The first of three photographs taken in sequence, showing a motorcyclist caked in mud due to negotiating the muddy Russian roads after a downpour of rain.
In the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS reconnaissance was often a sophisticated and complex undertaking, and the reconnaissance battalion was a key component of all divisions. This was especially so for the mechanized mobile divisions and their reconnaissance battalions. The tactical doctrine of the employment of the reconnaissance battalion was that it should fight for information. Locating the enemy was regarded as only the initial stage of a recon operation. The reconnaissance battalion was then expected to develop the situation by forcing the enemy to deploy, and subsequently reveal his strength and intention. This was undertaken by simulating a full-scale attack, both to acquire and report vital information. For a successful reconnaissance operation a recon battalion had to have sufficient strength and firepower for the attack and reliable means of communication with the divisional headquarters.
In 1941 a typical reconnaissance battalion of a panzer division was comprised of a motorized reconnaissance battalion of one armoured car squadron, one motorcycle infantry Ccmpany and one heavy company for both panzer and motorized infantry divisions. By 1943 armoured reconnaissance varied in size and structure. A typical battalion often comprised of a halftrack armoured car squadron. However, this was often replaced by motorcycle or light motorized companies with Volkswagen cars.
During 1943, when the tide of war turned against the German war machine on the Eastern Front, the Germans were forced to develop defensive strategies as they were slowly pushed back by the ever increasing strength and resources of Russian and Anglo-American forces. As a result of the growing pressure, apart from the more powerful reconnaissance battalions the Germans developed the Kampfgruppe or battle group as an ad hoc combined arms formation. On the battlefield they were usually employed in a combination of tanks, infantry, artillery, and anti-tank elements for a particular task or operation.
A Kampfgruppe could range in size from a company to a corps. For this reason and because of the urgent requirement to sustain the Germans on the battlefield, large formations of lightly armed Kradschützen motorcycle troops were made obsolete in the first half of 1943, the soldiers being transferred to other services such as panzer grenadier regiments, Kampfgruppen and reconnaissance Abteilung-sized formations. Those motorcycle troops that were not absorbed into the Kampfgruppen for the remainder of the war were relegated to support roles such as despatch riders, messengers and light reconnaissance duties. These motorcyclists were to perform their duties as special motorized, infantry-based reconnaissance units with the sole objective of quickly penetrating enemy lines and locating and/or harassing any enemy forces primarily to determine their size, strength and location. The motorcyclists were often supported by halftracks. However, by 1943 motorcycle companies had double the number of light machine guns that would have been found in a 1941 company. There were also troops now equipped in the same way but mounted on Kettenkrads.
The Kettenkrad was a halftrack motorcycle with a single wheel. Technically the Kettenkrad had started its life as a light tractor for airborne troops. However, on the Eastern Front it proved to be reliable, robust and well suited to bad roads, thick mud and snow. They were highly versatile machines and were used by Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS, Luftwaffe, and motorcycle troops for scouting, fast infantry transports, cable laying and a variety of other tasks.
Throughout 1944 the Kettenkrads became a common feature on the battlefield within all elements of the panzer divisions. The panzer divisions themselves by this late period of the war were using a streamlined version of the organization which included a single panzer regiment with two battalions, two panzer grenadier regiments, each with two battalions, an artillery regiment with one self-propelled and two towed battalions, an armoured reconnaissance battalion including Kradschützen Truppen, an antitank battalion, a flak battalion, a pioneer (combat engineer) battalion; plus the usual divisional service units. By the latter part of 1944 the reconnaissance battalion had become a very powerful unit equipped with a mix of wheeled and halftrack armoured cars. Generally the whole battalion was supposed to be equipped with armoured halftracks, but often it was compelled to supply one or two of the reconnaissance companies with the Volkswagen light field car instead, complete with motorcycle combinations.
As the Eastern and Western Fronts receded, losses among what was left of the reconnaissance battalions mounted. This included the motorcycle riders. Many motorcycles either could not be refuelled or were lost in action, leaving the soldiers to be absorbed into various Kampfgruppen and taking up defensive action.
In spite its demise on the battlefield and its relegation to generally light reconnaissance roles in the latter part of the war, nothing could take away from the fact that the German military had perfected the use of the motorcycle on the battlefield. It had shown its worth as a rapid mobile assault and reconnaissance force which had become an integral part in the German Blitzkrieg successes of 1939–40. Although they became more or less obsolete for this purpose by the mid-war period and were transferred to other services such as panzer grenadier regiments and Kampfgruppen, the motorcycle still proved its worth in a number of supporting roles for the remainder of the war.
The first of three photographs taken in sequence, showing a motorcyclist caked in mud due to negotiating the muddy Russian roads after a downpour of rain.
During operations in Italy in 1943 two photographs taken in sequence show a motorcyclist from a Waffen-SS Leisbstandarte KradSchützen battalion painting an SS licence plate on an R75 BMW combination. (NARA)
A motorcycle dispatch rider halted on the road consults a map. By 1943 the German army had become increasingly dependent on motorcycle units for reconnaissance duties. (NARA)
A Waffen-SS motorcyclist wearing the winter reversible grey side out, driving along a muddy road during winter operations in early 1943.
Winter-clad combination riders stationary on the side of a road while a whitewashed Tiger tank passes, during winter operations on the Eastern Front. By 1943 the Kradschützen battalions were slowly incorporated into various panzer reconnaissance Abteilungen.
Two photographs showing a reconnaissance Abteilung on a road somewhere on the Eastern Front in 1943.
Waffen-SS Kradschützen battalion supporting an armoured column of Sd.Kfz.251 halftracks during a reconnaissance mission. (NARA)
The first of ten photographs show the Sd.Kfz.2 halftrack motorcycle in a variety of roles on the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1944. Although not technically a motorcycle the vehicle was in effect a halftrack motorcycle with a single wheel, known as the Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101. Initially it was used as a light tractor for airborne troops. Later soldiers used these vehicles extensively on the Eastern Front for laying communication cables and moving supplies from one part of the front to another. In the latter part of the war there were reconnaissance Abteilung-sized formations with motorcycles which carried out various recon duties including carrying troops into battle.
A motorcycle combination, part of a reconnaissance Abteilung on the Eastern Front. (NARA)
A motorcycle combination can be seen supporting a Panther and Sd.Kf.251 halftrack on the Eastern Front. As a means to sustain the German army on the battlefield large formations of lightly armed Kradschützen motorcycle troops were made obsolete in the first half of 1943. The soldiers were transferred to other services such as panzer grenadier regiments, Kampfgruppen and reconnaissance Abteilung-sized formations.
A combination halted in a field, supporting a number of Sd.Kfz.251 halftrack personnel carriers during a reconnaissance mission. (NARA)
Waffen-SS panzer reconnaissance Abteilung advancing along a road in combinations. Due to shortages in the field there were numerous variations from a standard reconnaissance Abteilung. Some battalions had only one armoured reconnaissance company, sometimes supplemented by a motorcycle infantry company or a light motorized company with Volkswagen field cars. (NARA)
A Waffen-SS combination moving through a Russian village. Note the MG34 machine gun attached to the sidecar. (NARA)
The first of four photographs depicting the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division ‘Prinz Eugen’ during operations in Yugoslavia. These soldiers are part of the 7th SS Motorcycle Rifle Battalion. (NARA)
A photograph showing dismounted infantry from the 11th SS motorcycle Regiment of the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland during operations in Croatia. (NARA)
A Waffen-SS motorcyclist making minor mechanical adjustments to his BMW motorcycle during operations on the Eastern Front in 1943. (NARA)
Leibstandarte panzer reconnaissance Abteilung advances through an Italian town during operations in 1944. These vehicles are attached to the 1st SS Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion. (NARA)
A motorcycle combination during a reconnaissance mission in the Balkans in 1944. (NARA)
A sidecar combination can be seen flanking a column of Pz.Kpfw.IV tanks through Rome in 1944. These vehicles belong to the 1st SS Leibstandarte Panzer Division. (NARA)
Fallschirmjager (paratrooper) motorcycle troops scrutinizing a map during operations in northern France in 1944.
Fallschirmjager motorcycle combination with MG34 halted on a road in late 1944 on the Western Front.