German Tank Lightning Squadron

The song "Mass" is the battle song of the German 1st Armored Division of the SS

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The predecessor of the division It was the "Berlin Guard" formed on March 17, 1933. At that time, Hitler personally selected 120 soldiers from the Munich Guard as his personal personal guards. At the Munich Congress in September of the same year, it was officially renamed "Adolf Hitler" SS. Dietrich was appointed leader. It grew to 3,700 people in 1939. In the blitzkrieg campaign against Poland, it launched an attack from the south with overwhelming momentum and invaded Warsaw at the end of September.

In 1940, the German army attacked Western Europe. Due to its high degree of mechanization, the division invaded 80 kilometers into the Netherlands in 6 hours. After the Netherlands surrendered, it was ordered to turn south to assist the German army on the French border. When France surrendered on June 24, it had already reached the Saint-Eifield area and was the fastest advancing German unit.

In preparation for the war against the Soviet Union, it was transferred to the Eastern Front in 1941, and during the battle in Southern Europe, it passed through Yugoslavia and Bulgaria at lightning speed, and invaded Greece, 3 days before Greece surrendered. , captured 16 divisions of Greek troops. After this battle, the unit was expanded into a mechanized infantry division, with a total of 10,796 officers and soldiers. Later, he was incorporated into Army Group South during the invasion of the Soviet Union. On June 22, 1941, he invaded the Soviet Union and cooperated with the "Viking" Division to assist the 11th and 17th Army in encircling three Soviet armies in Uman. Legion, as a result of the battle, more than 100,000 Soviet officers and soldiers were captured. Shortly after the Battle of Uman the division was reorganized into the Panzergrenadier Division.

After the Battle of Stalingrad, the German army lured the Soviet army to launch an offensive in Kharkov, and then committed the SS 1st Armored Division (the Adolf Hitler Division) to fight. As a result, the Soviet army lost 52 troops. Division- and brigade-level troops lost more than 20,000 soldiers and more than 600 tanks. This battle was Hitler's first victory after the defeat in Stalingrad. For this reason, Hitler was overjoyed: "The Waffen SS Panzer Corps is equivalent to 20 Italian divisions!

The following is the armor of the Waffen SS. The division began to equip a large number of newly developed "Tiger" and "Panther" tanks, and participated in the Kursk battle. Later, it was surrounded by the Soviet army in southern Ukraine and was severely damaged.

1944. On June 6, 2006, the Allied forces landed in Normandy. Although the division was ordered to block the Allied forces, it suffered heavy losses again due to the fierce Allied air attacks.

After the Battle of Normandy, Adolf Hitler. The division withdrew from Belgium to the Anhem (i.e.: Arnhem) area, where it participated in the famous Battle of Anhem (i.e.: Battle of the Market-Garden), which resulted in heavy losses to the British airborne troops. Subsequently, the division fought again in 1944. On December 16, 2011, he participated in the Battle of the Ardennes, which was fighting for the initiative on the Western Front. After the battle, Hitler quickly reorganized the severely damaged Waffen SS divisions and sent them to Hungary to rescue the German garrison in Budapest. This battle became the last battle for Adolf Hitler's division. The German army was exhausted under the strong pressure of the Soviet army and had to retreat after several defeats. Hitler was very angry about this and believed that his most beloved Waffen SS had betrayed him. , so they ordered the removal of their armbands at the end of March 1945, officially declaring Hitler's break with the Waffen SS. Later, the Adolf Hitler Division and other Waffen SS retreated to Austria, and finally surrendered to the US military in the Steyr area. , part of the rearguard was captured by the Soviet army.