Hi, I can't see a similar thread on the WAF so thought I would start one to cover the books out there that cover this (fascinating IMHO) series of Heer units sponsored and supported by the SA (Sturmabteilung), and specifically the SA Standarte "Feldherrnhalle" (Guard unit) during the WW2 period.
I will compile a list of what I think is out there, if I've missed something please let me know, otherwise I hope it helps fellow students of history should you decide to delve further into these units as I am about to....
What I find intriguing about this unit is that it started very modestly (as the 3rd Battalion of the 271st Infantry Regiment of the 93rd Infantry Division), expanding to encapsulate the whole Regiment from 9th August 1942 (from that date renamed "Infanterie Regiment Feldherrnhalle", and awarded the FHH cuff-title), and finally reaching Korps size by the end of the war. In this way they were similar to the Army's Grossdeutschland and the Luftwaffe's Hermann Goring units that also underwent a huge expansion from relatively small units. Also, like those other units they also recruited from across the Reich rather than being administered strictly by the local Wehrkreis system.
My own take on this is that in the later part of the war, and particularly after the attempt on Hitler's life, the German government felt that these were units that they could rely on, and therefore prioritized them for extra resources and expansion.
Unlike the other two units (GD & HG) one author has called Feldherrnhalle "the Forgotten Elite". I think there is some truth in this in that the other units are much better known. The FHH's battles were perhaps less varied (e.g HG - in the West early on, Tunisia, Italy, and the Eastern Front too), and the uniforms definitely less 'glamorous' than the HG with their super smart uniforms, SS camouflage and so on! Were they an elite? I'll take a look and add my thoughts at some point in the future, with a brief review of the books listed below when I've finally read some of them!
I have included some non-English text books as they are useful for the photographs, and some sections/ captions can be translated with a little effort...
English text:-
1) Feldherrnhalle: Forgotten Elite (Alfonso Escuadra Sanchez, 1996) - Comprehensive history.
2) Panzer Abteilung 208 (I/Panzer Regiment Feldherrnhalle) (Stefano Di Giusto) (Attached to FHH Pz Korp in 1945, in mid March officially became I / Pz Regt FHH)
3) German Army Elite Units 1939 - 45 (Osprey publishing - Gordon Williamson, 2002) - Section on the FHH.
4) The combat history of Schwere Panzer- Abteilung 503 (from 21-12-44 the 503rd became the "Schwere Panzer-Abteilung Feldherrnhalle")
5) Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2 (Jesse Russel, Ronald Cohn, 2012)
Also - mentioned in Osprey's Campaign series book "Bagration 1944: The destruction of Army Group Centre" (1996), and other Osprey titles relating to the Panzer-Grenadier Divisions, Panzer Divisions etc
Spanish text:-
1) División Feldherrnhalle : tropas de la guardia de las SA (Alfonso Escuadra Sanchez, 2010)
German text:-
1) Soldaten der Standarte Feldherrnhalle (Erich von Jainek, 1997)
2) Panzerdivision Feldherrnhalle: Eine deutsche Jugend unter der Hakenkreuzfahne - (Frank Kuhlemann, 2007)
3) Die Panzerbrigade 106 FHH - (Feldherrnhalle) (Friedrich Bruns, 1982)
4) Artillerie-Regiment 160 (mot)./ Panzerartillerie-Reg. "Feldherrnhalle" 1939-45. (Erich Klein, 1966)
5) Mit der 60. Infanteriedivision von Danzig nach Stalingrad - (Udo Rosowski, 2012) - not strictly FHH, but one Regiment was v.briefly incorporated before the Division was destroyed at Stalingrad, and surviving elements of the unit were used to help form the FHH Panzer-Grenadier Division in mid 1943.
It's possible that histories relating to the 13th Panzer Division contain references to the FHH, as this unit was reinstated as "Panzer-Division Feldherrnhalle 2" in February 1945 after the 13th Pz Div was destroyed at Budapest in late 1944.
There may be other titles, but I think that the list is relatively small next to the number of books covering the GD or HG units.
Regards, Paul
I will compile a list of what I think is out there, if I've missed something please let me know, otherwise I hope it helps fellow students of history should you decide to delve further into these units as I am about to....
What I find intriguing about this unit is that it started very modestly (as the 3rd Battalion of the 271st Infantry Regiment of the 93rd Infantry Division), expanding to encapsulate the whole Regiment from 9th August 1942 (from that date renamed "Infanterie Regiment Feldherrnhalle", and awarded the FHH cuff-title), and finally reaching Korps size by the end of the war. In this way they were similar to the Army's Grossdeutschland and the Luftwaffe's Hermann Goring units that also underwent a huge expansion from relatively small units. Also, like those other units they also recruited from across the Reich rather than being administered strictly by the local Wehrkreis system.
My own take on this is that in the later part of the war, and particularly after the attempt on Hitler's life, the German government felt that these were units that they could rely on, and therefore prioritized them for extra resources and expansion.
Unlike the other two units (GD & HG) one author has called Feldherrnhalle "the Forgotten Elite". I think there is some truth in this in that the other units are much better known. The FHH's battles were perhaps less varied (e.g HG - in the West early on, Tunisia, Italy, and the Eastern Front too), and the uniforms definitely less 'glamorous' than the HG with their super smart uniforms, SS camouflage and so on! Were they an elite? I'll take a look and add my thoughts at some point in the future, with a brief review of the books listed below when I've finally read some of them!
I have included some non-English text books as they are useful for the photographs, and some sections/ captions can be translated with a little effort...
English text:-
1) Feldherrnhalle: Forgotten Elite (Alfonso Escuadra Sanchez, 1996) - Comprehensive history.
2) Panzer Abteilung 208 (I/Panzer Regiment Feldherrnhalle) (Stefano Di Giusto) (Attached to FHH Pz Korp in 1945, in mid March officially became I / Pz Regt FHH)
3) German Army Elite Units 1939 - 45 (Osprey publishing - Gordon Williamson, 2002) - Section on the FHH.
4) The combat history of Schwere Panzer- Abteilung 503 (from 21-12-44 the 503rd became the "Schwere Panzer-Abteilung Feldherrnhalle")
5) Panzer Division Feldherrnhalle 2 (Jesse Russel, Ronald Cohn, 2012)
Also - mentioned in Osprey's Campaign series book "Bagration 1944: The destruction of Army Group Centre" (1996), and other Osprey titles relating to the Panzer-Grenadier Divisions, Panzer Divisions etc
Spanish text:-
1) División Feldherrnhalle : tropas de la guardia de las SA (Alfonso Escuadra Sanchez, 2010)
German text:-
1) Soldaten der Standarte Feldherrnhalle (Erich von Jainek, 1997)
2) Panzerdivision Feldherrnhalle: Eine deutsche Jugend unter der Hakenkreuzfahne - (Frank Kuhlemann, 2007)
3) Die Panzerbrigade 106 FHH - (Feldherrnhalle) (Friedrich Bruns, 1982)
4) Artillerie-Regiment 160 (mot)./ Panzerartillerie-Reg. "Feldherrnhalle" 1939-45. (Erich Klein, 1966)
5) Mit der 60. Infanteriedivision von Danzig nach Stalingrad - (Udo Rosowski, 2012) - not strictly FHH, but one Regiment was v.briefly incorporated before the Division was destroyed at Stalingrad, and surviving elements of the unit were used to help form the FHH Panzer-Grenadier Division in mid 1943.
It's possible that histories relating to the 13th Panzer Division contain references to the FHH, as this unit was reinstated as "Panzer-Division Feldherrnhalle 2" in February 1945 after the 13th Pz Div was destroyed at Budapest in late 1944.
There may be other titles, but I think that the list is relatively small next to the number of books covering the GD or HG units.
Regards, Paul
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