Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland

The Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland was a highly-trained and distinguished combat unit of the Wehrmacht. It fought during World War II, from beginning to end. Not only was this unit highly-trained, but it was also well equipped. They were always on the front line as they were part of a military campaign spearhead.

The Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland first saw combat action on the Western Front, participating in the invasion of the Low Countries and France in May 1940 during Fall Gelb. From June 22, 1941, this unit also served on the Eastern Front until it disappeared as a unit at the end of the war, fighting to the last man on the Russian front near Pillau, in May 1945. It must be said, that this powerful military unit did not belong to Waffen-SS, but it was a German Army unit (Einheit des Heeres).

Below, Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland armband

Brief History

The Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland originated from the Berlin Guard Detachment (Wachregiment Berlin), which had been created in 1921 to protect the German institutions and Berlin, the capital of the new Weimar Republic, against communist revolutions. At the beginning, it was composed of World War I veterans, most of them Sturmtruppen. In the 1920’s it was renamed Kommando der Truppe, better known as Wachtruppe, which consisted of seven companies. The Wachtruppe also provided escorts and Guards of Honor for State Visits.

In 1936, Generaloberst Fritsch, commander in chief of the army (Heer), had ordered that every unit of the Wehrmacht should send its best drilled soldiers on rotation for service on ceremonial duties with the Guard in Berlin. In January 1939, Adolf Hitler renamed the Wachtruppe regiment Infanterie Regiment Großdeutschland. In May 1940, the Regiment was attached to Army Group A’s Panzergruppe Kleist, under the command of Ewald von Kleist, intensively fighting at Sedan, in the Battle of France in May/June 1940.

After the campaign on the West, the regiment was sent to Yugoslav to participate in the ongoing campaign there. Then the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland took part in Operation Barbarossa from June 22, 1941. As part of Army Group Center, their men fought at Minsk and Battle of Smolensk. In April 1942, the Regiment was reorganized and expanded to become Infantry Division Großdeutschland, a motorized division, which contained the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland, which was strengthened by fresh troops from Berlin and received better military equipment.

In the Summer of 1942, this elite unit was sent to the East Front again where their troops participated in Fall Blau. On October 1, 1942, the Regiment was augmented, outfitted, and converted into the Grenadier Regiment Großdeutschland, which was part of Division with the same name. The Regiment kept fighting with bravery, elan, and derring-do until the end of the war. It fought in Kharkov, the Battle of Kursk, and in many other defensive battles to protect Germany from the Bolshevik troops.

Below, a guard company of the Großdeutschland Regiment in Berlin in 1937

Below, combat route of the Regiment during Barbarossa in the Summer of 1941

Below, Grossdeutschland mechanized unit during Fall Blau in July 1942