Falaise: The Flawed Victory - The Destruction of Panzergruppe West, August 1944

The 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg was formed in the winter of 1942-43 in southern France, initially as the 10th Panzergrenadier Division. It then moved north, but was sent to the Eastern Front the following year. In mid-June it was ordered back to France and went into action against the British VIII Corps bridgehead over the Odon on the 29th, along with the 9th SS. The following day they captured Hill 112, beating off a series of British counterattacks. Deployed between Domfront and Mortain, by 12 August the division, with just eight tanks left, was forced to withdraw toward the Falaise salient.

Combat experience

Under the command of SS-Standartenführer Michael Lippert, the 10th SS, like the 9th SS, was raised from conscripts drawn from the Reich Labour Service, or Reichsarbeitsdienst, in February 1943. Like the 12th SS, they were just teenagers; according to Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler, the average age of the recruits was eighteen years old. The division was redesignated the 10th SS Panzer Division on 3 October 1943 and named after Georg von Frundsberg (1473-1528), who had served the Hapsburg Monarchy during its many wars.

Subsequently, led by SS-Gruppenführer Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld, the division first saw action at Tarnopol in April 1944, where it took part in rescuing German troops from the Kamenets-Podolskiy pocket. In mid-June, Hitler cancelled a proposed offensive near Kowel and from his Rastenburg HQ ordered the division to be switched to the West, to help bolster the situation in Normandy. Under SS-Gruppenführer Heinz Harmel it was sent to France on 12 June, along with the 9th SS, to fight the Allied landings.

SS-Panzer Regiment 10’s II Abteilung was loaded onto six trains in Russia and headed west from Sokol and Krystinowpol. It took five days to reach the assembly point at Saarbrücken. The first train reached Houdan, southwest of Paris on the 18th and the tanks took to the road, rumbling through Dreux, Chôteauneuf, Dignyand le Magne to Longy, where they dallied until the 25th.

SS-Obergruppenführer Paul Hausser, commander of II SS Panzer Corps, presented himself to Rommel on 23 June to inform him that the 10th SS had arrived in Northern France. By the following day most of the division, with an offical strength of about 14,800 men, had reached the assembly area in Normandy, though fuel was a problem. These units consisted of SS-Panzer-aufklürungs Abteilung 10, SS-Panzer Regiment 10, SS-Panzerjüger Abteilung 10, SS-Panzergrenadier Regiments 21 and 22, SS-Artillerie Regiment 10, SS-Flak Abteilung 10, SS-Pionier Bataillon 10 and SS-Feldersatz Bataillon 10.

Harmel’s command had the dubious accolade of being the weakest panzer division in Normandy. SS-Panzer Regiment 10, under SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Paetsch, was Only able to field a single tank battalion. The latter, under SS-Sturmbannführer Reinhold, which had come west, consisted of thirty-nine Panzer IVs, thirty-eight StuG Ills and three Panzer III command vehicles, providing a tank force of just eighty panzers. Other divisional armoured fighting vehicles consisted of SS-Artillerie Regiment 10’s six Hummel and eleven Wespe self-propelled guns. It seems it may have also had some Grille 15cm self-propelled guns.

The 10th SS suffered the same problem as the 9th SS, whose Panther battalion was still being worked up at Mailly-le-Camp. Both divisions experienced problems with tank deliveries. Although SS-Panzer Regiment 10’s I Abteilung was already at Mailly-le-Camp, it only had training vehicles available and was unable to join its parent unit until 1945. Therefore, this battalion was not destined to see action in Normandy. The ten Panthers it did receive had to be handed over to Panzer Lehr and, by 1 August, I Abteilung had been assigned to Panzer Brigade 10, which out of an authorised strength of seventy-three Panthers only had seven. Similarly, the division’s Panzerjüger abteilung was still forming and did not receive any Jagdpanzer IV tank destroyers until the end of August.

Containing Epsom

On the night of 25/26 June, just as the British were renewing their efforts, II SS Panzer Corps HQ and the 10th SS were instructed to move to the St Remy Rousamps-La Bigne-St Symphorien-Les Buttes-Campeaux-Vire-Tinchebray area. The 10th SS was soon thrown into action against the British 2nd Army’s Operation Epsom; enduring heavy fighting around the strategic Hill 112. Epsom launched on the 25/26th was a preventative strike to help tie down the newly-arrived II SS Panzer Corps west of Caen and stop it moving to the American sector.

Montgomery’s intention was to push south over the Caen-Bayeux road on to the Fosse de l’Odon, before turning southeast to Bretteville-sur-Laize, 10 miles (16km) south of Caen. On the 29th, the 9th SS, now formally assigned to II SS Panzer Corps, deployed facing Hill 112 along the Odon River, between von Funck’s XLVII Panzer Corps and Sepp Dietrich’s I SS Panzer Corps. Harmel’s forces were deployed between Caen and Villers-Bocage.

The British XXX Corps had, by the 30th, reached Rauray and Tessel, but in the face of determined resistance from 2nd SS could not maintain its momentum and failed to reach the Odon. In contrast, VIII Corps forced its way over the river, creating a narrow bridgehead between Gavrus to the west and Baron to the east.

In countering Epsom, the 10th SS attacked the Gavrus bridgehead on the flank of the British 11th Armoured Division on Hill 112. The usual problem, shortages of fuel, greatly limited the number of panzers the division could initially throw at the British. Paetsch’s and Reinhold’s tanks and assault guns were committed to the fighting on the 29th, along with the 9th SS, when they attacked along the Odon. The two assault gun companies supporting SS-Panzergrenadier Regiment 22 took Gavrus, but could not reach Baron-sur-Odon. Near Evrecy the panzers took Point 113 and the division claimed twenty-eight enemy tanks for the loss of just two Panzer IVs.

Flanking fire from Avenay and St Martin hampered the push to Hill 112 and Esquay-Notre-Dame, that night the panzers and panzer grenadiers crossed the Guigne River between Avenay and Vieux, which enabled them to climb the southern slopes of Hill 112. The 12th SS attacked Hill 112 from the east and by midday on the 30th were on the summit. Hill 113 was attacked at the same time. During the period 30 June-1 July, elements of the 10th SS lost 571 casualties resisting Epsom and the division suffered badly from air strikes on 1 July, three miles (5km) south of Villers-Bocage.

Battle for Hill 112

On 3 July, the British counterattacked and the tanks of the 10th SS were moved up the hill. On the 10th the British, under the guise of Operation Jupiter, tried to wrest back control of the high ground around Hill 112. Major General G I Thomas’ 43rd (Wessex) Division, consisting of the 129th, 130th and 214th brigades, were to attack positions held by the 10th SS, which were supported by Tiger tanks from Schwere SS-Abteilung 101, in what was to prove an extremely fierce battle.

The German defenders survived naval bombardment, air attack and artillery fire. The British then launched frontal attacks on Hill 112 and the village of Maltot on its northern slope, against the SS panzer troops, supported by dug-in and concealed Tiger tanks, holding an almost impregnable position. The British made some initial progress before being driven back by Tigers from the II SS Panzer Corps’ heavy tank battalion, Schwere SS-Panzer Abteilung 102.

At the moment that it appeared twenty-five Churchill tanks were going to take the summit of Hill 112, I Abteilung arrived from its reserve position and knocked out almost all of them. In particular, the concealed Panzer IVs of the V Kompanie were confronted by twenty-five British tanks and were forced to attack a section at a time to avoid the Allied fighter-bombers. The British advance came to a halt to return fire, knocking out two panzers and killing two platoon leaders, SS-Hauptscharführer Borrekott and SS-Oberscharführer Leven. In the meantime, the remaining Panzer IVs and the StuGs advanced between Hills 112 and 113, catching the Allied spearhead in the lank, but the British had already reached the top.

The British attack on Maltot did not go well either, as the Tigers on Hill 112 opened up on the British left lank, while the 12th SS Panzer Division’s Panzer IVs and Panthers were to the attackers’ front and elements of the 1st SS kampfgruppe were on the right. The British threw in a further attack and took the summit once again, but at nightfall the British tanks withdrew, leaving the infantry unsupported, to be thrown back yet again by a German counterattack under cover of darkness.

The 43rd Division alone lost more than 2,000 men in the first thirty-six hours of Operation Jupiter and it was reported that the Odon River was dammed with corpses. On 15 July the British launched Operation Greenline, holding the division west of Caen. When the 9th SS was withdrawn into reserve on the 15th, the 10th SS were left to cover the entire sector, and were driven off part of Hill 113, just north of Evrecy, by Major General G H A MacMillan’s 15th (Scottish) Division.

Despite the commitment of Tiger tanks and the return of the 9th SS, the Scots held on to their gains, though the SS remained in possession of the lunar surface of Hill 112 until finally relieved by the 271st Infantry Division. The 10th SS, having now lost well over 2,200 men since the beginning of July, was withdrawn for a brief period of rest. The division had also lost a quantity of self-propelled guns and anti-tank weapons, including four Grille self-propelled guns, eight 7.5cm Leichtes Infanteriegeschütz 18s, six 7.5cm anti-tank guns and eighteen 8cm mortars as well as nearly a hundred machineguns.

In the face of such determined SS resistance, British casualties during 10-22 July amounted to approximately 25,000 men and 500 tanks. In particular, the 43rd Wessex suffered a total of 7,000 casualties. By the end of the month the 10th SS had lost seven Panzer IVs and three StuG IIIs, plus 168 other vehicles.

The 10th SS continued to fight southwest of Caen. In early August they halted the British 43rd Division, which, attacking from Dois du Homme, had driven 21st Panzer from Jurques and seized Hill 301. They also drove the British 7th Armoured Division almost back to Breuil.

On 1 August a kampfgruppe under Otto Paetsch headed for Aunay-sur-Odon about 18 miles (29km) southwest of Caen. The next Day the kampfgruppe – with seven Panzer IVs and eighteen Panthers – entered the fray and successfully held most of Hill 188, claiming responsibility for destroying twenty British tanks. The remainder of the division arrived on the 3rd, threw back the British units that had established a foothold on Hill 188, and took nearby Hill 301 to form a defence line between the two high points.

This and other SS attacks brought British tank losses since the start of Operation Bluecoat on 30 July to a massive 200 vehicles. Bittrich’s tired troops kept pressing forward until the battle reached a climax on 6 August. The 10th SS were switched from Aunay-sur-Odon to attack the British positions on the Périers ridge. They were then ordered to disengage, and on 6 August the division was committed to an attack on British units north of Chônedollé. They seized two prominent high points, Hills 242 and 224, only to be driven back by shellfire and air attacks. Having brought Bluecoat to a halt, Bittrich established a strong defensive line around Vire.

Mortain counterattack

For the German counterattack on Avranches on the American front, Field Marshal von Kluge had instructed that the 10th SS be available by 5 August in the Vassy area. However, 5th Panzer Army could not comply due to the tactical situation with II SS Panzer Corps. Army Group B informed 7th Army that 10th SS and 12th SS were to be brought up on 8 August under the direction of General Walter Krüger’s LVIII Panzer Corps. The latter had only just assumed control of the sector southwest of Caen from Bittrich’s II SS Panzer Corps.

Moving toward Mortain, Harmel’s 10th SS became the Corps reserve for General von Funck’s XLVII Panzer Corps. The division deployed to the Beauchene area, east of Mortain, to relieve elements of the 275th Infantry Division. During the night of 8/9 August the 10th SS found its extended frontline compromised when the enemy penetrated both sides of Barenton.

The SS launched a counterattack on the 9th along the road from Barenton to Ger, reaching the hill two and a half miles (4km) northeast of Barenton. The 10th SS was then committed to recapture Barenton, although they could only muster twelve panzers. Elements had to be committed to action near Barenton almost immediately, however, to block constantly probing American attacks.

The 10th SS launched their counterattack against the American penetration north of Barenton on 10 August and made some ground, although they could not reach the town. Heavy losses soon forced the division over to the defensive. Instead of being committed to the renewed Avranches/Mortain counter-offensive, the division was pushed eastwards, via Dom front and Frementel, as the Germans pulled back to defend Argentan.

Final days

By the 14th the division was in danger of being encircled and Domfort had fallen to the Americans. Its fighting strength stood at just 4,136 men. In stark contrast to all the British tanks it had accounted for, the division had only lost twelve Panzer IV and eight Sturmgeschütz since arriving in Normandy. SS-Brigadeführer Harmel mustered eight Panzer IVs and some panzer grenadiers in the hills to the north of Domfort and, with the assistance of the 2nd SS and 17th SS, prepared to attack the American forces.

They drove them back but this localised victory meant nothing. During the night, the remains of the division withdrew east on St-Bomer-les-Forges and then north of Argentan. Harmel and his men now faced the gauntlet of the Trun-Chambois bottleneck. Elements of the 10th SS, along with the 1st SS and 2nd Panzer, were trapped in the Falaise pocket.