The Real Windhund

116th Panzer Division - 'Der Windhund'

   This Unit history has been extracted from feldgrau.com.

Unit History

The 116 Panzer Division was formed in Rheine, Wehrkreis VI (HQ in Münster, comprised of Westphalia and the Rhineland, later incorporating the lower part of Belgium), on 28 March 1944 from remnants of the 16 Panzergrenadier Division. In May, the division also absorbed the 179 Panzer Division (Reserve) from Weimar (Wehrkreis IX), which had been deployed to the Laval area of western France in 1943. 

From late September through October 1944, the 116.Panzer Division was in Düsseldorf reforming and was refitted to a total strength of 11,500 men and 41 tanks. Returning to the Aachen area from reserve, assigned to Georg Keppler's I.SS-Panzer-Korps, the division made an unsuccessful attempt to stop the US XIX Corps on 10 October 1944 and subsequently withdrew before the city fell to the Allies on 21 October 1944.

In late October, the US 28th Infantry Division was holding Schmidt when Generalfeldmarschal Walter Model committed the 116.Panzer Division to recapturing the city. From 4 November to 8 November 1944 the division sustained a loss of only 15 tanks while successfully seizing Schmidt in what became known as the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest. The 116 Panzer Division was then sent to Cologne later in the month. 

 Assigned to 5. Panzer-Armee, LVIII.Panzer-Korps, the 116 Panzer Division began preperations for Operation WACHT AM RHEIN, subsequently renamed AUTUMN MIST, on 16 December 1944 when it was sent to the Ardennes assembly area. Enroute, the Greyhound Division had participated in the fighting which resulted in the St. Vith salient. Sweeping past the city to the south, St. Vith fell to the 5.Panzer-Army on 23 December 1944, creating the "Bulge". It then spearheaded the southern prong of the Ardennes offensive, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge, in December 1944, again suffering heavy casualties, and was withdrawn to Kleve, along the border with Holland/Netherlands, in January 1945.

The First Canadian Army and British XXX Corps commenced Operation VERITABLE on 8 February 1945, facing the division as it defended the damaged Roer River Dams and by 3 March 1945, the US Ninth Army had linked up with the British and Canadians, trapping the 116.Panzer Division inside the Wesel Pocket. On 5 March 1945, the division withdrew across the Rhine and destroyed the bridge behind it. Now part of the XLVII.Panzer-Korps, under General Blaskowitz's Armeegruppe "H", the division was ordered to halt the advance of the US 30th Infantry Division south of the Lippe River on 24 March 1945. Positioned near the Dutch-German border, the Greyhound Division's Panzergrenadier-Regiment 60 commenced its assualt the next day and by nightfall of 26 March 1945, the division had thwarted the US 30th Infantry Division's breakout attempts. By 28 March 1945, the division held Dorsten, but was outflanked when the British 6th Guards Armoured Brigade bypassed the city. By 4 April 1945, the division had been ordered to hold a new defense line facing north behind the Rhine-Herne Canal, in order to reinforce the north face of the Ruhr Valley. By 18 April 1945, all resistance in the Ruhr Pocket ceased, and the remnants of the division, along with their commanding officer, surrendered to the US Ninth Army.

History of the Windhund badge

 Adopted by the 16 Panzer Grenadier Division as their heraldic animal in 1943. This badge (Windhund-Abzeichen) depicts a greyhound (or 'Windhund' in German) running on the steppes of Russia.

As the story goes some Feldgendarmen (Field Police) brought back to divisional H.Q. a starving dog which they had found in the countryside, Generalmajor Gerhard Graf Von Schwerin who had been commanding the division since 13 November 1942 decided to adopt the animal, a greyhound, which from then on followed him everywhere. Christened "Sascha" by the ranks this hunting dog from the steppes came to symbolise for the men the memorable combats fought in Russia.  

The 16 Panzer Grenadier Division was renamed the 116th Panzer Division in 1944.

Divisional Motto and translation

Schnell wie ein Windhund, Zäh wie Leder, Hart wie Kruppstahl, Windhund Vor!

Quick like a greyhound, tough like leather, hard like Krupp steel, Greyhounds in front!

 

Commanding Officers  Generalmajor Gerhard Mϋller   (28 Mar 1944 - 30 Apr 1944) General der Panzertruppen Gerhard Graf von Schwerin   (1 May 1944 - 1 Sep 1944)  Generalmajor Heinrich Voigtsberger   (1 Sep 1944 - 14 Sep 1944)  Generalmajor Siegfried von Waldenburg   (14 Sep 1944 - Apr 1945)
Operations Officers (Ia) Oberstleutnant Kurt Braun   (28 Mar 1944-25 May 1944)  Major Heinz-Günther Guderian (25 May 1944-22 Aug 1944) (WIA) Major Lothar Wolf   (22 Aug 1944-15 Sep 1944) Major Friedrich-Ferdinand Prinz zu Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg   (15 Sep 1944-12 Nov 1944)  Oberstleutnant Heinz-Günther Guderian (12 Nov 1944-Apr 1945)
Some lesser known facts about the real 116 Panzer Division Hitler thought that its first commander, Generalleutnant Count (Graf) von Schwerin was “a splendid battlefield commander who unfortunately is not a National Socialist!” The 1st General Staff Officer of the 116th Panzer Division, Oberstleutnant Heinz Günther Guderian was the son of the more famous German General and the ‘father of Blitzkrieg’, Generaloberst Heinz Guderian. It wasn’t just Officers who were decorated with the Knights Cross; ordinary soldiers were also awarded them too! 2nd Kompanie, 60th Panzer Grenadier Regiment even had their own bearer of the Knights Cross in Feldwebel Georg Thumbeck. Initially the Division was mainly made up from men from the Rhineland-Westphalia regions of Germany. The 116th Panzer Division only fought on the Western Front from 1944 to 1945 although its predecessors the 16th Infantry Division (Motorised) and the 16th Panzer Grenadier Division did fight on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1944. Initially the Panther Battalion “Großdeutschland” was on the Divisional roster until receiving orders at the beginning of July 1944 to transfer to the Eastern Front. It did not see action as the 116th Panzer Division was not committed to the fighting front until the 19th July 1944. On the 7th June 1944, a divisional status report advised that 78 Panthers, 66 Panzer IV (long barrel 75’s) and 13 Panzer III (Specials) and Panzer IV (short barrel 75’s) were ready for deployment against the allied invasion forces. Additionally the Panzer Grenadier and reconnaissance battalions could field a further 154 armoured vehicles. The Division was only committed to the fighting in Normandy on the 19th July 1944, the day before the failed assassination attempt on Hitler. The 116th’s Panzers fought at the tip of the attacking wedge of the 2nd Panzer Division during the German counter-offensive at Mortain on the 6th August 1944. The Division often fought alongside SS Divisions and conducted combat with such great élan and courage that it is often mistakenly referred to as the 116th SS Panzer Division in some historical reference books! After the breakout from the Falaise Pocket in August 1944 the Division was left with only 600 men, 12 tanks and no artillery! The Division was reinforced with surplus Luftwaffe personnel after the losses sustained in France. These men were all specialists but with no combat training! Graf von Schwerin spared the city of Aachen from being destroyed by refusing Hitler’s command to fight to the ‘last man and last bullet’. He subsequently redeployed the Division to the north of the city. For this act of apparent treason, von Schwerin went into hiding and it was reported that the men of the recon squadron assigned to protect their commander were ‘itching to tangle’ with the men of the SS-Kommando assigned to arrest him. The memorial at Vossenack to the soldiers of the 116th Panzer Division lost in the Hürtgen Forest battles reads:….”Tote Soldaten sind niemals allein, denn immer werden treue kameraden bei ihnen sein” (“Dead soldiers are never alone, for loyal comrades will always remain with them”). Over 45000 soldiers served in this Division with over 8000 of  them losing their lives.

The Ardennes Offensive in December 1944, commonly known as the ‘Battle of the Bulge’, the 116th Panzer Division fought as part of General Manteuffel’s 5th Panzer Army, the furthest west the division pushed was Hotton, which is northwest of Bastogne.

After the Ardennes Offensive bled the Divisions Panzer Grenadier regiments white, Paratroopers fought within the framework of the Division and in some instances replaced it’s Panzer Grenadiers almost entirely!

JagdTigers of the 1st Company Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion 512 were assigned to the Division in early April 1945 and fought alongside the Divisions last remaining Panzers in the final battles in the Ruhr Cauldron.

The 116th Panzer Division finally capitulated to the armies of the Western powers on the 16th April 1945. The Division kept its shield of honour clean at all times and in every respect. Its achievements and conduct was also recognised and respected by the Allied Powers. 

Ritterkreuzträger (Knights Cross recipients)

Generalleutnant Sigfrid Henrici
Generalmajor Gerhard Graf v. Schwerin
Oberst Johannes Eisermann
Oberst Norbert Holm
Oberst Vial
Oberst Heinrich Voigtsberger
Oberstleutnant Otto Fischer
Major Helmut Bochning
Major Heinz Günther Guderian
Major Otto Lindner
Major Karl Torley
Major Hans Jungwirth
Major Eberhard Stephan
Hauptmann Robert Borchardt
Hauptmann Werner Kleinschmit
Hauptmann Walter Knoespel
Hauptmann Walter Köster
Hauptmann Eberhard Risse
Hauptmann Fritz Scherer
Oberleutnant Werner Georg Baumgarten-Crusius
Oberleutnant Oskar Kautz
Oberleutnant Günther Klapprich
Oberleutnant Helmut Zander
Leutnant Heinz Auert
Leutnant Herbert Käseberg
Leutnant Johann Lutz
Leutnant Hans-Joachim Weißflog
Stabsfeldwebel Heinrich Schulze
Oberfeldwebel Hans Bunzel
Oberfeldwebel Erhard Kunze
Oberfeldwebel Willi Tannenberger
Oberwachtmeister Hermann Wehking
Feldwebel Franz Bredemeyer
Feldwebel Fritz Muster
Unteroffizier Herbert Lindner
Unteroffizier Josef Vernhold
Obergefreiter Josef Kulot
Obergefreiter Georg Thumbeck
Gefreiter Herbert Stöckert

Nahkampfspange in Gold
(Close Combat Clasp in Gold recipients)

Hauptmann Hans Winter*
Oberleutnant Emil Reunert*
Leutnant Helmut Hellinger *
Feldwebel Ferdinand Steindreischer
Unteroffizier Paul Czarnetzki
Unteroffizier Bruno Domröse
Unteroffizier Johannes Kleinheider
Unteroffizier August Plesken*
Unteroffizier August Roth*
Unteroffizier Erwin Weckmann
Stabsgefreiter Alois Dornoff
Obergefreiter Hugo Schmitt

* (these soldiers also received the German Cross in Gold)

Apart from Guderian’s book – ‘From Normandy to the Ruhr’ – providing a definitive history of the Windhund finding any reference to the earlier incarnations of the division is very rare in history reference books apart from high level descriptions of their involvement in the overall scheme of things. So it was very refreshing to come across the following articles in a Time Life book called ‘The Road to Stalingrad’ which details specific mentions of the 16th Motorised Division and specific individuals mentioned in the Knights Cross honours list above. So as to pass this divisional history on I have included the extracts from the book below:

Reconnoitring boundless Russia

Every day, German tactical reconnaissance planes took to the skies to reconnoitre the vast and unfamiliar Russian landscape that swallowed up the invaders as they pushed forward.

Often the pilots brought back photographs revealing features that were not on German maps, and field commanders used the information to make last-minute changes to their attack plans that saved both times and lives. At the Laba River in the Caucasus, for example, the 16th Motorised Division stalled because no-one could find a way across. “Then,” recalled a veteran “we received the latest aerial photographs and there was a surprise! The photographs showed a new railroad bridge that did not appear on the map”. Units from this division were soon pouring over the newfound bridge.

Holding open the Don bridges at Rostov Jan/Feb 1943

As the danger of the German forces in the Caucasus being cut-off mounted, Hitler towards the end of December 1942, finally authorised Kleist and Army Group A to evacuate the Caucasus. But that would be a long process, the group’s main armoured force, the First Panzer Army, was at the Terek River, 400 miles southeast of Rostov. Somehow, Manstein, Hoth and the other German generals would have to hold Rostov and its sister city of Bataisk, both with key bridges across the lower Don, for several desperate weeks while Kliest’s troops escaped.

In the event, Russian fatigue turned out to be the Germans’ greatest ally. The Soviet Commanders were plagued by troop exhaustion and supply problems.. Try as they might, they could not drive the weary and battered units toward Rostov with sufficient speed. It was mid-January before the Soviet advance guards reached the Manych river, east of Rostov and established a string of bridgeheads from which to launch the final attack to block the German escape route. By then, Manstein had juggled his forces, giving Hoth added striking power: Balck’s 11th Panzer had come into the line, along with the 16th Motorised Division, another first-rate unit commanded by General Count Gerhard von Schwerin-Krosigk, who had been guarding the gap between Kleist’s Army Group A and the forces on the Don.

It was von Schwerin-Krosigk’s 16th Motorised Division that made the first saving attack on January 15th 1943. Having learned from papers found on a captured Soviet officer that the Russians were planning to cross the Manych at a village called Sporny, Schwerin-Krosigk pressed forward his panzer company and some motorised infantry along the north bank of the river. Within a few hours, these units had punched their way through the Soviets at Sporny, had taken the high ground in their rear and had attacked the village itself, knocking out a pair of T-34’s and four anti-tank guns. The 16th Motorised next captured the Sporny bridge and dashed downriver, along the southern back to smash another base the Russians had established at Somodurovka for their drive on Rostov.

That night a single German battalion (part of Infanterie-Regiment 60) under Lieutenant Klappich (see the honours list) dug in at Somodurovka and held the position long enough for Manstein to send General Balck’s 11th Panzer to stall the Russian advance. For his part in the action, Klappich earned the Oak Leaves for his Knight’s Cross.

Balck and Schwerin-Krosigk’s forces now turned to hit the main Russian bridgehead at Manychskaya, where the Manych flowed into the Don, a few miles west of Somodurovka and only about 25 miles from Rostov. After duping the Soviets into thinking that they were about to make a frontal assault on the north eastern part of the town, the Germans rolled into the southern part of Manychskaya and took the Soviet defenders from the rear. In this fierce encounter, only one German was killed and only 14 wounded with the Soviets losses amounting to 20 tanks and more than 600 men. Outfoxed by far smaller German forces – by late January the Soviet Second Guards Army had only 29 tanks left – the Russians pulled back to reorganise and resupply. The door from the Caucasus remained open at Rostov, and through it poured the columns of the First Panzer Army, which had, in a miraculous month-long retreat, managed to get perhaps 400,000 men out of the Caucasus. The last one, Lieutenant Klaus Kϋhne crossed the Rostov bridge on the night of February 7th 1943.