Background: Tigerabteilung 102 and Hill 112

  The 102. Schwere (Heavy) Panzer Abteilung was originally formed from a Tiger battalion intended for the II SS-PanzerCorp in late October 1943. Due to heavy losses by the PanzerCorp during Kursk, all newly arriving Tigers were used as replacements and the newly formed battalion did not to began to recieve tanks until April 1944. At the beginning of June 1944, the special unit had a full complement of 45 PzKfw VI Tiger I's and was scheduled to begin gunnery and maneuver training on 15 June at Oldebroek, Holland. Commanded by Sturmbannfuhrer Hans Weiss, the unit rail-loaded piecemeal starting on 22 June with the last Tigers leaving on 2 July. The battalion was off-loaded at Versilles, west of Paris, and began a roadmarch under its own power towards Normandy. Tigerabteilung 102's companies were pieced out as they arrived to support the 9th SS-Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" and 10th SS-Panzer Division "Frundsberg" (who had recently arrived from the Eastern Front  without all of their Panzer battalions), which were engaged in holding actions against combined British and Canadian units just southwest of Caen.

  Caen had fallen to Allied units on 9-10 July after a brutal month-long struggle, and elements of Hohenstaufen and Frundsberg were holding advancing Allied tank forces in the Orne River valley area, between Maltot and St. Martin. The predominant terrain feature in this area was a large, gently sloped hill which provided a commanding view of the area for kilometers around. It was dotted with small farms and wooded areas with a rather large farm area at its crest. By early morning of 10 July, under cover of concentrated fire, elements of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment began to occupy the top of the hill, now known as Hill 112, or "Calvary Mountain". Elements of the 9th Royal Tank Regiment occupied the town of Maltot, just northeast of the hill.

  The Baral platoon of the 1st company, Tigerabteilung 102, was ordered in the late afternoon of 10 July to conduct a reconnaissance in force into the outskirts of Maltot to ensure there would be no suprises on the flank of the unit's planned assault on Hill 112; scheduled to kick off at 2200hrs that same night. Four Shermans were encountered during the recon and were either destroyed or driven off.

  The Tigerabteilung 102 began it's baptism of fire that night by fighting through massive enemy artillery attacks, light bombers, groups of Shermans, Churchills, and liberal enemy use of smoke shells. The area stayed so engulfed in smoke that the Panzergrenadiers had trouble keeping enemy close assault teams off the Panzers, and the attack faltered half-way up.

  At dawn of 11 July, the attack was begun again, in a more northeasterly approach. Again fighting through heavy enemy smoke and artillery, the unit managed to drive elements of The Royal Scots Greys, 4th Armoured Brigade (indep.) from the farm at the top of the hill. 

  During the night and early morning of 11-12 July, enemy forces again drove off the panzergrenadiers of Frundsberg and the Tigers were forced to give up the hill. 

  At 0400hrs on 13 July The Tigers rolled again against Hill 112. It was taken after a forceful attack on the cattle pens at the top. The constant bombardments had changed the face of this terrain. Without leaves, naked tree trunks reached, as if accusing, into the sky and countless craters created the impression of a moonscape.

The Tigers would hold the hill for the next ten days, beating off countless smaller enemy counterattacks. By 24-25 July enemy pressure and air attacks would increase to the point where the only option was to withdraw from the hill or risk losing even more Tigers and men.

  During this period of fighting, the Abteilung was able, through the outstanding efforts of the crews and maintenance personnel, to keep an average of 19 operational Tigers operating in the area at any one time.

The Tigerabteilung 102 would go on, fighting almost continual actions without replacements, throughout August, until its near annihilation in the Falaise Pocket. Through six weeks of combat, they claimed 227 Allied tanks.