Early war and the SS-VT - 1939/1940
For the 1939 invasion of Poland, three SS regiments ("Deutschland", "Der
Führer", and "Germania") were grouped into a division, the SS-Verfügungstruppe
("Special-Purpose Troops"). After Poland, one regiment ("Germania") was sent
to form another division (5.SS-Division Wiking), and a new third regiment was
created (SS Regiment 11); this became the 2nd SS Division Das Reich. Das Reich
first took part in the Campaigns in the West against the Low Countries and
France in 1940, and did so as the SS-V.T.-Division. It first saw action in the
main drive for the Dutch central front and Rotterdam. After Rotterdam had been
seized, the Division, along with other divisions, intercepted a French force
and pushed them back to the area of Zeeland and Antwerp. Next, it was used to
mop-up small pockets of resistance in the areas already captured by the
Germans. The Division was then transferred to France and helped breach a
stiffly defended canal line, and then participated in the drive on Paris. At
the end of the Campaign, it had advanced all the way to the Spanish Frontier.
Originally, the SS-V.T.-Division was composed of three of the original four SS-
Standarten. Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LAH) was the other SS-Standarten,
and it was developed on its own. The other three SS-Standarten were
Deutschland, Germania and Der Führer. After the Western Campaign was over, the
SS-V.T.-Division was reorganized. The SS-Standarten Germania was transferred
out of the Division and along with the SS-Standarten Nordland and Westland,
formed the backbone of a different SS-Division, Germania, which was soon to
become the Wiking Division. For the loss of Germania, the SS-V.T.-Division was
given an SS-Totenkopfstandarte designated as SS-Infanterie Regiment 11. Soon
after, the Division changed its title from V.T. to Deutschland, and soon after
that, to Das Reich.
War in the East - 1941
During the period after the fall of France, the Division was stationed in
France preparing for the invasion of England. The Division was moved to
Romania to take part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece in March of
1941. In April, 1941, Reich took part in the successful capture of Belgrade,
the Capital of Yugoslavia.
On the morning of April 12th, 1941, SS Hauptsturmführer Fritz Klingenberg and
members of his motorcycle assault company approached Belgrade from Pančevo
along the bank of the Danube river. Forcing a crossing, Klingenberg crossed
the river and approached the city, proceeding into downtown Belgrade with only
six men. Soon after entering the city, Klingenberg encountered a group of
twenty Yugoslavian soldiers and without firing a shot the Yugoslavs
surrendered. Receiving some reinforcements the Das Reich detachment held the
city against counterattacks, and unfurled a large swastika and raised it over
the embassy to declare the capture of the city. Two hours later, the mayor of
Belgrade arrived at the embassy and surrendered the city to Klingenberg. It
was not until the next day that a sizable German force arrived to secure the
city. For capturing Belgrade, SS Haupsturmführer Fritz Klingenberg was awarded
the Knight's Cross.
After the capture of Belgrade, the Division was moved to Poland to take part
in the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union. During the invasion of the
Soviet Union, Das Reich fought with Army Group Center, taking part in the
Battle of Yelnya near Smolensk, and then in the spearhead to capture Moscow.
Reich came within a few miles of the Soviet Capital in November 1941, reaching
the "High Water Mark" of the German advance in the Soviet Union. With the
Soviet capital within sight of the Division, weather, massive losses and a
major Soviet Winter Counter-Offensive pushed the Division back.
Rest and refit - 1942
After a period of very bloody losses for the Division, Das Reich was pulled
out of the fighting and sent to France to refit as a Panzer-Grenadier
Division. Part of the Division was left in the East, and they were titled
Kampfgruppe Ostendorf. Ostendorf was sent to join Reich in June 1942.
In November, 1942, portions of the Division took part in an attempt to prevent
the scuttling of the French Fleet at Toulon. Soon after, the Division was
retitled again, this time to SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division "Das Reich".
Back to the Eastern Front - 1943
Early in 1943, Das Reich was transferred back to the Eastern Front where it
helped reclaim the crumbling central front around Kharkov. After helping
recapturing Kharkov, Das Reich, along with many other divisions, was thrown
into a massive assault into the Kursk Salient, a huge bulge in the German
Front line around the area of Kursk and Byelgorod. Das Reich pushed upwards of
40 miles (approximately 64 kilometers) into the southern sector of the bulge,
but was pulled out of the battle along with the other SS-Division when the
offensive was called off. After a period of brief fighting, Das Reich was
refit once again, this time as SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich". In doing so, it
left a portion the Division in the East titled Kampfgruppe Das Reich, also
known as Kampfgruppe Lammerding. The rest of the Division was transferred to
the West to refit, and while doing so, took part in anti-partisan operations
in France.
In the Winter of 1943/1944, another massive Soviet winter counter offensive
managed to encircle German units in the center of the front. Kamfgruppe Das
Reich was one of the units encircled by the Soviet offensive, and an assault
by II. SS Panzerkorps managed to rescue the trapped elements of Das Reich. In
February 1944 the Kampfgruppe was transferred to France to join the rest of
the Division already stationed there. The remaining small portion of Das Reich
left in the East were renamed Kampfgruppe Weidinger and was involved in the
retreats through Proskurov and Tarnopol. Most of Das Reich was stationed in
the southern French town of Montauban north of Toulouse gaining new equipment
and freshly trained troops.
Normandy
After the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France, Das Reich was committed to stop
the Allied advance, and took part in the attempts to stop the Allies near Caen
and St. Lo alongside the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend and the elite
German Panzer Lehr Division. The Division recaptured Mortain, but was forced
to retreat when it became apparent the Allies were going to encircle the
Division along with a large number of other German units in the Falaise
pocket. Thanks to the efforts of Das Reich along with the 9th SS Panzer
Division Hohenstaufen, a large number of German forces were able to escape the
pocket and retreat to the east.
Pulled back across the Seine River and then behind the West Wall
fortifications in Germany, the 2nd SS Panzer Division took part in the
operations to punch through the Ardennes Forest to reclaim the port of Antwerp
on 16 December 1944. Coming within 23 miles of the River Meuse, the Division
was halted at Manhay on 25 December, and then slowly smashed by fierce Allied
counter-attacks. Das Reich panzer commander Ernst Barkmann became famous for
the creation of Barkmann's Corner, where he destroyed numerous American tanks
in small skirmishes.
1945 to the end
Pulled out of the offensive, Das Reich was transferred into Germany to refit
again, and to take part in the last German offensive of the war in Hungary in
an attempt to break the siege around Budapest. This offensive also ground to a
halt, and Das Reich spent the rest of the war more-or-less performing a
fighting retreat from Dresden, to Prague and finally to Vienna. In the end,
most of the Division managed to escape to the West to surrender to the
Americans in May 1945.
History Menu
For the 1939 invasion of Poland, three SS regiments ("Deutschland", "Der
Führer", and "Germania") were grouped into a division, the SS-Verfügungstruppe
("Special-Purpose Troops"). After Poland, one regiment ("Germania") was sent
to form another division (5.SS-Division Wiking), and a new third regiment was
created (SS Regiment 11); this became the 2nd SS Division Das Reich. Das Reich
first took part in the Campaigns in the West against the Low Countries and
France in 1940, and did so as the SS-V.T.-Division. It first saw action in the
main drive for the Dutch central front and Rotterdam. After Rotterdam had been
seized, the Division, along with other divisions, intercepted a French force
and pushed them back to the area of Zeeland and Antwerp. Next, it was used to
mop-up small pockets of resistance in the areas already captured by the
Germans. The Division was then transferred to France and helped breach a
stiffly defended canal line, and then participated in the drive on Paris. At
the end of the Campaign, it had advanced all the way to the Spanish Frontier.
Originally, the SS-V.T.-Division was composed of three of the original four SS-
Standarten. Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LAH) was the other SS-Standarten,
and it was developed on its own. The other three SS-Standarten were
Deutschland, Germania and Der Führer. After the Western Campaign was over, the
SS-V.T.-Division was reorganized. The SS-Standarten Germania was transferred
out of the Division and along with the SS-Standarten Nordland and Westland,
formed the backbone of a different SS-Division, Germania, which was soon to
become the Wiking Division. For the loss of Germania, the SS-V.T.-Division was
given an SS-Totenkopfstandarte designated as SS-Infanterie Regiment 11. Soon
after, the Division changed its title from V.T. to Deutschland, and soon after
that, to Das Reich.
War in the East - 1941
During the period after the fall of France, the Division was stationed in
France preparing for the invasion of England. The Division was moved to
Romania to take part in the Invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece in March of
1941. In April, 1941, Reich took part in the successful capture of Belgrade,
the Capital of Yugoslavia.
On the morning of April 12th, 1941, SS Hauptsturmführer Fritz Klingenberg and
members of his motorcycle assault company approached Belgrade from Pančevo
along the bank of the Danube river. Forcing a crossing, Klingenberg crossed
the river and approached the city, proceeding into downtown Belgrade with only
six men. Soon after entering the city, Klingenberg encountered a group of
twenty Yugoslavian soldiers and without firing a shot the Yugoslavs
surrendered. Receiving some reinforcements the Das Reich detachment held the
city against counterattacks, and unfurled a large swastika and raised it over
the embassy to declare the capture of the city. Two hours later, the mayor of
Belgrade arrived at the embassy and surrendered the city to Klingenberg. It
was not until the next day that a sizable German force arrived to secure the
city. For capturing Belgrade, SS Haupsturmführer Fritz Klingenberg was awarded
the Knight's Cross.
After the capture of Belgrade, the Division was moved to Poland to take part
in the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union. During the invasion of the
Soviet Union, Das Reich fought with Army Group Center, taking part in the
Battle of Yelnya near Smolensk, and then in the spearhead to capture Moscow.
Reich came within a few miles of the Soviet Capital in November 1941, reaching
the "High Water Mark" of the German advance in the Soviet Union. With the
Soviet capital within sight of the Division, weather, massive losses and a
major Soviet Winter Counter-Offensive pushed the Division back.
Rest and refit - 1942
After a period of very bloody losses for the Division, Das Reich was pulled
out of the fighting and sent to France to refit as a Panzer-Grenadier
Division. Part of the Division was left in the East, and they were titled
Kampfgruppe Ostendorf. Ostendorf was sent to join Reich in June 1942.
In November, 1942, portions of the Division took part in an attempt to prevent
the scuttling of the French Fleet at Toulon. Soon after, the Division was
retitled again, this time to SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division "Das Reich".
Back to the Eastern Front - 1943
Early in 1943, Das Reich was transferred back to the Eastern Front where it
helped reclaim the crumbling central front around Kharkov. After helping
recapturing Kharkov, Das Reich, along with many other divisions, was thrown
into a massive assault into the Kursk Salient, a huge bulge in the German
Front line around the area of Kursk and Byelgorod. Das Reich pushed upwards of
40 miles (approximately 64 kilometers) into the southern sector of the bulge,
but was pulled out of the battle along with the other SS-Division when the
offensive was called off. After a period of brief fighting, Das Reich was
refit once again, this time as SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich". In doing so, it
left a portion the Division in the East titled Kampfgruppe Das Reich, also
known as Kampfgruppe Lammerding. The rest of the Division was transferred to
the West to refit, and while doing so, took part in anti-partisan operations
in France.
In the Winter of 1943/1944, another massive Soviet winter counter offensive
managed to encircle German units in the center of the front. Kamfgruppe Das
Reich was one of the units encircled by the Soviet offensive, and an assault
by II. SS Panzerkorps managed to rescue the trapped elements of Das Reich. In
February 1944 the Kampfgruppe was transferred to France to join the rest of
the Division already stationed there. The remaining small portion of Das Reich
left in the East were renamed Kampfgruppe Weidinger and was involved in the
retreats through Proskurov and Tarnopol. Most of Das Reich was stationed in
the southern French town of Montauban north of Toulouse gaining new equipment
and freshly trained troops.
Normandy
After the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France, Das Reich was committed to stop
the Allied advance, and took part in the attempts to stop the Allies near Caen
and St. Lo alongside the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend and the elite
German Panzer Lehr Division. The Division recaptured Mortain, but was forced
to retreat when it became apparent the Allies were going to encircle the
Division along with a large number of other German units in the Falaise
pocket. Thanks to the efforts of Das Reich along with the 9th SS Panzer
Division Hohenstaufen, a large number of German forces were able to escape the
pocket and retreat to the east.
Pulled back across the Seine River and then behind the West Wall
fortifications in Germany, the 2nd SS Panzer Division took part in the
operations to punch through the Ardennes Forest to reclaim the port of Antwerp
on 16 December 1944. Coming within 23 miles of the River Meuse, the Division
was halted at Manhay on 25 December, and then slowly smashed by fierce Allied
counter-attacks. Das Reich panzer commander Ernst Barkmann became famous for
the creation of Barkmann's Corner, where he destroyed numerous American tanks
in small skirmishes.
1945 to the end
Pulled out of the offensive, Das Reich was transferred into Germany to refit
again, and to take part in the last German offensive of the war in Hungary in
an attempt to break the siege around Budapest. This offensive also ground to a
halt, and Das Reich spent the rest of the war more-or-less performing a
fighting retreat from Dresden, to Prague and finally to Vienna. In the end,
most of the Division managed to escape to the West to surrender to the
Americans in May 1945.
History Menu