PANZERS BERLIN 1945

History of SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 "Hermann von Salza"
and the schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 103/503
This reference work provides a detailed history of SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 "Hermann von Salza" and the schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 103/503, from their creation in mid-1943 to the final battles in Berlin in May 1945. SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 was undoubtedly the least well-equipped and most eclectic panzer battalion in the Waffen-SS. First engaged as infantry in early 1944, the battalion recovered a dozen defective pre-production Panthers and then Sturmgeschütze IIIs and fought from Narva to Courland at the end of 1944. After a new reconstitution, the new Sturmgeschütze IIIs of the SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11 were deployed with the schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 503, finally equipped (!) with Tiger IIs in Pomerania until the retreat to Berlin. The exceptional iconography of this work is based on numerous unpublished photographs, including several dozen from the original photo albums of Philipp Wild, one of only two tankers in the unit to have been decorated with the prestigious Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The second decorated was the commander of the SS-Panzer-Abteilung 11, the SS-Ostubaf. Paul Albert Kausch, a distinguished Panzer officer who remained at the head of his unit from its creation until its end in Berlin 1945. The previously unpublished testimonies of tankers from both battalions allow us to get as close as possible to the real-life stories of these men. The exceptional documentation gathered makes this work a reference on two relatively unknown and little-documented units. For all specialists in German armored units engaged from 1944 to 1945 and military history enthusiasts!