Haasler - Hold the Westwall : the history of Panzer Brigade 105, September 1944

The Stackpole Military History Series

THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

Cavalry Raids of the Civil War

Ghost, Thunderbolt, and Wizard

In the Lions Mouth

Picketts Charge

Witness to Gettysburg

WORLD WAR I

Doughboy War

WORLD WAR II

After D-Day

Airborne Combat

Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 194345

Armoured Guardsmen

Army of the West

Arnhem 1944

Australian Commandos

The B-24 in China

Backwater War

The Battle of France

The Battle of Sicily

Battle of the Bulge, Vol. 1

Battle of the Bulge, Vol. 2

Beyond the Beachhead

Beyond Stalingrad

The Black Bull

Blitzkrieg Unleashed

Blossoming Silk against the Rising Sun

Bodenplatte

The Brandenburger Commandos

The Brigade

Bringing the Thunder

The Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign

Coast Watching in World War II

Colossal Cracks

Condor

A Dangerous Assignment

D-Day Bombers

D-Day Deception

D-Day to Berlin

Destination Normandy

Dive Bomber!

A Drop Too Many

Eagles of the Third Reich

The Early Battles of Eighth Army

Eastern Front Combat

Europe in Flames

Exit Rommel

The Face of Courage

Fist from the Sky

Flying American Combat Aircraft of World War II

For Europe

Forging the Thunderbolt

For the Homeland

Fortress France

The German Defeat in the East, 194445

German Order of Battle, Vol. 1

German Order of Battle, Vol. 2

German Order of Battle, Vol. 3

The Germans in Normandy

Germanys Panzer Arm in World War II

GI Ingenuity

Goodwood

The Great Ships

Grenadiers

Guns against the Reich

Hitlers Nemesis

Hold the Westwall

Infantry Aces

In the Fire of the Eastern Front

Iron Arm

Iron Knights

Kampfgruppe Peiper at the Battle of the Bulge

The Key to the Bulge

Knights Cross Panzers

Kursk

Luftwaffe Aces

Luftwaffe Fighter Ace

Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers over Britain

Luftwaffe Fighters and Bombers

Massacre at Tobruk

Mechanized Juggernaut or Military Anachronism?

Messerschmitts over Sicily

Michael Wittmann, Vol. 1

Michael Wittmann, Vol. 2

Mountain Warriors

The Nazi Rocketeers

Night Flyer / Mosquito Pathfinder

No Holding Back

On the Canal

Operation Mercury

Packs On!

Panzer Aces

Panzer Aces II

Panzer Aces III

Panzer Commanders of the Western Front

Panzergrenadier Aces

Panzer Gunner

The Panzer Legions

Panzers in Normandy

Panzers in Winter

The Path to Blitzkrieg

Penalty Strike

Poland Betrayed

Red Road from Stalingrad

Red Star under the Baltic

Retreat to the Reich

Rommels Desert Commanders

Rommels Desert War

Rommels Lieutenants

The Savage Sky

Ship-Busters

The Siege of Kstrin

The Siegfried Line

A Soldier in the Cockpit

Soviet Blitzkrieg

Stalins Keys to Victory

Surviving Bataan and Beyond

T-34 in Action

Tank Tactics

Tigers in the Mud

Triumphant Fox

The 12th SS, Vol. 1

The 12th SS, Vol. 2

Twilight of the Gods

Typhoon Attack

The War against Rommels Supply Lines

War in the Aegean

Wolfpack Warriors

Zhukov at the Oder

THE COLD WAR / VIETNAM

Cyclops in the Jungle

Expendable Warriors

Fighting in Vietnam

Flying American Combat Aircraft: The Cold War

Here There Are Tigers

Land with No Sun

MiGs over North Vietnam

Phantom Reflections

Street without Joy

Through the Valley

WARS OF AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST

Never-Ending Conflict

The Rhodesian War

GENERAL MILITARY HISTORY

Carriers in Combat

Cavalry from Hoof to Track

Desert Battles

Guerrilla Warfare

Ranger Dawn

Sieges

Copyright 2007 by J. J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Inc.

Published in paperback in 2011 by

STACKPOLE BOOKS

5067 Ritter Road

Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

www.stackpolebooks.com

Originally published as Hold the Westwall or Perish with It by J. J. Fedorowicz Publishing in 2007. This edition published by arrangement with J. J. Fedorowicz Publishing. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to J. J. Fedorowicz Publishing, 104 Browning Boulevard, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3K 0L7.

Cover design by Tracy Patterson

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Haasler, Timm.

[Hold the Westwall or perish with it]

Hold the Westwall : the history of Panzer Brigade 105, September 1944 / Timm Haasler.

p. cm.

Includes .

Originally published under title: Hold the westwall or perish with it. Winnipeg : J.J. Fedorowicz Pub., 2007. ISBN 978-0-8117-1056-5

1. Germany. Heer. Panzerbrigade, 105. 2. World War, 19391945Regimental historiesGermany 3. World War, 19391945Tank warfare. 4. World War, 19391945CampaignsFrance. I. Title.

D757.57105th H33 2011

940.54'2143dc22

2011012118

eBook ISBN: 9780811744942

Contents

Editors Notes

Modern American Army terminology is generally used wherever an equivalent term is applicable. In cases where there may be nuances where we think the reader might enjoy learning the German term, we have included it with an explanation.

In cases where the German term is commonly understood or there is no good, direct English equivalent, we have tended to retain the original German term, e.g., Schwerpunkt (point of main effort), Auftragstaktik (mission-type orders) etc.

In an attempt to highlight the specific German terminology, we have italicized German-language terms and expressions. Since most of the terms are repeated several times, we have not included a glossary. There is a at the back of the book listing German Army, Waffen-SS and US Army equivalents.

Unit designations follow standard German practise, i.e., an Arabic numeral before the slash (e.g.,