113th Panzer Brigade

113th Panzer Brigade
Active 4 September - 1 October 1944
Country  Nazi Germany
Allegiance Wehrmacht
Branch Heer
Type Panzer
Role Armoured warfare
Size Brigade
Engagements

World War II

Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Erich Freiherr von Seckendorff

The 113th Panzer Brigade was a tank formation of the Wehrmacht Heer (German Army) in World War II. As a tank formation, it was part of the Panzer Arm (Panzerwaffe).

History

The 113th Panzer Brigade was formed on September 4, 1944.[1]

Unlike earlier Panzer Brigades, it was equipped with two battalions of Panzer IV and Panther tanks, with two mechanized panzergrenadier battalions, instead of one battalion each. On paper, it was a strong formation. However, it lacked sufficient supporting units such as reconnaissance, artillery and engineers, which made a Panzer Division a lethal combination of armor and infantry. On 6 September the brigade was sent to Colmar and on 16 September sent to Saarburg.[1] Assigned to the 5th Panzer Army,[2] it participated in the Battle of Arracourt, as the Germans attempted to stop the US Third Army's penetrations in Lorraine.[3] By that time, the brigade had 42 Panther tanks.[4] The battle resulted in German defeat and the virtual destruction of the 113th Panzer Brigade,[5] leaving its commander, Oberst Erich Freiherr von Seckendorff dead in the battle as well.

On 1 October 1944, the 113th Panzer Brigade was disbanded and its shattered remnants was assigned to the 15th Panzergrenadier Division.[1]

Order of Battle

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 Nafziger, George. "Organization History of German Panzer Formations" (PDF). Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  2. ↑ Cole 1997, p. 192.
  3. ↑ Cole 1997, pp. 220-233.
  4. ↑ Cole 1997, p. 224.
  5. ↑ Cole 1997, p. 233.

References

Books
Websites
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