To have the crews of the German Panthers in M10 disguise speak English in Enlisted is not authentic.
The Panther in M10 disguise were used exclusively by Panzer-Brigade 150. which was a mixed ad hoc volunteer unit consisting of Heer (English: Army), Luftwaffe (English: Air Force) and Waffen SS (English: Military SS) elements. Panzer-Brigade 150. existed for only a short period of time and was commanded by German military Commando leader SS-Obersturmbannführer (English: SS-Lieutenant-Colonel) Otto Skorzeny. Panzer-Brigade 150. consisted of volunteers from more than ten different Heer, Luftwaffe and Waffen SS units.
Panzer-Brigade 150. was intended to be a special volunteer unit, wearing American uniforms and using American weapons and vehicles, that would exploit the surprise and shock, created by the breakthrough of the American lines in the German Ardennes offensive in December 1944, to move forward to the Maas/Meuse bridges as if they were retreating Americans.
Panzer-Brigade 150. consisted of three Kampfgruppen (English: Battle Groups), named Kampfgruppe X, Kampfgruppe Y and Kampfgruppe Z and the Commando unit called ‘Einheit Stielau’ (English: Unit Stielau).
As the key element of “Operation Greif” Panzer-Brigade 150. was ordered to be raised on 22 October 1944. The three Kampfgruppen of this unit were never used in the role for which they were intended and instead only saw combat as regular front-line combat units in the Malmedy area in the Ardennes in Belgium from 21 December 1944 to 28 December 1944, so only 7 days in total. Then Panzer-Brigade 150. was transferred to Grafenwöhr in Germany where it was disbanded. By 23 January 1945 all the troops which had made up Panzer-Brigade 150. had been returned to their own units.
The ‘Einheit Stielau’ Commandos of Panzer-Brigade 150. were initially used in their intended role and they were in action in their US Army uniforms from 16 December 1944 to 19 December 1944, after which they wore their German military uniforms again until 28 December 1944, after which they also were transferred to Grafenwöhr to be disbanded.
So the three Kampfgruppen of Panzer-Brigade 150. were never used in their intended “behind the enemy lines” role and were instead from 21 December 1944 to 28 December 1944 used as a regular front-line German combat units in the Malmedy area in the Ardennes, unlike the ‘Einheit Stielau’ Commando unit of Panzer-Brigade 150. which did initially operate as intended.
I refer you to what the French historian Jean Paul Pallud has written about this subject for the well-known British publisher “After the Battle” publications. Jean Paul Pallud researched a lot of WW2 events and has written a lot in many English language books and articles about WW2. One of the subjects he has written about is Panzer-Brigade 150. for example in:
- Battle of the Bulge Then and Now
- Ardennes 1944: Peiper and Skorzeny
I refer you to these two books is you want to know more about both the Panther in M10 disguise used by Panzer-Brigade 150. including the men that used them and how and where they were sent into action.
Next to that there is also what Skorzeny himself has written on the subject.
As to the crews of the Panther in M10 disguise in Panzer-Brigade 150: there is no information that they were English language speakers, but they did wear American military clothing over their Black Heer (English:Army) Panzer uniform.
Panzer-Brigade 150. was planned to consist fully of volunteers with good American accent English language speakers, but this could not be achieved.
Jean Paul Pallud provides the following information:
"Skorzeny was later to write: ‘We employed a number of language experts who divided them into categories, according to their knowledge of English. After a couple of weeks the result was terrifying. Category one, comprising men speaking perfectly and with some knowledge of American slang was ten strong, and most of them were sailors, who also figured largely in category two. The latter comprised men speaking perfectly, but with no knowledge of American slang. There were 30 to 40 of them. The third category consisted of between 120 and 150 men who spoke English fairly well, and the fourth about 200 strong, of those who had learned English at school. The rest could just about say “Yes”. In practice it meant that we might as well mingle with the fleeing Americans and pretend to be too flurried and overcome to speak’.
Faced with the realities of this situation, Skorzeny had been obliged to scale down his ideas for Panzer-Brigade 150. from three battalions to two; and he decided to assemble 150 of the best English-speaking volunteers into a Commando unit, called ‘Einheit Stielau’ (English: Unit Stielau)."
As stated before Panzer-Brigade 150. consisted of three Kampfgruppen (English: Battle Groups), named Kampfgruppe X, Kampfgruppe Y and Kampfgruppe Z and the Commando unit called ‘Einheit Stielau’.
The mission of Kampfgruppe X, Y and Z of Panzer-Brigade 150. was to seize at least two Maas/Meuse bridges without a fight from among the following possibilities: Amay, Huy or Andenne but this mission would only be initiated when the spearhead Panzer units of 6. Panzer-Armee (English: Panzer-Army). had reached the Hohes Venn. At that time the three Kampfgruppen of Panzer-Brigade 150. were to move forward on parallel routes towards these bridges at night and reach their objective six hours later, avoiding combat. In the event the bad condition of the muddy “roads”, which were no more than muddy dirt tracks really, and the narrow ravines in the Ardennes led to such huge traffic jams that Panzer-Brigade 150. never could overtake the German Panzer spearhead units in order to actually get behind enemy lines.
The 150 men in the ‘Einheit Stielau’ Commando unit were not part of Kampfgruppe X, Y and Z of Panzer-Brigade 150. So ‘Einheit Stielau’ was effectively a 150-men company strength Commando unit and the rest of Panzer-Brigade 150. was about 2,500 man strong, of which 500 were Waffen SS Commandos and Waffen SS Fallschirmjäger, 800 were Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger Commandos and the remaining 1,200 were Heer (English: Army).
Only Kampfgruppe X and Kampfgruppe Y had the Panthers in M10 disguise. Kampfgruppe X and Y only had 5 Panthers each and according to author Bryan Perrett there were only four Panther Ausf. G converted to look like M10s.
The crews of these 10 Panthers came from the 4. Kompanie (English: 4th Company) of Panzer-Regiment 11. of the 6. Panzer-Division, this was a German Heer (English: Army) unit. These Panther crews were volunteers but there is no information that any of these Panther crew volunteers had English language skills at all.
Instead all the English language skilled members of Panzer-Brigade 150. were concentrated in the special commando unit called “Einheit Stielau”. Enough American (US Army) military uniforms, equipment, arms and vehicles were supplied to Skorzeny to allow him to fully equip the “Einheit Stielau” Commando unit with them.
The rest of Panzer-Brigade 150. had a mixed German-American military look to them. All the vehicles of Panzer-Brigade 150. were painted and marked to look like US Army vehicles BUT there was a yellow triangle recognition sign at the rear of each vehicle belonging to Panzer-Brigade 150. to avoid “not so friendly fire”.
In Enlisted the Panther in M10 disguise is missing its yellow triangle at the rear of the vehicle.
According to Jean Paul Pallud Skorzeny later explained how Panzer-Brigade 150. was missing 1,500 American steel helmets and had only four American scout cars, about 30 American Jeeps, about 15 genuine American military trucks and that he “had to make up the difference with German vehicles”. Two Sherman tanks had been delivered to Skorzeny but none of them were operational during the December 1944 Ardennes offensive. The unit was only partially equipped with allied vehicles and equipment, because it was not possible to fully equip the unit with captured allied vehicles. This was because the many German units that possessed large amounts of captured allied equipment did not want to give any of it up and thus reported most of it as “under repair/maintenance” when they were ordered to turn it in. By 1943 it had basically become standard practice in the German military units to list their equipment as “under repair/maintenance” to avoid being forced to hand over their equipment to another unit. This was the usual administrative excuse used in German units to keep equipment that was fully functional in the unit.
‘Einheit Stielau’ - like the rest of Panzer-Brigade 150. - consisted of volunteers, the ‘Einheit Stielau’ did not crew the Panthers in M10 disguise however.
‘Einheit Stielau’ members according to Jean Paul Pallud, “even if they could speak English, none of them had any experience of undercover operations or sabotage. 'In the few weeks at our disposal” commented Skorzeny, ‘we could hardly hope to teach them their job properly. They knew the perils of their missions and that a man caught fighting in enemy uniform could be executed as a spy. They were clearly animated by the most glowing patriotism. They were given courses in demolition and radio techniques; they studied the organisation of the US Army; they learned to recognise American rank badges and American drill; some of them were even sent to prisoner-of-war camps in Küstrin and Limburg to ‘refresh’ their English through contact with American prisoners of war.’ ".
‘Einheit Stielau’, which basically had all the English language speakers, operated separately of the rest of Panzer-Brigade 150. during the Ardennes offensive in December 1944.
‘Einheit Stielau’ consisted of “Demolition Commando squads” consisting of five to six men, “Reconnaissance Commando patrols” consisting of three to four men, and “Lead Commando half-squads” consisting of three to four men which operated closely with some of the attacking divisions of 6. Panzer-Armee (English: Panzer-Army).
The “Demolition Commando squads” were to blow up bridges, ammunition and fuel dumps. The “Reconnaissance Commando patrols” were to reconnoitre in depth on either side of the Maas/Meuse, and radio back what they could see, as well as passing on fake orders to any allied units they met, reversing road signs, removing minefield warnings, and cordoning off roads with white tape to mark non-existent mines. The “Lead Commando half-squads” main aim was disrupting the American chain of command by cutting telephone wires, wrecking radio stations and giving out false orders.
According to Skorzeny there were four groups of “Reconnaissance Commandos”, two groups of “Demolition Commandos” and three groups of “Lead Commandos” that supported the spearheads of the following divisions: 1. SS-Panzer-Division “LSSAH”, 12. SS-Panzer-Division “HJ” and 12. Volks-Grenadier-Divsion. There were a further three groups of “Lead Commandos” that supported each of the three Kampfgruppen (Kampfgruppe X, Y and Z) of Panzer-Brigade 150.
According to Skorzeny a total of 44 ‘Einheit Stielau’ Commandos were sent through the allied (American) lines, of which all but eight returned. The last ‘Einheit Stielau’ Commando units were sent through the lines on 19 December 1944. After this, the element of surprise being lost, normal trips were made, with the ‘Einheit Stielau’ men wearing German uniforms.
So the ‘Einheit Stielau’ Commandos of Panzer-Brigade 150. only wore US Army uniforms from 16 December 1944 to 19 December 1944, after which they wore their German military uniforms again.
So the ‘Einheit Stielau’ Commandos wore US military clothing, the basic American uniform, for a total of four days. They were equipped with US Army weapons and equipment and wore blue scarfs. The blue scarves were one of the agreed recognition signs and the chin-strap of their helmets remained loose, to be ready to immediately remove their helmet which was another recognition sign.
The agreed upon recognition signs used by all members of Panzer-Brigade 150. to identify themselves to other German troops according to author Jean Paul Pallud were: “painting white dots on houses, trees and roads used by them; the unit’s vehicles displayed a small yellow triangle at the rear of the vehicle, the Panzer/tanks of the unit were to keep their guns pointing at nine o’ clock; the men had to wear pink or blue scarves and take off their steel helmets; at night recognition was to be made by flashing a red or blue torch.”
So if you want an authentic Ardennes 1944 English speaking German unit in Enlisted, it would have to be an ‘Einheit Stielau’ Commando squad. I do not see the practical use of a ‘Einheit Stielau’ Commando unit in a game like Enlisted however.
Some color drawings by Ron Volstad from Jean Paul Pallud’s “Ardennes 1944: Peiper and Skorzeny”.
Panzer-Brigade 150. - StuG and le.SPW in US Army colors with US Army markings:
Panzer-Brigade 150. - Panther in M10 disguise, note the yellow triangle recognition at the rear which is missing from the one in Enlisted. This yellow recognition sign was intended to prevent “not so friendly fire” being directed at Panzer-Brigade 150. vehicles by other German units. Also note how the hatch is attached above the hull machine-gun, it is not clumsily hanging from a chain like in Enlisted.
Panzer-Brigade 150. - Three members of Panzer-Brigade 150.
On the left Heer (English: Army) Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) Otto Deier commanding the Panther in M10 disguise assigned to Kampfgruppe X. Oberleutnant Deier and his Panther crews would don American military clothing over their German Army black Panzer uniforms just before going into action. Oberleutnant Deier and the Heer (English: Army) crews in his Panther unit all came from 4. Kompanie (English: 4th Company), Panzer-Regiment 11., 6. Panzer-Division.
In the center German military Commando leader SS-Hauptsturmführer (English: SS-Captain) Adrian „Arik“ Freiherr von Fölkersam (Foelkersam), the commander of Kampfgruppe X of Panzer-Brigade 150. In May 1940 Von Fölkersam joined the Heer (English: Army) “Lehrregiment Brandenburg z. b. V. 800.” (English: Training Regiment Brandenburg for special purposes 800.) which was the German Army’s military Commando unit of the “Abwehr” (English: Defense) which was the German military-intelligence service for the Reichswehr (English: Realm Defense) and the Wehrmacht (English: Defense Force) from 1920 to 1945. This Heer (English: Army) military Commando unit was unofficially known as the “Brandenburger”. In the “Brandenburger” Von Fölkersam formed a military Commando sub-unit comprising Volksdeutsche (English: Ethnic Germans) of Russian origin that spoke fluent Russian. Von Fölkersam’s “Brandenburger” sub-unit was in action extensively during Operation Barbarossa from 1941 onwards, and among other things Von Fölkersam led an operation to capture the Maikop oilfields in 1942 with his men dressed as a USSR NKVD (English: USSR Paramilitary Police, the later KGB) detachment. In 1944 Von Fölkersam’s “Brandenburger” sub-unit was transferred from the Heer (English: Army) to the Waffen-SS (English: Military SS) where it became a core formation of the Waffen SS military Commando unit “SS-Jagdverband Ost” (English: SS-Hunting Detachment East), with this unit Von Fölkersam carried out several further noteworthy commando operations. SS-Hauptsturmführer Von Fölkersam was killed in action on 21 January 1945 near Hohensalza in (then) East Germany while commanding “SS-Jagdverband Ost”.
On the right a typical German Commando of ‘Einheit Stielau’. He wears the basic US Army uniform and US Army helmet, is armed with a US Army Garand semi-automatic rifle and a blue scarf. The blue scarf was one of the agreed recognition signs. The chin-strap of his helmet is loose, so he is ready to immediately remove his helmet which was another recognition sign. These recognition signs were intended to prevent “not so friendly fire” being directed at Commandos of ‘Einheit Stielau’ by other German units. The ‘Einheit Stielau’ Commandos only wore US Army uniforms from 16 December 1944 to 19 December 1944 in the Ardennes in the 6. Panzer-Armee (English: Panzer-Army) sector, after which they wore their German military uniforms again.
