Panzers of the Das Reich 1941-1945 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9791255893257)

Unofficially established in 1934 with the creation of the SS-Verfügungstruppen, it was transformed immediately after the Polish campaign in the fall of 1939 into a full-fledged division, the SS-Verfügungs-Division, which took part in the military campaign on the Western Front in 1940. Transformed into the SS-Division 'Reich', the unit first took part in the campaign in the Balkans (mainly the occupation of Yugoslavia) and then in Operation Barbarossa. On the eve of the campaign on the Eastern Front, the division was reinforced with an assault gun unit, the first armored vehicles available to the 'Reich'. This was followed by fighting on the Jelnja front, the attack on Moscow, and difficult battles in the Rzhev sector in early 1942. With the reorganization of the unit into an armored grenadier division in the fall of 1942, the new SS-Pz.Gr.Division 'Das Reich' was equipped with a complete armored regiment, equipped with PzKpfw.III and PzKpfw.IV, as well as a heavy armored company equipped with the new Tigers!