In the case of how the LSSAH Panzer Regiment was organized in July 1943 (as there is no clear documentation of this), there are three options:
1) The regiment consisted of only the II Panzer Battalion with 5th, 6th, and 7th panzer companies, and the 13th panzer company for the Tigers.
2) The II Panzer Battalion had the 8th panzer company active.
3) The regiment consisted of the II Panzer Battalion with the 5th, 6th, and 7th panzer companies, and the 143h panzer company for the Tigers, and an ersatz I Panzer Battalion of maybe three companies.
Let me briefly outline the strengths and weaknesses of these three arguments:
- The three medium panzer company argument:
- Strengths
- This is the traditional position.
- This is what all the post-war narratives say.
- There is nothing that solidly disproves this.
- Weaknesses
- This makes little sense with 90 Pz III and IVs and 9 Panzer III Command tanks (in addition to the Pz I command tank).
- The companies would have had 31 tanks to start the battle with.
- But Ribbentrop says they started with 22.
- On 12 July, if Ribbentrop had 7 tanks, then the other two companies had at least 22 tanks each.
- Strengths
- The four medium panzer company argument
- Strengths
- You can almost fit the 90 tanks into four companies at 22 tanks a company.
- Compromise answer that avoids creating an ersatz Panzer battalion.
- Weaknesses
- Not documented in any unit records I have seen.
- The one source mentioning the 8th company specifically states that it was not used for Citadel due to “lack of tanks”.
- Strengths
- The two battalion argument
- Strengths:
- Accounts for all the tanks on 4 July.
- Accounts for all the tanks on 11 July (based upon Lehmann’s claim that II Panzer Battalion had 33 tanks).
- This is what Das Reich did.
- The “I Panzer Battalion” is actually referenced twice on 8 July 1943 in German records.
- Weaknesses
- Was never mentioned in any of the post-war accounts.
- Strengths:
So readers…did the LSSAH Panzer Regiment in July 1943 have 1) only II Battalion of three medium companies, 2) only II Battalion of four medium companies, 3) or an ersatz I Battalion in addition to the II Battalion of three medium panzer companies?
Recent posts on the subject:
Good summary.
One way to finally let the issue come to rest would be to see if there are detailed casualty lists for the various components making up the LSSAH division at Detsche Dienststelle in Berlin (which has been integrated in Bundesarchiv since 2018). There is a good chance there are by names casualty lists for companies and battalions at that archive. If so, any casualties incurred during Zitadelle would show up.
But if it was something like an anti-tank battalion attached to LSSAH from another unit (like they did with Das Reich), then under what unit would the casualties be reported under?
Definitely worth looking at for both LSSAH and Das Reich. Not sure what we will find.
I am not sure how attached units were filed in that particular archive (I have never been there).
What I had in mind was to find casualty lists for the companies of I. Battalion. If they suffered no or minimal casualties, the unit was probably not present at Kursk and vice versa.
Yea, I have never looked at those files either. Are they now in Freiburg or Berlin?
They are in Berlin.