What is the record and combat history of the Nazi Second SS Reich Division?

Participated in the White Plan - Invasion of Poland, Yellow Plan - Invasion of France and the Low Countries, Operation Barbarossa - Invasion of the Soviet Union, Operation Typhoon - Battle of Moscow, Operation Bastion - Battle of Kursk, Operation Watch on the Rhine - Famous battles such as the Battle of the Bulge and Operation Spring Awakening - the Battle of Vienna. The "Deutsche" Division participated in the invasion of the Netherlands under the command of the Tenth Army. On May 13, 1940, the "Deutschland" division and other German armored units took full advantage of the extreme chaos and panic the Dutch army was plunged into under the heavy bombing by the Luftwaffe. They quickly broke into the rear of the Dutch army's defense lines and met with the paratroopers who were airborne in the capital Rotterdam. Rotterdam was captured on the 14th, and the Queen of the Netherlands fled to Britain on a British destroyer. On May 15, General Winkelmann, commander-in-chief of the Dutch army, announced his surrender. Thereafter, the division moved across Belgium as part of von Kliest's Panzer Group. On May 18, the armored group arrived at Amiens, an important city on the Somme River. On May 20, Amiens fell, and Abbeville, an important town at the mouth of the Somme, also fell on the same day. The German army immediately moved north and attacked the British and French forces in Belgium from behind. After the fighting in the Netherlands and Belgium, the division was sent to the Maginot Line for a feint attack, with the purpose of trapping the French troops in the fortifications and preventing them from escaping. After that, the "Deutschland" division participated in the battle to break through the French canal defense line and cooperated with other German troops to advance towards Paris. By the end of the battle, the "Deutsche" Division had reached the Spanish border. After the Battle of France, the "Germany" banner unit and some other SS units were transferred from the SS-VT and formed another ace force of the SS - the SS "Viking" division. As compensation, the SS-VT was supplemented by a battalion from the SS "Totenkopf" division. To avoid confusion between "Deutschland" and "Grossdeutschland", the division was renamed "Reich" (Reich). Thus, the legend of the "Imperial" division began. July 19: Georg Kepler, Paul Hausser and Sepp Dietrich were awarded the Knight's Cross at a victory ceremony held in the Reichstag in Berlin. After the Battle of France, the division took part in preparations for the invasion of Britain. With the cancellation of the "Sea Lion Project", the German army gradually shifted its forces to the east. The "Imperial Division" moved to Romania in March 1941, preparing to participate in the invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece. In April 1941, the "Imperial Division" captured Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia, with incredible speed. (The half-million Italian troops fought for six months, losing 63,000 people and gaining no ground; the Germans took 14 days to capture Yugoslavia and Greece, and the Germans even blocked the road in front of the Italians because they advanced too fast. ) The division moved to Poland after the Balkans campaign to prepare for the upcoming "Barbarossa" plan. The "Imperial Division" participated in the invasion of Russia as part of Army Group Center, and performed very well in the battles of Yelnia and Smolensk. It is also one of the vanguard units of the "Typhoon" operation aimed directly at Moscow. In November 1941, the "Imperial Division" arrived on the outskirts of Moscow and became a witness to the limits of the German army's advance in Russia. But with the Russian capital in sight, severe weather, huge losses in men and equipment, and a massive Soviet winter offensive ended the division's efforts to advance. Following bloody defensive battles with heavy casualties and gradual retreat, the division's combat effectiveness was gradually exhausted. Eventually they were removed from the front lines and sent to France to be reorganized into a Panzergrenadier division. However, part of the division remained on the Eastern Front, known as the "Ostendorf" battle group. The division continued to fight on the front line until it was sent to France in June 1942 to join the main force of the division. In November 1942, part of the division participated in the attempt to capture the French fleet at Toulon. Soon after, the division was renamed the Waffen-SS Panzergrenadier Division "Reich". In early 1943, the "Imperial Division" returned to the Eastern Front and participated in the Battle of Kharkov. It was one of the heroes who saved the front from the brink of collapse. After recapturing Kharkov, the division, together with other fraternal units, prepared to participate in the Battle of Kursk. In July 1943, the "Imperial Division" advanced south of the Kursk salient very successfully, penetrating 40 miles into the Soviet front line, but ultimately failed to achieve the established goal of encircling the Soviet army. With the cessation of the battle, it was removed from the front line along with other Waffen-SS divisions. After some small-scale fighting, the "Imperial Division" was once again shipped to the West for reorganization, this time becoming the Waffen-SS "Imperial" Panzer Division. While reorganizing in the rear, the division also left a battle group at the front, known as the "Imperial" battle group, although the official name should be "Lammerding battle group". While reorganizing in the West, the division also participated in counter-guerrilla operations in France. From the winter of 1943 to the beginning of 1944, another large-scale Soviet winter offensive encircled some German units in the center of the front, including the "Reich" battle group. But unlike Stalingrad, Paul Hausser (who was also the first division commander of the "Reich Division")'s 2nd SS Panzer Corps relieved them. The battle group was then transported to France to join the main division. The remaining units on the eastern front formed the "Weidinger" battle group and retreated from Proskurow to Tarnopol.

When the Battle of Normandy began in June 1944, the "Imperial Division", as one of the main forces of the German armored forces, made unremitting efforts to drive the Allied forces off the sea. Hard fighting in particular around Caen and Saint-L? hampered the Allied advance, but the division also suffered heavy casualties. After successfully recapturing Mortain, the division began to fall back as signs emerged that it, along with many other units, had fallen into a pocket known as the Falises Pocket. Thanks to the division and the 9th The joint efforts of the Waffen-SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" opened the mouth of the bag, and a large part of the German army was able to break out of the encirclement eastward. After that, the division withdrew across the Seine and then to the Germans. After the "Western Wall" (the original Siegfried Line), after a brief rest, the 2nd SS "Reich" Panzer Division participated in the Battle of the Ardennes in December 1944. After breaking through the US defense line, the division moved forward. The attack was fierce, but just where the Maas River was visible to the naked eye, the offensive was stopped by the reinforcing U.S. military. As the U.S. military gradually counterattacked, it retreated step by step. After this failure, the division returned to the German mainland. The division replenished personnel and equipment, and then participated in the last offensive operation of the German army in World War II. The goal was to recapture Budapest. However, this operation in Hungary was also frustrated by the strong strength of the Soviet army. After that, the division successively fought in Germany. Fighting in Lesden, Prague, and Vienna until the end of the war, most of the division managed to move west until it surrendered to the U.S. Army.

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