SS-Hstuf. Hans Pfeiffer - Pers. Adjutant to AH in 1943

[eindhoven]

You are lucky C.Delaitre87 to have a copy. Small print run on his books and they are worth their weight in gold. I've searched high and low to complete my German, French, and English volumes on 12. SS-Pz.Div. "HJ" with an emphasis on SS-Panzer-Regiment 12. Bonne chance to anyone else looking for a copy!

[seaburn]

You might be interested in this one Eindhoven . New from Heimdal.

[C.Delaitre87]

You are lucky C.Delaitre87 to have a copy. Small print run on his books and they are worth their weight in gold. I've searched high and low to complete my German, French, and English volumes on 12. SS-Pz.Div. "HJ" with an emphasis on Panzer-Regiment 12. Bonne chance to anyone else looking for a copy!

I found my copy last year at Ciney militaria, a seller had a few of them at a relatively correct price, if you ever have a chance to go there maybe you will find it.

Regarding Hans Pfeiffer, here is the account of his death as describe in the book (the translation may not be perfect sorry):

"SS-Hstuf. Hans Pfeiffer was standing with his head slightly out of the turret of his Panther "405" to have a better view of the situation had his head torn off by a shell. The panther entered the front line with the dead body of his tank commander.
SS-Strm Wenzl gives his testimony on this event: «We learned in the evening that our Kompanie-Chef Pfeiffer has been killed during the fights for Rots. Heinz Rohrbach, gunner in the Chefpanzer and one of my closest friend, later told me that the Chef was killed by an impact in the head while he was looking out of the turret. The trunk of his body fell back after the impact in the combat compartment, on the back and head of the gunner seated below. Rohrbach tried to get rid of the corpse sprawled on him, while the blood of his dead commander soaked his clothes. My friend could never forget these moments. Shortly after, in the evening, he seemed calm and able to talk about it relatively distantly. But after a while, it turned out that he simply could not handle what had happened. He had big problems with that, forty years after that traumatic event, I know, practically until his death.»
The remains of Pfeiffer were brought back to the castle of Saint-Aubin-d'Ecrosville, the former cantonment of his company before the 6th of June. A small ceremony was held in memory of this officer who will find a soldier's grave in the park of the castle. The grave was moved after the war to La Cambe military cemetery."

C.

[eindhoven]

Thank you C. for taking the time to translate the text on the death of Hans Pfeiffer from S.Cazenave's reference. Someday hopefully I'll get it although I'm not going to pay over 159 euro for a copy!! Thank you as always Seaburn for the heads up. Schade, it looks like I'll have to wait until Sept 2018 when it's finally released. Na Ja.

It is interesting the number of accounts regarding how Hans Pfeiffer died that night during the attack on Bretteville. In another Editions Heimdal text, nº 55 Décembre 90 "La 12. SS-Panzerdivision en Normandie: Cing vétérans nous permettent de reconstituer les combats pour Bretteville" I've translated the following from Georges Bernage:

"Then both Panzer companies start off again. It is about 9:30 pm, night begins to fall. The Panther tanks leave Rots. Those of the 4th company will advance through fields to the right (North) of the N. 13 towards Bretteville, those of the 1st company advance south of the road. Two tanks of the 4th company however advance on the road itself, the second of them is that of SS-Hstuf. Pfeiffer on which are riding Otto Funk and Klaus Schuh. The Panthers have passed the few men of the Div.-Begleitkompanie who were In front line. There are trees and ditches on either side of the road. The advance is fast, the panzers are already half way.

Suddenly, gunshots and shots come from the right from a path that comes from Bretteville towards the northeast. The lead tank heads forward alone and enters Bretteville. Pfeiffer stops the other panzers. He turns his tank in the direction from which the shots came. Enemy rounds crackle on the panzers, sending the Zimmerit (a kind of cement covering to protect them from magnetic mines) flying whose shards come to sting the faces of the grenadiers riding on the Panthers. Enemy rounds pass next to the Panther Otto Funk is on(that of SS-Hstuf. Pfeiffer); it is hit by a blow against the turret. SS-Hstuf. Pfeiffer protrudes from the cupola of his Panther. He orders his tanks to shoot at the houses in Bretteville in order to set them on fire to see what is happening. Otto Funk tugs against the back of Hstuf. Pfeiffer's jacket to him ask if they can dismount the tank. Pfeiffer authorizes them.

The grenadiers are now in the gap and those in the 3rd section are making progress under the leadership of SS-Hscha. Boigk. Suddenly, the Panther of SS-Hstuf. Pfeiffer is hit by an anti-tank shell, the crew evacuates the tank and the Panther begins to burn immediately. "

The account above, which relied heavily on Otto Funk's recollections, obviously differs from that of SS-Strm Wenzl where Pfeiffer's corpse was brought back and there is no mention of the Panther burning or being abandoned by the crew. Also, given the amount of blood described in SS-Strm Wenzl's account or Funk's where Pfeiffer's corpse would have burnt inside the Panther it is highly unlikely the insignia in the hands of a French civilian is that of H. Pfeiffer.

As told in 1972 in Hubert Meyer's The 12th SS The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division Volume I regarding Pfeiffer's death - The commander of the Pak-Zug (anti-tank gun), SS-Oberscharführer Erwin Wohlgemut, reports on the violent fighting in the village: "We reached 1. Kompanie in the center of the village after crossing through some gardens. There was heavy fighting in the streets. The street surface was virtually covered with dead and wounded. They were mostly English. Suddenly, a Panther showed up, to support us. It was a terrible scene as the Panzer, crushing the dead and wounded, made its way to the intersection. There was no escape on the narrow street, framed by houses and walls. With the Panzer’s support we started a counterattack. Soon after, a shout came: ‘Tanks from behind!’ Our Panzer was in a difficult situation. It could not turn around in the narrow street. So it backed up to a spot where it could at least swing the turret around by 180 degrees. With this, it rolled slowly toward the village exit. Suddenly, a Sherman showed up ahead. Our Panzer crew must have spotted it, since the engine was gunned to a howl in an attempt to gain the edge of town where the turret could be traversed. They did not make it, our Panther was knocked out. Whether from ahead or behind, I do not recall. As I heard later, Hauptsturmführer Pfeiffer was reported to have been killed in this Panzer"

Per Kurt Meyer in 'Grenadiers', "Good old Pfeiffer was in his Panther about 100 meters away from the first enemy tank. He had blasted both of them into the next world. SS-Hauptsturmführer Pfeiffer died a soldier's death twenty-four hours later, when he was fatally wounded by shrapnel." Not that we can ever put stock in anything Kurt Meyer says however he also recounts that when he was summoned for the award of his Oakleaves by AH it was Pfeiffer who received him. That would be on 25 February 1943.

[Mike Tal]

Thank you C. for the wonderful translation. It confirmed what I thought about Pfeiffer's death after making my "amateur" research. I however never came accross such a detailed description and had no knowledge of what happened after his death. Thanks again! His death was gruesome, but at least quick. He could have burnt inside a tank or have his limbs blasted off....

As per the Eindhoven's post regarding frequent mentions of Pfeiffer being killed during the attack on Bretteville - I never came across something like that. All I read was that Pfeiffer's tank was indeed knocked out during the attack and burnt with the crew bailing out and escaping (some accounts say that not all crew members managed to escape, but Pfeiffer in any case did). But I enjoyed your translation of Funk's account, so thank you too.

I have another question. Pfeiffer allegedly took part in the Polish campaign just before he got his post of adjutant to AH. Any info on that?

[C.Delaitre87]

Thank you C. for the wonderful translation. It confirmed what I thought about Pfeiffer's death after making my "amateur" research. I however never came accross such a detailed description and had no knowledge of what happened after his death. Thanks again! His death was gruesome, but at least quick. He could have burnt inside a tank or have his limbs blasted off....

As per the Eindhoven's post regarding frequent mentions of Pfeiffer being killed during the attack on Bretteville - I never came across something like that. All I read was that Pfeiffer's tank was indeed knocked out during the attack and burnt with the crew bailing out and escaping (some accounts say that not all crew members managed to escape, but Pfeiffer in any case did). But I enjoyed your translation of Funk's account, so thank you too.

I have another question. Pfeiffer allegedly took part in the Polish campaign just before he got his post of adjutant to AH. Any info on that?

Pfeiffer indeed escaped from his blazing tank but was later killed in his Panther "405".

Regarding his participation in the Polish campaign, the only informations I have comes from Meyer's book where he mentions Pfeiffer fighting alongside with him in mid-September 1939. I think Pfeiffer later became adjutant to AH in October 1939.

C.

[C.Delaitre87]

Hello,

as I am trying to collect biographical informations on Pfeiffer (and on members of the 12. SS-Panzer-Division "HJ" in general) I noticed that in some books pictures of Pfeiffer and his crew came from Mrs Pfeiffer's collection, indicating that Pfeiffer was married I guess. Does anyone has informations about that? And is it possible that Mrs Pfeiffer may still be alive?

Thank you,

C. Delaitre

[Mike Tal]

Hello,

as I am trying to collect biographical informations on Pfeiffer (and on members of the 12. SS-Panzer-Division "HJ" in general) I noticed that in some books pictures of Pfeiffer and his crew came from Mrs Pfeiffer's collection, indicating that Pfeiffer was married I guess. Does anyone has informations about that? And is it possible that Mrs Pfeiffer may still be alive?

Thank you,

C. Delaitre

Thank you for the preceding reply. Pfeiffer indeed came to AH in autumn 1939. What is unclear (as this thread indicates) is, when he left. Most commonly his departure date is in December 1942 (some claim due to Pfeiffer's undisclosed illness), but there is documentary and photographic evidence that he was around FHQ well into 1943. Perhaps he wasn't AH's adjutant anymore and was just sticking around to close his duties before going back to his combat unit. Who knows.

As per Pfeiffer being married. I find very interesting the fact that there are pictures from Mrs. Pfeiffer's collection somewhere. Nice find! I have a hazy memory that I've seen a picture somewhere of Pfeiffer with a wedding band on his hand. But it was a long time ago and I might be mistaken.

If using common sense, I would say that the possibility of Pfeiffer being married is close to certain. He was almost 29 when he perished and in those times it was more common than not to be married at such age. Also, AH purportedly eagerly encouraged the single members of his close staff (both secretaries and SS members) to get married. Partly because it was desirable for "the best of the best" to multiply, partly because you know what happens when you have single men and single women in their prime coming to daily contact in relatively confined premises of varoius FHQ or Berghof

Please let me know, if you find out anything more. I'd be very interested in hearing anything about Pfeiffer and the 12th SS.

(Edit: I remember, which photo it was! It is a quite well known photo still (taken from one of Eva Braun's tapes) and shows Hansgeorg Schulze, Eva Barun and Hans Pfeiffer having fun in the snow at the Berghof. Pfeiffer is smiling and petting one of Eva's Scottish terriers. You can clearly see a wedding band on the ring finger of his right hand. The photo must be pre-1941, since Schulze fell on the Eastern Front in July of that year. One archive dates the picture to 1938, but I doubt that is right, since Pfeiffer was not in service at the Berghof that year yet. So that gives us the winter time of 1939/40 - 1940/41. So Pfeiffer must have been married already at the age of 24 or 25. Just my guess ).

Thanks

Mike

[Mike Tal]

I found this link suggesting that Pfeiffer was still around the FHQ in January 1944 (although he is not addressed in the document as personal adjutant anymore).
http://www.panzerace.net/document-archi ... egram.html
Does anyone know, when was Pfeiffer transferred to command a company in the 12. SS-Panzer-Division "HJ"?

[SchnellMeyer]

In Lehmann's LAH book he mentions Pfeiffer being 6 Kompanie commander in January 1943 and he was also in this position for the battle of Kharkov.

[Mike Tal]

In Lehmann's LAH book he mentions Pfeiffer being 6 Kompanie commander in January 1943 and he was also in this position for the battle of Kharkov.

I already replied to this in a different thread. I'm not sure about Hans Pfeiffer ever being on the Eastern Front in combat action (unless we consider invasion of Poland being Eastern Front). Somewhere along the line (after 1941) AH apparently forbade his former close staff members (and Hans Pfeiffer was very close) from serving on the Eastern Front. He was afraid that they could fall into Soviet hands and be forced to reveal personal (and other) information about him. So they only came back to action after the opening of the Western Front. The same applied to e.g. Hans Hermann Junge. It is true though that former presonal staff members Max Wunsche and Hansgeorg Schulze served on the Eastern Front (and Schulze perished there). But both left AH's close circle and returned to action already in 1940 and 1941 respectivelly. Again, I'm really, really sceptical about Hans Pfeiffer ever fighting on the Eastern Front.

[Fraulein E.]

In Lehmann's LAH book he mentions Pfeiffer being 6 Kompanie commander in January 1943 and he was also in this position for the battle of Kharkov.

I already replied to this in a different thread. I'm not sure about Hans Pfeiffer ever being on the Eastern Front in combat action (unless we consider invasion of Poland being Eastern Front). Somewhere along the line (after 1941) AH apparently forbade his former close staff members (and Hans Pfeiffer was very close) from serving on the Eastern Front. He was afraid that they could fall into Soviet hands and be forced to reveal personal (and other) information about him. So they only came back to action after the opening of the Western Front. The same applied to e.g. Hans Hermann Junge. It is true though that former presonal staff members Max Wunsche and Hansgeorg Schulze served on the Eastern Front (and Schulze perished there). But both left AH's close circle and returned to action already in 1940 and 1941 respectivelly. Again, I'm really, really sceptical about Hans Pfeiffer ever fighting on the Eastern Front.

According to Stephan Cazenave, in one of his books about the Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend, Hans Pfeiffer spent a few weeks in Kharkov.

[Mike Tal]

In Lehmann's LAH book he mentions Pfeiffer being 6 Kompanie commander in January 1943 and he was also in this position for the battle of Kharkov.

I already replied to this in a different thread. I'm not sure about Hans Pfeiffer ever being on the Eastern Front in combat action (unless we consider invasion of Poland being Eastern Front). Somewhere along the line (after 1941) AH apparently forbade his former close staff members (and Hans Pfeiffer was very close) from serving on the Eastern Front. He was afraid that they could fall into Soviet hands and be forced to reveal personal (and other) information about him. So they only came back to action after the opening of the Western Front. The same applied to e.g. Hans Hermann Junge. It is true though that former presonal staff members Max Wunsche and Hansgeorg Schulze served on the Eastern Front (and Schulze perished there). But both left AH's close circle and returned to action already in 1940 and 1941 respectivelly. Again, I'm really, really sceptical about Hans Pfeiffer ever fighting on the Eastern Front.

According to Stephan Cazenave, in one of his books about the Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend, Hans Pfeiffer spent a few weeks in Kharkov.

Interesting. This is probably the only mention of this. On a different note. Do you know if Pfeiffer was posthumously promoted to Stubaf.? Because this is what his headstone at LaCambe says. Or is it just a mistake?

[SchnellMeyer]

Mike Tal, I will be in Normandy in June and hope to visit La Cambe. Do you possible know the grave number and row of Hans Pfeiffer ? Thanks

[Peter]

Hans Friedrich Georg Pfeiffer
SS-Stubaf.
Endgrablage: Block 36 Reihe 5 Grab 335