A highly illustrated account of SS Panzer Regiment Totenkopf from 1943
to 1945, based on veteran memoirs.
The 3rd SS Panzer Regiment was part of the Totenkopf Division--one of
the 38 Waffen-SS divisions active during World War II. Notorious for its
brutality, most notably a mass execution of British prisoners in the
battle of France, "Totenkopf" had a fearsome reputation. The 3rd SS
Panzer Regiment was formed in France in late 1942, and transferred to
the Eastern Front in early 1943 where it fought for the rest of the
war.
The regiment participated in a number of battles, and would be reduced
and rebuilt a number of times. The panzers of 3rd SS Panzer Regiment
fought at Kharkov, took part in Operation Citadel, fought in the battle
of Krivoi Rog, and the relief of the Korsun Pocket. The regiment then
retreated over the Dniester. They fought in Poland against the Russian
advance, before being moved to Hungary where they participated in the
attempt to relieve Budapest. They eventually surrendered in
Czechoslovakia to the 11th US Armored Division.
This Casemate Illustrated tells the story of the 3rd SS Panzer Regiment
through the words of the veterans themselves, illustrated with a wealth
of contemporary photographs, original documents and artifacts. Among the
veterans whose accounts are included are Walter Weber, a member of a
tank crew in 5. Kompanie who recounts their optimism and high spirits at
the start of Operation Citadel as the Germans made initial advances,
followed by retreat as winter set in and the Russians began to push them
back. Unterscharführer Stettner recalls the fierce tank battles and the
difficulties advancing across minefields and evading an often
well-concealed foe. Corporal Fritz Edelmann records the attempts to
relieve Budapest in 1945 that Totenkopf took part in, which ended in
encirclement, defeat and surrender to the Americans on May 9, 1945.
