Cazenave, Stephane/Neuhaus, Stéphane Panzers Berlin 45

SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 "Hermann von Salza", schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 103/503 1943-1945

History of SS Panzer Division 11 Hermann von Salza and Heavy SS Panzer Division 103/503. This reference work describes in detail the history of SS Panzer Division 11 Hermann von Salza and Heavy SS Panzer Division 103/503 from their formation in mid-1943 to their final battles in Berlin in May 1945. The SS Panzer Division 11 was undoubtedly the worst equipped and most versatile tank battalion in the Waffen-SS. Initially deployed as infantry in early 1944, the battalion received a dozen defective Panther pre-production vehicles, then Sturmgeschütze III assault guns, and fought from Narva to Kurland until the end of 1944. After another restructuring, the new Sturmgeschütze III of SS Panzer Division 11 were deployed in Pomerania together with the heavy SS Panzer Division 503, which was finally equipped with Tiger II tanks, until they had to retreat to Berlin. The pictorial documentation of this work is based on numerous unpublished photographs, including several dozen from the original photo albums of Philipp Wild, one of only two tank soldiers in the unit to be awarded the prestigious Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The second recipient was the commander of SS Panzer Division 11, SS-Ostubaf. Paul Albert Kausch, a tank officer who led his unit from its formation until the end of 1945 in Berlin. The unpublished reports of tank soldiers from both battalions make it possible to gain as accurate a picture as possible of the history of these men. The exceptional documentation makes this work a reference work on two relatively unknown and little-documented units.