This division was created during 1943 in France.

Initially it was named Karl der Groe, but on 3 October it was renamed to Frundsberg. It remained in France until the spring 1944 when it was sent to the eastern front. It remained there until 12 June, when it was ordered to move to Normandy.1 The structure of the division on 1 June 1944 was2:

Actually the I. Panzerabteilung was in France in June 1944, but it only had training vehicles and was not combat ready.3 In fact it did not join the division until 1945. The II. Abteilung was usually equipped with Pz IV, but in 10. SS-Pz.Div. it was equipped with 39 Panzer IV and 38 StuG, if vehicles in workshops are included.4 Thus, this division had fewer tanks and assault guns than any other panzer division that fought in Normandy. It did not receive any re-place-ments during its actions in Normandy.5 The panzer regiment also had three Pz III command tanks. The panzer grenadier regiments were organized fairly normally, but the three battalions of SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt. 21 were only at 83 %, 75 % and 73 % of authorized strength respectively. For SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt. 22 the percentages were 76, 76 and 72.6 Except for the lack of one Wespe, the artillery regiment had its full complement of twelve Wespe, six Hummel twelve 10,5 cm le.FH, twelve 15 cm s.FH and four 10 cm K18.7 At ths time, the SS-Pz.Jg.Abt. 10 was still in the process of forming. It did not become combat ready in time for the battles in Normandy. Actually no JagdPz IV was sent to the battalion until 22 August.8 The Pz.Aufkl.Abt. 10 was at full strength, while the engineer battalion was at 88 % of authorized strength.9 Authorized strength of the division was 17 995 (not including the I./SS-Pz.Rgt. 10), but the division was short of 1 984 men.10 This gave a shortage of 11 %, but as has been showed above, the shortage was greater among the infantry battalions. Given the figures above it could be concluded that the division had a strength of 16 011 men. However, this included the SS-Pz.Jg.Abt. 10, which was in the process of forming. Since it was only at 31 % of authorized strength11 it probably had no more than about 200 men, which would mean that the division had about 15 800 men. Also this includes the field replacement battalion. With five full strength companies12, it probably had about 1 000 men. This battalion did follow the division to Normandy.13 Together with the Hohenstaufen the Frundsberg division was ordered on 12 June 1944 to transfer to Normandy. At this time these divisions were located near Lvov. Since trains were available, the first elements departed in late afternoon on the 12.14 On 18 June it was reported that 20 of the trains carrying the division had entered France, four of these had reached Paris.15 Two days later 38 trains were in the area Saarbrcken - Nancy, while 13 had unloaded in Paris.16 On 23 June 67 trains had reached the OB West area. Of these nine had unloaded in Saarbrcken, 39 in the area around Bar-le-Duc and 21 in the Paris - Dreux area.17 On 24 June the following units had reached the assembly area in Normandy: Div.Stab, Aufkl.Abt., Pz.Rgt., both panzer grenadier regiments with three battalions each, the artillery regiment minus one battalion, Pi.Btl., Flak.Abt., Pz.Jg.Abt., Felders.Btl.18 One day later all the combat elements of the division, except

one of the artillery battalions, had reached the assembly area. Also parts of the rear services had not yet arrived. Surprisingly the Pz.Jg.Abt. is stated to have arrived in the assembly area. This seems very unlikely since the unit had not yet received its Jagdpanzers.19 Neither is there anything in the daily reports on the status of the divisions tanks, assault guns and AT guns that suggest this unit would have accompanied the division to Normnady. Possibly some officers, or a small detachment form the battalion joined the division in Normandy to get first hand experience, but hardly the entire battalion. Together with the II. SS-Pz.Korps, the division was ordered to move during the night between 25 and 26 June to the area St. Remy - Roucamps - La Bigne - St. Symphorien - Les Buttes - Campeaux - Vire Tinchebray.20 On 30 June the division, minus the elements not yet sent to Normandy, numbered 13 552 men.21 The first actions for the division in Normandy were during the British Epsom operation. Due to lack of fuel only a limited number of the tanks and assault guns available could participate initially.22 During the most intensive 36 hours (30 June - 1 July) the division lost 571 men killed and wounded.23 Until 18 July (inclusive) the division lost 2 289 officers and men.24 It had also lost six 7,5 cm Pak 40, eight 7,5 cm le.IG 18, four 15 cm s.IG 33, eighteen 8 cm mortars and 88 MG 42.25 Until 31 July the division lost (complete write-offs) seven Pz IV, three StuG, 11 SPW, 57 cars, 91 trucks and nine towing vehicles.26 During July the division remained southwest of Caen, but in August it was sent first to the Vire area and later to the southern side of the sack that was formed around the German units west of Falaise and Argentan. Still on 14 August the division was in relatively good shape. It had lost twelve Pz.Kpf.Wg. IV and eight StuG since the division began moving to Normandy.27 The "Kampfstrke", i. e. the number of riflemen employed in the forward line and the crews of tanks and other heavy weapons employed in the direct support of the rifle men, amounted to 4 136.28 Parts of the Frundsberg was encircled in the Falaise pocket together with the 2. Pz.Div. and 1. SS-Pz.Div.29 The exact losses are unknown, but given its losses up to 18 July, the "Kampfstrke" of 14 August and the outcome for divisions30 similar in organization and situation during the Falaise battle, a total of 5 000 casualties seem a reasonably estimate. The tank strength of the division varied during the campaign:
Panzer IV Combat Ready 34 20 25 27 27 17 16 16 17 9 10 12 12
32

Date 1 June31 2 July 6 July33 7 July34 9 July35 12 July36 13 July37 14 July

Panzer IV in Short Term Repair 1 ? ? ? 3 6 7 7 6 ? ? ? 8

Panzer IV in Long Term Repair 4 ? ? ? 6 9 9 9 9 ? ? ? 11

StuG III Combat Ready 32 25 ? 25 25 8 10 12 13 7 9 6 12

StuG III in Short Term Repair 1 ? ? ? 5 10 8 8 7 ?

StuG III in Long Term Repair 5 ? ? ? 5 18 16 16 16 ? ? ? 18

15 July39 16 July40 17 July41 18 July

?
? 6

19 July43

20 July44 21 July45 22 July46 23 July47 24 July48 25 July

14 18 14 14 13 14 15 16 17 17 20
55

? ? ? ? 9 ? ? 7 6 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 9 9 5 9 5 ?

? ? ? ? 10 ? ? 8 8 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 11 ?

14 14 8 7 10 11 15 16 16 17 20 15 8 ? 7 10 5 5 6 6 5 9 0

? ? ? ? 11 ? ? 8 8 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 17 10 10 9 9 ?

? ? ? ? 15 ? ? 12 12 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 12 ?

27 July50 28 July51 29 July52 30 July53 31 July54 2 August 3 August56 4 August57 5 August58 6 August59 7 August
60

20 20 16 10 10 5 10 12 14 11 11 0

10 August61 11 August62 12 August63 13 August64 14 August65 21 August

To Main Page
Notes: G. Tessin, Verbnde und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS (Mittler & Sohn, Frankfurt am Main and Biblio Verlag, Osnabrck 1966-1975). 10. SS-Pz.Div. Frundsberg, Anlage zu Ia Tgb. Nr. 271/44, 1.6.44, BA-MA RH 10/319. Pz. Personal-Einheiten im Bereich OB West, T311, R25, F7030050. 10. SS-Pz.Div. Frundsberg, Anlage zu Ia Tgb. Nr. 271/44, 1.6.44, BA-MA RH 10/319. Lieferungen der Pz.Fahrz., Bd. ab Mai 1943, BA-MA RH 10/349. 10. SS-Pz.Div. Frundsberg, Anlage zu Ia Tgb. Nr. 271/44, 1.6.44, BA-MA RH 10/319. Ibid. Lieferungen der Pz.Fahrz., Bd. ab Mai 1943, BA-MA RH 10/349. 10. SS-Pz.Div. Frundsberg, Anlage zu Ia Tgb. Nr. 271/44, 1.6.44, BA-MA RH 10/319. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. OB West Ia Nr. 4963/44 g.Kdos, 25.6.1944, T311, R25, F7029849-53. E. Klapdor, Die Entscheidung (Siek 1984) p. 215. OB West Ia Nr. 4704/44 g.Kdos, 18.6.1944, T311, R25, F7029640-3. OB West Ia Nr. 4784/44 g.Kdos, 20.6.44, T311, R25, F7029691. OB West Ia Nr. 4879/44 g.Kdos. 23.6.44, T311, R25, F7029779. Note that the sum of trains given for the thre unloading areas is 69, not 67 as stated in th edocument. HGr B Ia Nr.3978/44 g.Kdos, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 24.6.44, T311, R3, F7002433 See Lieferungen der Pz.Fahrz., Bd. ab Mai 1943, BA-MA RH 10/349. HGr B Ia Nr. 3985/44 g.Kdos, 25.6.44, T311, R4, F7003699. K.G. Klietmann, Die Waffen-SS, eine Dokumentation (Osnabrck 1965) p. 509. E. Klapdor, Die Entscheidung (Siek 1984) p. 147. Ob.West Ia Nr. 5223/44 geh.Kdos., 2.7.44, T311, R28, F7034140. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 480/44 g.Kdos. 20.7.44, T313, R420, F8713975. HGr B Ib/Br. B Nr. 01087/44 geh 20.7.44, T311, R1, F7000812.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

Anlage 3 zu Gen.Kdo. II. SS-Pz.Korps Qu. Tgb.Nr. 765/44 geh. vom 3.8.44, copy found in LVIII. Pz.Korps Qu Anlagen, T314, R1497, F000430. Compare strength on 1 June with strength on 14 August presented in the table on tank stregths for Frundsberg. Tagesmeldung LVIII. Pz.Korps Ia an AOK 7 14.8.44, T314, R1496, F001073. Klapdor, op. cit. p. 370ff. In particular 1. SS-Pz.Div. and 2. Pz.Div. 10. SS-Pz.Div. Frundsberg, Anlage zu Ia Tgb. Nr. 271/44, 1.6.44, BA-MA RH 10/319. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 86/44 3.7.44, T313, R420, F8713807. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 217/44 geh. von 7.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 6.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 258/44 g.Kdos. Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 7.7, BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 306/44 geh. von 10.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 9.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 335/44 geh., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 12.7., T313, R420, F8713896. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 348/44 geh. v. 14.7.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 13.7., T313, R420, F8713904. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. Unleserlich, v. 15.7.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 14.7, T313, R420, F8713914. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 388/44 g.Kdos 16.7.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 15.7, T313, R420, F8713921. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 424/44 geh. von 17.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 16.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 479/44 geheim von 18.7.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 17.7.44, BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 451/44 geh. von 19.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 18.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 476/44 g.Kdos, 20.7.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 19.7, T313, R420, F8713961. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 491/44 geh. von 21.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 20.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 517/44 geh. von 21.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 21.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 535/44 geh. von 23.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 22.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 535/44 geh. von 23.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 22.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 557/44 geh. von 25.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 24.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 572/44 geh. von 26.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 25.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 605/44 geh. von 28.7.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 27.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 633/44 g.Kdos, 29.7.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 28.7, T313, R420, F8714036. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 647/44 g.Kdos, 30.7.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 29.7, T313, R420, F8714042. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 665/44 g.Kdos, 31.7.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 30.7, T313, R420, F8714049. Pz.Gr. West Ia, Nr. 678/44 geh. von 1.8.1944., Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 31.7., BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 725/44 g.Kdos. 3.8.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 2.8, T313, R420, F8714075. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 734/44 g.Kdos. 4.8.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 3.8, BA-MA RH 21-5/50. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 758/44 g.Kdos. 5.8.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 4.8, T313, R420, F8714097. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 775/44 g.Kdos. 6.8.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 5.8, T313, R420, F8714097. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 801/44 g.Kdos, 7.8.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 6.8, T313, R420, F8714118. Pz.Gr. West Ia Nr. 811/44 g.Kdos, 8.8.44, Nachtrag zur Tagesmeldung 7.8, T313, R420, F87141130. Tagesmeldung LVIII. Pz.Korps Ia an AOK 7 10.8.44, T314, R1496, F001031f. Tagesmeldung LVIII. Pz.Korps Ia an AOK 7 11.8.44, T314, R1496, F001037f. Tagesmeldung LVIII. Pz.Korps Ia an AOK 7 12.8.44, T314, R1496, F001044. Tagesmeldung LVIII. Pz.Korps Ia 13.8.44, T314, R1496, F001069. LVIII. Pz.Korps Ia Nr. 48 geh. v. 14.8.44, Panzer-, Stu.Gesch.- und s.Pak-Lage 10 SS-Pz.Div., T314, R1496, F001074. HGr B Ia Nr. 6388/44 g.Kdos. 21.8.44., T311, R4, F7004565.

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