Peter Schägger

Peter Schägger
Birth date	24 November 1914(1914-11-24)
Place of birth	Obersöchering, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
Death date	⚔ 15 November 1943 (aged 28)
Place of death	Eastern Front
Allegiance	National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Heer
Rank	Major
Commands held	Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 23
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Peter Schägger (24 November 1914 – 15 November 1943) was a German officer and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War Two.

Life

Peter Schägger was born in Obersöchering southwest of Munich. After Abitur and possibly studies at university, Schägger joined the Infanterie-Regiment 61 in Munich as an officer candidate in c. 1936. He served under Colonel Rudolf Sintzenich. After being commissioned, he served as a platoon leader in the 14th (anti-tank) Company under 1st Lieutenant Winneberger. The regiment, as part of the 7. Infanterie-Division, took part in the accession of Austria and the liberation of the Sudetenland in 1938.

WWII

The 7. Infanterie-Division took part in the Poland Campaign and the Battle of France. In late summer or fall of 1941, 1st Lieutenant Schägger was transferred to the Schützen-Regiment 129 in France where he would eventually become commander of the 6th Company (2nd Battalion). Starting on 17 February 1942, the regiment was relocated with the 22nd Panzer Division to the Eastern Front in the Kharkov area. The unit's transport ended in the Odessa area. It then continued on the land march to Crimea. The regiment was relocated to Crimea to support the beleaguered 46th Infantry Division in its defensive battle on the Kerch Peninsula. The unit was hastily thrown into action without prior reconnaissance and suffered correspondingly high losses.

By 11 May 1942, the regiment advanced east and reached the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov near Kerch. At the end of May 1942, the regiment marched to Donets in the area south of Slavyansk. On 5 July 1942, the Schützen-Regiment 129 was renamed Panzergrenadier-Regiment 129. Late 1942 / early 1943, Schägger was appointed leader of the 1st Battalion/Panzergrenadier-Regiment 129. On 1 March 1943, the order to disband the 22nd Panzer Division arrived. The losses were extraordinarily large.

On 3 March 1943, the regiment was disbanded except for a Burgsthaler combat group (Kampfgruppe). This was set up by the 1st Battalion of the Regiment with five companies. The combat group under Schägger was incorporated into the 23rd Panzer Division under Nikolaus von Vormann on 7 April 1943 and would become the (Panzer-)Feld-Lehr- (und Ersatz-)Bataillon 128 with five companies by 10 April 1943. On 21 July 1943, during the bloody defense of Hill 277.9, Schägger was appointed commander of the Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 23 (Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion 23/23rd Panzer Division), the (Panzer-)Feld-Lehr- (und Ersatz-)Bataillon 128 was taken over by Rittmeister Freiherr von Grote. On 22 July 1943, Hill 277.9, which had been defended so bravely, was referred to as "Schägger Hill". Bataillon 128 and Reconnaissance Battalion 23 would form a combat group (Kampfgruppe) under Schägger's command.

The enemy advanced far to the west on the Mius Front. Here, Robert Alber, together with other tank units, including the "Schägger" reconnaissance battalion, was given the task of pushing from the north into the enemy's flank. Right on this first day of Operation Roland, Alber's panzer battalion and Schägger's recon battalion managed to encircle a powerful enemy group in the so-called Garany pocket and destroyed it on the next day. NCO Kurt Bade, Captain of the Reserves Robert Alber and Major Peter Schägger received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the actions of 30 July 1943.

Operation Roland

Operation Roland commenced at 0810 hours on 30 July. [...] General Hollidt’s counter-offensive might have collapsed against a wall of Soviet mines and anti-tank guns, had not Nehring’s XXIV Panzerkorps supporting attack achieved some measure of success southwest of Stepanovka. Von Vormann’s 23. Panzer-Division attacked with Kampfgruppe Schägger at 0810 hours. The composition of this Kampfgruppe demonstrates the growing poverty of German Panzer-Divisionen after Zitadelle: Major Peter Schägger’s Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 23, Hauptmann Robert Alber’s I./Pz.Rgt. 201, the II./Pz.Gren.Rgt. 126 and the Feld-Lehr-Bataillon 128 (the division’s replacement battalion). Despite lacking Tigers like Hausser’s Waffen-SS divisions, both Schägger and Alber were experienced reserve officers who knew how to handle their limited resources. Avoiding high ground, Alber manoeuvred his tanks through lightly-wooded, low-lying ground and managed to overrun the town of Saurivka (Saur-Mogilsky in 1943). Soviet mines and anti-tank guns were a problem in this sector as well, but the 315th Rifle Division’s defences were not as well-prepared. After breaking through the crust, Alber’s panzers boldly advanced cross-country and seized the village of Garany, behind the 315 RD’s main positions. At 1000 hours, the 16. Panzergrenadier-Division joined the attack and sent Kampfgruppe Sander (Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 116 and III./Grenadier-Regiment 50 from 111.Infanterie-Division) to link-up with Alber’s Panzers, which was achieved at 1145 hours. A force of just five battalions had surrounded the 315 RD and succeeded in taking over 3,000 Soviet prisoners on the first day of Roland, as well as destabilizing the left flank of the Mius bridgehead. During the night of 30–31 July, Totenkopf’s pioniers were able to remove about 2,000 mines and cleared a narrow lane through the outer minefields, but pionier casualties for this effort were excessive. On the second day of the offensive, Hausser’s II. SS-Panzerkorps began their attack at 0915 hours with a 45-minute artillery preparation and received some Stuka close air support sorties, but their assault units were substantially weaker.

Totenkopf attacked into the teeth of the Soviet defence with only 15 tanks (including two Tigers) and was again repulsed with heavy losses. [...] Hollidt assembled all available artillery and put it at Hausser’s disposal for an all-out attack on 1 August. By this time, the Germans knew where most of the Soviet artillery and anti-tank guns were located and thus the artillery preparation that started before dawn was far more effective. Prior to the ground assault, Nebelwerfer batteries created a thick smoke screen to conceal the advancing German infantry and tanks, thereby reducing the effectiveness of Soviet defensive fire. After much heavy fighting, Das Reich finally captured Stepanovka and then its panzers swept eastward, overrunning some of the anti-tank units blocking Totenkopf ’s path. By 1600 hours, the centre of the Soviet defensive line was near collapse. [...] In the south, the XXIV Panzerkorps achieved a major breakthrough and advanced toward the Mius. By evening, the Soviet defence crumbled and the remaining units began retreating across the Mius. On 2 August, Hollidt’s forces advanced to the river and crushed the last resistance in the bridgehead. Tolbukhin’s forces had suffered a major defeat, leaving behind 17,895 prisoners, but the remnants of 2 GMC and 4 GMC escaped across the river. Although a tactical success, the Mius River fighting was extremely costly for the Germans. Overall, AOK 6 suffered 21,369 casualties in the 17-day battle. Hausser’s II.SS-Panzerkorps was virtually burnt-out: Totenkopf suffered 1,458 casualties in its four-day attack and was reduced to just 23 operational tanks, while Das Reich suffered nearly 1,000 casualties and was left with 22 tanks. While many damaged tanks would be repaired in time, losses in Panzergrenadiers and pioniers were particularly crippling and not easy to replace. The 3. and 23. Panzer-Divisionen were also reduced to a very depleted condition and 16. Panzergrenadier-Division was wrecked (3,957 casualties between 17–31 July) by the Battle for the Mius Bridgehead. Tolbukhin’s short-lived Mius bridgehead succeeded in causing von Manstein to disperse his armour after Zitadelle and then crippling his strongest formation, II. SS-Panzerkorps.

Death

On 15 November 1943, Major Schägger was mortally wounded by mortar fire (Granatwerfer-Volltreffer) south of Tscherwona Balka/Oblast Dnipropetrowsk. He was buried by his comrades near Schmakowo, the grave was later desecrated and leveled by the Russians. As of 2024, the whereabouts of his remains has not been identified. In his hometown of Obersöchering, his name is commemorated on the monument to those who were killed in action in both world wars.

Promotions

• 1.1.1938 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 1.4.1940 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 1.6.1942 Hauptmann (Captain)
  • 30.9.1942 received new Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1.4.1942
• c. July–September 1943 Major with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1.5.1943

Awards and decorations

• Anschluss Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938)
• Sudetenland Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938)
• Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Cross
• General Assault Badge (Allgemeines Sturmabzeichen) in Silver
• Honour Roll Clasp of the Army (Ehrenblattspange des Heeres) on 14 August 1942 as Captain and Commander of the 6th Company/II. Bataillon/Schützen-Regiment 129/22. Panzer-Division
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 16 September 1943 as Major and Commander of the Panzer Reconnaissance Battalion 23/23. Panzer-Division

Gallery

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