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A Landwasserschlepper training in Africa.
Kampfgruppe Hecker and some Italian AT units that fought at the Gazala Battles.
As part of the preparation for the Battle of Gazala, KG Hecker was formed from the San Marco Marines, a company of Brandeburgers, and a motley assortment of pioneers. It also had a few British tanks and other vehicles which were to assist I its special forces role. It was to land amphibiously to cut the coastal highway connecting Tobruk withe the British rear areas.
The Italian AT Battalions are the contribution of ground-breaking research conducted by Jack Greene and Alessandro Massignani. These units, ignored in German and British histories (to the point of not even being mentioned or being accused of being German), made a major contribution to the Axis effort in the Battle of Gazala. The 5th Bn (originally the 18th) and the 29th Bn were both armed with German 88mm AT/AA guns. The 501st and 503rd were armed with the excellent Itallian 90mm AT/AA gun.
Research by Gary M. Helmer about KG Hecker in his “Mare Nostrum” booklet, as follow (all German units, except where noted):
HQ Elements
22 men
3rd “San Marco” Bn (Italian)
1 x Rifle Coy
1 x MMG Coy
13 x 47L32 ATG
3 x 45mm assault mortars
13 x MMGs
9 x LMGs
4 x Trucks
1 x Armoured Car
1 x Motorcycle
for a total of 373 men
Possibly another 1 x Rifle coy “expectd as reinforcements” (another 168 men)
778th Pioneer Landing coy
73 men
18 x LMGs
1 x LWS amphibious tractor
3 x Trucks
2 x Armoured Cars
3 x Sturmboote (assault boats)
4 x Motorfahrprame (motor landing barges)
2 x Landungsboote (landing boats)
13th coy/800th “Brandemburger” Rgt, plus miscellaneous attachments :
182 men
3 x 50mm ATGs
6 x 37mm ATGs
4 x 2pdrs ATGs
10 x ATRifles
10 x LMGs
3 x British Light Tanks (probably Stuarts)
2 x SP Guns
3 x Trucks
1 x Armoured Car
3 x Motorcycles
Elements, 6th Raumbooteflottille (minesweeper)
4 x R-Boot
Elements, 3rd Schnellbooteflottille (torpedo boats)
5 x S-Boot
Elements, Axis Submarine Forces
5 x Submarines
Plus loads of defensive materials, including :
5600 sandbags
250 showels
250 pickaxes
300 Teller mines
100 anti-personell mines
36 magnetic AT charges (?)
14 non-magnetic AT charges (?)
etc
NOTES :
A)- The attachments to the Brandemburgers included :
Elements, 33rd and 39th PanzerJaeger coys
14 men
Elements, 10th Signal Rgt
10 men
Mixed panzer crews
15 men
Mixed AT gunners
39 men
Mixed LMG crews
24 men
B)- The available submarines in the area were :
U81, U83, U205, U431, U565, U568, Galatea, Nereide, Asteria,
Platino, Beilul (the last 5 of them Italian). Who was actually scheduled for the operation is unclear.
There is little to be said about the battle performance of KG Hecker, as … there was none. It’s amphibious landing operation west of Tobruk was aborted at 18.20 of the May 28th, and the KG was disbanded on June 5th 1942.
