Tigers in Oels area - Breslau januar 1945

[Sonnenwende]

Hi,
I am interested in the history of the 269. ID, and was hoping that some one might know what Tiger unit might have been present in the Oels area before Breslau 24.-25. January 1945. Little is known, but according to an eye wittness Tiger tanks were used to secure the outbreak of troops from the encircled city

Regards Sonnenwende

[Sonnenwende]

143 Hits, and no one knows? According to several sources, there were Panzer-units involved in the outbreak. What units were they and was this also Tiger units?

269. ID was transferred (Eil-transport) from the Vosges in January 1945 to help halt (slowdown) the russian steamrollers rapid advance against Breslau, which it did. The City of Breslau this way gained valuable time to set up a defence as a Festung. The 269. IDs units were unloaded from the trains and went straight into action with the Mot. Panzerjäger- and Flakkompanie being the first on the 20. of January in the Kempen area. The rest of the 269. ID came little after little and at some point units of the Division were incircled with other units in the City of Oels. At the outbreak from the City around the 24. of January - according to an eye account - Tigers supported the operation, other sources state Panther tanks were involved. However I cannot find out what those Panzer-units were.

At this time - according to Gen. Hans von Ahlfen/Hermann Niehoff: "So kämpfte Breslau" - the 269. ID was part of the Pz.AOK. 4 (as also the city of Breslau was), however I don´t know if any of the units had Tigers.

The rest of the history of the 269. ID is not very clear. It retreated through Breslau, some went in action in Ohlau south of Breslau (some sources say that they surrerendered here to the russians here in april 1945?), some were caught up in the City of Breslau and some went back to the main German frontlinie as it retreated from Breslau and eventually (as GR 269 (Kampfgruppe) ) surrendered in Mai in the Erzgebirge (Czechoslovakia).

Does any one have more information?

Regards Sonnenwende

[Thorsten B.]

Maybe our member "besslein" knows more?!

[Sonnenwende]

460 hits , surely some one has some input, please?

Regards Sonnenwende

[recceboy]

The only ref on Tigers in Festung Breslau is this right now.

"In mid April of 1945, Hanke reported that his forces have only two Tigers to face enemy attacks. The two Tigers were repaired at the FAMO plant, before being committed into battle.Defense of Breslau was under overall command of the Field Marshal Schoerner of Army Group Centre."

Try this book if you can find it :

Wydawnictwo-Militaria-263-Breslau-1945

I will look in my Tigers In Combat books for you to see if there is any more to pass on.

Anthony

[Sonnenwende]

Hi Anthony, thanks a lot for the interest & information

According to the book by the two Festungskommandanten Gen. Hans von Ahlfen/Hermann Niehoff: "So kämpfte Breslau" there were no Tigers inside of Festung Breslau. In february of 1945 there were only 1 Jagdpanzer IV(?), eight StuG IIIs and few PzKpfw IIs. The FAMO plant scratchbuild a Panzerzug used inside the Festung amongst other things. The Tigers might have been there before the City was closed-in and becoming a Festung under siege (15. february)?

Gauleiter Hanke was no military man. He was appointed Kampfkommandant of Breslau, but the two Wehrmacht generals had nothing but problems with him interferring with the defence of Breslau and playing a cynical political game. I´m afraid he is not thrustworthy as a source, and one could doubt hes words about the Tigers.

It would be really interesting for me to know what Panzer (and maeby Tiger) units were present east of Breslau (Oels) around the 24. january to 25. of january 1945

Maeby there is something mentioned in that Tiger-book of yours?

Regards Sonnenwende.

[besslein]

soory for a late response in this thread
this information abaut the tigers repired in FAMO werke is total BS,as i far i know only very few pz4 have seen action in Breslau not more as 2-3.
but Breslau has a very good stug company under felwebel later leutnant (RK owner)Hartmann.
as for for Oles and Ohla,no one from german vet has seen any Tiger in that area,at this time,i hope i have help a bit.

[Sonnenwende]

Thanks a lot Besslein for your answer.
As I recall, the eye wittness account about the Tigers in Oels by the breakout was from a veteran of the 269. ID, I will have a look again in the book by Röhmhild: "Geschichte der 269. Infanterie Division". However, from experience having talked with another veteran of the 269. ID, over the years memory can fade. It could perhaps have been Panthers or some other tanks. It would still interest me though what Panzer units would have been present in Oels at the time of the breakout...

Regards Sonnenwende

[Sonnenwende]

Hi again:

The 269. ID had the task of covering the withdrawal from Litzmannstadt of the Gross-deutschland and Herman Göring-units east of Oels.

From H. Röhmhild: Geschichte der 269. ID (main book on 269. ID published in 1967) p. 270. Kurt Awe, a veteran of the 269. ID, remembers about the outbreak from Oels:

"... Tigerpanzer halten den weg offen. An einer Mauer erkenne ich Oberst Hentze und Lt. Höpken, die uns die Richtung anweisen. Während ich noch in Deckung liege, beobachte ich, wie ein beschädigter Panzer von einem anderen in Schlepp genommen wird..."

"... Tigertanks are securing the way. By a wall I recognize Oberst Hentze and Leutenant Höpken who is showing us the right direction. As I am still in cover I can see how a damaged tank is being towed by another...".

Does any one have some more input on what these Panzer units were?

Regards Sonnenwende.