The term Panzergrenadier, designates from 1942, the special infantry of the Heer and the Waffen-SS, responsible for accompanying combat tanks. Today, the term is still used within the Bundeswehr, to designate mechanized infantry.
Creation
Previously, the regiments in charge of this role within the panzerdivisions, were designated, Schützen Regiments. Adolf Hitler's decision to rename all infantry regiments to grenadier regiments in honor of the Prussian King Frederick II led to the renaming of schützen regiments and motorized infantry regiments to panzergrenadier regiments. Following this development, the former motorized infantry division (Infanterie Division (word)) became panzergrenadier divisions (PanzerGrenadierDivision or PzGrD for short), gaining armored support in the form of a tank battalion.
Equipment and armament
To fulfill their mission, they benefited from organic means of transport. Some of them fought aboard half-tracks like the SdKfz-251, their units taking the qualifier of "gepanzert" (literally battleships), and others for lack of means had to be content with trucks, and were qualified as "motorisiert" (motorized). They were often armed in a much more powerful way than the conventional infantry, equipped with numerous MG34 or MG 42 machine guns, and with a superior endowment in machine guns of the MP40 type. Towards the end of the war, they were amongst the first units to receive Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifles. confused with the light green of the mountain hunters), which they had taken over from the motorcycling troops.
The Panzergrenadier Division
In the Heer
* the 3rd, 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 25th 29th 60th and 90th panzergrenadier divisions, were formed by the transformation of the corresponding motorized divisions
* the Gross Deutschland division was formed by increasing the strength of the regiment of the same name.