1. Waffen SS Panzer Division Liebstandart Adolph Hitler (LAH)
LAH

The history of the Liebstandart Adolph Hitler goes back to the early days of the Nazi party with the LAH forming as a militant group that became Hitler's personal bodyguard. By 1939, LAH was an Infantry unit that took part in the Polish Campaign and in 1940 it became a motorized infantry Regiment. In May 1940, LAH advanced into Holland and Belgium taking part in the Dunkirk encirclement.
In 1941, now a motorized infantry division, LAH took part in Yugoslavia and Greece before joining Army Group Center in the Soviet invasion. LAH fought at Kiev before shifting south to the Crimea and Rostov fronts. By mid 1942, LAH was pulled out of the line and refitted as a Panzer Grenadier Division and received 1 Panzer battalion.
In early 1943, LAH helped smash the Soviet Winter offensive that took Kharkov and pushed the Soviets back toward Kursk. In the Kursk Offensive LAH operated in the Southern pincer. At the forefront of the attack, LAH advanced and took part in the Prokhorovka Battle which was the furthest point of the advance and the scene of one of the largest armored battles in History. Despite the failure of the Kursk offensive, LAH performed extremely well. Hitler called off the offensive and pulled LAH out of the line to be sent to Italy. The Division re-equipped in August 1943 as a Panzer Division and spent that Autumn disarming Italian troops after the Italian armistice with the Allies. The Winter of 1943/44 was spent in the Soviet Union fight in the defensive battles including Cherkassy and Korsun.
By April 1944, LAH was in Belgium refitting and awaiting the expected Allied cross-channel invasion. When the landings at Normandy began, LAH was held in reserve in Belgium to strike the expected follow up landing at Calais. When these landing failed to materialize, the LAH was finally released to Normandy, arriving at the end of June 1944. July was spent fighting British/Canadian/Polish forces around Caen until ordered west in August to attack US forces at Mortain (Operation Luttich). LAH then found itself threatened with encirclement in the Falaise Pocket and was largely destroyed. Those who escaped did so with no tanks, artillery, or heavy equipment.
By December 1944, LAH refitted once more and was the Vanguard of Kampfgruppe Peiper. This offensive also failed and LAH was withdrawn and sent to Hungary where they took part in the failed relief of Budapest taking great losses and retreating to Austria to surrender to US forces on VE day.