History of the Second World War (123 page)

Leeb’s, in Russia, 148-9, 159, 166, 245; passes to Kuchler, 245

Rundstedt’s, in Poland, 29-30; breakthrough in Ardennes, 38, 69-70; prepares for invasion of Britain, 89; in Russian campaign, 131-2, 148-9, 159, 165-7; passes to Reichenau, then Bock, 245

A, 148, 245, 249, 574; withdrawal of, from Caucasus, 477-9

‘Afrika’, 410, 413, 415, 425, 431

B, in Russia, 148, 245, 249, 260; in Italy, 455, 470

C, 470, 471

Central, 148, 485, 579-80, 582-4

Don, 148, 263, 477, 574

North Ukraine, 148, 574

Northern, 148, 581-2, 584, 587-8

Panzer, battle of theories on use of, 159-160; in Russia, 161-4, 166; in N. Africa, 192; reorganisation into ‘armies’, 251.
See also under
Army, Panzer

Hoth’s, 164, 166

Kleist’s, in France, 70-2, 84; in Greece, 133-4, 165; in Russia, 165-7

South Ukraine, 148, 574

Armies:

1st, 565

2nd, 84, 134, 249, 480

3rd, 28-31

4th, 28-30; in Russia, 159, 161, 163-4, 579-80; defensive methods of, 496-7

5th, 341

6th, 68, 89; in Russia, 166, 248-9, 251, 255-60, 263; lost in Bessarabia, 585

7th, 565, 649, 653-4, 657

8th, 29-30

9th, 84, 89; in Russia, 159, 161, 163-4, 580

10th, in Poland, 29;
in Italy,
452, 454-5, 459; Rome out of communication with, 455; at Salerno, 455, 459-65; withdraws, 465-6, 468-9; reinforced, 526, 528; attempts to cut off, 528, 535; Herr in command of, 671

11th, 249, 263

12th, 72, 133-5

14th, 29-31; in Italy, 526, 528, 671, 673

15th, 565, 649

16th, 89

17th, in Russia, 249, 253-5, 477-8

Armies, Panzer; decreased speed of, after reorganisation, 251

1st, in Russia, 248-9, 251-3; perils of withdrawal of, 477-8; transferred to Manstein’s army group, 485; trapped E. of Dniester, 574

3rd, 579

4th, in Russia, 249, 251, 256, 260, 263

5th, in Tunisia, 341; in Ardennes offensive, 643, 645-6, 650, 653-8

6th, in Ardennes offensive, 642, 645-6, 650-2, 654-5, 658

Panzerarmee Afrika.
See
Afrika Korps

Parachute:

1st, 559

Corps:

1st S.S, Panzer, 549, 652, 655

2nd S.S. Panzer, 652, 655

3rd Panzer, 491, 570

8th Air, 138

11th Air, 438, 444

14th Panzer, 445, 527-8, 539, 671

15th Panzer, 70, 72, 75, 84

16th Panzer, 68-9

18th Panzer, 653

47th Panzer, 570, 653, 655

51st Mountain, 528, 539, 671

58th Panzer, 653

66th, 653, 656

76th Panzer, 528, 671

80th, 654

90th, 335

Afrika Korps, 118-19; drives British from Cyrenaica, 119-20, 171; attacks Tobruk, 173-4; effective use of AA and anti-tank guns by, 177, 179-81, 188, 195, 267, 271-2; in Operation ‘Battleaxe’, 179-181; in Operation ‘Crusader’, 186-98; at Sidi Rezegh, 188-9; turns back to Tobruk, 194; retreats West, 195-8; losses in, 198; drives British back to Gazala, 266, 268; strength of, at Gazala battle, 269-71; air support for, 270; attacks at Gazala, 272; fails to reach coast-road, 272, 275; tank losses of, 272, 277, 283-4; takes Tobruk, 276-7; at Alamein, 281, 283-9; weariness of, 283-5; at Alam Haifa, 293-7; withdrawal of, gives heart to Eighth Army, 295-6; strength of, at final Alamein, 298; supplies to, sunk in Mediterranean, 299; sickness in, 299; at end of resources, 304; blocks pursuit, 305; finds shelter in Tunisia, 397, 435; becomes First Italian Army, 401, 413; in Kasserine Pass, 407, 409

Balck’s Panzer, 495

Guderian’s Panzer, in France, 65, 70-2, 84; prevented from cutting off B.E.F., 74-5, 80-3; in plan for invasion of Russia, 89; strength. 157; advance of, 161-4; deflected off road to Moscow, 166-7

Reinhardt’s, 72, 75

Parachute, to attack Leningrad, 484

1st, in Italy, 528, 539, 671

Divisions: reduced strength of, 243, 269, 485-6; varying strength of, 526n.; supply scale for, 564

Divisions, Air: 7th, 255

Divisions, Infantry:

65th, 471-2

71st, 534

76th, 539

94th, 534

334th, 424

Divisions, Light: 22, 28

5th, 118; tank regiment of, in N. Africa, 119, 174, 177, 179, 183

90th (Afrika Division), 183, 186, 279-280, 303, 421

164th (Afrika Division), 417-18

Division, Mountain:

5th, 137-8

Divisions, Panzer: brought up to strength, 84; reorganised (1941), 157-8; tank strength of, 403n., 459n., 496; face ‘Overlord’ landings, 546-8; gathered for Ardennes offensive, 642-3

1st, 437, 652, 654; Battle Group Peiper of, 654-5

2nd, 652, 655

3rd, 69

4th, 69

5th, 430

6th, 263

7th (Manteuffel’s), 118, 411, 424, 495

9th, 67, 652, 657-8

10th, in Tunisia, 339n., 341, 403, 406-409, 411-12, 415-16, 421, 425, 429

11th, 652

15th, in Western Desert, 118, 174, 179, 187-94, 279, 284-5, 295, 302, 398, 400; in Tunisia, 412, 417n., 418-19, 421, 429

16th, in Italy, 459, 462-3, 468; sent to Russia, 471

21st, in Western Desert, 183, 186-94, 279, 284, 302, 398, 400-1; in Tunisia, 402-3, 405, 407, 411-12, 417-18, 420-1, 429

26th, in Italy, 459, 464, 471-2, 531

76th, 471

116th, 643

Hermann Goring, in Sicily, 436, 442-443, 445-6; in Italy, 459, 463, 527-8, 535

Lehr, 655

S.S., 491, 583

2nd, 658

Divisions, Panzergrenadier:

3rd, 452, 464

15th, 436, 443, 459, 464, 657

29th, 445, 459, 463, 527-8

90th, 437-8, 470, 472, 527

Division, Parachute: losses of, in Crete, 136-9; in Russia, 255

1st, in Sicily, 444; in Italy, 459, 467-8, 471, 531, 535, 540, 673

2nd, 444, 452

5th, 653, 657

Division, Volksgrenadier:

26th, 655

Division, Waffen S.S., 652

Regiments:

Assault, 138

Glider, 137

Lehr, 530

Parachute, in Tunis, 337

Volkssturm ‘Home Guard’ troops, 668

Battalion: Panzer 190th, 337, 338
n.

Army, Greek, 115, 134-6, 151

Army, Hungarian, in Russia, 247, 249, 251, 259, 480

1st, 587

2nd, 480

Army, Indian, in Malaya, 224, 227; wartime expansion of, 363

Corps:

15th, 365

Divisions:

3rd (so-called), 516

4th, in Western Desert, 113-14, 124, 178, 184, 195-7, 268, 303, 529; in Sudan, 114, 124, 126; in Tunisia, 418, 420-1, 426-7; in Italy, 529-3

5th, in Sudan and Eritrea, 124, 126; in North Africa, 274, 281, 287-8

8th, 467

10th, 671

11th, 227

14th, 365

17th, 234

26th, 365

36th (Indian/British), 635

Brigades:

10th, 125

11th, 276

18th, 281

77th, reorganised as ‘Chindits’, 367-368

Army, Indian Nationalist, under Japanese, 636

Army, Italian, in Greece, 115, 151, 437; in Russia, 247, 259, 263; in Vichy France, 329; in Tunisia, 329, 402-3, 407; in Sicily, 442, 451; escapes to Italy, 445-6; disarmed by Germans, 450, 454; divisions kept near Rome, 452; troops faithful to Mussolini, 542, 670; Combat groups in Allied armies, 670

in East Africa,
109, 112, 121; takes British Somaliland, 124; tough colonial brigade at Metemma, 125; defeated in Eritrea and Ethiopia, 126-7

in North Africa,
109, 112, 195; harassment of, 112; utter defeat of, 113-17, 171, 711; prisoners taken, 113-14, 117, 173; follows German spearhead, 119; in attacks on Tobruk, 173-4; handicaps Rommel, 183; attack on, at Bir el Gubi, 186; at Sidi Rezegh, 189; withdrawal of, 197-8, 398; losses, in ‘Crusader’, 198; unmotorised divisions of, 269, 272; reaches Alamein, 285; surrenders in, 287; lack of sanitation in trenches of, 299

Armies:

1st, 401, 413

8th, 263

11th, 437

Corps: Mobile, 190, 192-3, 196-7, 268, 293

Divisions:

Ariete armoured, 189-91, 194, 284, 302

Centauro armoured, 307, 398, 401, 415

Littorio armoured, 286

Superga, 341

Trieste motorised, 190, 295

90th Light, 293, 295

Battalion:

1st Bersaglieri, 407

Army, Japanese, invades China, 206; in S.W. Pacific, 208-9, 507; aircraft of, 209; weakness of, in Philippines, 222-3; captures Malaya and Singapore, 227-30; captures Burma, 233-6, 343; unwilling to release troops for Navy projects, 343; attacks Papua, 355-6; on Tulagi, 358; effect of Chindit operations on, 368; plans operations in New Guinea, 501; garrisons of, meet invaders in S.W. Pacific Islands, 503-9; strength of (1943), 507; suicidal counterattacks of, 511-12, 520-1, 620-1; exhausts its strength on offensive into India, 513, 520; successfully deals with Chindit air invasion, 517; defends New Guinea, 613-17; defends Philippines, 621, 628-30; defensive task of, in Burma, 633

Area Armies:

2nd, 613, 615

8th, 613

Burma, 633

Armies:

14th, 222, 621

15th, 233-6, 365, 368, 515, 633, 636

17th, 501-2

18th, 501-2, 615

25th, 224, 234

28th, 515, 634, 637, 687

32nd, 683-6

33rd, 515, 635-6, 687

35th, 628

Divisions:

5th, 224-5

18th, 224, 235

31st, 519

56th, 235

Imperial Guards, 224

Army, New Zealand, in Crete, 135, 138-9; under Halsey in S.W. Pacific, 502

Corps: in attack on Mareth Line, 417, 419; in Italy, 529-32, 674

Divisions: in Western Desert, 112; in ‘Crusader’, 184, 187-8, 192, 194-5

2nd, at Mersa Matruh, 278-9; at Alamein, 281, 284-8, 295; in pursuit, 305-7, 398; in Italy, 471, 529-532

Army, Polish, overconfidence of, 12, 21, 27-8; illusions about strength of, 16-18; horsed cavalry of, 20; unrealistic dispositions of, 27-8; defeat of, 28-31

Corps, in Italy, 533-5, 539-40, 671-3

Army, Rumanian, in Russia, 247, 255, 259-260, 574-6; under Malinovsky, 586

Army, Russian (Red Army), in conquest of Poland, 31, 706; in Finland, 44-7, 53, 578; underestimation of strength of, 44, 169; anti-German propaganda to, 144; Hitler orders destruction of, 144, 146; strength in West, 149; initial defeats of, 153; numerical superiority in tanks, 158-9, 165; Germans seek to destroy, by encirclement, 159-60, 162-3; tough resistance from, delays German advance, 162; reinforcement of, 165, 167; ‘militarily unsafe’ commanders of, 165; lack of preparedness shown by, 160; drives Germans back from Moscow, 168; defeats Japanese force in Manchuria, 206; winter counteroffensive of, 241-2; Kharkov offensive of, 248; diminished oil supply of, 251; counteroffensive of, at Stalingrad, 255, 258, 260-5, 478; defends Stalingrad, 256-260; supply shortage becoming less, 257; flexible organisation of Eastern Front of, 261; threatens retreat of Army from Caucasus, 477-8; holding of, at Stalingrad, saves Manstein and Kleist, 479; 1943 offensives launched by, 480-1; improved technique of, 481, 487, 492; transport deficiencies of, 482, 486; driven back by counteroffensive at Donetz salient, 482-3; qualitative and quantitative improvement in supplies to, 486; can subsist where others would starve, 486-7, 571; battering-ram tendency of Generals in, 487; has room for manoeuvre and superiority in numbers, 487-8; considers whether to strike first or wait for attack, 489-90; offensives of, on many fronts, 490-5, 571-3, 579-83; advances limited by overstretch, 569, 573, 584, 668; Manteuffel on advance of, 571; advance checked at Carpathians, 573-5; liberates Crimea, 575-6; Army Groups or ‘fronts’ of, 579; U.S. trucks motorise infantry of, 580, 664-5; fails to support Warsaw uprising, 583; set-back to, 583-4; held up on Vistula line, 584, 663; exploits wide-open flank through central Europe, 585-7; 1945 offensive of, 663-75