Liebstandarte SS AH

1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler

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1st SS-Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
1. SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler.svg
Unit insignia
Active 9 November 1923
8 May 1945
Country
Nazi Germany
Allegiance
Adolf Hitler
Branch Flag Schutzstaffel.svg Waffen-SS
Type
Panzer
Role
Armoured warfare
Size
Division
Patron Adolf Hitler
Motto
Meine Ehre heit Treue
("My Honour is Loyalty")
Engagements
Saar/Rhineland Occupation 1935
Austrian Occupation 1938
Czechoslovak Occupation 1939
World War II:
Poland
France
Balkans
Eastern Front
Eastern Front Kharkiv 1943
Western Front 1943
Eastern Front Kursk 1943
Western Front 1944
Operation Lttich
Falaise pocket
Ardennes Offensive
Eastern Front 1945
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Oberstgruppenfhrer Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (15 August 1938
7 April 1943)
Brigadefhrer Theodor Wisch (7 April 1943 20 August 1944)
Brigadefhrer Wilhelm Mohnke (20 August 1944 6 February 1945)
Brigadefhrer Otto Kumm (6 February 1945 8 May 1945)
The 1st SS-Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (abbreviated as 1. SS-P
z.Div. LSSAH) began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard, responsible for guardi
ng the Fhrer's person, offices, and residences. Initially the size of a regiment
(brigade), the LSSAH eventually grew into an elite division-sized unit. The term
Leibstandarte was derived partly from Leibgarde
a somewhat archaic German trans
lation of "Garde du Corps" or personal bodyguard of a military leader ("Leib" =
lit. "body, torso")
and Standarte: the Schutzstaffel (SS) or Sturmabteilung (SA)
term for a regiment-sized unit.

The LSSAH independently participated in combat during the invasion of Poland, an

d was amalgamated into the Waffen-SS together with the SS-Verfgungstruppe (SS-VT)
and the combat units of the SS-Totenkopfverbnde (SS-TV) prior to Operation Barba
rossa in 1941. By the end of World War II it had been increased in size from a r
egiment to a Panzer division.
The Leibstandarte division's symbol was a skeleton key, in honour of its first c
ommander, Josef "Sepp" Dietrich (Dietrich is German for skeleton key or lock pic
k); it was retained and modified to later serve as the symbol for I SS Panzer Co
rps. The elite division, a component of the Waffen-SS, was found guilty of war c
rimes in the Nuremberg Trials. Members of the LSSAH participated in numerous atr
ocities. They killed at least an estimated 5,000 prisoners of war in the period
1940 1945, mostly on the Eastern Front.[1]
Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6

Early history (1923 1933)

Expansion
Invasion of Poland
Invasion of France
Brigade status Balkans
Operation Barbarossa
6.1 Kharkov
6.2 Fabrikaktion Operation
7 Kursk
8 Italy
9 Eastern Front
10 Western Front (Normandy)
10.1 Operation Goodwood
10.2 Operation Lttich
11 Ardennes Offensive
11.1 Wacht am Rhein
11.2 Malmedy massacre
11.3 Killing of Wereth 11
12 Eastern Front 1945
12.1 Armband order
12.2 Final days
13 Lineage of the unit
13.1 Notable members
14 See also
15 Notes
16 Citations
17 Bibliography
18 Further reading
19 External links

Early history (1923 1933)

In the earliest days of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), the leadership realized that a b
odyguard unit composed of zealous and reliable men was needed. Ernst Rhm formed a
guard formation from the 19.Granatwerfer-Kompanie; from this formation the Stur
mabteilung (SA) soon evolved. Adolf Hitler in early 1923, ordered the formation
of a small separate bodyguard dedicated to his service rather than "a suspect ma
ss" of the party, such as the SA.[2] Originally the unit was composed of only ei
ght men, commanded by Julius Schreck and Joseph Berchtold.[3] It was designated
the Stabswache (staff guard).[4] The Stabswache were issued unique badges, but a
t this point the Stabswache was still under overall SA control. Schreck resurrec
ted the use of the Totenkopf (death's head) as the unit's insignia, a symbol var
ious elite forces had used throughout the Prussian kingdom and the later German
Empire.

Later that year, the unit was renamed Stotrupp (Shock Troop) 'Hitler' and command
ed by Julius Schreck.[5] The unit never numbered more than 20 members.[6] On 9 N
ovember 1923 the Stotrupp, along with the SA and several other NSDAP paramilitary
units, took part in the abortive Beer Hall Putsch in Munich. In the aftermath o
f the putsch, Hitler was imprisoned and the NSDAP and all associated formations,
including the Stotrupp, were officially disbanded.
The second model of the LSSAH Standard
Shortly after his release from prison, violence remained a large part of Bavaria
politics.[7] Hitler was a potential target. In 1925, Hitler ordered the formati
on of a new bodyguard unit, the Schutzkommando (protection command).[8] The unit
was renamed the Sturmstaffel (assault squadron) shortly thereafter, and in Nove
mber was renamed the Schutzstaffel, abbreviated to SS.[8][9] By March 1933 the S
S had grown from a tiny personal bodyguard unit to a formation of over 50,000 me
n. The decision was made to form a new bodyguard unit, again called the Stabswac
he, using the most reliable SS men, mostly from the 1st SS Standarte operating o
ut of Munich to form its cadre.[10] By 1933 this unit was under the command of J
osef "Sepp" Dietrich who selected 117 men for the SS-Stabswache Berlin. Out of t
hese initial 117, three eventually became divisional commanders, at least eight
would become regimental commanders, fifteen became battalion commanders, and ove
r thirty became company commanders, all within the Waffen-SS.[11] Eleven men fro
m the first company of 117 went on to win the Knights Cross, and forty of them w
ere awarded the German Cross in gold for bravery.[12] Later in 1933, two further
training units were formed: SS-Sonderkommando Zossen, and a second unit, design
ated SS-Sonderkommando Jterbog.[13]
In September 1933 the two Sonderkommando merged into the SS-Sonderkommando Berli
n. In November 1933, on the 10th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch, the Sonder
kommando took part in the rally and memorial service at the Feldherrnhalle, erec
ted in the place where many NSDAP members had fallen during the putsch. All memb
ers of the Sonderkommando swore personal allegiance to Hitler. To conclude this
ceremony, the Sonderkommando received a new title, "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler"
(LAH).[14]
Expansion
A December 1935 parade for Adolf Hitler at the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Bar
racks. Sepp Dietrich is on the far right
On 13 April 1934, Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsfhrer-SS, ordered the Leibstandarte
Adolf Hitler (LAH) to be renamed "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" (LSSAH). Himml
er inserted the SS initials into the name to make it clear that the unit was ind
ependent from the SA or army.[14] In late June, the LSSAH was called into action
for the first time. Stabschef-SA Ernst Rhm continued to push for greater influen
ce for his already powerful SA. Hitler decided that the SA had to be eliminated
as an independent political force, and ordered Himmler and Hermann Gring to prepa
re their elite units, Himmler's Leibstandarte and Gring's Landespolizeigruppe Gen
eral Gring, for immediate action. The LSSAH formed two companies under the contro
l of Jrgen Wagner and Otto Reich, these formations were moved to Munich on 30 Jun
e.
Hitler ordered all SA leaders to attend a meeting at the Hanselbauer Hotel in Ba
d Wiessee, near Munich. Hitler joined Sepp Dietrich and a unit from the Leibstan
darte and travelled to Bad Wiessee to personally oversee Rhm's arrest on 30 June.
On 1 July Hitler finally agreed with Gring and Himmler that Rhm should be execute
d.[15] In what the Nazis called the Rhm Putsch, but otherwise came to be known as
the Night of the Long Knives, companies of the LSSAH, together with the Gestapo
and Gring's Landespolizeigruppe, performed Death Squad actions. At least 85, but
most likely no less than twice that number of people, were executed without tri
al over the next few days.[15][16]

This action succeeded in effectively decapitating the SA and removing Rhm's threa
t to Hitler's leadership. In recognition of their actions, both the LSSAH and th
e Landespolizeigruppe General Gring were expanded to regimental size and motorize
d. In addition, the SS became an independent organization, no longer part of the
SA.[17]
As the SS swelled with new recruits, the LSSAH represented the pinnacle of Hitle
r's Aryan ideal. Strict recruitment regulations meant that only those deemed suf
ficiently Aryan as well as being physically fit and National Socialists would be adm
itted.
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler barracks in Berlin, 1938
The LSSAH provided the honour guard at many of the Nuremberg Rallies, and in 193
5 took part in the reoccupation of the Saarland.[13] The Leibstandarte was in th
e vanguard of the march into Austria as part of the Anschluss, and in 1938 the u
nit took part in the occupation of the Sudetenland.[18] By 1939, the LSSAH was a
full infantry regiment with three infantry battalions, an artillery battalion,
and anti-tank, reconnaissance and engineer subunits.[18] Soon after its involvem
ent in the annexation of Bohemia and Moravia, the LSSAH was redesignated "Infant
erie-Regiment Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (mot.)". When Hitler ordered the for
mation of an SS division in mid-1939, the Leibstandarte was designated to form i
ts own unit, unlike the other Standarten of the SS-Verfgungstruppe (SS-VT) (SS-St
andarte Deutschland, SS-Standarte Germania, and SS-Standarte Der Fhrer).[19] The
Polish crisis of August 1939 put these plans on hold, and the LSSAH was ordered
to join XIII. Armeekorps, a part of Army Group South, which was preparing for th
e attack on Poland.
Invasion of Poland
During the initial stages of the Invasion of Poland, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf
Hitler was attached to the 17.Infanterie-Division[20] and tasked with providing
flank protection for the southern pincer. The regiment was involved in several b
attles against Polish cavalry brigades attempting to hit the flanks of the Germa
n advance. At Pabianice, a town near Ldz, the LSSAH fought off elements of the Po
lish 28th Infantry Division and the Wolynska Cavalry Brigade in close combat. Th
roughout the campaign, the unit was notorious for burning villages.[21]
After the success at Pabianice, the LSSAH was sent to the area near Warsaw and a
ttached to the 4.Panzer-Division under Generaloberst Georg-Hans Reinhardt. The u
nit saw action preventing encircled Polish units from escaping, and repelling se
veral desperate attempts by other Polish troops to break through. The LSSAH had
proved itself an effective fighting formation during the campaign, although seve
ral[who?] Heer (army) Generals had reservations about the high casualties which
the LSSAH and the SS-VT units had sustained in combat.[22] On 18 19 September at B
lonie near Warsaw, around 50 Jews were murdered by soldiers from the division.[2
3]
Invasion of France
In early 1940 the LSSAH was expanded into a full independent motorized infantry
regiment and a Sturmgeschtz (Assault Gun) battery was added to their establishmen
t.[19] The regiment was shifted to the Dutch border for the launch of Fall Gelb.
It was to form the vanguard of the ground advance into the Netherlands, tasked
with capturing a vital bridge over the IJssel, attacking the main line of defenc
e at the Grebbeberg (the Grebbeline), and linking up with the Fallschirmjger of G
eneraloberst Kurt Student's airborne forces, the 7.Flieger-Division and the 22.L
uftlande-Infanterie-Division.
Heinrich Himmler inspecting a Sturmgeschtz III of the 1st SS Division, Metz, Sept
ember 1940
Fall Gelb the invasion of France and the Low Countries was launched on 10 May 1940.
On that day, the LSSAH crossed the Dutch border,[19] covered over 75 kilometres

(47 mi), and secured a crossing over the IJssel near Zutphen after discovering t
hat their target bridge had been destroyed. Over the next four days, the LSSAH c
overed over 215 kilometres (134 mi), and earned itself dubious fame by accidenta
lly shooting at and seriously wounding Generaloberst Student at Rotterdam. After
the surrender of the Netherlands on 15 May, the regiment formed part of the res
erve for Army Group B.
After the British armoured counterattack at Arras, the LSSAH, along with the SSVerfgungs-Division, was moved to the front to hold the perimeter around Dunkirk a
nd reduce the size of the pocket containing the encircled British Expeditionary
Force and French forces. Near Wormhoudt, the LSSAH ignored Hitler's orders for t
he advance to halt and continued the attack, suppressing the British artillery p
ositions on the Wattenberg Heights. During this battle the regiment suffered hea
vy casualties.
After the attack, soldiers of LSSAH's II.Batallion, under the command of SS-Haup
tsturmfhrer Wilhelm Mohnke, were mistakenly informed that their divisional comman
der, Sepp Dietrich, had been killed in the fighting. In what is known as the Wor
mhoudt massacre, about 80 British POWs of 2nd Battalion of the Royal Warwickshir
e Regiment were murdered in retaliation for the supposed death of Dietrich. Alth
ough it is unarguable that the massacre occurred, Mohnke's level of involvement
is impossible to know, he was never brought to trial.[19]
Brigade status Balkans
Main article: Battle of Greece
After the conclusion of the Western campaign on 22 June 1940, the LSSAH spent si
x months in Metz (Moselle). It was expanded to brigade size (6,500 soldiers). De
spite this, it retained the designation 'regiment'.[citation needed] A 'Flak bat
talion' and a StuG Batterie were among the units added to the LSSAH. A new flag
was presented by Heinrich Himmler in September 1940.[24] During the later months
of 1940, the regiment trained in amphibious assaults on the Moselle River in pr
eparation for Operation Sealion, the invasion of England. After the Luftwaffe's
failure in the Battle of Britain and the cancellation of the planned invasion, t
he LSSAH was shifted to Bulgaria in February 1941 in preparation for Operation M
arita, part of the planned invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia.[25]
The operation was launched on 6 April 1941. The LSSAH was to follow the route of
the 9.Panzer-Division, part of General der Panzertruppen Georg Stumme's XL Panz
er Corps. The regiment crossed the border near Prilep and was soon deep in Greek
territory.
SdKfz 231 armoured cars of the LSSAH advance into the Balkans
The LSSAH captured Vevi on 10 April. SS-Sturmbannfhrer Kurt Meyer's reinforced Au
fklrungs-Abteilung (reconnaissance unit), LSSAH was tasked with clearing resistan
ce from the Kleisoura Pass south-west of Vevi and driving through to the Kastori
a area to cut off retreating Greek and British Commonwealth forces. Resistance f
rom the Greek 20th Division was fierce. According to some accounts, the SS were
inspired to capture the Kleisoura Pass only after Meyer threw a live grenade at
the feet of some of his soldiers.[citation needed]
SS-Sturmbannfhrer Fritz Witt's I.Batallion was tasked with clearing the Klidi Pas
s just south of Vevi, which was strongly defended by Australian, British and New
Zealand troops. Witt's battalion was reinforced and renamed Kampfgruppe "Witt".
An Australian artillery officer wrote of the Germans' "insolence" in driving "t
rucks down the main road to within 3,000 yards (2,700 m) of our infantry" and th
ere unloading the SS troops.[26]
The Germans were forced off the road and faced fierce resistance for more than t
wo days. On the morning of 12 April the Germans launched a frontal assault, and
by late afternoon the pass was cleared.

With the fall of the two passes the main line of resistance of the Greek Epirus
army was broken, and the campaign became a battle to prevent the escape of the e
nemy. On 20 April, following a pitched battle in the 5,000-foot (1,500 m)-high M
etsovon Pass in the Pindus Mountains, the commander of the Greek Epirus army sur
rendered the entire force to Dietrich. British Commonwealth troops were now the
only Allied forces remaining in Greece, and they were falling back across the Co
rinth Canal to the Peloponnesos. By 26 April the LSSAH had reached the Gulf of P
atras, and in an effort to cut off the retreating British Commonwealth forces, D
ietrich ordered that his regiment cross the Gulf and secure the town of Patras i
n the Peloponnesos. Since no transport vessels were available, the LSSAH command
eered fishing boats and successfully completed the crossing, but were forced to
leave much of their heavy equipment behind. By 30 April the last British Commonw
ealth troops had either been captured or escaped. The LSSAH occupied a position
of honour in the victory parade through Athens. After Operation Marita, the LSSA
H was ordered north to join the forces of Army Group South massing for the launc
h of Operation Barbarossa.[27]
Operation Barbarossa
Following Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler's outstanding performance during Marita,
Himmler ordered that it should be upgraded to divisional status.[27] The regime
nt, already the size of a reinforced brigade, was to be given motorized transpor
t and redesignated "SS-Division (mot.) Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler". It was mo
ved to Czechoslovakia in mid May for reorganization until being ordered to assem
ble in Poland[28] for Operation Barbarossa, as part of Gerd von Rundstedt's, Arm
y Group South. There was not enough time to deliver all its equipment and refit
it to full divisional status before the launch of the invasion of the Soviet Uni
on, so the new "division" remained the size of a reinforced brigade, even though
its expansion and development was of concern at the very highest ranks of comma
nd. Franz Halder, chief of the OKH General Staff noted on 20 June that "SS 'Adol
f Hitler' will not be ready in time. Tracked components leave on 22 June, others
not before 25 June," then more hopefully the next day; "Materiel position of SS
'Adolf Hitler' has improved, Div. may yet get ready in time."[29]
Despite Halder's hopes, LSSAH was held in reserve attached to XIV Panzer Corps[2
8] as part of Generalfeldmarschall Ewald von Kleist's 1st Panzer Group during th
e opening stages of the attack. Through July it was attached to III Panzer Corps
before finishing August as part of XLVIII Panzer Corps.[28] During this time, t
he LSSAH was involved in the Battle of Uman and the subsequent capture of Kiev.
The division was involved in heavy fighting, with Meyer's Abteilung particularly
distinguishing itself. According to a postwar account of a Waffen-SS journalist
, after finding the mutilated bodies of six dead divisional members who had been
previously captured and executed in Taganrog, the division murdered 4,000 Sovie
t prisoners in reprisal. For want of reliable evidence, the allegations remained
unproven.[30]
Wehrmacht horse drawn artillery and armoured cars of the LSSAH pass a burning So
viet village August 1941
In early September, the division was shifted to LIV Army Corps, as part of the 1
1th Army under Eugen Ritter von Schobert during the advance east after the fall
of Kiev. Hoping to capitalize on the collapse of the Red Army defense on the Dne
pr River the reconnaissance battalion of LSSAH was tasked with making a speedy a
dvance to capture the strategically vital choke point of the Perekop Isthmus thr
ough a "coup de main" but were rebuffed by entrenched defenders at the town of P
erekop.[31] That same day, 12 September, 11th Army's commander was killed in an
aircraft accident, and Hitler appointed Erich von Manstein to command. It took f
ive days for Manstein to take matters in hand, and the operation to clear the Cr
imean Peninsula was not launched until 17 September. Manstein deployed LSSAH to
create diversions while preparing for the main assault, intending to employ it t
o exploit an eventual breakthrough, but was forced to throw SS pioneers into the

attack on the "Tatar Ditch" in the face of a furious counterattacks and did not
break the Soviet defense for ten days.[31]
In October the LSSAH was transferred back north to help solidify the Axis line a
gainst fresh Soviet attacks against the Romanian 3rd Army[32] and later took par
t in the heavy fighting for the city of Rostov-on-Don, which was captured in lat
e November. During Operation Barbarossa, the division had penetrated 960 kilomet
res (600 mi) into Soviet territory.
Heavy Soviet counterattacks during the winter meant that Army Group South had to
fall back from Rostov to defensive lines on the river Mius. The LSSAH spent the
winter fighting ferocious defensive battles in temperatures of down to -40 C (-4
0 F),[citation needed] with minimal winter clothing and only 150 grams of rations
per man per day. Despite this, the division held. After the spring rasputitsa (
seasonal mud) had cleared, the exhausted division joined in Fall Blau, participa
ting in the fighting to retake Rostov-on-Don, which was recaptured in late July
1942. Severely understrength and completely exhausted, the LSSAH was pulled out
of the line. The division was ordered to the Normandy region of occupied France
to join the newly formed SS Panzer Corps and to be reformed as a Panzergrenadier
division.[33]
Kharkov
Sepp Dietrich in a medal ceremony for men of the LSSAH, Soviet Union 1942. Sepp
Dietrich with von Westernhagen, Wiesemann, Max Wnsche and Karl Rettlinger
The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler spent the remainder of 1942 refitting as a pan
zergrenadier division. Thanks to the efforts of Heinrich Himmler (Reichsfhrer-SS)
, along with SS-Obergruppenfhrer Paul Hausser, the SS Panzer Corps commander, the
three SS Panzergrenadier divisions (LSSAH), Das Reich and Totenkopf were to be
formed with a full regiment of tanks rather than only a Battalion. This meant th
at the SS Panzergrenadier divisions were full-strength Panzer divisions in all b
ut name. The division also received nine Tiger 1 tanks, and these were formed in
to the 13th (schwere) Company/1st SS Panzer Regiment.[33]
The collapse of the front around Stalingrad and the encirclement of the German S
ixth Army meant that the entire eastern front was close to collapse. General Fel
dmarschall Erich von Manstein, commander of Army Group Don, requested reinforcem
ents to halt the Soviet attack near Kharkov. The SS Panzer Corps was ordered eas
t to join Manstein's forces.[33]
Arriving at the front in late January 1943, the LSSAH was thrown into the line d
efending Kharkov itself as a part of Hausser's SS Panzer Corps.[33] On 8 9 Februar
y 1943, the LSSAH's 1st SS Panzergrenadier Regiment under SS-Sturmbannfhrer Fritz
Witt, fighting alongside SS-Sturmbannfhrer Max Wnsche's I/1st SS Panzer Regiment,
fought a bitter delaying action near the town of Merefa, halting a major Soviet
attack. The division fought in many desperate defensive battles over the next f
ew weeks, gradually being pushed back into the city of Kharkov itself.
Despite inflicting heavy losses on the Soviets, and repelling all enemy attacks,
the Soviets succeeded in outflanking the corps. On 15 February, Hausser disrega
rded Hitler's orders to hold the city at all costs and ordered the SS Panzer Cor
ps to abandon the city and withdraw towards Krasnograd. Over the next week, the
SS Panzer Corps annihilated Mobile Group Popov in a series of hard fought battle
s. The LSSAH was a major participant in these battles, destroying several Soviet
divisions and inflicting heavy losses.[citation needed]
Hausser now ordered that Kharkov be recaptured. The LSSAH, Das Reich and Totenko
pf were to form the spearhead of the attack. It got underway on 7 March. The LSS
AH was formed into three Kampfgruppen (battlegroups) which would attack towards
and capture Kharkov. Over nine days, the LSSAH would take part in the battles to
take the city. Kampfgruppe "Meyer", under Meyer's command, penetrated as far as

Red Square before being cut off. Kampfgruppe "Witt" saw heavy fighting against
a Soviet blocking force near Dergatschi before it also broke through into the ci
ty.
Fritz Witt, Kharkov March 1943
Both Kampfgruppen were repeatedly cut off during the confused fighting, and it w
as not until Kampfgruppe "Peiper", under Joachim Peiper, broke through that the
defenders were finally overwhelmed. By 17 March, the battle was over and Kharkov
was back in German hands, with Peiper's Kampfgruppe having penetrated as far as
Belgorod.
After recapturing Kharkov, soldiers of the LSSAH engaged in the murder of wounde
d Soviet soldiers that were located in the city's military hospital; several hun
dred perished. Additionally, per the Commissar Order, captured Soviet officers a
nd commissars were routinely executed.[34]
In honour of the 4,500 casualties suffered by the Leibstandarte in the fighting,
Kharkov's Red Square was renamed Platz der Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler by the
Germans.[citation needed] The division was pulled back for much needed rest and
refit. One major change in the LSSAH now occurred; their commander Sepp Dietric
h after ten years in command was promoted to form a new Corps, the 1st SS Panzer
Corps Leibstandarte and the LSSAH was to supply all the senior officers for the
new headquarters. At the same time a new SS division would be formed from membe
rs of the Hitler Youth and the LSSAH would supply all of the Regimental, Battali
on and most of the Company commanders. In time this new division would become th
e 12th SS Panzer Division (Hitlerjugend).[35]
Fabrikaktion Operation
Elements of LSSAH took part in Fabrikaktion "factory action" a/k/a/ Groaktion Jud
en "Major Action (on) Jews", an operation to capture remaining German Jews that
worked in the arms industry. Soldiers of the Leibstandarte helped the Gestapo ro
und up Jews in Berlin; people were taken from their jobs and herded in to cattle
wagons on 27 28 February 1943. Most of the captured perished either in Auschwitz
or other camps in the East.[36][37][38][page needed] Furthermore, the division w
as awarded stolen Jewish property. For example, in May 1943 it was to receive 50
0 men's watches taken from Jews. And, as with other Waffen-SS divisions, it rece
ived winter clothing that was confiscated from camps and ghettos in the East.[39
]
Kursk
The spring 'rasputitsa' halted offensive operations, giving the Leibstandarte SS
Adolf Hitler time to rest and refit. By early June 1943, the division had been
fully refitted and was now under the command of SS-Brigadefhrer, Theodor Wisch.[4
0] Its armour strength was 12 Tiger Is, 72 Panzer IVs, 16 Panzer III and Panzer
IIs, and 31 StuGs. In late June 1943, the formation of I SS Panzer Corps meant t
hat Hausser's SS Panzer Corps was renamed II SS Panzer Corps.[41]
The II SS Panzer Corps was moved north to Belgorod in preparation for the upcomi
ng summer offensive; Zitadelle. The LSSAH, along with the Totenkopf and Das Reic
h, was to form the spearhead of Generaloberst Hermann Hoth's 4th Panzer Army, ta
sked with breaching the southern flank of the Kursk salient. Generalfeldmarschal
l Walter Model's 9th Army was to breach the northern flank, and the two forces w
ere to meet near the city of Kursk, to the east, thereby encircling a large Sovi
et force.
The II SS Panzer Corps reached its assembly areas on 28 June and began preparing
for the assault. The attack was set for 5 July, and on the 4th, the II SS Panze
r Corps, as well as the XLVIII Panzer Corps on its left and the III Panzer Corps
on the right, began minor attacks to secure observation posts. Fighting lasted
throughout the day, with the LSSAH's Pioneer Battalion seeing heavy action clear

ing out the entrenched Soviets.

The LSSAH's panzers, advancing in Panzerkeils (wedges), soon ran into the Soviet
Pakfronts. The elaborate system of Soviet defences slowed the attack, but unlik
e in Model's sector, the 4th Panzer Army, spearheaded by the II SS Panzer Corps
and the LSSAH, was not halted, and eventually broke through.
By 9 July, the II SS Panzer Corps had advanced 48 km (30 mi) north, and were nea
ring the small town of Prokhorovka. The LSSAH again took the lead, by now its ar
mour strength was reduced to just 77 armoured vehicles. The 2nd SS Panzergrenadi
er Regiment, supported by several tanks, advanced straight up the road to Prokho
rovka against heavy resistance. By midday, the grenadiers had cleared the Komsom
olets State Farm and begun the attack on Hill 241.6, which they secured shortly
after nightfall on 10 July.
The next day the advance resumed, with the division capturing Oktiabr'skii State
Farm and Hill 252.2 in heavy fighting against Soviet Paratroops of the 9th Guar
ds Airborne Division. On 12 July, the Soviets threw the 5th Guards Tank Army int
o a counterattack near Prokhorovka. Two tank corps faced the LSSAH, hitting the
advancing Germans around Oktiabr'skii State Farm and Hill 252.2. In the ensuing
fighting, the outnumbered Germans inflicted heavy casualties on the Soviets, kno
cking out many tanks. In the process, the LSSAH also suffered relatively light c
asualties; however the Soviet counterattack had stalled the German advance, and
the division was forced to fall back to Oktiabr'skii. The Soviet 5th Guards Tank
Army lost 300 tanks destroyed and further 300 damaged on 12 July. Fighting cont
inued the next day, but the focus of the Soviet attack had then shifted to the T
otenkopf, on the left of the LSSAH.
Obersturmfhrer Werner Wolff (SS officer) of the LSSAH was awarded the Knight's Cr
oss of the Iron Cross while serving as Joachim Peiper's Adjutant in the Battle o
f Kursk.
With the Battle of Prokhorovka still in the balance, a massive Soviet counteroff
ensive near Orel caused Hitler to order the cessation of Citadel. The II SS Panz
er Corps was pulled back. The LSSAH was ordered out of the line; having suffered
2,753 casualties including 474 killed.[40] 11 tanks were also lost during Opera
tion Citadel. The division was thereafter sent to Italy to help stabilise the si
tuation there caused by the deposal of Benito Mussolini by the Badoglio governme
nt and the Allied invasion of Sicily which began on the night of 9 10 July 1943. T
he division left behind its armour and equipment, which was given to Das Reich a
nd Totenkopf.[42]
Italy
LSSAH Panzer IV Ausf. H in Milan, Italy, September 1943
The division travelled back to Innsbruck, Austria, where it was re-equipped with
vehicles. It continued across the Alps and into Northern Italy. The division ar
rived on the Po River Plain on 8 August 1943.
The Leibstandarte was given the task of guarding several vital road and rail jun
ctions in the area of Trento-Verona. After several weeks, the division was moved
to the Parma-Reggio area. During this period, the Leibstandarte was involved in
several skirmishes with partisans. With the Italian collapse of 8 September 194
3, the division was ordered to begin disarming nearby Italian units.[42] This we
nt smoothly, with the exception of brief, bloody fights with Italian troops stat
ioned in Parma, Cremona and Piacenza on 9 September. By 19 September, all Italia
n forces in the Po River Plain had been disarmed, but OKW (Oberkomando der Wehrm
act) (German Forces Supreme Headquarters), was concerned by reports that element
s of the Italian Fourth Army were regrouping in Piedmont, near the French border
. SS-Sturmbannfhrer Peiper's mechanised III/2nd SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment was
sent to disarm these units.[42] Upon arriving in the Province of Cuneo, Peiper w
as met by an Italian officer who warned that his forces would attack unless Peip

er's unit immediately vacated the province. After Peiper refused, the Italians f
orces attacked. Peiper's battalion defeated the Italians, and subsequently shell
ed and burnt down the village of Boves, killing 34 civilians.[43] The soldiers t
hen proceeded to disarm the remaining Italian forces in the area.
Following the disintegration and capitulation of Italy, the activities of partis
an groups increased all across the area. Soldiers from the Leibstandarte murdere
d 49 Jewish refugees near Lake Maggiore, who had fled there after the German tak
eover.[44] The murders happened between 15 and 24 September. Some of the victims
had their feet and hands tied and were drowned.[45]
The Leibstandarte was sent to the Istria Peninsula and was engaged in several ma
jor anti-partisan operations. During its period in Italy, the Leibstandarte was
reformed as a full panzer division, and redesignated 1st SS Panzer Division Leib
standarte SS Adolf Hitler.[42] In early November, the deteriorating situation in
the east meant that the division was ordered back to the Eastern Front, arrivin
g in the Zhitomir area in mid November.[42]
Eastern Front
SS-Standartenfhrer Joachim Peiper, commander of the 1st SS Panzer Regiment LSSAH.
He is shown here as an SS-Sturmbannfhrer.
The division was posted to XLVIII Panzer Corps, a part of 4th Panzer Army, which
was struggling to hold the line near Zhitomir. The division was broken up into
several Kampfgruppen and thrown into action.[46] On 18 November, Kampfgruppe Fre
y halted the advance of the Fifth Guards Tank Army near the town of Kotscherovo.
Over the next two months, the division's Kampfgruppen saw very heavy fighting i
n the Zhitomir area, performing 'fire-brigade' actions and enabling XLVIII Panze
r Corps to hold the line.
In January 1944, one of the Leibstandarte's 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion Tige
r commanders, Michael Wittmann, was awarded the Oakleaves to the Knight's Cross
of the Iron Cross for his actions in halting the attack of an entire Soviet armo
ured brigade. The division was transferred to the Cherkassy area at the end of J
anuary, where it was assigned to the III Panzer Corps; part of 1st Panzer Army.
When the 56,000 men of Gruppe Stemmermann were trapped in the Korsun Pocket in m
id to late January and early to mid-February 1944, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hi
tler, along with the remainder of III Panzer Corps and XLVII Panzer Corps were o
rdered to attempt to break the Soviet cordon and rescue the trapped forces. Hitl
er intervened, and ordered the relief attempt be transformed into an impossible
attempt to counter-encircle two Soviet fronts. The LSSAH, along with other panze
r units including Oberstleutnant Dr. Franz Bke's Schwere Panzer Regiment ''Bke'',
spearheaded the attack. Despite initial gains, the attack soon stalled due to a
combination of the resistance of four Soviet tank corps and the thick mud of the
'rasputitsa'. The exhausted Germans managed to reach the Gniloy Tikich River, w
here a small bridgehead was established. The survivors of the encirclement fough
t their way through to the bridgehead and by nightfall on 16 February the battle
was over.
The majority of the LSSAH which amounted to 41 officers and 1,188 men were withd
rawn to Belgium for rest and refit,[46] however a Kampfgruppe was left behind. O
n 25 March, the entire 1st Panzer Army was encircled in the Kamenets-Podolsky po
cket. One of the LSSAH's Kampfgruppen took part in the desperate fighting to esc
ape the encirclement, forming a part of the spearhead which linked up with the I
I SS Panzer Corps near Buczacz on 6 April. The shattered remnant of the Kampfgru
ppe was ordered to Belgium where it was to rest, refit and rejoin the rest of th
e division.[46] The new LSSAH Division was reformed in Belgium and was at full s
trength by 25 April.[47]
Western Front (Normandy)

It was transferred again as part of the I SS Panzer Corps which at this time con
sisted of the 101 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, Hitlerjugend, 17th SS Panzergrenadi
er Division Gtz von Berlichingen and the Panzer Lehr Division.[25] The LSSAH had
been positioned north of the River Seine to counter any possible landing in the
area of the Pas de Calais so the first units did not arrive in Normandy until af
ter the Allied invasion there on 6 June 1944; part of it arrived on the night of
27 28 June with the whole division taking another week.[48] By 4 July the I SS Pa
nzer Corps was reformed and now consisted of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstan
darte SS Adolf Hitler and the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend.[49] The firs
t action they were involved in was the defence of Carpiquet village and aerodrom
e in what was known to the Allies as Operation Windsor.[50] There then followed
a number of Allied attacks
Operations Charnwood and Jupiter. On 12 July the LSSA
H were in charge of the Caen south sector from Maltot in the west to the Caen
Fa
laise road in the east.[51] During the night of 14 15 July, LSSAH was relieved b
y the 272nd Infantry Division and pulled back to a concentration area astride th
e Caen Falaise road between Ifs and Cintheaux.[52]
Operation Goodwood
Main article: Operation Goodwood
The starting lines of Operation Spring, showing the layout of divisional and bat
talion forces for both sides
The Division strength prior to Goodwood was reported as 59 Panzer IVs, 46 Panthe
rs and 35 StuG IIIs.[53]
Operation Goodwood launched 18 July, involved three British armoured divisions,
with infantry support on their flanks. They were to swing through the gap betwee
n Caen and the eastern heights. There they would have to get across the hills at
Bourgubus and break through towards open ground. The operation was preceded by a
three-hour bombing assault by 2,500 aircraft.[54]
Immediately afterwards the British tanks came rumbling on and seized all their p
rimary objectives. II/1st SS Panzer Regiment, located by the woods near Garcelle
s, received orders to attack the British at Soliers. SS-Obersturmfhrer Malkomes d
rove in the direction of Bourgubus with his 13 Panthers and discovered 60 British
tanks south southeast of the town. He attacked them, destroying 20, and capture
d Soliers. Around 12:00 hours the Panther Battalion, I/1st SS Panzer regiment, w
as engaged in combat with the British 29th Armoured Brigade of the British 11th
Armoured Division. The body of the Leibstandarte was rushed to the front from Fa
laise, where it was being held in reserve. It counterattacked immediately at 17:
00, together with the 21st Panzer Division, and halted the British offensive on
the left front.[55]
At first, 19 July seemed to bring an end to Operation Goodwood, as only some ind
ividual tank assaults were carried out. But by 13:00 the British charged again,
having brought up reinforcements to continue the attack. They quickly overran th
e forward German units and pressed on hard, a wave of tanks spearheading the att
ack. But when the leading Sherman Fireflies and Cromwells approached Bourgubus Ri
dge at 16:00 hours, they came under fire and were blown up; the Panthers of the
Leibstandarte had taken up positions on the ridge itself. Around 15:00 hours the
first reinforcements of the 12th SS Panzer Division arrived, which relieved the
right flank. The Canadians attacked next in the Battle of Verrires Ridge and Ope
ration Spring (see map), where the LSSAH came up against a number of Allied divi
sions including the Guards Armoured Division, 7th Armoured, 2nd and 3rd Canadian
Divisions.[56]
Next for the LSSAH was Operation Spring, where the division and the Hitlerjugend
were pitted against the Black Watch and several units that were supporting them
.
Operation Lttich
Main article: Operation Lttich

On 25 July 1944, following six weeks of attritional warfare along a stalemated f

ront, American forces under General Omar Bradley succeeded in breaking through t
he German defences as part of Operation Cobra.[57] On 1 August, American forces
captured Avranches.[57] Simultaneously, General George Patton's Third United Sta
tes Army was activated.[58] With the capture of Avranches, American forces were
able to "turn the corner" of Normandy, pushing into Brittany and the coastal por
ts.[59] As a result, German defensive operations could no longer be anchored aga
inst the coast on both flanks.[57] By 4 August, seven divisions of the 3rd Army
had entered Brittany.[60]
With the American breakthrough, in spite of this costly victory, the Allied forc
es remained vastly superior in numbers. Five days later the Americans saw the ch
ance to break out of their beachhead. The weakened German defence could not keep
up with the savage battle of attrition as little or no reinforcements had arriv
ed, supplies were attacked from the air, and movement by day was made impossible
. Hitler forbade any retreat and, instead, ordered an assault to be made under t
he code name Operation Lttich. According to Hitler, three qualifications had to b
e met for the attack to proceed. "Von Kluge [Gnther von Kluge, the Supreme Comman
der West] must believe in it. He must be able to detach enough armour from the m
ain front in Normandy to create an effective striking force, and he must achieve
surprise".[61] For his counteroffensive, Von Kluge would have available the XLV
II Panzer Corps, consisting of the 2nd Panzer Division, part of the 1st SS Panze
r Division, the 2nd SS Panzer Division and the 116th Panzer Division.[62]
The XLVII Panzer Corps was supported by two infantry divisions and five battle g
roups, formed from the remnants of the Panzer-Lehr Division[63] and four equally
battered infantry divisions. Although Hitler promised more reinforcements, von
Kluge was sceptical of the chance of their arrival.[63] Aware of the increasing
number of American troops moving to his south creating the potential of being outf
lanked von Kluge elected to begin the offensive earlier than originally planned, w
ith the attack commencing at midnight on 6 August 1944.[63]
To avoid alerting American forces to the imminence of a German attack, Operation
Lttich would not use artillery bombardments to precede the attack.[57] The initi
al attacks, consisting of 300 tanks,[64] would hit the 30th Infantry Division ea
st of Mortain,[57] then cut through American defences to reach the coast. Had su
rprise been achieved, the attack would likely have succeeded.[57] However, Allie
d-decoders at Ultra had intercepted the codes for Operation Lttich by 4 August.[6
5] As a result, Bradley was able to obtain air support from both the US 9th Air
Force and the RAF.[66]
LSSAH, together with the other divisions went on the attack on 7 August after mo
ving to the assembly areas on 5 and 6 August. The 1st SS Panzer Regiment, along
with two Panzergrenadier Battalions, one Pionier Company and the division's Flak
Battalion, were used for the attack. The weather was not suited for flying that
morning, which only disadvantaged the Allies. The result was that the attack we
nt smoothly at first, despite the fact that the Allies knew the attack was comin
g. The 2nd SS Panzer Division managed to recapture Mortain, and an armoured Kamp
fgruppe under Joachim Peiper managed to get as far as Bourlopin, but was stopped
by massive Allied air power, and American counterattacks. Another attempt was m
ounted the next day to capture Avranches, but it failed.
German soldiers surrendering in St. Lambert on 19 August 1944.
A report from SS-Obersturmfhrer Preuss, 10th Company/2nd SS Panzergrenadier Regim
ent describes the impossible situation:
It is true that one fighter bomber we shot down landed on a Panzer and destr
oyed it. Most other Panzer and Schtzenpanzer, however, fell victim to this intens
ive air bombardment, which lasted hours. Those Grenadiers still able to fight ha

d spread themselves out to the left and right through the terrain's many hedges.
They were happy to see that the bombers swarming like bees over our heads were
finding more rewarding targets than individual men. I agreed with them. I heard
that Peiper had suffered a heart attack. Diefenthal [the commander of the III./2
nd] lost his hearing when a bomb fell right next to him. Kuhlmann was unable to
get the attack moving forward again. My brave messenger, Sturmmann Horst Reinick
en, was killed as he tried to reach the command post of the Heer Panzerabteilung
to which we were subordinated. He was trying to bring the Panzerabteilung the n
ews that its commander and Adjutant lay dead not far from our hedge.
This marked the end of the campaign in Normandy; the Leibstandarte was encircled
by the Americans and Canadians, supported by the 1st Polish Armoured Division,
in what would be called the Falaise pocket, but by then the formation was reduce
d to several small Kampfgruppen. Leibstandarte withdrew from the pocket with Unt
erfhrers and Fhrers each taking the lead of a small Kampfgruppe and smashing throu
gh the ring, on 22 August, after which no combat-ready tanks or artillery pieces
were reported. The whole campaign caused some 5,000 casualties to the LSSAH.[67
] During their retreat from France, members of the LSSAH and Hitlerjugend divisi
on murdered 34 French civilians in the towns of Tavaux and Plomion.[68]
Ardennes Offensive
Main article: Battle of the Bulge
Kampfgruppe Knittel's troops on the road to Stavelot to support Peiper
The Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944
25 January 1945) was a major German thr
ust launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes Mount
ains region of Belgium, France and Luxembourg on the Western Front. The offensiv
e was called Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein (Translated as Operation The Guard on th
e Rhine or Operation "Watch on the Rhine.") by the German armed forces. The 'bul
ge' was the initial incursion the Germans put into the Allies line of advance, as
seen in maps presented in contemporary newspapers.[69][page needed][a]
Wacht am Rhein
A preserved Tiger II tank left by the Kampfgruppe Peiper at La Gleize in Decembe
r 1944
Operation Wacht am Rhein was the final major offensive and Hitler's last gamble.
Wilhelm Mohnke, now in command of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, led his fo
rmation as the spearhead of the entire operation in the Ardennes. However, the d
ivision's high casualties had forced it to take in a large number of inexperienc
ed replacements to add to the core of battle-hardened and experienced veterans.
The crisis in the Reich meant that the LSSAH had dangerously low amounts of fuel
for its vehicles in the upcoming campaign. The operation began on 16 December 1
944, and Mohnke designated his best colonel, SS-Obersturmbannfhrer Joachim Peiper
to lead his regiment and the push to Antwerp. Peiper was later promoted to the
rank of Standartenfhrer in February 14, 1945.
In the north, the main armoured spearhead of the Sixth SS Panzer Army was Kampfg
ruppe "Peiper", consisting of 4,800 men and 600 vehicles of the 1st SS Division
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler under the command of Joachim Peiper. Its vehicles
included Panzer IVs (PzKw IV), Panzer IIs (PzKw II Ausf.H), Panther tanks (PzKw
V), Sturmgeschtz III (StuG III Ausf.G), Tiger I (PzKw VI) and Tiger II (Ausf. B).
Malmedy massacre
Main article: Malmedy massacre
A GI surveys the scene of the Malmedy massacre. The victims' bodies were preserv
ed under the snow until Allied forces recaptured the area in January 1945.
Bypassing the Elsenborn ridge, at 07:00 on 17 December, the unit seized a US fue
l depot at Bllingen, where it paused to refuel before continuing westward. At 12:
30, near the hamlet of Baugnez, on the height halfway between the town of Malmed
y and Ligneuville, Peiper's Kampfgruppe encountered a convoy of the 285th Field
Artillery Observation Battalion, US 7th Armoured Division.[70][71] After a brief

battle the Americans surrendered. Along with some other Americans captured earl
ier (127 men total), they were disarmed and sent to stand in a field near the cr
ossroads, where the Germans shot them en masse with machine guns and pistols.[72
] Of the 84 men killed, 41 were killed by a pistol shot to the head at close ran
ge and six were killed by having their skulls bashed in.[73] After feigning deat
h in the field for a couple of hours while the Germans moved among them shooting
survivors, a group of about 30 men escaped.[74] There is no record of an SS off
icer giving an execution order,[75] but such shootings of prisoners of war were
common by both the Germans and the Soviets on the Eastern Front.[76] Researchers
Michael Reynolds and Danny S. Parker believe that Peiper or one of his subordin
ates made the deliberate decision to kill the prisoners, as the Kampfgruppe was
under orders to proceed with maximum speed towards Meuse and could not spare the
manpower or the time to tend to prisoners of war.[77] News of the killings race
d through the Allied lines.[78] Captured SS soldiers who were part of Kampfgrupp
e Peiper were tried during the Malmedy massacre trial following the war for this
massacre and several others in the area. Many of the perpetrators were sentence
d to hang, but the sentences were commuted. Peiper himself was imprisoned for el
even years for his role in the killings.[77]
Memorial to the Wereth 11
Peiper entered Stavelot on 18 December but encountered fierce resistance from th
e American defenders. Unable to defeat them, he left a smaller support force in
town and headed for the bridge at Trois-Ponts with the bulk of his strength, but
by the time he reached it, retreating US engineers had already destroyed it. Pe
iper pulled off and headed for the village of La Gleize and from there on to Sto
umont. There, as Peiper approached, engineers blew up the bridge, the American t
roops were entrenched and ready. Peiper's men were cut off from the main German
force and supplies when the Americans recaptured the poorly defended Stavelot on
19 December. As their situation in Stoumont was becoming hopeless, Peiper decid
ed to pull back to La Gleize where he set up his defences, waiting for the Germa
n relief force. Since no such force was able to penetrate the Allied line, Peipe
r decided to break through back to the German lines on 23 December. The men of t
he Kampfgruppe were forced to abandon their vehicles and heavy equipment, althou
gh most of the men were able to escape.
With each passing day, enemy resistance stiffened and the advance was eventually
halted on all fronts. Desperate to keep the assault going, the German High Comm
and ordered that a renewed attack begin on 1 January 1945. Yet by this time, the
Allies had regrouped their forces and were ready to repulse any attack launched
by the Germans. The operation formally ended on 27 January 1945, and three days
later Mohnke was promoted to SS-Brigadefhrer. A short while later LSSAH and the
I SS Panzer Corps were transferred to Hungary to bolster the crumbling situation
there. Mohnke was wounded in an air raid where he suffered, among other things,
damage to his hearing.[79] He was removed from front-line service and put on th
e Fhrer reserve. In his place, SS-Brigadefhrer Otto Kumm was appointed the new Div
ision Commander as of 15 February 1945.[79]
Killing of Wereth 11
During Battle of the Bulge, soldiers from 3./SS-PzAA1 LSSAH captured eleven Afri
can-American soldiers from the 333rd Artillery Battalion in the hamlet of Wereth
. Subsequently the prisoners were shot and their remains found by Allied troops
two months later. The soldiers had their fingers cut off, legs broken, and at le
ast one was shot while trying to bandage a comrade's wounds.[80]
Eastern Front 1945
Main article: Operation Frhlingserwachen
16 March 1945) was the
Operation Spring Awaking (Frhlingserwachen) (6 March 1945
last major German offensive launched during World War II and was an offensive be
gun by the Germans in great secrecy on 6 March 1945. They launched attacks in Hu
ngary near the Lake Balaton area on the Eastern Front. This area included some o

f the last oil reserves still available to the Axis. The operation involved many
German units withdrawn from the failed Ardennes Offensive on the Western Front,
including the 6th SS Panzer Army and the LSSAH. Almost inevitably, Operation Sp
ring Awakening was a failure for the German Army. Despite early gains, the opera
tion was a perfect example of Hitler's increasingly poor military judgement towa
rd the end of the war. Its chief flaw was that the offensive was far too ambitio
us in scope.
After the failure of Operation Spring Awakening, Sepp Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer A
rmy retreated in stages to the Vienna area.[81] The Germans desperately prepared
defensive positions in an attempt to hold the city against the fast arriving So
viets, in what become known as the Vienna Offensive.
Armband order
This debacle is famous for the notorious rmelstreifen (Cuff Titles Order) or "arm
band order" which is said to have followed. The order was issued by Hitler to th
e commander of the 6th SS Panzer Army, Sepp Dietrich. It was issued when it was
evident that 6th SS Panzer and, more importantly, the LSSAH had failed him. Howe
ver, one must remember this so-called failure was in the face of numerically sup
erior forces of the Red Army. Hitler claimed that the troops "did not fight as t
he situation demanded."[81] As a mark of disgrace, the units involved were order
ed to remove their "Adolf Hitler" cuff titles (German: rmelstreifen). When Hitler
instructed Himmler to deliver the order personally, he equivocated and sent the
"armband order" via telegram instead.[82] In the field Sepp Dietrich was disgus
ted by Hitler's order. Dietrich told SS-Obersturmbannfhrer Maier that the armband
s "...would stay on." Further that the telegram would not be passed on to the tr
oops.[83] A myth arose that a pile of medals was returned in a chamber pot to Hi
tler, in the same manner as found in the Goethe play Gtz von Berlichingen. In fac
t, most organisational cuff titles had already been removed to help camouflage O
peration Spring Awakening; Heinz Guderian later wrote that the removal of unit c
uffs from the Leibstandarte, Totenkopf, Hohenstaufen, and the Das Reich Division
s was accomplished for security reasons.[84]
Final days
Part of the LSSAH ended its days fighting in Berlin. On 23 April 1945, Hitler ap
pointed Brigadefhrer Mohnke the commander for the central government district (Zi
tadelle sector) that included the Reich Chancellery and Fhrerbunker.[85] Mohnke's
command post was under the Reich Chancellery in the bunkers therein. He formed
Kampfgruppe Mohnke which was divided into two weak regiments made up of approxim
ately 2,000 men.[86] The core group of his fighting men were the 800 of the Leib
standarte Guard Battalion (assigned to guard the Fhrer).[87] After Hitler's suici
de, they received orders to break out. Prior to the attempt, Mohnke briefed all
commanders who could be reached within the Zitadelle sector about the events as
to Hitler's death and the planned breakout.[88] It started at 2300 hours on 1 Ma
y. It was a "fateful moment" for Mohnke as he left the Reich Chancellery for he
had been the first duty officer of the LSSAH at the building and was now leaving
as the last operational commander in the same place.[89] He led the first of te
n main groups and attempted to head northwest towards Mecklenburg.[89] Several v
ery small groups managed to reach the Americans at the Elbe's west bank, but mos
t, including Mohnke's group, could not get through the Soviet lines. Many were t
aken prisoner and some committed suicide. On 2 May hostilities officially ended
by order of Helmuth Weidling, Commandant of the Berlin Defence Area.[90]
After Vienna was captured, the bulk of the LSSAH division surrendered to US forc
es in the Steyr area on 8 May 1945.[91][92] The demarcation line between the Sov
iets and US troops was Enns. Therefore, the roads to Enns were jammed with civil
ians and soldiers as they hurried to get to the west before the 0100 hours deadl
ine on 9 May when the bridges over the river would be blocked. The men of the LS
SAH who made it west were marched off to different Prisoner of War camps. Most o
f the them went to those in the vicinity of Ebensee.[93]

Lineage of the unit

Stabswache (SA controlled)
1923
Stotrupp Adolf Hitler (SA controlled)
1923
Stabswache (not under SA control)
March 1933
SS-Stabswache Berlin 1933
SS-Sonderkommando Zossen
1933
SS-Sonderkommando Jterbog 1933
SS-Sonderkommando Berlin September 1933
Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler November 1933
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
April 1934
Infanterie-Regiment (mot.) Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler 1939
SS-Division (mot.) Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler 1941
SS-Panzergrenadier-Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
1943
1. SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler 1943[94]
Notable members
Bernhard Siebken
Balthasar Woll
Franz Schnhuber, Politician
Franz Staudegger
Heinrich Kling
Hugo Kraas
Joachim Peiper
Klaus Havenstein, actor
Kurt Gildisch
Kurt Meyer
Max Wnsche
Michael Wittmann
Otto Beisheim, industrialist
Otto Gnsche
Rochus Misch
Theodor Wisch
Werner Wolff (SS officer)
Wilhelm Mohnke
See also
101 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion
I SS Panzer Corps Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler
Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Order of Battle
List of German divisions in WWII
List of Knight's Cross Recipients 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hit
ler
List of SS personnel
SS Brigade Schuldt
Notes
This offensive has several other names, including the "Von Rundstedt Offensi
ve" (in reality, von Rundstedt had little to do with it) and, officially to the
US Army, the "Ardennes Alsace Campaign". Several historical works (notably David E
ggenberger s Encyclopedia of Battles) describe this battle as the "Second Battle o
f the Ardennes".
Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Forczyk" defined multiple times with differ
ent content
Citations

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Weale 2012, p. 16.
McNab 2009, p. 14.
McNab 2009, pp. 10, 16.
McNab 2009, p. 16.
Weale 2012, p. 26.
Lumsden 2002, p. 14.
Weale 2012, pp. 26 29.
Reynolds 1997, p. 3.
Reynolds 1997, p. 1.
Johnson 1999, p. 15.
Reynolds 1997, p. 2.
Cook & Bender 1994, pp. 17, 19.
Kershaw 2008, p. 309 314.
Evans 2005, p. 39.
Kershaw 2008, p. 316.
Reynolds 1997, p. 4.
Reynolds 1997, p. 6.
Butler 2001, p. 23.
Butler 2001, p. 45.
Reynolds 1997, p. 5.
Lemay & Heyward 2010, p. 86.
Stein 1984, p. 28, n.7: Ansprache des Reichsfhrers SS aus Anlass der bergabe der Fh
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Reynolds 1997, p. 7.
Australian Veterans Affairs.
Reynolds 1997, p. 8.
"German Captured Documents: NARA Inventory". Maparchive.ru. American Historical
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Forczyk, Robert (Sep 20, 2014). Where the Iron Crosses Grow: The Crimea 1941 44. O
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Meyer, Kurt (2005). Grenadiers: The Story of Waffen SS General Kurt "Panzer" Mey
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Ripley 2000, p. 73.
Reynolds 1997, pp. 10 11.
Friedman 2004, p. 173.
Strauss 1999a, p. 127.
Strauss 1999b.
Goldsworthy 2010, p. 137.
Reynolds 1997, p. 14.
Reynolds 1997, p. 10.
Reynolds 1997, p. 15.
Bishop & Williams 2003, p. 98.
Moseley 2004, p. 42.
Zuccotti 2007, p. 123.
Reynolds 1997, p. 16.
Reynolds 1997, p. 21.
Reynolds 1997, p. 131.
Reynolds 1997, p. 145.
Reynolds 1997, p. 148.
Reynolds 1997, p. 165.
Reynolds 1997, p. 166.
Reynolds 1997, p. 172.
Reynolds 1997, p. 174.
Reynolds 1997, p. 178.

Reynolds 1997, p. 192.

Van der Vat 2003, p. 163.
D'Este 1984, p. 408.
D'Este 1984, p. 409.
D'Este 1984, p. 410.
Lewin 1978, p. 38.
Van der Vat 2003, p. 164.
Memorial Mont-Ormel.
Fey 2003, p. 145.
D'Este 1984, p. 415.
D'Este 1984, p. 416.
Reynolds 1997, pp. 262 264.
Beevor 2010, p. 446.
Cole 1965.
Cole 1965, p. 75.
MacDonald 1984, p. [page needed].
Parker 2012, pp. 123, 271.
Parker 2012, p. 271.
Parker 2012, pp. 162, 173.
MacDonald 1984, p. [page needed].
Glantz & House 1995, p. 57.
Parker 2012, p. 278.
MacDonald 1984, p. [page needed].
Fischer 2008, p. 41.
U.S. Wereth Memorial.
Dollinger 1968, p. 199.
Ailsby 1998, pp. 174 175.
Tiemann 1998, p. 265.
Guderian 1952, p. 419.
Fischer 2008, p. 42.
Beevor 2002, p. 287.
Fischer 2008, pp. 42 43.
Fischer 2008, p. 49.
Tiemann 1998, p. 343.
Fischer 2008, pp. 49 50.
Windrow 1999, p. 11.
Stoves 1994, p. 208.
Tiemann 1998, pp. 351 361.
Tiemann 1998, p. 5.
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SBN 978-0-14-139012-3.
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on (6 Jun 44-15 Feb 45). France: Historical Division, Headquarters, United State
s Army, Europe, Foreign Military Studies Branch.
Walther, Herbert (1989). The 1st SS Armored Division: A Documentation in Wor
ds and Pictures. West Chester, Pa: Schiffer. ISBN 0-88740-165-1.
Weingartner, James J. (1974). Hitler's Guard: The Story of the Leibstandarte
SS Adolf Hitler, 1933 1945. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 0-8093-06824.
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