Panther 222 belonged to the
107th Panzerbrigade which was commanded by Major Freiherr von Maltzahn.
The unit was ordered to the south of the Netherlands during the Market
Garden operation in 1944. It made a surprise-attack on September
19th on the bridge near the village of Son, but failed. In the days that
followed the 107th tried to block the road to Nijmegen (also known as
"the Corridor" or "Hells highway"). Success was
limited and due to considerable losses and Allied pressure the
Panzerbrigade retreated on the 25th of September to the Overloon area.
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von Maltzahn
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Panzerbrigade 107 became part of Kampfgruppe Walther. With the left flank covered by the Peel-marshes
a new line of defense was formed to the river Maas. The American 7th Armored
Division made several attempts to break this weak German front. They
failed bitterly and got more then what can be called a bloody nose; 35
Sherman-tanks were lost due to the employment of Panthers, 88mm-guns and mines. Eventually
the 7th Armored
Division was relieved by the British 3rd Infantry Division on October 8th.
The British planned their attack carefully. On the October 12th they
started their final push to Overloon with a massive artillery-barrage. Infantry
got support by flail-tanks and Churchill-tanks. On October 14th they
captured village of Overloon which was completely destroyed.
A few days after the battle for Overloon what remained of Panzerbrigade 107
was pulled out of the frontline. The unit was dissolved and the remnants were
used for the formation of the new 25th Panzergrenadier Division.
During the fight for the possession of Overloon Panther 222 (=
2nd company, 2nd platoon, 2nd vehicle) was put out of action. The tank was hit and
lost it's right track. The crew bailed out but was immediately cut down by
British infantry.
