German artillery in Crusader

[WAKEN]

A friend of mine and I are hoping to play GDW’s 1978 game ‘Operation Crusader'.

I have a few questions on German artillery in North Africa on 19th November 1941 (the day that Operation Crusader began), and am hoping some people here may be able to help...

1. The game has III/155/21Pz as a self-propelled artillery battalion with 10cm howitzers and III/33/15Pz as a self-propelled artillery battalion with 15cm howitzers. This seems very early in the war for the Germans to have self-propelled artillery. Can anyone confirm if there was any self-propelled German artillery in North Africa at that time?
2. I have seen photographs of the Germans using captured 155mm French guns in the siege of Tobruk. The game does not include any German artillery units that have 155mm French guns. Were there any German artillery units in North Africa at this time using those guns? If yes, what were those units, how many guns did they have, where were they and what was their mobility, i.e. did they have intrinsic transport?

Thanks very much!

[Urmel]

No SP artillery of the Wespe or Hornisse type. There were coastal artillery battalions with captured French 15.5cm GPF guns. They were not independently mobile.

[WAKEN]

Okay thanks for clarifying that there was no SP artillery - too early in the war for that as I thought.

Does anyone have any information on what coastal artillery batteries/companies were in North Africa in November 1941, where they were deployed and how many 15.5cm GPF guns each had?

[Urmel]

Yes but it’ll take a bit to dig it out. It maybe in the pinned Crusader thread in this forum though?

[Urmel]

Here's a list of the German army artillery, i.e. units not assigned to divisions.

https://rommelsriposte.com/2011/04/18/p ... -crusader/

[WAKEN]

Thanks.

I have the following:
HKAA 523 - 3 batteries, each of 6 x 155mm GPF
HKAA 528 - 3 batteries, each of 6 x 155mm GPF
HKAA 533 - 3 batteries, each of 6 x 155mm GPF, 1 battery was in the Bardia/Sollum/Halfaya area
Bttr 902 - 3 x 17cm K
Bttr 4/HKAA 149 - 3 x 17cm K

any information on locations of these units on 19th Nov 1941 would be great.

[Urmel]

523 and 528 I have on the coast, within a few kms east of the siege line, and north of the Via Balbia, in the sector between Tobruk and Bardia.

1 battery 533 and 526 (not in your list - they may not have had GPFs at the time) are in Bardia.

4./149 I have on the escarpment above Sidi Rezegh, at the western end. Remainder 533 are further west on the siege line. 902 I think is somewhere around Ed Duda.

[David W]

I/526 HKAA Bty is a new unit on me. That's not a typo?

[WAKEN]

Thanks very much for the locations! 526 isn't in the 10 Jan 1942 report you gave me a link to: https://rommelsriposte.com/2011/04/18/p

[Urmel]

Yeah forget 526. Eyesight.

At the end of October early November the situation was as follows, but with some uncertainty.

3./533 was in Bardia.

The remainder 533 was with 902 under command at or east of El Adem.

Organisation:
HKAA533
902 - 3x17cm
4./772 - 3x 21cm (in Italy, sunk 9 November 41 on San Marco)
1./, 2./, 3./533 1x 15cm GPF (4 guns) 3x 15cm GPF (6 guns)

HKAA523
4 batteries - 1./ 6x 15cm GPF, 2-4 4x 15cm GPF

HKAA528
2 batteries 2./ and 3./ with 6 x 15 cm GPF each

Total 3x 17cm, 52x 15cm GPF

No idea where 4./149 was, although they should have been present. Based on the very low quality map I have, I suspect them to be west of Belhamed, where also 408 was stationed with their 12x10cmK18.

[paulojn]

Amazing work, but my question is how many of the 15cm GPF are in reality GPF-T
Thanks very much.

[Urmel]

Afraid I cannot help with that

[paulojn]

No problem Urmel, Thanks for the effort you made... maybe someone else

[MarkN]

Try looking in the Panzer Army Afrika files held at BAMA, Freiburg.

[paulojn]

Thanks for the advice MarkN, I am looking for something on NARA rolls too.