Active July 1943 Branch Waffen SS Size Battalion | Country Nazi Germany Type Heavy Tank Battalion Equipment 45 Tiger Tanks total | |
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The 102nd SS Heavy-Panzer Battalion 102 (German: Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 102) was a heavy-tank battalion of the Waffen SS during World War II.
Contents
It fought as part of the II SS Panzer Corps during the Battle of Normandy and was nearly destroyed. Renamed as 502nd SS Heavy-Panzer Battalion, (German: Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 502) the unit was destroyed in the Halbe Pocket in Spring 1945.
Formation
In April 1943, the Waffen-SS ordered the creation of a series of Heavy Panzer Battalions — equipped with the new Tiger I tanks — for use in offensive actions on the Eastern Front. Each of the heavy tank battalions would be attached to a Corps of the Waffen SS. Upon formation, the 102nd was attached to the II SS Panzer Corps. Originally, each heavy tank battalion was composed of a single company of Tiger I's, attached to each respective SS Panzer Division in the Panzerkorps. By July 1943, the predecessor of the 102nd — SS Panzer Regiment 2 of the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" — was equipped with 14 Tiger I's.
Operational history
The battalion was sent to Normandy after the D Day landings. The Battalion was almost completely destroyed during the fighting in Normandy; in September 1944 it was pulled back to Germany to reform. Stationed in Sennelager the Battalion was renamed the 502 SS Heavy Panzer Battalion.
Renamed as Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 502 and equipped with Tiger II Tanks (Königstiger), the Battalion took part in the defense against the Red Army at the Oder-Front. During the Soviet offensive to take Berlin, the battalion was surrounded in the Halbe Pocket and nearly destroyed.
Commanding officers
The 102nd SS Heavy Panzer Battalion was commandet by the following SS officers: