The 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion (German: schwere Panzerabteilung 503; abbreviated: "s.Pz.Abt. 503") was a German heavy PanzerAbteilung (independent battalion-sized unit) equipped with Tiger I and Panzer III tanks. In 1944, it was re-equipped with the new Tiger II. The battalion saw action on the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. As with other German heavy tank battalions, it was normally not assigned to a single corps, but shuffled around according to war circumstances. Later the battalion became part of the newly formed Panzer Corps Feldherrnhalle as the Feldherrnhalle Heavy Tank Battalion.
The unit was created on May 4, 1942. The unit consisted of 45 Tiger Is on May 10, 1943. In the aftermath of the Battle of Stalingrad, the battalion was deployed to Army Group Don and arrived at the front on January 1, 1943. The battalion, along with several divisions of the 4th Panzer Army, was tasked with securing the withdrawal of Army Group A; it then retreated to Rostov. On February 11, 1943, the unit was transferred to Kharkov. It took part in the Third Battle of Kharkov and the Operation Citadel in 1943. Four days before the start of Citadel, the battalion reported that 42 of their 45 Tiger tanks were operational. The unit lost three Tigers during the operation and five more during the subsequent retreat.
In January 1944, the battalion, together with a panzer regiment and infantry units, formed Panzer Regiment Bäke. The regiment was part of the relief force, which tried to unsuccessfully break through to encircled forces in the Battle of the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket. The battalion was then trapped in the Kamenets-Podolsky pocket. In late April 1944, the regiment was dissolved and sent West for refitting and equipped with 45 new Tiger IIs.
In Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, the unit was transferred to the command of 5th Panzer Army. On the launch of Operation Goodwood, the 3rd company, which was based in Cagny, Calvados, was destroyed in the preliminary Allied bombing, with impacts powerful enough to turn a 56-ton Tiger upside down. Only one Tiger was operational at the end of the day. During the first day of Goodwood, the unit reported the loss of thirteen tanks.
July 1944 at Château Canteloup, Panzer VI (Tiger II, Königstiger) of the 503rd battalion.
At the end of July, the 3rd company received new Tiger II tanks, which were subsequently destroyed in the Allied aerial attacks, with only two brought back to Germany. In October 1944, the refitted 503rd took part in the Battle of Debrecen. In early-November, the battalion provided a mobile reserve for the 6th Army (Wehrmacht), re-designated as Army Group Hermann Balck. By mid-December, the German forces had been pushed back to Budapest. In January 1945, the unit took part in several failed attempts to relieve Budapest, code-named Operation Konrad. Though the 17-24 of February, the 503rd took part in one of the last successful German offensives of the war, Operation Südwind (G:Southwind).
Lochmann, Franz Wilhelm (2009). Erinnerungen an die Tiger-Abteilung 503: die schwere Panzerabteilung 503 an den Brennpunkten der Front in Ost und West [Memories of the Tiger Department 503: the heavy Tank Battalion 503 at the focal points of the Eastern and Western Front] (in German). Flechsig. ISBN978-3-88189-779-2.
External linksedit
Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 503 unit history
April 26, 2024
503rd, heavy, panzer, battalion, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, j. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message The 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion German schwere Panzerabteilung 503 abbreviated s Pz Abt 503 was a German heavy Panzer Abteilung independent battalion sized unit equipped with Tiger I and Panzer III tanks In 1944 it was re equipped with the new Tiger II The battalion saw action on the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II As with other German heavy tank battalions it was normally not assigned to a single corps but shuffled around according to war circumstances Later the battalion became part of the newly formed Panzer Corps Feldherrnhalle as the Feldherrnhalle Heavy Tank Battalion 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalionschwere Panzerabteilung 503 s PzAbt 503 Active4 May 1942 8 May 1945Country GermanyBranchGerman HeerTypePanzerRoleArmoured warfareSizeBattalion up to 45 tanksPart ofWehrmachtEquipmentTiger I 1942 1945 Tiger II 1944 1945 EngagementsEastern Front Third Battle of Kharkov Battle of Kursk Korsun Shevchenkovsky Offensive Siege of Budapest Operation Southwind Western Front Operation Overlord Operation GoodwoodInsigniaIdentificationsymbol Contents 1 World War II 2 Commanders 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Bibliography 5 External linksWorld War II editThe unit was created on May 4 1942 The unit consisted of 45 Tiger Is on May 10 1943 In the aftermath of the Battle of Stalingrad the battalion was deployed to Army Group Don and arrived at the front on January 1 1943 The battalion along with several divisions of the 4th Panzer Army was tasked with securing the withdrawal of Army Group A it then retreated to Rostov On February 11 1943 the unit was transferred to Kharkov It took part in the Third Battle of Kharkov and the Operation Citadel in 1943 Four days before the start of Citadel the battalion reported that 42 of their 45 Tiger tanks were operational The unit lost three Tigers during the operation and five more during the subsequent retreat In January 1944 the battalion together with a panzer regiment and infantry units formed Panzer Regiment Bake The regiment was part of the relief force which tried to unsuccessfully break through to encircled forces in the Battle of the Korsun Cherkassy Pocket The battalion was then trapped in the Kamenets Podolsky pocket In late April 1944 the regiment was dissolved and sent West for refitting and equipped with 45 new Tiger IIs nbsp A Tiger I of the 503rd battalion overturned at Manneville by the bombing during Operation Goodwood In Operation Overlord the invasion of Normandy on June 6 1944 the unit was transferred to the command of 5th Panzer Army On the launch of Operation Goodwood the 3rd company which was based in Cagny Calvados was destroyed in the preliminary Allied bombing with impacts powerful enough to turn a 56 ton Tiger upside down Only one Tiger was operational at the end of the day During the first day of Goodwood the unit reported the loss of thirteen tanks nbsp July 1944 at Chateau Canteloup Panzer VI Tiger II Konigstiger of the 503rd battalion At the end of July the 3rd company received new Tiger II tanks which were subsequently destroyed in the Allied aerial attacks with only two brought back to Germany In October 1944 the refitted 503rd took part in the Battle of Debrecen In early November the battalion provided a mobile reserve for the 6th Army Wehrmacht re designated as Army Group Hermann Balck By mid December the German forces had been pushed back to Budapest In January 1945 the unit took part in several failed attempts to relieve Budapest code named Operation Konrad Though the 17 24 of February the 503rd took part in one of the last successful German offensives of the war Operation Sudwind G Southwind Commanders edit Post May 1942 28 January 1943 Erich Hoheisel 28 January 1943 May 1943 Clemens Heinrich Graf von Kageneck July 1943 30 January 1944 Rolf Fromme February 1944 December 1944 Nordwin von Diest Korber December 1944 February 1945 See also editGerman heavy tank battalion Organisation of a SS Panzer Division Panzer divisionReferences editBibliography edit Lochmann Franz Wilhelm 2009 Erinnerungen an die Tiger Abteilung 503 die schwere Panzerabteilung 503 an den Brennpunkten der Front in Ost und West Memories of the Tiger Department 503 the heavy Tank Battalion 503 at the focal points of the Eastern and Western Front in German Flechsig ISBN 978 3 88189 779 2 External links editSchwere Panzer Abteilung 503 unit history Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion amp oldid 1204997790, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
