Führer Begleit Brigade
Encyclopedia
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
and later armoured division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
(Panzer-Führerbegleitdivision), in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was formed in November 1944 and destroyed in April 1945.
The original Führerbegleitbattalion (FBB), 1939–1940
Before the 1 September 1939 attack on Poland, Adolf HitlerAdolf 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...
's personal bodyguard unit came from two distinct, independent units based in Berlin: the Chancellery Guards, assigned for the purpose by the army, and the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard. Initially the size of a regiment, the LSSAH eventually grew into a divisional-sized unit...
("SS bodyguard regiment 'Adolf Hitler'," often abbreviated to LSSAH), which replaced the Chancellery Guards. When hostilities started, Hitler ordered the LSSAH to participate in the campaign against Poland, leaving him with no personal bodyguard unit (except for a small formation from the Leibstandarte) keep in Berlin.
At the time, a brilliant infantry instructor, Oberst (Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
) Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
, came to Hitler's attention. Impressed by Rommel's book on infantry tactics and holding him in high regard, Hitler put Rommel in charge of a new battalion being organized to function as his personal escort to the front in the absence of the Leibstandarte and other appropriate frontline units. This led to the formation of the Führerbegleitbattalion (FBB). By the time of the invasion of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, Rommel was promoted to major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
, and he left the FBB to take command of the army's Seventh Panzer Division. The FBB started accompanying Hitler on his battlefield tours following the Battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
.
The Führerbegleitabteilung, Panzergrenadierdivision "Großdeutschland"
With the expansion of the elite Infantry Regiment GroßdeutschlandInfantry Regiment Großdeutschland
The Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland was an élite German Heer ceremonial and combat unit which saw action during World War II. The regiment served in the campaigns in France and the Low Countries in 1940. It then served exclusively on the Eastern Front until the end of the war...
into a division on 3 March 1942, the number of subunits under its control was expanded. Among these subunits was a new Führerbegleit-unit, as well as another unit with Führer in its name, the Führergrenadierabteilung.. Although the new Führerbegleit-unit had practically the same purpose as the original and still-existing Führerbegleitbattalion, and was approximately the same size, it was different from the FBB in that it was motorized. The newer unit was further distinguished by nomenclature: it was known as the Führerbegleitabteilung (FBA: Führer escort detachment). This is because battalion-sized Wehrmacht (and even Waffen-SS) ground units were designated according to class, with Abteilung for motorized, mechanized, armoured, or self-propelled battalion-sized units controlled by a battalion headquarters, and Battalion for infantry units.
As a result of its transfer to the Großdeutschland (GD) division, the detachment—by now incorporating a heavy battery from Flak-Regiment "Hermann Göring", First Paratroop Panzer Division Hermann Göring
Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring
The Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1. Hermann Göring was an élite German Luftwaffe armoured division. The HG saw action in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and on the Eastern front...
—was moved to the eastern front, with headquarters in Hitler's Wolfschanze. Parts of the GD were used to build out the FBA until it eventually served as GD's replacement and reserve battalion.
The FBA saw action along with the rest of Panzer-Grenadier-Division Großdeutschland in its campaigns on the eastern front. Although not permanently attached to the division and composed mainly of an ad-hoc collections of several units, the FBA and its successors would retain the traditional Fritz-style helmet insignia of its parent division, and when sub-units of the Großdeutschland division were being expanded to bring GD to corps strength (Panzerkorps Großdeutschland), the FBA was enhanced to brigade strength as well.
While the FBA was being refitted for service on the eastern front, Hitler ordered it to head west, along with most of its vehicles and personnel, to prepare for the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
counter-offensive, for which it would be expanded to a brigade.
Führerbegleitbrigade
Radically upgraded for the Ardennes Offensive ("Operation Wacht am RheinBattle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
") to provide General der Panzertruppe Hasso von Manteuffel
Hasso von Manteuffel
Hasso-Eccard Freiherr von Manteuffel was a German soldier and liberal politician of the 20th century.He served in both world wars, and during World War II was a distinguished general...
's Fifth Panzer Army with additional firepower, the Führerbegleitbrigade (FBB) was formed from elements of the FBA, Panzerkorps Großdeutschland, Hitler's personal army guard detail, and the mobile artillery from Hitler's Wolfschanze headquarters. This unit was placed under the command of Oberst (Colonel) Otto Remer as a reward for his successfully foiling a critical part of the July Stauffenberg assassination plot aimed at Hitler and the Nazi leadership.
The new FBB was essentially a restructured tank brigade, with units created from whatever excess personnel were available. Its combat strength included long-barrelled Panzer IV
Panzer IV
The Panzerkampfwagen IV , commonly known as the Panzer IV, was a medium tank developed in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz...
s and the turretless assault guns of the Sturmgeschütz
Sturmgeschütz
Sturmgeschütz is a German word for "assault gun", usually abbreviated StuG. The vehicle was a leading weapon of the Sturmartillerie, a branch of the German artillery tasked with close fire support of infantry in infantry, panzer, and panzergrenadier units...
-Abteilung 200, two organic panzergrenadier
Panzergrenadier
is a German term for motorised or mechanized infantry, as introduced during World War II. It is used in the armies of Austria, Chile, Germany and Switzerland.-Forerunners:...
(mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry
Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers , or infantry fighting vehicles for transport and combat ....
) battalions, the 928th Bicyclist Battalion, and a self-propelled artillery battalion with 105-millimeter Wespe
Wespe
The SdKfz 124 Wespe , also known as Leichte Feldhaubitze 18 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II , was a German self-propelled artillery vehicle developed and used during the Second World War...
and 150-millimeter Hummel
Hummel (artillery)
The Hummel was a self-propelled artillery gun based on the Geschützwagen III/IV chassis, armed with a 15 cm howitzer. It was used by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War from late 1942 until the end of the war....
artillery pieces.
Committed to the front on 18 December 1944 as part of Fifth Panzer Army's XLVII. Panzerkorps, the FBB saw action against the elite US Army 101st Airborne Division
101st Airborne Division
The 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
at Bastogne
Bastogne
Bastogne Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin...
.
On 26 January 1945 the FBB was ordered to expand and form the Führerbegleitdivision.
Führerbegleitdivision
When the Großdeutschland Division was expanded to Panzer Corps Großdeutschland, its subordinate units were expanded to bring GD to corpsCorps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
status. Included in the upgrade were the FBB and the Führergrenadierbrigade (FGB), both of which had participated in the Ardennes counteroffensive and acquitted themselves well in action.
As part of this drastic reorganization, the FBB was detached from army control, expanded by incorporating elements of the Führergrenadierbrigade and Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland, and redesignated the Führer-Begleit-Division (FBD); at the same time, its sister formation, the Führergrenadierbrigade, was also upgraded to divisional status and renamed the Führer-Grenadier-Division (FGD). Both "Führer" divisions were put in the OKH reserve until committed to the eastern front.
Commanded by Otto Remer, now a major general, the FBD continued to defend the Reich
Reich
Reich is a German word cognate with the English rich, but also used to designate an empire, realm, or nation. The qualitative connotation from the German is " sovereign state." It is the word traditionally used for a variety of sovereign entities, including Germany in many periods of its history...
in its final, desperate battles. The FBD and FGD served in local counterattacks and later assumed fire-brigade roles in preventing major Soviet breakthroughs.
The FBD and FGD were sent to the eastern front to help defend the Vistula
Vistula
The Vistula is the longest and the most important river in Poland, at 1,047 km in length. The watershed area of the Vistula is , of which lies within Poland ....
front against massing Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
forces. It was trapped and finally destroyed in the Spremberg pocket in April 1945, with survivors surrendering to the Americans.
Orders of Battle
Führerbegleitabteilung, Panzergrenadierdivision Großdeutschland (1941)Führerbegleitbrigade, Operation Wacht-am-Rhein (December 1944)
Brigadestabskompanie (headquarters company)
- Stabszug (headquarters platoon) - Sdkfz 251/1 armoured cars
- Aufklärungszug (reconnaissance platoon) - Armed with MP-40 and StG44
- Sdkfz 250/1 armoured cars
- Aufklärungszug (reconnaissance platoon) - as above
- Volkswagen and Kübelwagen cars
- Flakzug (anti-aircraft platoon) - 3 x 37mm Flakpanzer IV Ostwind self-propelled flak vehicle