113th Panzer Brigade

113th Panzer Brigade 4 September - 1 October 1944 Nazi Germany Army Panzer Armoured warfare Brigade World War II Western Front Battle of Arracourt Erich Freiherr von Seckendorff The 113th Panzer Brigade was a tank formation of the 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 4 September 1944.Nafziger George Organization History of German Panzer Formations http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/CGSC/CARL/nafziger/939GXPZ.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20151122203402/http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/CGSC/CARL/nafziger/939GXPZ.pdf dead November 22, 2015 August 11, 2016 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. Assigned to the 5th Panzer Army,Cole 1997 192 it participated in the Battle of Arracourt, as the Germans attempted to stop the US Third Army's penetrations in Lorraine.Cole 1997 220-233 By that time, the brigade had 42 Panther tanks.Cole 1997 224 During the battle for Hill 318 at Arracourt, an ad-hoc Kampfgruppe was formed from the remnants of the 113th Panzer Brigade commanded by Oberstleutnant Erich Hammon.Zaloga Steven J. Panzergrenadier vs US Armored Infantryman : European Theater of Operations 1944. 2017 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Johnny Shumate 978-1-4728-1709-9 London 51 1021809537 The battle resulted in German defeat and the virtual destruction of the 113th Panzer Brigade,Cole 1997 233 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. Order of battle 2113th Panzer Battalion I/130th Panzer Regiment 2113th Panzer Grenadier Regiment 2113th Brigade Support Units 2113th Panzer Reconnaissance Company 2113th Flak Company 2113th Sturmgeschütz Battalion Citations References Books Hugh M. Cole Cole Hugh M. 1997 http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-6-1/index.html The Lorraine Campaign August 11, 2016 August 22, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170822122635/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-6-1/index.html dead Websites Nafziger George Organization History of German Panzer Formations http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/CGSC/CARL/nafziger/939GXPZ.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20151122203402/http://usacac.army.mil/cac2/CGSC/CARL/nafziger/939GXPZ.pdf dead November 22, 2015 August 11, 2016 Category:Armoured brigades of the German Army in World War II Category:Military units and formations established in 1944 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1944