Army Detachment Steiner
Encyclopedia
Army Detachment Steiner was a temporary military unit, something more than a corps but less than an army, created on paper by German dictator Adolf Hitler
on 21 April 1945 during the Battle of Berlin
, and placed under the command of SS Obergruppenführer
Felix Steiner
. Hitler hoped that the units assigned to Steiner would be able to stage an effective counter attack against the northern pincer of the Soviet assault on Berlin. In the event, Steiner realised that the forces under his command were inadequate, and refused to attack.
On the second day of the Battle of Berlin, 17 April, General Gotthard Heinrici
, the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Vistula
, stripped Steiner's III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps
, (the Army Group's reserve), of its two strongest divisions, the SS Nordland Division
and the SS Nederland Divisions
. He placed them under the command of General Theodor Busse
, commander of the Ninth Army, as Busse had most of the other units in the III Corps. The Nordland was sent to join Helmuth Weidling's
LVI Panzer Corps
defending the Seelow Heights
, to stiffen the sector held by the 9th Parachute Division. The Nederland Division was sent south-west of Frankfurt (Oder)
and assigned to the V SS Mountain Corps
, where it was destined to be destroyed in the Battle of Halbe
.
Heinrici ordered the III Corps, reduced to three battalions and a few tanks, to scrape together whatever forces it could find to set up a screening line along the Finow Canal
to protect the southern flank of the Third Panzer Army from an attack by the Soviet Marshal Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front
, which had broken through the Seelow Heights' defences
and was encircling Berlin.
By 21 April Adolf Hitler
, ignoring the facts, started to call the ragtag units that came under Steiner's command "Army Detachment Steiner". He ordered Steiner to attack the northern flank of the huge salient
created by the 1st Belorussian Front's breakout. Simultaneously the Ninth Army, which had been pushed south of the salient, was to attack north in a pincer attack. To facilitate this attack Steiner was assigned the three divisions of the Ninth Army's CI Army Corps, the 4th SS Polizei Division
, the 5th Jäger Division, the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division — all were north of the Finow Canal — and Weidling's LVI Panzer Corps, which was still east of Berlin with its northern flank just below Werneuchen
.
The three divisions to the north were to attack south from Eberswalde
(on the Finow Canal and 24 kilometres (fifteen miles) east of Berlin) towards the LVI Panzer Corps, so cutting the 1st Belorussian Front's salient in two. Steiner called Heinrici and informed him that the plan could not be implemented because the 5th Jäger Division and the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division were deployed defensively and could not be redeployed until the 2nd Naval Division arrived from the coast to relieve them. This left only two battalions of the 4th SS Police Division available, and they had no combat weapons. Heinrici called Hans Krebs
, Chief German General Staff
of (OKH
), told him that the plan could not be implemented and asked to speak to Hitler, but was told Hitler was too busy to take his call.
When, on 22 April, at his afternoon conference Hitler became convinced that Steiner was not going to attack he fell into a tearful rage against his generals. He declared that the war was lost, he blamed the generals and announced that he would stay on in Berlin until the end and then kill himself. After 22 April "Army Detachment Steiner" was little mentioned in the Führerbunker
.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
on 21 April 1945 during the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
, and placed under the command of SS Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer
Obergruppenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the SA and until 1942 it was the highest SS rank inferior only to Reichsführer-SS...
Felix Steiner
Felix Steiner
Felix Martin Julius Steiner was a German Reichswehr and Waffen-SS officer who served in both World War I and World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords...
. Hitler hoped that the units assigned to Steiner would be able to stage an effective counter attack against the northern pincer of the Soviet assault on Berlin. In the event, Steiner realised that the forces under his command were inadequate, and refused to attack.
On the second day of the Battle of Berlin, 17 April, General Gotthard Heinrici
Gotthard Heinrici
Gotthard Heinrici was a general in the German Army during World War II.-Personal life:Heinrici's was born in Gumbinnen , East Prussia, on Christmas Day, 1886, to Paul Heinrici, a local Lutheran minister of the Prussian Church, and his wife Gisela, née von Rauchhaupt, who was of recent Jewish descent...
, the Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula
Army Group Vistula was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A , Army Group Centre , and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations...
, stripped Steiner's III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps
III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps
The III SS Panzer Corps was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The The III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps (III. (germanische) SS-Panzerkorps) was a German Waffen-SS armoured corps which saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. The...
, (the Army Group's reserve), of its two strongest divisions, the SS Nordland Division
11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland
The 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland, also known as Kampfverband Waräger, Germanische-Freiwilligen-Division, SS-Panzergrenadier-Division 11 or 11. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Nordland, was a Waffen SS, Panzergrenadier division recruited from foreign volunteers...
and the SS Nederland Divisions
4th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Brigade Netherlands
The 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland. was a German Waffen SS volunteer division comprising volunteers of Dutch background...
. He placed them under the command of General Theodor Busse
Theodor Busse
Ernst Hermann August Theodor Busse was a German officer during World War I and World War II.- Career :...
, commander of the Ninth Army, as Busse had most of the other units in the III Corps. The Nordland was sent to join Helmuth Weidling's
Helmuth Weidling
Helmuth Otto Ludwig Weidling was an officer in the German Army before and during World War II...
LVI Panzer Corps
LVI Panzer Corps
LVI Panzer Corps was a tank corps in the German Army during World War II.This corps was activated in February 1941 for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which commenced on June 22, 1941...
defending the Seelow Heights
Seelow Heights
The Seelow Heights are situated around the town Seelow, about 90 kilometres east of Berlin and overlook the Oderbruch, the western flood plain of the River Oder which is a further 20 km to the east....
, to stiffen the sector held by the 9th Parachute Division. The Nederland Division was sent south-west of Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
and assigned to the V SS Mountain Corps
V SS Mountain Corps
V SS Mountain Corps was a Waffen SS, formation at the end of World War II.The Corps fought on the Oder line as part of the 9th Army, in the Frankfurt am Oder area and in the Battle of Berlin that followed...
, where it was destined to be destroyed in the Battle of Halbe
Battle of Halbe
The Battle of Halbe lasted from April 24 - May 1, 1945 was a battle in which the German Ninth Army, under the command of Colonel General Theodor Busse was destroyed as a fighting force by the Red Army during the Battle for Berlin....
.
Heinrici ordered the III Corps, reduced to three battalions and a few tanks, to scrape together whatever forces it could find to set up a screening line along the Finow Canal
Finow Canal
The Finow Canal is one of the oldest artificial waterways in Europe. The channel is ca 50 km long and located in the German state of Brandenburg in the Barnim district...
to protect the southern flank of the Third Panzer Army from an attack by the Soviet Marshal Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front
1st Belorussian Front
The 1st Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during World War II...
, which had broken through the Seelow Heights' defences
Battle of the Seelow Heights
The Battle of the Seelow Heights , was a part of the Seelow-Berlin Offensive Operation ; one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of World War II. It was fought over three days, from 16–19 April 1945...
and was encircling Berlin.
By 21 April Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, ignoring the facts, started to call the ragtag units that came under Steiner's command "Army Detachment Steiner". He ordered Steiner to attack the northern flank of the huge salient
Salients, re-entrants and pockets
A salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemy's line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant...
created by the 1st Belorussian Front's breakout. Simultaneously the Ninth Army, which had been pushed south of the salient, was to attack north in a pincer attack. To facilitate this attack Steiner was assigned the three divisions of the Ninth Army's CI Army Corps, the 4th SS Polizei Division
4th SS Polizei Division
The SS Polizei Division was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II.The division was formed in 1939 as part of the Ordnungspolizei...
, the 5th Jäger Division, the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division — all were north of the Finow Canal — and Weidling's LVI Panzer Corps, which was still east of Berlin with its northern flank just below Werneuchen
Werneuchen
Werneuchen is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, in the district of Barnim northeast of Berlin within the metropolitan area. Most of the population of Werneuchen commutes to Berlin.-International relations:Werneuchen is twinned with: Dziwnów, Poland...
.
The three divisions to the north were to attack south from Eberswalde
Eberswalde
Eberswalde is a major town and the administrative seat of the district Barnim in the German Federal State of Brandenburg, about 50 km northeast of Berlin. Population 42144 , geographical location . The town is often called Waldstadt , because of the large forests around it, including the...
(on the Finow Canal and 24 kilometres (fifteen miles) east of Berlin) towards the LVI Panzer Corps, so cutting the 1st Belorussian Front's salient in two. Steiner called Heinrici and informed him that the plan could not be implemented because the 5th Jäger Division and the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division were deployed defensively and could not be redeployed until the 2nd Naval Division arrived from the coast to relieve them. This left only two battalions of the 4th SS Police Division available, and they had no combat weapons. Heinrici called Hans Krebs
Hans Krebs (general)
Hans Krebs was a German Army general of infantry who served during World War II.-Early life:Krebs was born in Helmstedt. He volunteered for service in the Imperial German Army in 1914, was promoted to lieutenant in 1915, and to first lieutenant in 1925...
, Chief German General Staff
German General Staff
The German General Staff was an institution whose rise and development gave the German armed forces a decided advantage over its adversaries. The Staff amounted to its best "weapon" for nearly a century and a half....
of (OKH
Oberkommando des Heeres
The Oberkommando des Heeres was Nazi Germany's High Command of the Army from 1936 to 1945. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht commanded OKH only in theory...
), told him that the plan could not be implemented and asked to speak to Hitler, but was told Hitler was too busy to take his call.
When, on 22 April, at his afternoon conference Hitler became convinced that Steiner was not going to attack he fell into a tearful rage against his generals. He declared that the war was lost, he blamed the generals and announced that he would stay on in Berlin until the end and then kill himself. After 22 April "Army Detachment Steiner" was little mentioned in the Führerbunker
Führerbunker
The Führerbunker was located beneath Hitler's New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex which was constructed in two major phases, one part in 1936 and the other in 1943...
.
See also
- Eleventh SS Panzer Army, was part of Army Group VistulaArmy Group VistulaArmy Group Vistula was an Army Group of the Wehrmacht, formed on January 24, 1945. It was put together from elements of Army Group A , Army Group Centre , and a variety of new or ad-hoc formations...
and was under the command of Steiner while it was fighting east of the Oder River during February 1945. The Eleventh was assigned to OB WestOB WestThe German Army Command in the West The German Army Command in the West The German Army Command in the West (Oberbefehlshaber West (German: initials OB West) was the overall command of the Westheer, the German Armed Forces on the Western Front during World War II. It was directly subordinate to...
and reorganized (and given the command of new units) for combat against the Western AlliesWestern AlliesThe Western Allies were a political and geographic grouping among the Allied Powers of the Second World War. It generally includes the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth, the United States, France and various other European and Latin American countries, but excludes China, the Soviet Union,...
in March 1945. Steiner remain in command of the III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps and it remain in Army Group Vistula transferring from the Eleventh to Third Panzer Army. As Steiner also commanded the Eleventh army during 1945, it can easily be confused with Army Detachment Steiner.