1944
Grossdeutschland's Retreat - 1944.
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Großdeutschland continued fighting in the area of Krivoi-Rog early in January 1944 until it was transferred west for rest and refit. During this period, 1./Panzer Regiment 26 (Panther) joined the Panzer Regiment GD, and GD's I. Bataillon moved to France to refit and train with the new tanks; they did not rejoin the Division until after the Normandy invasion.
Over the next months, the division continued moving from crisis-point to crisis-point across the front. Panzer Regiment Großdeutschland saw action in the battles to relieve the Cherkassy pocket in late January 1944 while the rest of the division was involved in heavy fighting from the Dniester to Northern Bessarabia. On 4 March 1944 the First, Second and Third Ukrainian Fronts launched a major attack on the north, central and southern flanks of Army Group South, and GD moved to Kirovgrad, bolstering weak parts of the line until withdrawn to Rovnoye to the southwest. On 16 March the division began the move to the Dniester River, and by the end of March had entered Romania.
In April 1944, GD. as a part of LVII.Panzerkorps. fought defensive battles near Iaşi, including the First Battle of Târgu Frumos, slowly retreating to Târgul Frumos in Moldavia. Fighting in the region raged for over a month. A renewed Soviet offensive began on 2 May, aimed at breaking through GD and onto the Romanian oil fields. The defensive action at the Second Battle of Târgu Frumos was the focus of several NATO studies during the Cold War.
In mid May, the infantry and reconnaissance components of the division were equipped with armored personnel carriers (Schützenpanzerwagen) and other armoured vehicles. The Füsilier regiments were downsized from four battalions to three. The division was then sent back to the front, where it was involved in the fighting around Podul Iloaiei. After a brief rest in early July, the division was again committed to heavy fighting in northern Romania.
In late July, the division was transferred to East Prussia. Over the next months, Großdeutschland was involved in heavy fighting in both East Prussia, including a successful counter-attack on Wilkowischken and the Baltic States, suffering immense casualties in both men and materiel. The division was virtually annihilated during the battles in the Memel bridgehead.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer-Grenadier-Division_Gro%C3%9FdeutschlandIII. Battalion (joined Division August 1943)
* Battalion Headquarters
* Headquarters Company - signals platoon, scout platoon (motorcycles), pioneer platoon (2 x SPW, 4 trucks), flak platoon with 4 x quadruple guns, reconnaissance platoon with 7 x SPW
o 9. Company - 14 Tigers
o 10. Company -14 Tigers
o 11. Company - 14 Tigers
http://panzer-grenadier-division-gro-deutschland.co.tv/
