2ndϟϟ Panzer Division Das Reich
The SS Division Das Reich (germ. 2.SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich) was a Waffen-SS division during World War II. It is considered to be an elite formation amongst the thirty-eight divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS.
It served during the invasion of France and took part in several major battles on the Eastern Front particularly in the Battle of Prokhorovka against the 5th Guards Tank Army at the titanic Battle of Kursk. Afterwards, it was transferred to the West and took part in the fighting in Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge, ending the war with the last, desperate fighting in Hungary and Austria.
The symbol for the Das Reich division was the wolf's hook or Wolfsangel rune. As a whole, the Waffen-SS was found guilty of war crimes in the Nuremberg tribunal, with Das Reich itself being notorious for the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre.
When ordered to the Normandy battle front, Das Reich was delayed by fifteen days through a concerted programme of sabotage organised by SOE and the French Resistance. This delay was critical to the success of the D-Day advance.
After the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France, Das Reich was committed to stop the Allied advance, and took part in the attempts to stop the Allies near Caen and Saint-Lô alongside the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend and the elite Panzer-Lehr-Division. Das Reich panzer commander Ernst Barkmann became famous for the creation of Barkmann's Corner, where he destroyed numerous American tanks in small skirmishes. The Division recaptured Mortain, but was forced to retreat when it became apparent the Allies were going to encircle the Division along with a large number of other German units in the Falaise pocket. Thanks to the efforts of Das Reich along with the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen, a large number of German forces were able to escape the pocket and retreat to the east.
An armored SdKfz 251 half-track of the 2.SS-Panzer division "Das Reich" and the corpse of a German soldier near Mortain 1944.Pulled back across the Seine River and then behind the West Wall fortifications in Germany, the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich. took part in the operations to punch through the Ardennes Forest to reclaim the port of Antwerp on 16 December 1944. Coming within 23 miles (37 km) of the River Meuse, the Division was halted at Manhay on 25 December, and then slowly smashed by fierce Allied counter-attacks.
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