12th Panzer Division Pt 1 - Panzer Group 3 - Hoth - Blitzkrieg - von Brauchitsch - Army Group Center

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL
www.Patreon.com/Military1945

Today we’re embedded with the 12. PzD which was part of that formation, and we’ll see the important part it played as one of the spearheads in the initial race to cross the strategically important Neman River.

Although the importance of mobility in modern warfare was by the time of Barbarossa widely accepted in the Wehrmacht, there were important differences of opinion as to how the tank formations should be used during the opening phase of the operation against the Soviet Union.

It was accepted by all that the attack must be sudden and violent and that at the end of the first day the 3 bridges over the Neman River must be taken before the enemy could set up defensive positions on the eastern bank. Each bridge was assigned to a different panzer division, the 20th, the 7th and the 12th. Should they be blown then they would be repaired by engineers on the night of the 22nd. Hoth, aggressively minded, wanted the panzers to surge forwards as quickly as possible and discounted completely the need to maintain contact with the following foot soldiers.

General von Brauchitsch was the Wehrmacht’s Commander-in-Chief and therefor Hoth’s superior. He was a more conservative tactician and argued that the Soviets would resist effectively and that the lead German units would suffer considerable casualties from the start. He wanted the normal infantry divisions from the 9th Army to be close by in order to engage and overwhelm the defenders. Then, he argued, the panzer divisions could surge forward. ​

Experience in the western campaign had shown that having non motorized units in close proximity caused congestion and opportunities to penetrate and exploit weaknesses in the enemy lines would be lost.

After hours of heated discussion a compromise was reached. The ordinary infantry divisions would be nearby but under direct order to stay off of specified roads that belonged to the mobile units. The 20th and 7th PzDs would combine their force and attack towards Olita together. In order to reinforce the the spearhead of the 12th PzD as it advanced on Merkine, the 18. mot ID was tasked with protecting its right flank. There was considerable concern that significant enemy armored formations positioned to the south would engage but that didn’t materialize.

There was no indication that the Neman River was adequately defended. As stated by Hoth, the plan of PzGr. 3 was not the encounter the enemy’s main strength, but to penetrate by assault through weakly occupied parts of the enemy front.

As the mobile units advanced on the morning of June 22, General von Brauchitsch nervously watched their progress from his Fiesler Storch above the front.

Here’s an example of lead elements of the 12th PzD using its insignia to mark the way.

To reach Mekine the 12th needed to advance 45 km through wooded and lake-rich terrain that was believed to be the border between the Central and Northern Russian fronts.

On a few occasions they encountered well defended positions which slowed the division down but that were eventually over run. Here we se medics from the 12th attending to soldiers who were wounded in one of such engagements.

All in all the day had gone extremely well for PzGr 3. Having the two PzDs advance up the same road to Olita resulted in a terrible traffic jam which cost the spearhead of the attack precious time but at least the situation wasn’t made worse by the presence of marching foot soldiers.

By afternoon the bridge at Merkine over the Neman River was taken.
In fact, all three of the bridges had been captured before they could be destroyed.

Here we’re looking at the situational map for June 22 and can see the extent that PzGr 3 had been able to advance. Note how the 12 PzD has the tactical marking of an arrow with wheels which represents a motorized march column. In this formation the unit was organized to travel at maximum speed but meant that it was more vulnerable to attack. This was likely possible with the 18. mot ID covering its exposed right flank.

Finally, this is the map for June 22, 1941 that has been uploaded to www.military1945.com. The blue markings you see link the units to videos on my youtube channel that cover the specific dates. This way if you are interested in seeing more in PzGr 3, for example, there’s links to the 7 PzD, the 20. PzD and the 20. mot. ID.

The brown markings link to Order of Battle charts, for example here is the OOB for PzGr 3. As you can see there’s a lot of information packed in there including the unit’s name, its commander, and the types of weaponry it was outfitted with. Go to military1945.com and take a look. Let me know below what you think and what additional sources you’d like to see associated to this system.