III./ Pz. Art. Rgt. 74 in the Ardennes(dec. 1944)

[mtdr]

Hello all,

I recently obtained a KIA Soldbuch of the 2. Panzer-Division during the Battle of the Bulge. He served in the 7./ Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 74, part of the III./ Pz.Art.Rgt. 74.

The book "The Ardennes 1944-1945" by Christer Bergstrom mentioned the Pz. Art. Rgt. 74 as being part of Kampfgruppe von Cochenhausen. All the other information I found is that only the I./ Pz. Art. Rgt. 74 was part of KG von Cochenhausen.

Can someone help me to find where the III./ Pz. Art. Rgt. 74 was committed during the Battle of the Bulge? The owner of the Soldbuch was killed in action on 24.12.1944 in the Ardennes and is buried in Lommel, Belgium.

Thanks in advance for all the help and information.

Aram

[matthias_AC]

Hello all,

I recently obtained a KIA Soldbuch of the 2. Panzer-Division during the Battle of the Bulge. He served in the 7./ Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 74, part of the III./ Pz.Art.Rgt. 74.

The book "The Ardennes 1944-1945" by Christer Bergstrom mentioned the Pz. Art. Rgt. 74 as being part of Kampfgruppe von Cochenhausen. All the other information I found is that only the I./ Pz. Art. Rgt. 74 was part of KG von Cochenhausen.

Can someone help me to find where the III./ Pz. Art. Rgt. 74 was committed during the Battle of the Bulge? The owner of the Soldbuch was killed in action on 24.12.1944 in the Ardennes and is buried in Lommel, Belgium.

Thanks in advance for all the help and information.

Aram

I could not find information specifically on Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment 74, but Anthony Beevor describes the way of 2. Panzer-Division and also Kampfgruppe Cochenhausen in great detail.

According to Beevor the 2. Panzer started its way through the Ardennes north of Bastogne, flanked by 116. Panzer (right) and Panzer-Lehr (south) and headed towards the Meuse river. Their objective was to secure the bridge at the town of Dinant which was defended by the British 3rd Royal Tank Regiment.
In the early morning of 24 December, the day your soldier was killed, KG Cochenhausen reached the town of Celles (Houyet) and was soon trapped between Celles and Conneux, unable to move. By that time the Kampfgruppe consisted of Panzergrenadier-Regiment 304, one Bataillon of Panzerregiment 3, the majority of the Divisions Flak-units AND one Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment (number not mentioned). Beevor explicitly mentions a Panzer-Artillerie-Regiment, not only parts of it (and Beevor is a very precise historian).

I hope that helps a bit.


Best,


Matthias

[mtdr]

Matthias,

Many thanks for your reply and help. With Beevor mentioning a whole Pz. Art. Rgt. and Bergstrom the whole Pz. Gren. Rgt. 74 as being part of KG. von Cochenhausen I will assume that the III./ Pz. Gren. Rgt. 74 and my man were part of this Kampfgruppe. From what I found the day this man was killed(24.12.1944), this KG reached the farest point of every German unit during the Battle of the Bulge.

I also found the next on the Feldgrau Forum:

Pallud (1992 [1984]: 350) has a little on KG von Cochenhausen though: "This comprised elements of the I. Abteilung [Panther] of Pz.Rgt.3, Pz.Gren.Rgt.304 [no mention of II./Pz.Gren.Rgt.2], two artillery battalions [these would be I. and III., as II. was with KG Gutmann], an engineers company and some Flak units [...]."

Again, many thanks!

Aram