The 102nd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion () was a

German heavy tank battalion A German heavy tank battalion ( was a battalion-sized World War II tank unit of the German Army during World War II, equipped with Tiger I, and later Tiger II, heavy tanks. Originally intended to fight on the offensive during breakthrough ope ...

of the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It fought as part of the

II SS Panzer Corps The II SS Panzer Corps was a German ''Waffen-SS'' armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. It was commanded by Paul Hausser during the Third Battle of Kharkov and the Battle of Kursk in 1943 and ...

during the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the N ...

and was nearly destroyed. Renumbered as 502nd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion in late 1944, the unit was destroyed in the

Halbe Pocket The Battle of Halbe (, Battle of the Halbe Pocket; , Halbe pocket) was a battle lasting from April 24 – May 1, 1945 in which the German Ninth Army—under the command of General Theodor Busse—was destroyed as a fighting force by the Red A ...

in Spring 1945.

Operational history

In April 1943, the

ordered the creation of a series of heavy tank battalions equipped with the new

Tiger I The Tiger I () was a Nazi Germany, German heavy tank of World War II that began operational duty in 1942 in North African Campaign, Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent German heavy tank battalion, heavy tank battalions. It g ...

tanks — for use in offensive actions on the Eastern Front. Each of the heavy tank battalions would be attached to a Corps of the Waffen SS. Upon formation, the 102nd was attached to the

. Originally, each heavy tank battalion was composed of a single company of Tiger I's, attached to each respective SS Panzer Division in the Panzerkorps.Fey, p. 19 By July 1943, the predecessor of the 102nd — SS Panzer Regiment 2 of the

SS Division Das Reich The 2nd SS Panzer Division ''Das Reich'' () or SS Division ''Das Reich'' was an armored division of the of Nazi Germany during World War II. Initially formed from regiments of the ''SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (SS-VT), ''Das Reich'' initially served ...

— was equipped with 14 Tiger I's. The battalion was sent to

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

after the Allied

D Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

landings. The battalion was almost completely destroyed during the fighting in Normandy; in September 1944 it was pulled back to Germany to reform. Stationed in

Sennelager Sennelager () is a village in Germany that forms part of the City of Paderborn. It is notable for its association with the military since the 19th century. Location Sennelager lies around 5 km north of Paderborn city centre in the west of t ...

the battalion was renumbered the 502nd Heavy SS Panzer Battalion on September 9, 1944.Schneider, Tigers in Combat II, p. 271 Equipped with

Tiger II The Tiger II was a Nazi Germany, German heavy tank of the World War II, Second World War. The final official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B, often shortened to Tiger B.Jentz and Doyle 1993, p. 16. The ordnance inve ...

tanks, the battalion took part in the defense against the Red Army at the Oder front. During the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...

, the battalion was encircled in the

in 1945 and destroyed.

Footnotes

References

* Fey, William

990 Year 990 ( CMXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Al-Mansur, Chancellor and effective ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (modern Portugal), expanding t ...

(2003). ''Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS''. Stackpole Books. * Ripley, Tim (2005). ''The Waffen-SS at War: Hitler's Praetorians 1925-1945''. Zenith Imprint. * Schneider, Wolfgang (2005). ''Tigers in Combat II''. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books.

External links

Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 102 unit history
{{Authority control German heavy tank battalions German units in Normandy Military units and formations established in 1943

102 102 may refer to: *102 (number), the number * AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD * 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India * 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal E ...

Military units and formations disestablished in 1945

Operational history

See also

Footnotes

References

External links