Tag Archives: Panzer IV

Grouches in the Bulge

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Here we see one Major Eberhard Lemor, 39, commander of Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 217, during the Ardennes offensive, some 75 years ago this month. If his trousers look odd, it is because he is wearing a recently-applied plaster cast over his broken left leg, one that he would sport throughout the campaign.

Behind the good major in the snow is a Sturmpanzer IV (Sd.Kfz. 166) a vehicle that, in an army of panzers named after sleek big cats such as the Tiger and Panther, was dubbed the Brummbär (ironically enough by Allied intel analysts, not the Germans) a word which roughly translates to sorehead, grouch, or grumbly bear depending on who you are talking to.

Mating a Panzer IV hull/chassis, complete with a big V-12 Maybach diesel engine, with a big ole thumping Skoda 150mm StuH 43 L/12 howitzer behind a 100mm steel frontal plate, the assault gun was ideal for knocking out hardpoints or waiting in ambush for virtually any armored vehicle or train ever fielded world.

Grouch indeed. The Germans typically referred to these vehicles as “Stupa” an abbreviation of Sturmpanzer. 

Just over 300 Brummbären were fielded in four dedicated Sturmpanzer-Abteilung (Stu.Pz.Abt.. i.e. assault tank battalion), numbered 216 through 219, between 1943 and the end of the war.

After a baptism of fire at Kursk, they were mostly used in Italy and on the Eastern Front– with the exception of Lemor’s unit.

StuPzAbt 217 was only formed late in the war at Grafenwöhr, just weeks before the Overlord landings, from tankers and panzer grenadiers of Panzer-Kompanie 40 and Panzer-Ersatz-Abteilung 18. Fielded piecemeal in company strength into attempts to stop the Allied advance through Normandy and Belgium, the unit was only able to operate as a full battalion for the last big German push at the end of the year.

A cane, cast and a Brummbar in a snowy Belgian field are all you need for a stirring leadership snap from “somewhere in the Ardennes.”

Thrown into the Wacht am Rhein offensive in the Battle of the Bulge on 19 December 1944 with 31 vehicles, the six-month-old battalion only managed to advance to St. Vith before they were stopped cold, (pardon the pun) ultimately falling back in January 1945 and later being destroyed in the Ruhr pocket.

Lemor would survive the war, join the West German Bundeswehr when it was formed, and go on to reach the rank of Oberstleutnant (lt. col), retiring in the 1960s as a NATO staff officer stationed in Brussels, an assignment ironically just 170km from St. Vith– or about four hours drive in a Brummbär.

All Quiet in the Ardennes

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American engineers emerge from the woods and move out of defensive positions after fighting in the vicinity of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Note the M1 Garand, M1 Carbine and M9 Bazookas, along with a liberal sprinkling of grenades and spare ammo. (Photo: U.S. Army)

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the last great German offensive of WWII. Launched through the densely forested Ardennes region near the intersection of the eastern borders of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, some 200,000 Germans fell on less than 80,000 unsuspecting American troops, many of which were recovering from the summer and Fall push through France and the Lowlands.

While the German offensive gained ground at first, eventually reinforcements– including Lt. Gen. George S. Patton Jr.’s Third Army–were rushed to the scene and counterattacked.

However, for the men trapped inside the 75-mile “bulged” salient from St. Vith to the week-long Siege of Bastogne, it was a white hell of exploding trees and an onslaught from 1,000 German panzers that those who survived never forgot.

The U.S. Army suffered over 89,000 casualties in the six-week-long Battle of the Bulge, making it one of the largest and bloodiest battles fought by the nation’s servicemen.

U.S. Army infantrymen of the 290th Regiment, 75th Infantry Division, fight in fresh snowfall near Amonines, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge, Jan. 4, 1945. Note the M3 Grease Gun to the right and M1 Carbine to the left. (Photo: U.S. Army)

For a more detailed look at the men, firepower, and background of the battle, check out the (free) 685-page U.S. Army Center of Military History reference, “The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge” by Hugh M. Cole, as well as the vast records available through the National Archives. For more information about commemorating the battle Bastogne and other events, visit Bastogne 75 and Belgium Remembers 44-45.

Of battlewagons and panzers, today, 76 years ago

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27 Nov 1942: Here we see Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.G (Sd.Kfz.161/1) turmnummer 812 from Panzer-Regiment 25 7.Panzer-Division entering the French harbor of Toulon during Operation Lila. The battleship in the background is Strasbourg, sent to the bottom by order of French Adm. Laborde just moments earlier along with 77 other vessels in order to keep them out of German hands. You can just make out Strasbourg‘s #1 quadruple 330mm/50 turret to the far right. The PzKpfw IV, not expecting a fight, still has her muzzle cover on her 75mm L/48 main gun.

Dig all of those jerry cans! Photographer: Kriegsberichter Wolfgang Vennemann from PK (Propaganda-Kompanie) 649

As noted by WWII images:

On November 27, the Germans commenced “Unternehmen Lila” with the goal of occupying Toulon and seizing the fleet. Comprised of elements from the 7. Panzer-Division and SS-Panzergrenadier-Division “Das Reich”, four combat teams entered the city around 4:00 AM. Quickly taking Fort Lamalgue, they captured Adm. Marquis, the maritime prefect of Toulon, but failed to prevent his chief of staff and FHM commander Vice Adm. Jean de Laborde, aboard Strasbourg, from sending a warning via signal lamp and flag to prepare to destroy the unarmed fleet. Stunned by the German treachery, de Laborde issued orders to prepare for scuttling and to defend the ships until they had sunk. Advancing through Toulon, the Germans occupied heights overlooking the channel and air-dropped mines to prevent a French escape. Reaching the gates of the naval base, the Germans were delayed by the sentries who demanded paperwork allowing admission.

By 5:25 AM, German tanks entered the base and de Laborde issued the radio order to scuttle from his flagship. Fighting soon broke out along the waterfront, with the Germans coming under fire from the ships’ machine guns (the main guns being disarmed). Out-gunned, the Germans attempted to negotiate but were unable to board most vessels in time to prevent their sinking. German troops successfully boarded the Suffren-class cruiser Dupleix and closed its sea valves, but were driven off by explosions and fires in its turrets.

Soon the Germans were surrounded by sinking and burning ships. By the end of the day, they had only succeeded in taking three disarmed destroyers, four damaged submarines, and three civilian vessels.

In the fighting of November 27, the French lost 12 killed and 26 wounded, while the Germans suffered one wounded. In scuttling the fleet, the French destroyed 77 vessels, including 3 battleships, 7 cruisers, 15 destroyers, and 13 torpedo boats.

Five submarines managed to get underway, with three reaching North Africa, one Spain, and the last forced to scuttle at the mouth of the harbor. The survey ship Leonor Fresnel also escaped. While Charles de Gaulle and the Free French severely criticized the action, stating that the fleet should have tried to escape, the scuttling prevented the ships from falling into Axis hands. While salvage efforts began, none of the larger ships saw service again during the war. After the liberation of France, de Laborde was tried and convicted of treason for not trying to save the fleet. Found guilty, he was sentenced to death. This was soon commuted to life imprisonment before he was granted clemency in 1947.