The SS Brigade Westfalen also known as SS Ersatz Brigade Westfalen was an ad hoc unit composed of the men of the military training commands of the

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

area and the

507th Heavy Panzer Battalion 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

. The unit was committed into battle in March 1945 in an unsuccessful attempt to stop American troops from encircling

Army Group B Army Group B () was the name of four distinct German Army Group, army group commands that saw action during World War II. The first Army Group B was created on 12 October 1939 (from the former Army Group North) and fought in the Battle of France ...

in the Ruhr Pocket.

History

The brigade was formed on 29 March 1945 from training staff and other personnel at Sennelager Training Grounds north of

. The unit consisted of two improvised infantry regiments that were named after their commanders. Regiment "Meyer" consisted of three battalions: SS Panzer Reconnaissance Training and Replacement Battalion 1, SS Panzer Reconnaissance Training and Replacement Battalion 2, and an SS Panzer Reconnaissance NCO Training Battalion. Regiment "Holzer" was named after its commander Obersturmbannführer Friedrich Holzer and consisted of the SS Panzer Training and Replacement Regiment in

Augustdorf Augustdorf is a municipality in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the ...

, which consists of three battalions. The 507th Heavy Panzer Battalion was the brigade's main armor component. The brigade had about 60

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

and

Panther tank The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated Pz.Kpfw. V) with Sonderkraftfahrzeug, ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used in most European theatre of ...

s as of 30 March 1945 according to

Charles B. MacDonald Charles Blair Macdonald (November 14, 1855 – April 21, 1939) was a major figure in early American golf. He built the first 18-hole course in the United States, was a driving force in the founding of the United States Golf Association, won the ...

. However, according to

Steven Zaloga Steven Joseph Zaloga (born February 1, 1952) is an American author and defense consultant. He received a bachelor's degree ''cum laude'' at Union College and a master's degree at Columbia University, both in history. He has published many book ...

, the brigade instead had 15 old training tanks such as

Panzer III The ''Panzerkampfwagen III (Pz.Kpfw. III)'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Nazi Germany, Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was List of Sd.K ...

, 21

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 ...

and three

Jagdpanther The (German: "hunting Panther"), Sd.Kfz. 173, was a tank destroyer (, a self-propelled anti-tank gun) built by Germany during World War II. The combined the 8.8 cm Pak 43 anti-tank gun, similar to the main gun of the Tiger II, with the armor ...

s available by the end of March. The brigade was first engaged on 30 March against elements of US 3rd Armored Division, trying to defend the way to

, until forced to relinquish the town by 1 April, falling back with possibly as many as forty tanks and

assault gun An assault gun (from , , meaning "assault gun") is a type of armored infantry support vehicle and self-propelled artillery, mounting an infantry support gun on a protected self-propelled chassis, intended for providing infantry with heavy di ...

s still fit for action. The remnants of the brigade then engaged the US 3rd Armored Division on the way to the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

Footnotes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:SS Brigade Westfalen Waffen-SS brigades Military units and formations established in 1945 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945