SS Panzergrenadier Brigade 51 SS Panzergrenadier Brigade 51 was a formation of the Waffen SS during World War II . It was created in June 1944 , from units stationed at the NCO ' S ( SS - Unterführerschulen ) and replacement units . By the end of August it had been virtually destroyed and the remnants were incorporated into the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division . Formation . The SS Panzergrenadier Brigade 51 can trace its origins to the SS Kampfgruppe 3 which was formed in March 1944 , from personnel stationed at the NCO school in Lauenburg , Pomerania . They were placed under the command of Sturmbannfuehrer ( Major ) Walter Joecke . Until the Normandy Landings 6 June 1944 , the Brigade was just a paper formation , but it had been arranged that the Brigade could be fully mobilized within 48 hours if required . SS Kampfgruppe 3 was officially renamed the SS Panzergrenadier Brigade on 18 June 1944 . The Brigade ' s title is misleading as the Brigade was an Infantry formation and did not have an armoured unit attached . Denmark . The Brigade was posted to Denmark to relieve the garrison and allow them to move towards the invasion beaches , the main formation released was the 363rd Infantry Division . There secondary task in Denmark together with their sister brigade the SS Panzergrenadier Brigade 49 was to guard against a suspected Allied landing on the North Sea coastline . The Brigade was located in the Haderslev area southeast of Jutland . The Brigade received orders to move to France on 4 August and the 3 , 000 men of the Brigade set out by rail for Troyes . In an attempt at deception they were upgraded and referred to as the 27th SS Panzer Division . France . On 22 August the SS Panzergrenadier Brigade 51 saw its first action in the area of Sens , when the II / Battalion SS Panzergrenadier Brigade 51 and a Heer unit I / Battalion Regiment 199 , were attacked in a carefully executed attack . Both Battalions were forced to withdraw when they were in danger of being outflanked after some heavy fighting they withdrew to new positions west of the Seine River near Troyes . The Brigade was now located on both sides of the river with the I / Battalion to the North and the newly arrived II / Battalion and I / Battalion 199 Regiment to the South . The other units in the area were part of the II / Battalion , 199 Regiment and some Infantry units from the Kriegsmarine . The Brigade headquarters had been established in the city of Troyes opposite the bridgehead . Waiting to establish contact with the advancing Allies , the Brigade sent out a reconnaissance party south on 24 August , on the approach to Bucheres near Chatillon they encountered a roadblock set up by the French Resistance and were forced to go to ground . When he was informed of the situation the Brigade commander sent the 3rd Company , I / Battalion and the 3rd Artillery Battery to attempt a rescue . What followed was a fierce battle with the resistance forces who were forced to withdraw leaving behind 62 dead . The next day 25 August , Troyes was attacked by a large American tank force of the U . S . 4th Armored Division which captured or destroyed the 8th Company , a medical detachment and the Brigade Motor Transport unit . The assault lasted all day and by late afternoon the tank assault had been turned back , but a large force from the French Resistance had surrounded the Brigade Headquarters . Soon afterwards the Americans returned and occupied Troyes and all contact with Brigade Headquarters was lost by 1630 hours . Sturmbannfuehrer Walter Joecke gave orders that the Brigade staff , Headquarters Company and the Pionier Company should fight their way out of the town and rejoin the rest of the Brigade . Fighting house to house they fought their way free of the town , which surprised the Americans who had expected them to surrender . The SS Pionier Company 51 , covered the break out losing all its officers but they were effective and their sacrifice was not in vain . Their effectiveness in house to house fighting won praise from the American General George Patton and it was documented in his memoirs . It was now that the majority of the I / Battalion was destroyed in bitter fighting for Sainte Savine and Fontvannes between 25 and 26 August . At the same time on the other side of the bridgehead the rest of the Brigade was preparing to withdraw . The Panzergrenadiers would withdraw on foot and sent their vehicles on ahead in two convoys towards Route 19 . One of the convoys was shot up by American aircraft on the morning of 26 August , but suffered only minor losses . The Panzergrenadier Battalions crossed over the railroad bridge to the South of Troyes on foot and then withdrew along the rail lines towards Lusigny , accompanied by 100 American prisoners of war . The Brigade Staff and the Brigade commander Walter Joecke were captured by an American Reconnaissance unit on 28 August . Disbandment . What was left of the Brigade eventually reached the 3rd Panzer Division at St Dizier and to the west of Bar le Duc . Unable to reform the destroyed brigade they were assigned to 17th SS Division " Goetz von Berlichengen " . II / Battalion SS Panzergrenadier Brigade 51 , which has only suffered minimal losses was renamed the II / Battalion , SS Panzergrenadier Regiment 37 , replacing the old battalion which had been decimated in the fighting in Normandy and the rest of the Brigade as used as individual replacements .