Taken from Ziemke's "Stalingrad to Berlin", on Gen.Fd.Marshal Walter Model's trandfer from OBd AGNorth to AGSouth, taking over from v.Manstein: On 28 March (1944) Hitler's chief adjutant, Schmundt, called on Model to tell him that in a few days Hitler would name him to replace Manstein as Commanding General, Army Group South. For Model the news came at an inconvenient moment. He had just completed a situation estimate in which he said that the army group "might" be able to give two divisions to Army Group South after the front settled down. Hastily he reworked the estimate and in the altered draft reached the conclusion that Army Group North could give up five diviXsions and a corps staff immediately, and the 12th Panzer Division as soon as two self-propelled assault gun brigades and a batXtalion of tanks could be sent to replace it. On the 29th he went to the Fuehrer headquarters. Still officially the Commanding General, Army Group North, he attempted to use his authority to raid the army group for the benefit of his new command. In what Zeitzler later described as "unimaginable goings on" Model first told Hitler that the army group could give up five divisions and then raised the number to six. In a telegram to Army Group North headquarters he stated that the Fuehrer had ordered the six divisions transferred. By telephone he gave the chief of staff half an hour in which to report that the order was being carried out. Finally, Zeitzler was forced to intervene and instruct the army group not to act on any of Model's orders. On 31 March, with Model safely installed as Commanding General, Army Group South, Zeitzler persuaded Hitler to reduce the proposed transfers to one division and that only in the near future. The next day, after the air had a chance to clear, Hitler agreed. What a SOB !
Yeah, Good thread Za. I recall Model using his influence with Hitler to wrangle some of Army Group Centre's Armored Formations for his own Army Groups use thus robbing them of some much needed firepower before Operation Bagration, what a team player.
I dont have the book in front of me but what transpired was that Model suggested to Hitler the idea for a limited offensive to pinch out a salient (Kursk anyone??) and of course Hitler being the eternal offensive proponent willingly sanctioned the transfer of 2 Panzer Divisions. Busch the commander of Army Group Center was such a Hitler pawn that he did so willingly.
Some quibbling:at the moment of Citadelle,the AGC commander was von Kluge,due to an automobile accident in the winter of 1943-1944,he wa replaced by Busch. :from what I know,the driving force behind Citadelle was Zeitzler.
Za, Samuel Mitcham in his book, German defeat in the East 1944-45 says that Model pinched LVI Panzer Corps, later to be commanded by Weidling in Berlin, from Busch and that Busch handed it over to him without so much as a quibble even over the protests of his Army Group Commanders, he quotes Ziemke in this paragraph. Have you come across this yet?
No, "I" am still in Novgorod Has it thawed yet?? On a more serious note, Mitcham makes this quote about the Soviet Army's preparations for Bagration: The Soviet deployment showed real tactical sophistication and showed how far the Red Army had come since 1941. Security and March discipline were very tight, and logistical arrangements were brilliant. By Mid-June Operation Bagration involved 38 per cent of all rifle divisions in the Soviet Army, 40% of all its tank and mechanised units, and 47 per cent of all its aircraft. Although it was not possible to completely hide a build up of this magnitude, no-one on the German side realised how massive a superiority they had achieved by June 22 1944, when the attack began. You will note that we arent talking about Hitler here, No-one on the German side was quite prepared for what was about to happen.
Mind you, Mitcham quotes Ziemke who states that under Busch, Headquarters Army Group Centre had become a mindless instrument for transmitting the Fuehrer's will .
No surprises there, with all the germanocentric history of WW2 that abounds it's difficult to look avoid the "faceless Oriental hordes" syndromes. Great strides have been made after the Iron Curtain fell, but not everyone has to be aware of everything. Here is an interesting article on this subject.
Za, Samuel Mitcham in his book, German defeat in the East 1944-45 says that Model pinched LVI Panzer Corps, later to be commanded by Weidling in Berlin, from Busch and that Busch handed it over to him without so much as a quibble even over the protests of his Army Group Commanders, he quotes Ziemke in this paragraph. Have you come across this yet? The following are from the Dupuy Institute: on 15 june 1944 the German PzD in the East were distributed as following: AGSU: 3 + 13 PZ:reserve of the 6th Army 23 + 14 Pz :8th Army 24,3SS +GD :4th Army AGNU: 1,7,8,17:1st PzA 4 +5 Pz:4th PzA 16,9SS,10SS:reserve of AGNU(9+10 SS were sent to France) 20 Pz:under the direct disposal of OKH in the rear of AGNU AGN:12Pz (as reserve of AGN) On 15 june,20Pz was ordered to go to AGC,on 19 june,5Pz was to follow,but its transfer was postponed . From the same source: Tank status of the Ostheer on 31 mayperational/in repair/assigned or en route AGSU: Pz:186/87/138 StuG:194/62/278 AGNU: Pz:830/133/229 StuG:480/70/185 AGC: Pz:85/14/37 StuG:404/76/68 AGN: Pz:91/53/30 StuG:241/53/69 Total:Pz:1192/287/434 :StuG:1319/261/680
I have found the following (on Wiki) about 56 PK in june 1944riginally it was part of AGC,on 12 july (since when ?) it was part of the 4th PA,belonging to AGNU,where it was engaged in the Soviet Lvov-Sandomierz offensive,but,it had NO PzD!,only the 4 following ID. 26,243,1 Ski Jager,and 253 (the last is unceertain).
