The report of the 212th Volksgrenadierdivision on the Battle of the Bulge is quite revealing. It clearly points out various shortcomings on the German side, but also details the strength of the US 4th Infantry Division. It gives many reasons beyond the "material superiority" trope, like tenacious defense, good inter-arms coordination, artillery, fire discipline and others.
Cover:
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1985-0104-501 / Lange / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en
Colorization by vonKickass
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»» SOURCES ««
Bundesarchiv: various
Pröhuber, Karl-Heinz: Volksgrenadier-Divisionen. Band 1: Zur Geschichte und den personellen/ökonomischen Rahmenbedingungen der im Westen 1944/45 eingesetzten Großverbände: eine Studie, Helios: Aachen, Germany, 2018.
Scherzer, Veit: Deutsche Truppen im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Band 1: Formationsgeschichte des Heeres und des Ersatzheeres 1939 bis 1945. Teilband 1 A., Scherzers Militaer-Verlag: Ranis / Jena, Germany, 2007.
Nash, Douglas E.: Victory was beyond their grasp: with the 272nd Volks-Grenadier Division from the Hürtgen forest to the heart of the Reich, Casemate: Philadelphia, USA, 2015.
Zaloga, Steven: Smashing Hitler’s Panzers: The Defeat of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division in the Battle of the Bulge, Stackpole Books: Guilford, Connecticut, USA, 2019.
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Volksgrenadierdivisionen/212VGD-R.htm
https://www.bayonetstrength.uk/GermanArmy/GerInfBn/OrgGerInfBn-headerpg.htm
00:00 Intro
00:33 Report & Combat Context
01:04 Volksgrenadier-Division
02:05 ID 44 vs Volksgrenadierdivision
06:36 212th Volksgrenadier-Division
07:28 Lack of Heavy Weapons
09:11 German Artillery & US Radios
09:40 Area of Attack too wide & US Defensive
11:00 US Artillery & Air Superiority
12:30 Lack of mobile Anti-Tank Weapons
13:51 US Capabilities beyond Material
14:59 Leadership & Equipment Issues
16:02 Summary
#battleofthebulge #ww2 #germanperspective #militaryarchives #volksgrenadier