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. 1st SS Panzer
Division 'LSSAH' . Statistics:
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. Divisional History: The Leibstandarte Division was first formed in March 1923 as a protection unit for high ranked party members in the turbulent political climate of the 1920’s. Even then, the Leibstandarte was classed as an elite unit with only the toughest of recuits passing the course and earning the honour of being apart of the famous division. SS training was brutal, with only 7 out of every 100 recuits passing the course. It demonstrates just how elite the SS Divisions were. As a possible recuit for the Leibstandarte, which was all made up of volunteers, the soldier no matter what rank they were would face extreme discipline aswell as powerful mental and physical training which would turn the already toughened SS soldier into a fearless fighter. The Leibstandarte division was gifted with a number of outstanding warriors who would leave their mark on the history of the 2nd World War. Among them were Michael Wittmann, Joachim Peiper, Max Wünsche and Kurt Meyer. On the battlefield the Leibstandarte Division was a fanatical fighting force that saw more combat then anyother division in the German Army during WW2. The division soon earned its reputation when it first bit its teeth into the Polish 10th Infantry Division at the River Prosna, and then fought its way to Warsaw its-self. After a brief pause to refit, the Leibstandarte was again fighting on the front line, this time it was the invasion of France 1940. The division fought well in this campaign and was soon laying down fire into the trapped BEF forces on the beachs of Dunkirk. It was at this point that the Leibstandarte earned a lasting reputation for its aggressive fighting and tactical ability. Hitler had ordered that all ground forces should halt their advance and let the Luftwaffe finish the BEF off. Sepp Dietrich, the commander of the 1st SS Division, simply threw the orders away and told his division to press on, making good ground by doing so. After another successful campaign in the Balkans the LSSAH was refitted and was sent to the city of Prague in which it would be attached to Army Group South under the command of Von Rundstedt for their part in operation Barbarossa, the invasion of The Soviet Union. It was on this front that the Leibstandarte fought to its maxium ability. The Russians would soon learn to know the name Leibstandarte, and know what they were up against. On every battlefield along the Russian front the men of the Leibstandarte fought with great ferocity in battle and all this was added to the divisions fearsome reputation. Casualties were always high within this division, not because of poor tactics but due to the fact that the division was always sent to the most desperate areas of the battlefield where defences were crumbling or advances were stalling. The division soon earned the nickname ‘The Führers Fire Brigade’ and Army Commanders and regular soldiers alike felt a great relief when the division was nearby. General Eberhard von Machensen wrote: “Every division wished it had the Leibstandarte as its neighbour, as much during the attack as the defence. Its inner discipline, its cool dare-devilry, its cheerful enterprise, its unshakeable firmness in a crisis, its toughness in battle, all these are outstanding and cannot be surpassed. The 1st SS Panzer Division saw combat in just about all major German campaigns, from the defence and re-capture of Kharkov, the Battle Of Kursk, Normandy, and the last major German counter-attack in the Ardennes. By 1945 the Leibstandarte division was withdrawn to Austria to counter the Soviet invasion, but retreated to Steyr in order to surrender to the Americans in May 1945. The LSSAH had fought will during its active service and lay down its arm’s and surrendered to General George S Patton as part of the 6th SS Panzer Army under its old founder and leader Sepp Dietrich. By the end of the war the 1st SS Panzer Division had said to have taken some 60,000 casualties, that’s 3 full divisions worth, from 1939 to 1945. This just goes to show how much combat and field time the division had and fought. . Campaigns: Saar/Rhineland occupation 1935 Austrian Occupation 1938 Czechoslovak Occupation 1939 Poland 1939 Western Campaign 'France' 1940 Balkan Campaign 1941 Eastern Front 'Barbarossa' 1941-1942 Western Front 1943 Eastern Front 1943 Italian Campaign 1943 Eastern Front 1943 Western Front 'Wacht am Rein' 1944 Eastern Front 1945 . |
