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Info on 4th Panzer Army & Hitlerjugend


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I've just finished reading Kurt Meyer's (Panzermeyer) Grenadiere, and this is really more than interesting...

The english version looks like this:

g001.jpg

Achtung! Panzer, Marsch!" is the first sentence in the book, and it sets the tone for the rest of the autobiography. Meyer, one of Germany's most highly decorated commanders, starts his story commanding an SS-PanzerJäger Kompanie with the I./Leibstandarte SS "Adolf Hitler" in Poland, and subsequently fights through France and the Low Countries, Balkans to Greece, and spends the majority of his time talking about his experiences on the Ostfront with him commanding a reconnaissance battalion in the LSSAH, which truly reads like a novel after you hear some of his experiences. Meyer finally ends up in Normandy where he commands the 12.SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend" until his eventual capture and challenges while in captivity.
(---> After the capture of Kurt Meyer, the story of the 12th SS from the end of the fighting in Normandy until the end of the war is told by Hubert Meyer.)

Here you'll find some passages from this book about "Panzermeyer's" time as the commander of the 12.SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend:

Caen, June 6, 1944

Caen, June 7, 1944

Rauray, west of Caen, June 26, 1944

Carpiquet airfield, west of Caen, July 4, 1944

Withdrawal from Caen, July 9-10, 1944

Meeting with Erwin Rommel, July 17, 1944

Hill 159, north of Falaise, August 14-15, 1944

Falaise gap, August 19-20, 1944

*************************************************

Here's some more to read:

The Defeat of the 12th SS

WaffSSiron_cross.JPG

( Young men form the 12th SS pose for the camera after winning the Iron Cross 2nd class for their part in the fighting for Caen and the surrounding areas.)

Regards, Sven

[ November 05, 2003, 09:58 AM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

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Feldgrau has a quick and dirty listing of where the 12th SS was during its existence. As others suggest, there is alot written about its role in Normandy. Books are much, much better than links in this case. An inexpensive one (I picked it up for $6.50) is Reynolds's "Steel Inferno."

As for Fourth Panzer Army, I think JonS's incredulity regarding your request is because that unit fought practically the entire war, all in the East (and note that 12th SS was never assigned to 4th Pz Army), including a major role in the drive for Stalingrad and against the Soviet counterattack. For a quick listing of where the Fourth saw action, see Lexicon der Wehrmacht..

Since the link is in German, I can help you a bit (assuming you don't speak it). In the tables, "Datum" is date, "Heeresgruppe" is Army Group (Nord is North, Mitte is Center, and Süd is South), and "Ort" is location (all East, all the time).

From here, you should find some general history of the Eastern Front and it will give you a clue as to what unit was where, and then find more specific resources regarding each battle. It's a lot of work, and there is no easy fix.

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