Combat History of the 654th Schwere Panzerjager Abteilung

Combat History of the 654th Schwere Panzerjager Abteilung

The Combat History of schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654, In Action in the East and West with the Ferdinand and the Jagdpanther (Karlheinz Münch): nearly 750 period photographs (including three in color), 32 pages of full color vehicle profiles, additional superb scale black & white drawings by Hilary Doyle, and 14 pages of organizational charts.

Schwere Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654 was one of the two heavy tank-destroyer formations of the German armed forces to be equipped with the heavy Ferdinand tank destroyer. It earned a further distinction as one of the few formations to have also fielded the Jagdpanther, one of the most famous tank destroyers of World War II. Karlheinz Münch, using primary sources and largely unpublished photographs from and about this battalion, has written what must be considered the definitive history of this little- known aspect of World War II. Münch is. assisted in his yeoman efforts by the superb color illustrations (Kolacha), masterful unit organizational charts (Trojca) and highly accurate scale drawings (Doyle). In addition to hundreds of previously unpublished period photographs-including what must be every picture ever taken of the Jagdpanther with this battalion is a text that combines original history, first-hand accounts and the complete war diaries of the battalion from late 1943 onward.

Starting the war as Panzerjäger-Abteilung 654, the battalion fielded the standard towed antitank guns of the period. Fighting in the French campaign, it went on to the war in Russia, where it was badly mauled in the win- ter of 1942/1943 and withdrawn from frontline service for refitting. The battalion was hurriedly outfitted with the new Ferdinand tank destroyer, made a part of schweres Panzerjäger-Regiment 656 the largest antitank formation in the German Army- and participated in the fighting at Kursk and Orel in the summer of 1943. The battalion was ordered to turn in its remaining serviceable Ferdinande to its sister bat- talion (see below) and was returned to occupied Europe for refitting with the newest tank destroyer, the Jagdpanther. Not completely outfitted with the new vehicle, portions of the battalion were committed against the Allied landings in Normandy in 1944. The battalion then fought against Allied forces in southwest Germany and along the Rhine from late 1944 on.