The Panzerjäger-Abteilung 39 (part of "Kampfgruppe Gräf", from the 21. Panzer Division) of the Afrika Korps on the move. Panzerjäger ( German "tank-hunters" are German Armoured fighting vehicles of the Second World War. Abteilung (shortened Abt) is a German language word often used when referring to German or Swiss military formations (although the Germans use The 21st Panzer Division was a German Armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941 - 1943 during The German Afrikakorps ( German: Deutsches Afrikakorps DAK) was the original German blocking force (Sperrverband = Armored Blocking Force in Libya The vehicles are a SdKfz 231 8-rad and motorcycle sidecar combination

In military history and military slang, the German term Kampfgruppe (pl. The term Schwerer Panzerspähwagen (Heavy armored reconnaissance vehicle covers the 6 and 8 wheel armoured cars Germany Military history is a Humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity Military slang, or informal military terms, is a set of colloquial terms used commonly by military personnel &mdash often as abbreviations or derivations of The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Kampfgruppen; abbrev. KG) can refer to a flexible combat formation of any kind, but most usually to that employed by the German army and its allies during World War II and, to a lesser extent, in World War I. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Tripartite Treaty (1906 also refers to a 1906 treaty concerning the Nile river (see Hydropolitics in the Nile Basin. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

Nature

The Kampfgruppe was an ad-hoc combined arms formation, usually employing combination of tanks, infantry, anti-tank weapons and artillery components, generally organised for a particular task or operation. A tank is a tracked, Armoured fighting vehicle designed for Front-line combat which combines Operational mobility and tactical The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists Anti-tank refers to any method of combating military Armored fighting vehicles notably Tanks The most common anti-tank systems Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine ^[1] A Kampfgruppe could range in size from a corps to a company , but the most common was an Abteilung (battalion)-sized formation. This article is about a military unit For alternative meanings see Corps (disambiguation. A company is a Military unit, typically consisting of 75-200 Soldiers Most companies are formed of three to five Platoons although the exact number may vary Abteilung (shortened Abt) is a German language word often used when referring to German or Swiss military formations (although the Germans use A battalion is a Military unit of around 500-1500 men usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel Kampfgruppen were generally referred to by either their commanding officer or the parent division. ^[2]

Application

First World War

See also: Stosstruppen

Second World War

With respect to their ad-hoc nature and target-oriented strategy, Finnish ski troops employed during the Soviet-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 could, in principle, be considered to be an equivalent to Kampfgruppen. The Stormtroopers (in German Stoßtruppen, shock troops) were specialist military troops which were formed in the last years of World War I as the German A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. The Winter War (Talvisota Советско-финляндская война - official Зимняя война - unofficial Vinterkriget began when the However, given the poor equipment of the Finnish forces, the combined-arms aspect of the Kampfgruppen could not have been applied. ^[3]

German allies fighting alongside the German army also applied the concept of Kampfgruppe, either involuntarily (while being attached to German units), or on their own. Examples include Kampfgruppe Szücs (Hungarian) within the Hungarian Third Army. The Hungarian Third Army was a Hungarian field army which saw action during World War II.

Other Services

While the original concept of Kampfgruppe is usually reserved to the land warfare, some of the German tacticians and strategist applied it also for naval warfare. Land warfare, sometimes also called ground combat is the term used to describe military operations eventuating in Combat that take place predominantly on the land surface of Military tactics ( Greek: Taktikē, the art of organizing an army are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating Military strategy is a National defence policy implemented by Military organisations to pursue desired strategic goals Derived from the Greek Naval warfare is Combat in and on Seas Oceans or any other major bodies of water such as large Lakes and wide Rivers History The most obvious change was the design (units were usually earmarked for operation in advance instead of being organized ad-hoc) and the type of units involved (instead of combined arms, different classes of naval vessels were employed). The examples include German Kampfgruppe 5 employed during Operation Weserübung. Operation Weserübung was the codename for Nazi Germany 's assault on Denmark and Norway during World War II and the opening operation This unit consisted of the heavy cruiser Blücher, the heavy cruiser Lützow, the light cruiser Emden, 3 torpedo boats and 8 minesweepers carrying 2,000 troops to Oslo. Design The Hipper class were built to a design that flouted the Washington Naval Treaty, to which major maritime Description Their size and characteristics were severely limited by the Treaty of Versailles, which limited Germany to ships of no more than 10000 tons displacement Commanding Officers KzS Richard Foerster - 15 October 1925 - 23 September 1928 FK / KzS Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière - 23 September 1928 A minesweeper is a Naval Warship designed to counter the threat posed by Naval mines The dedicated purpose-built minesweeper first appeared during (called Christiania from 1624 to 1878 and Kristiania from 1878 to 1924 is the Capital and largest city of Norway.

During the course of the Second World War, Kampfgeschwader bomber units consisted of several Kampfgruppen, which in terms of size were situated somewhere between squadrons and groups of Anglo-American air forces. Wing is a term used by different Air forces for a unit of command A squadron is a small unit or formation of Cavalry, armour, Aircraft (including Balloons) or Warships Army Group is a term used by different Air forces for an element of Military organization. right|250px|right|thumb|Anglo-America dark green indicates countries traditionally included in the region ([[Canada]] and the [[United States]]

Post-War Era

Currently, the closest formation is US Army Task force^[4] or the battlegroup formation used by several NATO countries, notably the UK. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. For the computer game see Joint Task Force (computer game. A task force (TF is a temporary unit or formation established to work The North Atlantic Treaty

Examples

Hundreds of Kampfgruppen are documented to have taken part in operations ranging from a few days to over a year during the war. They left a significant impact in the popular culture and the picture of the Second World War. Famous examples include:

• Kampfgruppe Peiper was a mechanised brigade-sized formation formed under the command of SS-Standartenführer Joachim Peiper which took part in the 1944 Battle of the Bulge. The Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 was a major German offensive launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes Mountains A brigade is a Military unit Echelon: is Joachim Peiper (joˈaχɪm ˈpaɪpər ( January 30, 1915 - July 13, 1976) more often known as Jochen Peiper from the common German The Ardennes Offensive (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945 was a major German offensive launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes Mountains KG Peiper was to be the striking arm of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. The Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler ( SS-LAH) founded in September 1933 was Adolf Hitler 's personal Bodyguard Regiment.

• Kampfgruppe Das Reich was a regiment-sized formation formed from the remaining combat-ready elements of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich which was encircled in the Kamenets-Podolsky Pocket in early 1944. The SS Division Das Reich (germ 2SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich) was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded by the Waffen-SS during The Battle of the Kamenets-Podolsky Pocket, also known as Hube's Pocket, was a Wehrmacht attempt on the Eastern Front of World War II to evade encirclement

• Kampfgruppe 1001 Nacht was a German kampfgruppe formed on the Oder front during the final German offensive of the Second World War. Kampfgruppe 1001 Nights (1001 Nächte was a German Kampfgruppe formed on the Oder front during the final German offensive of the Second World The formation is most notable for its unusual title, referring to the medieval Persian book of 1001 Nights, a collection of tales and fables.

• During the Allied invasion of France Major Hans von Luck took command of the 125th Panzergrenadier Regiment of the 21st Panzer Division, stationed near Caen, France. Hans-Ulrich von Luck und Witten ( 15 July 1911 – 15 January 1997) usually shortened to Hans von Luck, was a Colonel in The 21st Panzer Division was a German Armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941 - 1943 during Caen (kɑ̃ is a commune in northwestern France. It is the Prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

• de:Kampfgruppe von Tettau

See also

• Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse, (KdA) or in English "Combat Groups of the Working Class" a paramilitary organisation in East Germany, founded in 1953 and abolished in 1990. The Combat Groups of the Working Class ( German: Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse, KdA was a Paramilitary organisation in East Germany, founded The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state It numbered about 400,000 "volunteers" for much of its existence.

Notes and references