Background
On 10 January 1942 the Artillerie-Kommandeur 104, commanding the army artillery of Panzergruppe Afrika, reported the current strength of the units under his command. This was all the heavy artillery which had been sent to North Africa as siege artillery for the siege of Tobruk, and which had played such an important role in the battle on the siege lines during the first two weeks of CRUSADER, hammering all Commonwealth forces in the area to at least some degree. Nevertheless, it did not escape unscathed.
17cm gun being fired in Tunisia. Bundesarchiv Bildarchiv.
|
Actual Strength Report |
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|
Strength 1 Nov 41 |
Strength 1 January 42 |
Change |
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|
Unit |
Off. |
NCO |
OR |
Off. |
NCO |
OR |
Off. |
NCO |
OR |
|
Art. Kdr. 104 |
6 |
3 |
24 |
6 |
2 |
20 |
0% |
-33% |
-17% |
|
Stab A.R.221 |
4 |
7 |
17 |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
|||
|
II./A.R.115 |
24 |
95 |
685 |
22 |
93 |
645 |
-8% |
-2% |
-6% |
|
s.Art.Abt.408 |
21 |
108 |
611 |
20 |
92 |
419 |
-5% |
-15% |
-31% |
|
H.K.A.A.523 |
13 |
53 |
323 |
11 |
42 |
266 |
-15% |
-21% |
-18% |
|
H.K.A.A.528 |
13 |
63 |
376 |
12 |
44 |
255 |
-8% |
-30% |
-32% |
|
H.K.A.A.533 |
16 |
69 |
466 |
11 |
38 |
227 |
-31% |
-45% |
-51% |
|
Battery 902 |
3 |
14 |
123 |
3 |
15 |
107 |
0% |
7% |
-13% |
|
4./H.K.A.A.149 |
3 |
24 |
158 |
3 |
17 |
96 |
0% |
-29% |
-39% |
|
Beob.Abt.11 |
28 |
72 |
361 |
29 |
77 |
350 |
4% |
7% |
-3% |
|
Beob.Batt. Pz.326 |
12 |
39 |
176 |
7 |
35 |
143 |
-42% |
-10% |
-19% |
|
Total |
139 |
540 |
3,303 |
124 |
455 |
2,528 |
-11% |
-16% |
-23% |
It is interesting to note that units which were not independently motorized such as the H.K.A.A. formations suffered very heavy losses, as one would expect in a mobile battle.
Notes:
- Strength for Stab A.R.221 not available for 1 Nov. 41
- A.R. – artillery regiment
- H.K.A.A. – coastal artillery battalion
- Beob. Abt. – survey battalion (counter battery)
- Batt. – Battery
The Crusader Project 