3

The Second Battle for Caen, 11–18 June 1944

11 June 1944

I./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

The Kompanien were in securing positions. Around 14:00 12 enemy armoured fighting vehicles attacked Reitzenstein’s unit with mounted infantry. ¹ The 1.Kompanie took over the securing tasks.

At 1430 hours the 3.Kompanie was hit by heavy tank and artillery fire. The Caen– Fontenay [-le-Pesnel] road was battered by smoke and high explosive shells. Both the 1. and 2.Kompanien knocked out one Sherman each, the Pionier Zug destroyed two anti-tank guns, and rendered one Sherman immobile. Untersturmführer Fritz Fiala was wounded on his right forearm.

The 4.Kompanie repulsed a reconnaissance unit of 12 soldiers. A British vehicle with two radio operators ran into the line held by the 4.Kompanie. The vehicle was taken into safety and the British² were shot down because they attempted resistance. The Ordonnanz Offizier immediately took the documents to the division. The 4.Kompanie knocked out 16 Shermans during the attack against Rots. Hauptsturmführer Hans Pfeiffer was killed during the attack. ³

Heavy artillery activity occurred during the whole day. Losses due to shell fragments (wounded soldiers).

War Diary Appendix no. 5.

12.SS-Panzer Division “Hitlerjugend”O.U., 15. 06. 1944

4. [Kompanie]/SS-Panzer Regiment 12

Prevention of enemy tank attack against Rots and Le Bourg on 11. 06. 1944

Situation:

Heavy enemy pressure towards Rots and Le Bourg. The reconnaissance sweeps of the enemy towards Rots and Le Bourg were repulsed on 10. 6. 10.

Hauptsturmführer Gerd Freiherr von Reitzenstein being awarded his German Cross in Gold by Walter Krüger (see Chapter 3 Footnote 1). (Mark C. Yerger)

Task:

Secure the Rots–Le Bourg line together with the Grenadiers, that is, on the left flank at Le Bourg with 5 tanks of the Kompanie, and on the right flank on the western side of Rots with 2 tanks; securing in the south-western, western and north-western direction.

Course of battle:

On 11. 06. constant heavy artillery fire on the securing positions of the Kompanie until the evening. 15–45 enemy tanks were observed from Rots moving northwards on the Bretteville road. 16 enemy armoured fighting vehicles provided constant security towards Le Bourg on the northern outskirts of Bretteville [l’Orgueilleuse]. Heightened vigilance was ordered to be kept on the right flank. Tank no. 425 was damaged in an enemy artillery fire strike, and the radio operator, Schütze Testor was killed. The observed enemy armoured fighting vehicles were immediately reported to the Kompanie Chef, who then went to the right flank and saw them for himself. The damaged tank was withdrawn from the securing line and was taken to the maintenance unit for repairs.

At 1830 hours the Kompanie received the following report: “490 from the direction of (Villons [-les-Buissons]) 71 towards (Rots) 46 enemy tanks. Achtung! Achtung!”⁴ Our own force on the threatened flank consisted of three tanks.

The Kompanie Chef and the Zugführer of the III.Zug, Untersturmführer Günther Deutscher, fell back from the left flank at Le Bourg and took over the securing of the northern perimetres of Rots. Around 1900 hours enemy tank sweeps began on the Bretteville road towards Le Bourg. Unterscharführer Hanitsch’s tank no. 438 knocked out a Churchill from 900 metres away.

A command conference at the divisional command post, Caen-Venoix, 13 or 14 June 1944 – left to right are Obersturmbannführer Max Wünsche (commander, SS-Panzer Regiment 12), Brigadeführer Fritz Witt (commander, 12.SS-Panzer Division) and Standartenführer Kurt Meyer (commander, SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment25). (Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1988-028-25A)

Shortly afterwards tank no. 415 of Leutnant Erich Pohl knocked out a Sherman from a distance of 70 metres and another one from 10 metres. The other tanks turned to the west.

Around 1930 hours repeated attacks followed heavy artillery preparation. In a fierce battle Oberscharführer Heinz Lehmann’s tank no. 426 knocked out four of the attacking 12 enemy tanks, hit a further three, upon which the enemy tanks retreated (four Shermans knocked out, two Shermans and one Churchill hit). Panther no. 426 received an order from the Kompanie Chef to relocate to the northern outskirts of Rots, where the damage done by artillery fire (on the running gear, on the tracks and the wheels) could be repaired by the maintenance unit. Around 2130 hours heavy artillery fire introduced an enemy tank attack against Rots, and the enemy succeeded in entering the village with infantry and tanks.

Hauptsturmführer Hans Pfeiffer decided to carry out a rush forward with three tanks and the Grenadiers. Untersturmführer Deutscher’s tank no. 435 entered Rots on the Le Bourg road, reached the church and knocked out three tanks (Shermans) in a streetfight. Panthers no. 405 and 426 also attempted to reach the church from the east, but upon reaching the eastern outskirts of the village they met enemy tanks, out of which three Shermans were knocked out by the tank of the Kompanie Chef. These burning tanks could not be rounded on the narrow road. The two tanks occupied an ambush position on the outskirts of the village behind the hedges, and with high explosive shells and machine gun fire repulsed the enemy infantry advancing through the village. Untersturmführer Deutscher’s tank no. 435 could not be contacted on radio, and as it later turned out, was knocked out. One of the enemy tanks that had broken through was set aflame by a hit from Unterscharführer Schlehuber’s tank no. 425. The enemy succeeded in defeating the right flank and forced the remains of the Kompanie with two tanks to retreat to the Caen–Le Bourg road.

A knocked out British Humber Mk. IV armoured reconnaissance car near Caen in June 1944. The armament of this 6.5 ton vehicle consisted of a 37 mm gun and a coaxial machine gun. Its crew of three was protected by a maximum 15mm armour. The vehicle was mainly used by the reconnaissance regiments of the British infantry divisions. (Hungarian Institute and Museum of Military History 52809)

Meanwhile the tank of the Kompanie Chef was hit on its hatch, Hauptsturmführer Hans Pfeiffer was killed.

There was no radio connection anymore with the left flank of the Kompanie, therefore they could not be informed about the current situation, and there was apparent danger that they could be cut off. Leutnant Pohl gathered the remains of the Kompanie, three tanks altogether, and until noon, defended the previous position. After the Grenadiers retreated 1 km, the Kompanie also retreated knocking out four armoured personnel carriers en route.

Sturmbannführer Bernhard Krause (see Chapter 3 Footnote 5). (Mark C. Yerger)

Pohl

Leutnant and Kompanieführer

II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

In the morning up until noon, nothing notable happened except for artillery and aircraft activity.

1645 hours: report of SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 26, according to which the enemy tanks had broken into the positions of the Regiment 26 (at Einheit “Krause”⁵).

1700 hours: the II.Abteilung moved against the enemy armoured fighting vehicles at Bretteville [l’Orgueilleuse] and Norrey [-en-Bessin]. The 8. and 9.Kompanien launched attack from the west, the 5. and 6.Kompanien from southwest. The enemy was repulsed. SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 26 could now occupy its former positions. We knocked out:

• 10 Shermans and 4 General Lees⁶ at le Mesnil-Patry by the 8.Kompanie;

• 7 Shermans at le Mesnil-Patry by the 9.Kompanie.⁷

Knocked out British Cromwell IV medium tanks in the Caen sector, June 1944. The armament of the tank consisted of a 75 mm gun and two machine guns. The crew of five was protected by armour a maximum of 76mm thick. The Cromwell was used by the British, Canadian, Polish armoured reconnaissance regiments and the armoured regiments of the British 7th Armoured Division in Normandy. (Hungarian Institute and Museum of Military History 55505-36)

20:30: all armoured Kompanien return to their initial positions. Our total losses:

• 5 tanks of the 8.Kompanie

• 1 tank of the 9.Kompanie

According to the score report of the II.Abteilung found in Appendix 3, our scores so far amount to 63 tanks, 9 anti-tank guns and more than 450 prisoners of war.

Another view of knocked out British Cromwell IV tanks near Caen, June 1944. (Hungarian Institute and Museum of Military History)

War Diary Appendix no. 3.

Score report

12 June 1944

I./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

The Kompanien remained in their securing positions. As a result of heavy artillery fire all day, one prime mover, one Kfz.1⁸ and a radio car were total losses, and around 1030 hours a tank hit the gun mantlet of tank no. 305.

II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

No combat activity. The Kompanien remained in their securing positions. Heavy artillery harassing fire, heavy aircraft activity. Based on the previous days spent in battle, five Iron Crosses 1st Class, and 45 Iron Crosses 2nd Class were awarded to the Abteilung. The Abteilung commander bestowed them as follows:

Iron Cross 1st Class:

• Obersturmführer Hans Siegel

• Untersturmführer Rudolf Walther

• Untersturmführer Helmut Kasemiresch

• Unterscharführer Rudolf Weber

• Unterscharführer Storck

Iron Cross 2nd Class:

• 5.Kompanie:: 15

• 6.Kompanie: 13

• 7., 8. and 9.Kompanien: 5-5.

13 June 1944

I./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

At 1300 hours disengagement of the 1. and 3.Kompanien and the three command tanks via Rauray–Noyers towards Monts [d’Eraines], to repulse enemy armoured fighting vehicles which had burst into the positions there. 1 km north of Monts the Abteilung was ordered back to its previous position, because the enemy armoured fighting vehicles were beaten by that time. The 1.Kompanie relocated its positions to the hills directly southeast of Tilly-sur-Seulles, in order to cover the frontline towards the west that was expanded at the Regiment 902⁹ (on the western flank of the Abteilung).

Kurt Meyer in a portrait as a Standartenführer and Oakleaves holder. He succeeded Fritz Witt as “Hitlerjugend” division commander on 14 June 1944 (see Chapter 2 Footnote 5 and Chapter 8 Footnote 26). (Mark C. Yerger)

Kurt Meyer being presented his Oakleaves by Adolf Hitler (see Chapter 8 Footnote 26). (Mark C. Yerger)

The 4.Kompanie was ordered to cooperate with SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 26, and was in Marcelet.

The 2.Kompanie was ordered to cooperate with SS-Aufklärungsabteilung 12.

At the 4.Kompanie, a reconnaissance aircraft that had to carry out an emergency landing in between the enemy positions¹⁰, was destroyed by armour-piercing shells and its crew was killed by machine gun fire whilst crawling out of the plane.

Three Iron Crosses 1st Class and 30 Iron Crosses 2nd Class were awarded to soldiers of the Abteilung.

II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

No combat activity. The Kompanien remained in their securing positions. Heavy artillery and rocket-launcher harassing fire meant losses for the 5.Kompanie and the Stabskompanie.

In the evening heavy aircraft activity over the sector of the II.Abteilung. Here the quadruple-barrelled anti-aircraft guns of the II.Abteilung shot down the following aircraft:

• one Hurricane at 1858 hours

• one Thunderbolt at 2136 hours

• one Thunderbolt at 2156 hours

The commander instructed Obersturmführer Albert Gasch to re-establish the 7.Kompanie in Saussaye.

14 June 1944

I./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

At 1200 hours the Flak Zug of the Stabskompanie shot down a Thunderbolt¹¹ arriving over the positions with a thin streak of smoke; the aircraft crashed 3 km due south of Vendes. Confirmed by Oberleutnant Burckhardt (field post number 00954).

The 3.Kompanie handed three tanks over to the 1.Kompanie, three to the Stabskompanie (to the Aufklärungszug), and two to the 4.Kompanie. The officers, NCOs and the enlisted men of the 3.Kompanie were ordered back to Le Neubourg to fill up the ranks.

Otherwise the day was calm. Occasional artillery harassing fire and light aircraft activity.

Daily order of Oberstgruppenführer Dietrich: “Acknowledgements for the Korps for the defensive combat on the invasion frontline”.

II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

There was no close contact with the enemy today. Artillery fire strikes on positions in front of us and to our left. Unterscharführer Zschage was severely wounded by a shot, and was taken into hospital.

15 June 1944

I./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

During the day heavy fire strikes on the combat posts.

Around 1500 hours the 2.Kompanie knocked out a tank (its type could not be identified because only its turret was visible), which was blown up after a hit. Furthermore, six armoured personnel carriers were also destroyed. The 1.Kompanie, around 1900 hours, destroyed three armoured personnel carriers with their mounted infantry.

II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

There was no particular combat activity or other events during the day. The Kompanien remained in their securing positions. Heavy artillery harassing fire on both sides.

16 June 1944

I./SS-Panzer Regiment 12 (Bas des Forges):

From 0000 hours relocation of the Abteilung to its new quarters area at Bas des Forges, without any notable events. Before the relocation of the Abteilung command post heavy low-level air-raid by 15 aircraft. [Fontenay-le-Pesnel] was attacked with bombs and aircraft weapons. There were no battle casualties or material losses.

The new quarters area of the battalion was clear of artillery fire. Considerably lighter aircraft activity than on the previous day.

Around 1927 hours the Flak Zug shot down a Thunderbolt. At 2130 hours one further aircraft was shot down. Losses: one Kfz.1 and a truck due to deterioration.

II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

During the straightening of the frontline the armoured Kompanien followed the retreat of the Panzergrenadiers. Due to this position changes occurred regarding the middle Kompanien and the Abteilung command post.

From 0100 hours new command post 400 metres northeast of Rauray. The 6. and 5.Kompanien remained in their previous positions. The 8.Kompanie relocated its position to the previous battalion command post. The 9.Kompanie established positions at Mercelet and was ordered to cooperate with Einheit “Krause”.

From 1100 hours unusually heavy enemy bombardment of the positions abandoned yesterday. From the heavy bombardment we presumed the intention of the enemy to launch an attack.

The units of the II.Abteilung prepared to receive the attack and to carry out a possible repulse of it.

At 1945 hours the quadruple-barrelled anti-aircraft gun of the II.Abteilung shot down a Typhoon¹². In Appendix 4 we summarize the aircraft shot down by the Flak Zug of the II.Abteilung from the beginning of the mission.¹³ Schütze Stanieck (5.Kompanie) was wounded by a shell fragment.

17 June 1944

I./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

At 1100 hours a Typhoon was shot down at the Flak Zug. Otherwise, no notable events.

II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

Today, after heavy artillery preparation the enemy succeeded in breaking into the positions of SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 26 (Siebken’s unit¹⁴) north of the small wooded area of Park de Boislonde and controlling the latter.

At 1330 hours our Grenadiers launched a counterattack. The 8./SS-Panzer Regiment 12 controlled and supported this counterattack from the southwest.

1430 hours: in order to be able to provide further support for the counterattack, the 6./SS-Panzer Regiment 12 launched an attack from its securing positions at 1430 hours and reached the positions behind the slope southeast of Hill 102. We were not able to drive the enemy out of the Park de Boislonde. During this attack the armoured Kompanien achieved the following scores:

• The 6.Kompanie knocked out three Sherman and one Churchill tanks, five antitank guns

• The 8.Kompanie knocked out two Sherman tanks.

At 2330 hours withdrawal of both Kompanien: the 6.Kompanie to its departure positions 1 km north of Rauray, the 8.Kompanie to the positions 1.5 km northwest of Point no. 75¹⁵. Total loss of one tank per Kompanie:

• tank no. 645 at the 6.Kompanie

• tank no. 816 at the 8.Kompanie

Losses:

The quadruple-barrelled anti-aircraft gun of the Flak Zug of the II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12 succeeded in shooting down a Typhoon at 1130 hours. The victory was unambiguously confirmed by the crew of the quadruple-barrelled anti-aircraft gun of the Flak Zug.

18 June 1944

I./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

No notable events.

II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12:

Apart from the light artillery activity on both sides the morning of 18. 06. 1944 was spent without any notable events.

1235 hours: heavy fire strike by our artillery on the Park de Boislonde small wooded area. After the fire strike two armoured personnel carrier Kompanien¹⁶ launched an attack (on foot) with the tank support of the 6. and 8.Kompanien. We did not manage to control the small wooded area.

At 1335 hours the quadruple-barrelled anti-aircraft gun of Großedirkschmalz, attacking with the 6.Kompanie, shot down a British artillery observation aircraft (Auster IV). The aircraft crashed on Hill 102. Its two-man crew was killed.

1645 hours: another artillery fire strike on the small wooded area.

1700 hours: repeated infantry attacks with tank support against the Park de Boislonde. We failed again to control the small wooded area and to help the infantry get back to their previous positions with this attack. Our right flank succeeded in entering the small wooded area. Further advance was, however, repulsed by heavy preventive fire. During this combat the 6.Kompanie successfully knocked out 4 Shermans, despite heavy artillery fire. There were no losses on our side.

Oberscharführer Kastner was severely wounded by shell fragments. In the 6.Kompanie a number of tanks were damaged during the heavy artillery fire which need repairing at the workshop Kompanie.

Ammunition expenditure: 100 high explosive shells, 50 armour-piercing shells, 1,000 anti-aircraft rounds, 1,200 steel-core [machine-gun ammunition], 680 steel-core tracer [machine-gun ammunition], 450 submachine gun [ammunition], 36 pistol [ammunition]. Hand grenades: 2 Stielhandgranate, 20 egg hand grenades (Eierhandgranate), 18 smoke candles.

1 Hauptsturmführer Gerd Freiherr von Reitzenstein was the the Kompanie Chef of the 5.(schwere) Kompanie of SS-Panzer Aufklärungsabteilung 12. He had won the German Cross in Gold on 9 April 1943, as Kompanie Chef of the 7./Der Führer with „Das Reich“.

2 It is more likely that these soldiers were English-speaking Canadians.

3 Hauptsturmführer Hans Pfeiffer was Kompanie Chef of the 4./SS-Panzer Regiment 12. A prewar Zugführer of the Panzerspäh Zug of the “Leibstandarte,” he came to “Hitlerjugend” having served as Kompanie Chef of the 6./SS-Panzer Regiment 1.

4 These tanks were presumably vehicles of the Canadian 10th Armoured Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse). Squadrons B and C of the battalion-sized regiment were equipped with duplex drive (DD, amphibious) Shermans. Each tank platoon included one Sherman Firefly with increased firepower.

5 Sturmbannführer Bernhard Krause was commander of the I./SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 26 and won the German Cross in Gold for command of that Bataillon on 7 August 1944. He’d graduated with the first cadet class at Junkerschule Bad Tölz and became a Hauptsturmführer on 1 June 1940. Krause commanded the Flak Abteilung of the “Leibstandarte” when Russia was invaded and became a Sturmbannführer on 1 September 1941. Promoted to Obersturmbannführer on 1 September 1944, Krause won the Knight’s Cross for his command of SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 26 on 18 November 1944. He was killed commanding that regiment on 19 February 1945.

6 This tank was brought into service as the M3 Grant in the British Army. Only the version called “Canal Defence Light” was used in Normandy, which provided illumination of roads and targets during night raids with its high-performance searchlight. The type was deployed in the 11th, 42nd and 49th Royal Tank Regiment battalions of the British 79th Armoured Division.

7 On that day the battalion-sized 6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) of Canadian 2nd Armoured Brigade lost 34 (mainly duplex drive, that is, DD) Shermans and 3 Sherman Firefly tanks altogether in the battle against the Panzergrenadiers and Panzer Pioniers of the 12. SS-Panzer Division equipped with hand-held anti-tank rocket launchers (Panzerfäuste) and magnetic hollow charges, and against the Panzer IV tanks of the II./SS-Panzer Regiment 12. The Germans waited for the Canadians in ambush positions, after the upcoming attack was discovered by the radio reconnaissance of SS-Panzer-Nachrichten-Abteilung 12 with the help of a code book found in a Sherman knocked out on 09. 06. 1944.

8 Kubelwagen, the German equivalent of the US jeep utility vehicle.

9 Panzergrenadier-Lehr-Regiment 902 of the Panzer-Lehr-Division.

10 This was an Allied observation aircraft carrying out an emergency landing behind their own lines.

11 P-47 Thunderbolt, an American single-seat dual-purpose fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft.

12 Hawker Typhoon IB British single-seat fighter-bomber. Among the best Allied ground attack aircraft, its accurate rocket firing capabilities wrecked havoc on the German ground troops during the Normandy fighting.

13 Unfortunately this appendix was lost.

14 A member of the “Leibstandarte” since March 1933, Sturmbannführer Bernhard Siebken was commander of the II./SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 26 from late September 1943 and became an Obersturmbannführer on 20 June 1944. He took command of the Ersatz Brigade of the I.SS-Panzer Korps in December 1944 and won the Knight’s Cross as an Obersturmbannführer commanding SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 2 of the “Leibstandarte” on 17 April 1945. Siebken was hanged by the British in Hameln on 20 January 1949.

15 Point 57 is written in the original document, presumably because of a writing mistake.

16 Two SS-Panzergrenadier Kompanien equipped with armoured personnel carriers.