The interviews here translated represent, in each case, the views of the person being interviewed. In most cases that person was not in possession of his unit’s records or maps and was depending largely on his own memory and what maps the interviewer could provide. As, at times, noted by the interviewer, the interviewee may have been biased for one reason or another. Therefore I have taken care that the history of the Division in which the interviews are embedded represents my own best understanding of the events in light of the full range of resources and sources available at this time.
When the nature of the future invasion by the Western Allies became apparent in 1943 Hitler designated the invasion as a danger and directed construction of coastal fortifications. There was an obvious need for additional mobile formations to combat the prospective invasion. Generalinspekteur der Panzertruppen, Generaloberst Guderian offered his Lehrtruppen, demonstration and instructional units at the various training schools. They were to be combined and organized into a newly constituted elite division whose main function would be to repulse the invasion.
Although the Panzer Lehr Division (properly Panzer Lehr Division 130) was not an old division, it comprised an abundance of officers and non-commissioned officers who had proven themselves on the Eastern Front. Those elements of the Division whose designation included the word Lehr could look proudly back on a history that began during the original period of activation and creation of the German Panzertruppe from 1935 to 1938. These elements took part in the early campaigns, in Poland, France and Russia, in varying attachments and assignments to regular divisions so that they could gain combat experience which they then brought back to the various troop-training schools. At the training school these units served to train, demonstrate and test new tactics and equipment.
The Division’s activation order was issued 30 December 1943. It was to be constituted from the training/demonstration units (Lehrtruppen) of the Panzertruppenschule. Oberbefehslhaber West was to supply an artillery regimental staff, two artillery Abteilungen [ = battalions] and the requisite logistical elements. The organization of the Division was, at the start, somewhere between the 1943 standard and the 1944 standard, evolving in time closer to the 1944 standard Panzer Division. The T/O strength of the Division before September, 1944 was set at 449 officers, 3146 non-commissioned officers and 10,891 enlisted men, with a total strength of 14,634. After September 1944 the T/O strength was set at 492 officers, 3146 non-commissioned officers and 10,289 enlisted men with a total of 13,927.
The Division consisted, ideally, of:
Division staff (Divisionsstab), with its sections:
| Ia | First General Staff Officer and his aids, responsible for organization, command in combat and training. |
| Ib | Second General Staff Officer and his aids, responsible for logistics. |
| Ic | Enemy intelligence. |
| IIa | Division adjutant, responsible for personnel. |
| III | Military judge, dealing with all legal matters. |
| IVa | Administration and rations. |
| IVb | Division surgeon |
| IVd | Chaplain |
| V | Division engineer |
W&G Waffen und Gerät, weapons and equipment, ammunition supply.
The division staff was generally organized in two echelons, the command echelon including those requisite for command in action of the division: the commander and his aide, Ia reinforced with radio and telephone squads of the reconnaissance battalion, and the Ic, IIa and IVb., often supplemented with the map section. The logistics echelon, Ib, attended to logistic support and included all elements of the staff that were not in the command echelon.
Division map section (Divisionskartenstelle) took care of and duplicated necessary maps.
Division escort company (Divisions-Begleit-Kompanie) consisting of:
The company squad,
motorcycle platoon,
heavy machine gun platoon,
light machine gun platoon (later 120 mm mortar platoon),
light antiaircraft platoon (self-propelled),
heavy antitank platoon (three 7.5 cm antitank guns).
Military Police (Feldgendarmerietrupp)
An armoured regiment (Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130) consisting of two Abteilungen:
I../Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130 (1st Abteilung, Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130).
II./Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130.
The II Abteilung (Panzer IV) consisted of:
Staff
Staff company (including communications platoon) with 3 command vehicles (Befehlswagen IV). A reconnaissance platoon with five Panzer IV, a pioneer platoon on SPW (half-tracks). A motorcycle reconnaissance platoon and an armoured antiaircraft platoon with two quad–20mm Flakpanzer Wirbelwind.
Four (companies 5–8) Panzer companies, with 22 Panzer IV each
Supply company.
Including the vehicles of the staff company, the II Abteilung fielded 96 Panzer IV.
However, the I Abteilung was redesignated II Abteilung, since the equipment situation only permitted it to be outfitted with Panzer IV and the I Abteilung was to receive Panzer V, Panther. Replacing the I Abteilung, which was not, in fact, activated until July 1944, Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130 received the I./Panzerregiment 6, which was attached to it until October. I./Panzer-Regiment 6, replaced the Division’s own missing I./ Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130 while it was still training with the new Panther tanks.
The I./Panzer-Lehr-Regiment 130 (Panther) finally reached the Division in February 1945, with two Panther companies, each with 14 tanks, and one Jagdpanther company.
A company of radio-controlled miniature tanks loaded with demolitions (Funklenk-Kompanie 316) was also included in Panzer-Lehr-Regi ment 130. However, in the event, instead of the ten Tiger tanks to be used for control vehicles and the radio-controlled demolition carriers, the company ended up with nine Sturmgeschütze, with which it fought until they were all lost at Tilly and St. Lo, at which point the company was disbanded.
Werkstattkompanie 130. The tank repair company was part of the armoured regiment.
Two regiments of Panzergrenadiere.
Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 901. At the start of the invasion, the entire regiment, regimental units and the two battalions, were mounted on SPW, Schützenpanzerwagen, half-tracked lightly armoured personnel carriers, with an abundance of self-propelled heavy weapons, giving it high mobility, armoured protection and great firepower.
The regiment consisted of:
Staff and staff company, which included a total of 16 SPW, an armoured flame-thrower and a platoon of 7.5 cm heavy antitank guns (two guns);
three Panzergrenadier companies, each with 22 SPW, 29 machine guns, 17 of which were mounted on the vehicles, four heavy machine guns, two 8 cm mortars, three 3.7 cm antitank guns on the platoon leaders’ vehicles and two SPW with short-barreled 7.5 cm guns;
a heavy weapons company with 19 SPW, six with 7.5 cm short-barreled guns, two light infantry guns and two 7.5 cm antitank guns. Although part of the initial plans, a heavy mortar platoon with four 12 cm mortars instead of the light infantry guns did not join the heavy weapons company until the fall of 1944 and
A logistics company.
The 9th (heavy infantry gun) Company had six heavy 15 cm self-propelled infantry guns;
The 10th Pioneer Company included armoured-flamethrowers and heavy antitank guns.
The 11th (antiaircraft) company had two platoons of single 2 cm and one platoon with quad–2 cm antiaircraft guns. Unavailability of the weapons delayed replacement of the above inadequate armament with 272 cm mounts on half-tracks (Sd.Kfz. 251/17) in each battalion until June 1944.
Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 902. At the start of the invasion it resembled Rgt. 901, except that it lacked an antiaircraft company.
Panzeraufklärungs-Lehr-Abteilung 130. Fully motorized, the reconnaissance battalion consisted of:
Staff
Reconnaissance elements including a communications platoon and two armoured reconnaissance companies, 1st and 2nd, the First Company with eight-wheeled Puma armoured cars, the Second with Sd. Kfz. 250/9 half-tracks.
Combat elements consisting of two (3rd and 4th) armoured reconnaissance companies (Panzergrenadier (gp) companies) and one (5th company) heavy-weapons company.
Supply company.
Panzerjäger-Lehr-Abteilung 130. Far from its intended original equipment, in May 1944 the tank-destroyer battalion consisted of:
Staff and staff company with communications, pioneer and antiaircraft platoons.
Three mixed Panzerjäger companies, each with 9–10 Panzerjäger 39 (Jagdpanzer IV) and four towed 7.5cm antitank guns. The Jagdpanzer IV had the same gun as the Panzer IV, but a lower profile and thicker frontal armour.
Supply company.
Following reconstitution, the Panzerjäger Abteilung finally received 21 Panzerjäger 40, whose guns took the same ammunition as the powerful Panther main gun. At that time the towed guns were concentrated in the 1st company. Finally, at the end of March 1945 the Abteilung received an additional 18 Panzerjäger 40.
Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 130. At the time of the invasion the artillery regiment consisted of:
Staff with staff battery (motorized)
I Abteilung with staff, staff battery and three batteries, each with four light towed 10.5 cm howitzers (le F.H. 18)
II. Abteilung (armoured howitzers) with staff, staff battery, two batteries, each with six light 10.5 cm self-propelled armoured howitzers (Wespe) and one battery with six heavy 15 cm self-propelled armoured howitzers (Hummel).
III Abteilung (heavy field-howitzers) with staff, staff battery and three batteries, each with four Russian 15.2 cm canon-howitzers (15.2 cm Kanonenhaubitzen 433/1).
Heeres-Flak-Abteilung 311, an army formation assigned as an integral part of the Division. The initial organization was:
staff and staff battery
Three batteries, each with six 8.8 cm, two 2 cm antiaircraft guns and four machine guns.
After reconstitution, the FlakAbteilung consisted of:
Staff and staff battery
One medium battery with nine 3.7 cm guns.
Two heavy batteries, each with three 2 cm and six 8.8 cm guns.
It should be noted that the other elements were also equipped with antiaircraft weapons, initially only 2 cm, later also 3.7 cm.
Panzer-Pionier-Bataillon 130 consisted of:
Staff and logistics company (communications, machine and survey platoon on Schützenpanzerwagen, logistics echelon),
three pioneer companies, each with 27–28 halftracks including two with 8 cm mortars and six armored flamethrowers,
One heavy bridging column.
Panzer-Nachrichten-Abteilung 130, with
staff,
telephone company, partially in light half-tracks, partly on wheeled vehicles,
radio company, partly half-tracked, partly on wheels,
light column (as of autumn, logistics echelon, motorized.)
Sanitätstruppen 130
two medical companies and three ambulance platoons.
Panzerdivisions-Nachschubtruppen 130
With a supply company (Nachschub-Kompanie) and six 90 ton truck companies (later four 120 ton companies) the transport tonnage was limited to start with. However, the worst part of the picture was the strange assortment of vehicles, totalling 96 types, 58% of which were of foreign manufacture, which produced a nearly impossible situation with respect to spare parts. At that time in the war there were no longer enough proper German-made military transport vehicles in existence, so the Division received whatever was on hand.
Kraftfahr-Park-Truppen
The three workshop companies and the motor-vehicle parts echelon were equipped to care for all but the armoured vehicles. Assigned armourers also cared for weapons and equipment. One company dealt primarily with short-term repairs, the second specialized in those that were expected to take more than 48 hours.
Verwaltungstruppen 130
Under the Division IVa the housekeeping troops included an administrative company, which took care of rations, pay, clothing and Marketenderwaren (like an American PX, but distributed at no charge), a bakery company and a butchering company.
Feldpostamt 130
Field post office with three officials, seven non-coms and eight men.
Feld-Ersatz-Bataillon 130
Initially with staff and replacement echelons for the most important combat specialties, as of fall of 1944 it became staff, three companies and a logistics company.
The field-replacement-battalion formed the Division’s reserve for replacing officers and men, assembling replacements sent on from the replacement army and continuing their training for the conditions of the front. As conditions worsened, there was little opportunity for training, which, given the declining quality of replacements and of their initial training was doubly disadvantageous.