The panzer divisions were to be positioned near the coast, as Rommel assigned them a major role in defeating the landings. He saw the beach as the main defensive area, and he had the coastal fortifications strengthened and the artillery positioned accordingly. Generalfeldmarschall Rommel had been given the task of smashing the landings.

The section of Channel Coast from Holland to the mouth of the Loire was a possibility. The wilful falsification of the enemy situation was not the only source of error on the German side in Normandy, however.Īn Allied landing in Normandy had been anticipated for a long time however, there was less certainty as to the precise location of the invasion. In contrast, Foreign Armies West reported seventy divisions, or almost twice the actual number. On 6 June 1944, the day of the invasion, the Allied Commander in Chief, General Eisenhower, had at his disposal thirty-seven divisions. However, it must be emphasized that the figures given by Foreign Armies West were greatly exaggerated and in no way accurate. These assessments of the enemy situation were used to compile the Situation Report West. The Foreign Armies West Department of the Wehrmacht High Command constantly kept track of the Allied divisions assembled in England. Therefore at this point I will provide only a brief summary of the developing situation in Northern France in 1944. It is not my intention here to study and analyze the reasons why the Allied invasion succeeded, that subject has been sufficiently explored by other authors. Their experiences are therefore representative of their company and the entire battalion. In reconstructing the actions of the 101st SS Panzer Battalion in Normandy, the author was forced to rely on accounts by individual members of the tank crews, which reflect the event from their point of view. Consequently the battalion was employed in many sectors of the front, split apart and widely dispersed, as had been the case with the 13th Tiger Company. To this end it was placed under the command of the units of the Ist SS Panzer Corps, whereby the heavy tanks were supposed to overcome any crises that arose.

The 101st SS Panzer Battalion was a corps battalion accordingly it was always committed wherever the situation at the front was the most critical and where immediate action was the dictate of the moment.

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