16030 GERMAN GRENADIER "FELDHERNNHALLE"

Panzergrenadier is a German term for a formation of panzer grenadiers, i.e. infantry units trained to fight in close cooperation with their own tanks. This term was officially used in 1942, when infantry divisions were renamed grenadier divisions and motorized infantry divisions into panzer grenadier divisions. It is worth adding that in the years 1937-1942, the Schützen Regiment was used to describe the infantry regiments serving in armored units. Theoretically, the basic equipment of armored grenadier divisions was to be armored half-tracked transporters, especially Sd.Kfz.251, but due to insufficient production, these infantry were often transported by trucks. As a standard, an armored grenadier division consisted of three infantry regiments, two battalions in each regiment and numerous support units, including anti-tank, anti-aircraft, sapper and communication units. Self-propelled guns, such as the StuG III, were often used in these formations. It is worth adding that the armored grenadier divisions were formed not only in the Wehrmacht, but also in the Waffen SS - for example the Totenkopf Division or the Hohenstaufen Division.Panzer Grenadier Division Feldherrnhalle (Ger. Panzer-Grenadier-Division Feldherrnhalle ) was formed in May 1943 in southern France. The unit was created primarily from the remnants of the 60th Infantry Division, which was almost completely destroyed during the fighting on the Eastern Front. Already in the fall of 1943, the division found its way to the Eastern Front, where it remained until the summer of 1944, fighting, among others, on the Narva, near Vitebsk and Orsza. During the operation, Bagration suffered significant losses and was therefore transferred to Hungary to replenish personnel and equipment. In November, the division was transformed into the Feldherrnhalle Armored Division, which fought with the Red Army in Hungary from November 1944 to February 1945. It did break out of the encircled Budapest, but it was smashed before it broke into the German lines. The division was recreated in Slovakia in March 1945. The unit finally capitulated east of Prague.