PANZERS BERLIN 1945 - SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 / SS-Panzer-Abteilung 103/503

Histories of SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 « Hermann von Salza » and schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 103/503

This reference work recounts in detail the histories of the SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 « Hermann von Salza » and the schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 103/503 from their formation in mid-1943 to the final battles in Berlin in May 1945.

The SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 was arguably the least well-equipped and most eclectic panzer battalion in the Waffen-SS. Initially committed as infantry in early 1944, the battalion recovered a dozen defective pre-production Panthers followed by Sturmgeschütze III and fought from Narva to Courland in late 1944. After another reconstitution, the new Sturmgeschütze III of SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 were deployed alongside the schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 503 — finally equipped (!) with Tiger IIs — in Pomerania, before the retreat to Berlin.

The exceptional iconography of this work draws on numerous previously unpublished photographs, including several dozen from the original photo albums of Philipp Wild, one of only two tankmen in the unit to have been awarded the prestigious Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The second recipient was the commanding officer of SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11, SS-Ostubaf. Paul Albert Kausch, a distinguished panzer officer who remained at the head of his unit from its formation to its final stand in Berlin 1945.

Previously unpublished testimonies from tankmen of both battalions bring us as close as possible to the lived experience of these men. The exceptional documentation assembled makes this work a definitive reference on two relatively little-known and poorly documented units. Essential for all specialists of German armoured units engaged from 1944 to 1945 and military history enthusiasts!