Original Item: Only One Available. The Panzergrenadier Division "Großdeutschland", also commonly referred to simply as “Großdeutschland” or “Großdeutschland Division”, was an elite combat unit of the German Army (Heer) that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.

Originally formed in 1921 it was known as the Wachregiment Berlin and served as a ceremonial guard unit and by 1939 had grown into a regiment of the combined Wehrmacht German armed forces. The regiment would later be expanded and renamed “Infantry Division Großdeutschland” in 1942, and after significant reorganization was renamed Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland in May 1943. In November 1944, while the division retained its status as a panzergrenadier division, some of its subordinate units were expanded to divisional status, and the whole group of divisions were reorganized as Panzerkorps Großdeutschland.

On June 20, 1939 special uniforms and insignia were introduced for all Großdeutschland personnel including the distinctive cuff title and shoulder board/strap cyphers. Originally introduced for wear by all ranks, the Großdeutschland cuff title was produced in four different patterns during the war with minor modifications. The first pattern cuff title was a machine woven version featuring Gothic style script in bright silver/aluminum threads on a dark green base which was replaced with a second pattern in mid 1940. The new second pattern also featured machine woven Gothic style script in bright silver/aluminum threads on a dark green base with the added prefix, "Inf. Regt.". The second pattern cuff title was only worn for a short period of time until a third pattern was introduced on October 7, 1940, that featured hand embroidered Sütterlin style script in bright silver/aluminum threads on a black base and eliminated the "Inf. Regt.", prefix. In mid-1944 the third pattern was altered to machine embroidered Sütterlin style script in silver/grey cotton threads. The fourth and final pattern cuff title was introduced in late 1944 and altered the script from the Sütterlin style to the Copperplate style script.

This example is the mid 1944, third pattern cuff title with machine embroidered Sütterlin style script. Although the earlier pattern cuff titles with the hand embroidered script are often referred to as Officer’s types there was no difference between the Officer and EM/NCO’s cuff titles. It measures approximately 18" x 1 1/2".

The cuff title is constructed of very nice black wool and appears to be without damage. The “Russian braid” silver thread borders the length of the title on both the top and bottom. The thread seems to be complete and without significant damage, but it has a slight color loss to it with minor staining. The white cotton thread used for the Sütterlin script is nice, clean and without damage. The stitching on the back used to secure the folds appears complete and still holds the flaps down nicely.

This is a very nice example of a Sütterlin script cuff title from the Elite Panzer Division of WWII. Comes ready to display in your WWII armored collections!

More History On The Großdeutschland Division
The Infantry Regiment Grossdeutschland was activated on 14 June 1939. The regiment saw action in France in 1940. It was attached to Panzer Group 2 in the opening phases of Barbarossa, and was nearly destroyed in the Battle of Moscow in late 1941. On the last day of February 1942, the remnants of the regiment absorbed two battalions of reinforcements that arrived from Neuruppin and the regiment was reconstituted. It later moved to Orel, and on 1 April 1942 the former Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland was reinforced and expanded into the Infanterie-Division Großdeutschland (mot.) (motorized Infantry Division Grossdeutschland) using newly arrived troops from Germany.

The division was assigned to XXXXVIII Panzer Corps during the opening phases of Fall Blau, the Wehrmacht's 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. During the combined Soviet winter offensives Operation Uranus and Operation Mars, the division fought near Rzhev, where it was rendered combat ineffective.

In January–February 1943, Großdeutschland and XXXXVIII Panzer Corps, along with the II SS Panzer Corps took part in the Third Battle of Kharkov. The division fought alongside the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS AH, 2nd SS Division Das Reich and 3rd SS Division Totenkopf during these battles. After the conquest of Kharkov, the Großdeutschland was again pulled back and refitted.

On 19 May 1943, with the addition of armoured personnel carriers and Tigers the division was redesignated Panzergrenadier Division Großdeutschland (Armored Infantry Division Grossdeutschland), though in reality it now had more armoured vehicles than most full-strength panzer divisions.

The newly re-equipped division was subordinated to the XXXXVIII Panzer Corps, part of Fourth Panzer Army, and took part in the Battle of Kursk. During the buildup period, a brigade of two battalions was equipped with the new Panther tanks, which were plagued by technical problems, suffering from engine fires and mechanical breakdowns before reaching the battlefield. By 7 July, the division had only 80 of its 300 tanks still fit for combat. After the Kursk offensive was cancelled, the division was transferred back to Army Group Center, and resumed its role as a mobile reserve. The Tiger I tank company was expanded to a battalion, becoming the III. Battalion of the Panzer Regiment. Großdeutschland saw heavy fighting around Karachev before being transferred back to XLVIII Panzer Corps in late August. For the rest of 1943, Großdeutschland retreated across Ukraine, and in 1944 into Romania, where it took part in the First Battle of Târgu Frumos.

In early August, the division was transferred to East Prussia from Army Group South Ukraine. Over the next months, Großdeutschland was involved in heavy fighting in both East Prussia, including a counter-attack on Wilkowischken and the Baltic States, suffering high casualties in both men and materiel. The division was nearly destroyed during the battles in the Memel bridgehead.

In November 1944, while the division and several attached units were redesignated as Panzerkorps Großdeutschland. By March 1945, the Panzer Grenadier Division Großdeutschland had been reduced to around 4,000 men after the Battle of Memel. By 25 April 1945, the division was engaged in heavy fighting in the battles around Pillau. Eight hundred men of the division were evacuated on ferries via the Baltic Sea and surrendered to British forces in Schleswig-Holstein on May 9. The rest were either killed or captured during the fighting in Pillau or surrendered to Soviet forces on May 9 on the Vistula spit.