The 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg" () was a German Waffen-SS armoured division 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 ...

. The division's first battles were in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

in April 1944. Afterwards, the unit was then transferred to the west, where it fought the Allies in France and at

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

. The division was moved to

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

, then fought south east of Berlin in the

Lusatia Lusatia (; ; ; ; ; ), otherwise known as Sorbia, is a region in Central Europe, formerly entirely in Germany and today territorially split between Germany and modern-day Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the eas ...

n area until the end of the war.

History

The division received the honor title "Frundsberg" after the 16th-century German commander

Georg von Frundsberg Georg von Frundsberg (24 September 1473 – 20 August 1528) was a German people, German military and Landsknecht leader in the service of the Holy Roman Empire and Imperial House of Habsburg. An Early modern period, early modern proponent of in ...

. The division was mainly formed from conscripts. It first saw action at

Tarnopol Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret (river), Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia (Central Europe ...

in April 1944 and later took part in the relief of the German troops cut off in the

Kamenets-Podolsky pocket Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...

. It was then sent to Normandy to counter the Allied landings, where, along with the SS Division Hohenstaufen, it took part in fighting against the Allied

Operation Epsom Operation Epsom, also known as the First Battle of the Odon, was a British offensive in the Second World War between 26 and 30 June 1944, during the Operation Overlord, Battle of Normandy. The offensive was intended to outflank and seize the ...

The division spent the rest of July defending against British attacks against Hill 112 and Hill 113, most notably during Operation Jupiter. A ridge, one kilometre west of Chêndollé, held by a batallion of the

Royal Norfolk Regiment The Royal Norfolk Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army until 1959. Its predecessor regiment was raised in 1685 as Henry Cornwall's Regiment of Foot. In 1751, it was numbered like most other British Army regiments and named ...

was attacked by the division on the 6th August, but repulsed by the self sacrifice of corporal Sydney Bates VC. In all, after two weeks of this fighting against the British during Operation Bluecoat and the Americans at Domfront the division was like many other units encircled at Falaise.

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

intended them to take part in the counterattack

Operation Lüttich Operation Lüttich (7–13 August 1944) was the codename of the Nazi German counter-attack during the Operation Overlord, which occurred near U.S. positions near Mortain, in northwestern France. ''Lüttich'' is the German name for the city of Li� ...

conducted by the II. SS-Panzerkorps on the 7th August but due to the confusion and chaos in the pocket, and the impression given to

Günther von Kluge Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge (30 October 1882 – 19 August 1944) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) during World War II who held commands on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, until his suicide in connection with ...

that the division was required to contain the British positions, the attack broke down. SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Regiment 21 struck towards St. Lambert but got repulsed. After that the planned attack of the Frundsberg was abandoned and they were ordered to break out between St. Lambert and Chambois. The division suffered heavy casualties and retreated into Belgium before being sent to be reconstituted near

, where it soon fought the Allied airborne troops during Operation Market Garden at

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

, in the Netherlands, when together with the 9th SS Panzer division it constituted the II SS Panzer Corps. The division however suffered heavy losses in the ensuing counter offensive against the Nijmegen salient in early October. After rebuilding, it fought in the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

in January 1945. It was then sent to the Eastern Front, where it fought against the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and then

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. Encircled in the Halbe Pocket, the division effected a breakout and retreated through Moritzburg, before reaching the area of

Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

in Czechoslovakia, where the division surrendered to the US Army at the end of the war.

Notable personnel

German writer and Nobel laureate

Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...

was trained as a tank crewman with the SS division at the age of 17 in November 1944. He was wounded in action on 25 April 1945 and captured in a hospital. He did not reveal until 2006 that he had been a member of the Waffen-SS.

Organisation

The organisation structure of this SS formation was as follows:GORDON WILLIAMSON: "The SS Hitler's Instrument of the power"; published by KAISER; appendix, page 244, "Schlachtordnung der Waffen-SS / Waffen-SS order of battle"; copyright 1994 by Brown Packaging Books Ltd., London.

Commanders

Area of operations

* France, (January 1943 – March 1944 on formation) * Eastern Front, Southern sector (March – April 1944) * Poland, (April – June 1944) * France, (June – September 1944) * Belgium & the Netherlands, (September – October 1944) * West Germany, (October 1944 – February 1945) * Northwest Germany, (February – March 1945) * East Germany and Czechoslovakia, (March – May 1945) * Surrender and disbandment

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg Panzer divisions of the Waffen-SS German units in Normandy Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1943 establishments in Germany 1945 disestablishments in Germany