Panzergrenadier (abbreviated PzGren or Pzg) (Literally; armored grenadeer) is a German term for motorised or mechanized infantry, as introduced during World War II. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Motorised infantry is Infantry which is transported by Trucks or other motor vehicles Mechanized infantry (or "mech infantry" are Infantry equipped with Armored personnel carriers (APCs or Infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs 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 It is used in the armies of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. The current name of the Military of Austria is Österreichs Bundesheer ("Federal Army of Austria " official English name Austrian Armed Forces The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The military of Switzerland, officially known as the Swiss Armed Forces, is a unique institution somewhere between a Militia and a regular army.
Contents |
Forerunners
The term Panzergrenadier was not adopted until 1942. Infantry in panzer divisions from 1939 onwards were known as Schützen Regiments; they wore the same rose pink piping on their uniforms as the tank crews. Soldiers in special Motorized Infantry units wore the standard white piping of the Infantry. In 1942, when Infantry Regiments were renamed as Grenadier Regiments by Hitler as a historical homage to Frederick the Great's Army, the Schützen regiments (and the soldiers in them) began to be redesignated as Panzergrenadier regiments, as did Motorized Infantry units and soldiers. A grenadier (derived from the word Grenade) was originally a specialized soldier first established as a distinct role in the mid to late 17th century for the throwing of grenades Frederick II (Friedrich II January 24 1712 August 17 1786) was a King of Prussia (1740&ndash1786 from the Their waffenfarbe was also changed from either white (in the case of Motorized Infantry) or rose pink (with an "S" cypher that distinguished the Schützen from the tank and anti-tank units that also wore that colour) to a grass green shade previously worn by motorcycle troops. Waffenfarbe ( German: “corps troop-function color” is a means the German military uses to distinguish between different corps or troop functions in its armed Some units did not change over their designations and/or waffenfarbe accoutrements until 1943.
Panzergrenadier Units
The term Panzergrenadier was applied equally to both the infantry component of Panzer Divisions as well as the new divisions known as Panzergrenadier Divisions. A panzer division is an Armored division in the German Army (Panzerdivision A division is a large Military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to thirty thousand soldiers Most of the Heer's PzGren. The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. divisions evolved via upgrades from ordinary infantry divisions, first to Motorized Infantry divisions and then to PzGren. divisions, retaining their numerical designation within the series for infantry divisions throughout the process. This included the 3rd, 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 25th, and 29th divisions. Others, such as the Großdeutschland Division, were built up over the course of the war by repeatedly augmenting the size of an elite regiment or battalion. Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland (mot Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland Panzer-Korps Großdeutschland The Waffen SS also created several PzGren. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron" divisions by the same methods, or by creating new divisions from scratch later in the war. A number of PzGren. divisions in both the Heer and Waffen SS were upgraded to Panzer divisions as the war progressed. The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Waffen-SS ( German for "Armed SS" literally "Weapons SS" was the Combat arm of the Schutzstaffel ("Protective Squadron"
The Panzergrenadier divisions were organized as combined arms formations, usually with six battalions of truck-mounted infantry organized into either two or three regiments, a battalion of tanks, and an ordinary division's complement of artillery, reconnaissance units, combat engineers, anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery, and so forth. Combined arms is an approach to Warfare which seeks to integrate different arms of a Military to achieve mutually complementary effects A tank is a tracked, Armoured fighting vehicle designed for Front-line combat which combines Operational mobility and tactical Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information Combat engineering is a Combat service support role of using the knowledge tools and techniques of Engineering by troops in peace and war but specifically in Anti-tank refers to any method of combating military Armored fighting vehicles notably Tanks The most common anti-tank systems Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging hostile military Aircraft in defence of ground objectives, ground or naval forces All these support elements would also be mechanized in a PzGren. division, though most of the artillery, anti-tank, and anti-aircraft elements were equipped with weapons towed by trucks rather than the relatively rare armored and self-propelled models. In practice the PzGren. divisions were often equipped with heavy assault guns rather than tanks, due to a chronic shortage of tanks throughout the German armed forces. An assault gun is a Gun or Howitzer mounted on a motor vehicle or armored chassis designed for use in the Direct fire A few elite units, on the other hand, might have the tanks plus a battalion of heavy assault guns for their anti-tank element, and armored carriers for some of their infantry battalions as well.
On paper a Panzergrenadier division had one tank battalion less than a Panzer division, but two more infantry battalions, and thus was almost as strong as a Panzer division, especially on the defensive. Of 226 panzergrenadier battalions in the whole of the German Army, Luftwaffe and Waffen SS in September 1943, only 26 were equipped with armoured half tracks, or just over 10 percent. The rest were equipped with trucks.
Second World War equipment
The use of armoured half-tracks was exceedingly rare in the German Army, and even the elite Großdeutschland Division, with two panzergrenadier regiments, only mustered a few companies' worth of the vehicles, generally SdKfz 251 troop carriers. A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering and Caterpillar tracks on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland (mot Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland Panzer-Korps Großdeutschland A regiment is a Military unit, composed of a variable number of Battalions – commanded by a Colonel. The Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251 ( SdKfz 251) Half-track was an Armored fighting vehicle designed and first built by Nazi Germany 's Hanomag The vast majority of Schützen/Panzergrenadier soldiers were mounted in trucks. Additionally, vehicles in the early war period suffered from poor off-road performance.
Current Equipment
Today the main Infantry fighting vehicle of the Panzergrenadier in Germany is the Marder IFV which is going to be replaced by the Puma IFV in 2009. The Marder (German for " Marten " is a German Infantry fighting vehicle operated by the German Army as the main weapon of the The Puma is a German Infantry fighting vehicle, currently in the pre-production stage
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic