The Big Debate #2 - Best Axis Unit/Regiment

[SubZero]

Task

Due to the Allied thread providing alot of information and recognition of units that participated in the war but were often forgotten about, the Axis has their turn now.

Please justify which regiment or unit deployed by the Axis War Machine you believe to be the best, and propose arguments against other choices for which deserves the ultimate recognition based upon a thread majority consensus.


Please include in your answers (where relevant):

- Factual Achievements
- Specialist Training
- Unique Equipment
- New Tactics
- Unsung Accomplishments
- Theatre/s of deployment
- Duration of involvement
- Infamy/fame

Please avoid any contraversial or confrontation statements :)

[ECHpanzerACE]

The best Axis unit was the Waffen ss: The waffen ss can be traced back to the original 322 soldiers that were trained as hitlers bodyguards

Fighting in many battles such as liberating france and poland for the axis they went on to fight in kursk, the battle of the bulge and Prokhorovka.

The waffen ss were trained as fanatics, to do anything to protect the third reich making themselves very useful to hitler.

The waffen ss were armed well with the most recent german armor and weaponary of the time.

The Waffen-SS demonstrated their mature combat ability during the Third Battle of Kharkov, where the II.SS-Panzerkorps under SS-Brigadeführer Paul Hausser recaptured the city and blunted the Soviet offensive, saving the forces of Erich von Manstein's Army Group South from being cut off and destroyed.

Theatre of deployment: Europe and the eastern front

Duration of involvment: 1940-1945

The affen ss were infamous for their lolalty to hitler and were persecuted after the war treated worse than regular german veterans e.g later in the newly created west germany they weren't given a pension. Even though they were not directly involved with the holocaust, many of them were responsoble for war crimes.

[**Spetsnaz**]

The best Axis unit was the Waffen ss

it doesnt qualify as a unit. Its a service in the Army, like the Navy is for example.

the best unit is bound to be a Waffen SS unit though.

the obvious here is the SS Leibstandarte, which was truly a crack division.
but others also shouldnt be withheld, the SS Wiking, SS Das Reich, the Finnish Volunteer Battalion, the GrossDeutschland Division, the 1 Parachutist Division, schwere Pz Abteilung 506, the choice is really hard with so many fine soldiers.

my final vote is the 5th SS Wiking though, as they had an examplary leader, no war criminals, superb combat performance, and made up of Germans, Finnish, Norwegians, Swedes, Swiss, Flemish, Dutch, Danes and others.

there is some excellent literature on them as well:

European Volunteers by Peter Strasser
the memoirs of Felix Steiner

and some others that dont come to mind now.

the Leibstandarte & schwere panzer abteilungen come right behind.

gr

S

PS the U Boat commanders shoudnt be forgotten either.

[say1988]

Outside the SS, you can't forget the Panzerlehrdivision, or various Fallschirmjager units.

[Coey]

Ramcke Parachute Brigade

Made up of units that had survived the battle for Crete, this unit was initially thrown together to partake in Operation Hercules, the invasion of Malta. After this was canceled they fought in North Africa under Rommel with quite a lot of success. Was surrounded after El Alamein but managed to break out, ambush an entire supply column for a British armoured division, take it without firing a shot, and drove 200 miles back to their own lines. Sent for rest and refit in Tunisia the Brigade fought hard against the Americans before surrendering in May 1943.

[churchill rifle]

in general light grenadier regiments
-they were grenadier regiments that were supplied with lighter weapons and given extra marksmanship and grenades
-the regiments had their own unnofical special forces trained for specific terrains and types of fighting(urban warfare, open areas, marshland, forests, mountains)
-the light grenadier regiments were actually better in a straight up fight than a regular grenadier regiment due to better mobility and the tactic of scaring allied soldiers out of their hiding place by firing a modified lmg that made more noise so the allied soldiers thought they had alot of mg's and when they tried to move cover the grenadiers spotted them with their training them picked them off with precise shots

[Fyfer]

7th Panzer Division, the 'Ghost Division'. Commanded by two geniuses in armoured warfare: Erwin Rommel and Hasso von Manteuffel.

Achievements:

Fought off the British counter-attack at Arras in 1940.

Captured the vital port of Cherbourg in the same year.

Fought with distinction on the Eastern Front.

Specialist Training:

Highly trained in mobility and lightning-strike tactics.

Theatre of deployment:

France and Russia.

Duration of service:

1939-1945.