near Radom and reformed as the 26th Volksgrenadier Division on September 17, 1944, near Poznań by absorption of the new 582nd Volksgrenadier Division of the 32nd mobilisation wave. And he was in a position to know: as a general staff officer during the war, Mellenthin had worked at one point or another for virtually all of Germany’s greatest commanders—including such legends as Rommel and Heinz Guderian. He wasn’t among the good men, since he fought on Germany’s side, but this didn’t influence his qualities as a general.A highly decorated officer, he won the esteem of both of his men and his enemies. This was the official reason I gave when I requested a transfer to the front as commander of a division. Still strung out along the line of march and arriving little by little, the 11th Division faced what amounted to mission impossible. Categorized as a medium tank, M4 Sherman had an average 75mm main gun with 90 rounds and had a relatively thin armor (76mm) compared to other tanks in the era.Introduced in 1941, Sherman is named after … The Panzer regiment signaled: Situation serious. 12. 11. by BDV » 27 Feb 2014, 02:07, Post 20. Fallschirmjäger-Division) was an elite German military parachute-landing division that fought during World War II.A division of paratroopers was termed a Fallschirmjäger Division. Soviet tanks approaching in the most brilliantly fought divisional BATTLE in modern military history, the average division!, another report 20 kilometers eastwards of a division changed as circumstances dictated general best german division in ww2 officer if is. 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