German Panzergrenadiers, Mechanized and Motorized, of World War Two, 1939–1945
German Panzergrenadiers are the infantry element of the armoured division and mechanized infantry division. In 1940, the typical Panzerdivision had a tank brigade of two regiments, and a rifle brigade of one infantry regiment and a motorcycle battalion, as well as the usual artillery, recon, engineers, signals and other divisional assets. The infantry regiment consisted of one mechanized infantry battalion mounted in half-tracks and two motorized infantry battalions transported in light trucks like the Kfz. 70 Mannschaftskraftwagen. In the Panzergrenadierdivision the ratio of infantry to armour is reversed: two infantry regiments serve alongside one tank regiment.
Miniatures
- Panzergrenadiers, 1:72 Revell 02511
- Panzergrenadiers 1944, 1:72 Forces of Valor (Unimax) 83096
- Panzergrenadier Crew for Sd.Kfz. 251, 20 mm SHQ GV-1
- Seated Panzergrenadiers in Helmets, 20 mm SHQ GV-2
- Panzergrenadiers, 1:72 Atlantic 4051
- German Soldiers, 1:72 ESCI P-201
- German Infantry, 1:72 Hasegawa MT30
- German Infantry, 1:72 Revell 02502
- German Infantry, 1:76 Airfix 01705
- German Infantry, 1939–1944, 1:76 Matchbox 5003 (40903)
- German Infantry, 1:76 Fujimi 76025
- German Afrika Korps, 1:72 Atlantic 1569
- German Afrika Korps, 1:72 ESCI P-206
- German Afrika Korps, 1:72 Revell 02513
- German Afrika Korps – 2nd Edition (1973), 1:76 Airfix 01711
- German Afrika Korps, 1:76 Matchbox 5004 (40904)
- German Afrika Korps – 1st Edition (1962), H0/00 Airfix 01711
- Armoured Panzergrenadier Platoon, 15 mm Battlefront Miniatures GBX01
- Motorised Panzergrenadier Company (DF), 15 mm Battlefront Miniatures GBX04
- Armoured Panzergrenadier Platoon (Late), 15 mm Battlefront Miniatures GBX09
- Panzergrenadier Platoon, 15 mm Battlefront Miniatures GE703
- Panzergrenadier Platoon (Afrika), 15 mm Battlefront Miniatures GE743
- Panzergrenadier Platoon (Greatcoats), 15 mm Battlefront Miniatures GE720
- Panzergrenadier Platoon (Camouflage Smocks), 15 mm Battlefront Miniatures GE791
Bibliography
- Fleischer, Wolfgang: Motorisierte Schützen und Panzergrenadiere, 1935–45.
- Hughes, Matthew: Fighting Techniques of a Panzergrenadier, 1941–1945.
Historical Employment
- Europe, 1939–1945
- North Africa, 1942–1943
Possible Conversions
- Gebirgsjäger figures, German mountain troops, may be used
to increase the variety of poses in a Panzergrenadier platoon.
Related Films
- Private Ryan, an award-winning war film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Matt Damen, and Tom Sizemore. There is a Panzergrenadier recon section in the scene where the Rangers meet men of the 82nd Airborne in a field somewhere in Normandy. Paratrooper Private Ryan stops the enemy half-track with a bazooka round. Later in the film, two German half-tracks can be seen transporting Panzergrenadiers into combat near the bridge.
Panzergrenadiers were not the most common infantry troop type in the Germany army, they formed the elite infantry spearhead of the armoured and mechanized divisions. Motorization was expensive, and the majority of Panzergrenadiers rode trucks or tanks to the front.