It was assigned to the first wave of the assault with the radio-controlled demolition tanks (B IV) of Pz. Kp. (Fkl.) 314 to clear a path for the Ferdinands through the extensive Soviet minefields. This was only partly successful since the engineers that were to assist in clearing the minefields were unable to do much due to the extremely heavy Soviet artillery fire. This caused a number of Ferdinands to be immobilized by mines destroying roadwheels and sections of track. Some of these had to be destroyed by their own crews when they couldn't be recovered in a timely fashion by the Germans. The Soviets stopped the Germans after an advance of only a few miles and the Germans were forced to go to the defensive. The serviceable Ferdinands were broken up into small groups to act as long-range tank destroyers when the Soviets launched a counter-offensive intended to destroy the Orel Salient on 11 July. The 653rd was withdrawn from combat on 27 July, but their great weight caused many delays in actually transporting them to the rear as the bridges along their route to Briansk had to be reinforced to bear their weight.
During their time at Kursk only 13 Ferdinands were totally destroyed between 5 and 27 July although a number of others were knocked-out and repaired during the period. A report of a Porsche technical representative attached to the Abteilung on 26 July only lists three armor penetrations, one in the hull side and two in the superstructure, although a number of vehicles were set on fire by shrapnel through the engine deck grates. Most of the problems not caused by enemy action were related to the powertrain namely the engine and electrical systems, rather than the chassis. In exchange for all this frustration the 653rd claimed 320 tanks and numerous trucks and guns. In fact one crew claimed 22 tanks on 14 July, but even such heroics weren't enough to save the Germans from the Soviet onslaught.
Their sister battalion suffered more severely and turned over its 19 surviving Ferdinands during August before the 653rd was ordered to Dnepropetrovsk to refit on 25 August. At this time it had a strength of 50 Ferdinands, but all needed repairs to a greater or lesser degree. The successful Soviet counter-offensive after Kursk forced the 653. to withdraw to Nikopol on the other side of the Dnepr as Dnepropetrovsk was threatened by mid-September. On 19 September it was ordered to move all serviceable vehicles to the Zaporozhye Bridgehead on the eastern side of the Dnepr to defend the power dam there. No more than 14 vehicles at one time were able to help the defense in the bridgehead before the dam was destroyed on 15 October.
After the retreat across the Dnepr the serviceable Ferdinands were distributed in penny packets among the units defending the Nikopol-Krivoi Rog area. As of 5 November it claimed the destruction of:
| Assigned | Operational | in Maint. | Lost by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30/6 | 44 | 41 | 3 | |
| 29/7 | 31 | 10 | 21 | 13 |
| 31/7 | 31 | 13 | 18 | |
| 20/8 | 50 | 12 | 38 | |
| 1/9 | 50 | 10 | 40 | |
| 30/9 | 49 | 20 | 29 | 1? |
| 31/10 | 48 | 10 | 38 | 1? |
| 1/11 | 48 | 9 | 39 | |
| 30/11 | 42 | 7 | 35 | 6? |
This refit was, in many ways nearly a rebuild of most of the Ferdinands, as the long-desired hull-machine gun was added as well as replacement engine gratings and a cupola for the vehicle commander. The Ferdinands that required the least amount of work were ordered to the Anzio Beachhead on 1 February '44. Only 11 were ready and formed the 1. Kompanie that was attached to the 216. Sturmpanzer Abt. They reached Rome on 24 February and were assigned to the 508. schwere Panzer Abt. (Tiger I) for the second attempt to crush the Allied beachhead. The soft ground of the former Pontine Marshes was entirely unsuitable for the heaviest vehicles in the entire German arsenal and two were quickly lost when neither could be recovered in the face of the soft ground and heavy Allied fire. They accomplished little and were placed in reserve. The Germans were forced to fall back when the Allies began their Diadem Offensive in May and the Elefants, as they'd been renamed by Führer Order on 1 May, didn't do well under the demands of the withdrawal. Harried by the Allied fighter-bombers a number of vehicles were lost. The survivors returned to the factory on 6 August for refitting.
The two remaining companies were able to get their Ferdinands completed by the end of March and began rail-loading for the Eastern Front on 2 April. Listed below are its strengths on 1 April, minus the elements deployed in Italy:
| Authorized | Actual | Shortage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel | |||
| Officers | 23 | 23 | |
| Adminstrators | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| NCOs | 235 | 201 | 34 |
| Enlisted | 731 | 776 | +45 |
| Hiwis | 20 | +20 | |
| Weapons | |||
| Carbines | 639 | 620 | 19 |
| Pistols | 375 | 354 | 21 |
| Sub-machineguns | 128 | 118 | 10 |
| Flare guns | 54 | 37 | 17 |
| MG 34 | 60 | 51 | 9 |
| 20mm Flakvierling | 4 | 4 | |
| Ferdinand | 31 | 30 | 1 |
| Vehicles | |||
| Motorycles | 24 | 23 | 1 |
| Motorcycles w/ Sidecar | 6 | 6 | |
| Kubelwagon | 41 | 38 | 3 |
| Truck | 71 | 56 | 15 |
| Maultier truck | 11 | 25 | +14 |
| Half-track Tractors | 29 | 22 | 7 |
| Trailers | 11 | 9 | 2 |
| Recovery Ferdinand | 2 | 2 | |
| Bergepanther | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Pz III Ammo Carrier | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Armored Ambulance | 1 | 1 | |
It was committed to the relief effort for the encircled forces at Tarnopol in south-eastern Poland. The terrain was very soggy and wet which limited the utility of the Ferdinands. The Soviets rebuffed the relief attempt and it was called off on 18 April. It reported only three total losses during April. The 653. moved into reserve as both sides paused to recuperate and accumulate supplies for further operations. During this period it modified several vehicles in unusual ways. It mounted a stationary Pz IVH turret on one Bergepanther as well as a quadruple-barreled 20mm Flakvierling 38 on another Bergepanther and a captured T-34. It modified an additional pair of T-34s as ammunition carriers by removing their turrets. It had received the Elefant left at the factory on 18 April and another four were delivered during the month of June. A command tank was delivered in the form of a Porsche VK 4501 Tiger prototype in late May.
The Soviets launched their offensive in Southern Poland on 13 July, what they called the Lvov-Sandomierz Operation. Much of Army Group North Ukraine's strength had been drawn north to try and minimize the damage created by the destruction of most of Army Group Center the previous month. This allowed the Soviets to steadily advance despite fierce German resistance. The fighting retreat of Army Group North Ukraine showed the Elefant at its best. The steady pressure by the Soviets didn't leave much time to recover bogged or broken-down vehicles, perform necessary maintenance, or even to reconnoiter for suitable bridges along their intended route of withdawal. Consequently a large number of Elefants were lost, many destroyed by their own crews, by the end of July. The tables below provides details of personnel and vehicle losses for the month of July:
| KIA | WIA | Sick | Missing | Transferred | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officers | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| NCOs and men | 5 | 19 | 2 | 11 |
| Elefants | 19 |
| Recovery Elefants | 2 |
| Tracked ammunition carriers | 4 |
| Porsche Tiger VK 4501 | 1 |
| Prime movers | 6 |
It spent most of August in the vicinity of Krakau refitting and the decision was made to consolidate the remaining Elefants in 2. Kompanie for continued service on the Eastern Front while the rest of the Abteilung reformed on the Jagdtiger. It returned to the front in September under the command of the 17th Army although details are sketchy. It came under command of the 4th Panzer Army in the next month and was redesignated as the 614. schwere Panzerjäger Kompanie on 15 December. The Soviets began their Vistula-Oder Offensive in early January '45 and again exposed the Achilles' Heel of the Elefant. By the end of the month it was reduced to only four serviceable Elefants and was again withdrawn for refitting, but this time to the Berlin area. The chaotic situation seriously delayed the repairs to the last Elefants, only two of which were ever repaired. The two serviceable vehicles were used in the defense of Berlin and were captured by Soviet and Polish troops on 1 May after fighting at the Karl-August Plaza and Trinity Church.
It departed for the Ardennes on 7 December, but the miserable state of the German railways and the omni-present Allied fighter-bombers prevented it from reaching the area at all, except for some elements of the support company. It was diverted to Alsace-Lorraine to participate in the Nordwind Offensive scheduled for the beginning of the new year. Even this decision could not be fully implemented despite cross-country movement by the Jagdtigers to reach their assembly areas. A number of them broke-down during these marches and took quite a bit of time to repair.
By this time 3. Kompanie had been declared operational and had been commited to Nordwind. However, only two serviceable Jagdtigers had arrived by the start date and they were subordinated to the 17. SS-Panzergrenadier Division. A few more from 1. Kompanie arrived on 4 January and were committed to the bridgehead north of Strasbourg where they were subordinated to 10. SS-Panzer Division. Details are scanty, but the rest of the Abteilung apparently dribbled in over the rest of January, the new 2. Kompanie on 23 January. By this time the Abteilung had a platoon of Flakpanzers, including some Wirbelwinds and Ostwinds. Its operations were severely hindered by the penny-packet dispersal which adversely affected readiness. In late February it was transferred to the Hagenau area. It had the following vehicle status in March:
| Authorized | Operational | Maintenance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jagdtiger | 45 | 31 | 8 |
| Bergepanzer | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Flakpanzer IV (all types) | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| Armored cars | 10 | 14 | - |
| Motorcycles | 8 | 15 | 1 |
| Kubelwagen | 41 | 34 | 5 |
| Maultier | 6 | 13 | 3 |
| Light half-track | 8 | 6 | - |
| Heavy half-track | 15 | 14 | 3 |
| Medium truck | 32 | 30 | 2 |
| Heavy truck | 87 | 53 | 9 |
The American advances in mid-March made the German positions near Hagenau untenable and the 653. was ordered to cover the withdrawal. It lost seven Jagdtigers in short order doing so, most to American fighter-bombers, but two to breakdowns. By 30 March it was down to only 28 Jagdtigers; the four new losses coming from two breakdowns, one immobilized by track damage, abandoned by the crew, and one destroyed by American tanks at 200 meters range. On this date it had 6 operational vehicles, 12 in short-term maintenance, and 10 in long-term maintenance. By 17 April it had been reduced to a strength of 17, with 5 operational, and a half-dozen each in long and short-term maintenance. The Abteilung withdrew east through Ulm and Munich to Chiemig on the Chiemsee, losing vehicles all the way, where the maintenance company was dissolved. Some elements made it to Salzburg where they were assigned to Army Group South and ordered to Linz, but nothing came of that.
The last operations of the 653. were undertaken by some crews who were at the Nibelungen Werke to pick-up new vehicles. They were railed to St. Leonhard am Forst under the command of a Hauptsturmbannführer from the 1. SS-Panzer Division on 1 May, but the Soviets had already broken through so they headed west. They bypassed American and Soviet troops until they reached Strengberg where they surrendered without firing a shot.
The Abteilung went quietly into that good night, not what you'd have expected for a unit equipped with the heaviest anti-tank vehicles ever fielded. For all their armor and mightly armament the Jagdtigers and Elefants were delicate beasts and broke down easily, mainly because of they were too heavy for their chassis and powertrain. The inability to recover the inevitable breakdowns during a retreat swiftly eroded their strength as evidenced in the statistics provided above.
Commanders:
Major Heinrich Steinwachs (1 April 43-mid-August 43)
Major Georg Baumunk (mid-August 43-1 April 44)
Major Rudolf Grillenberger (1 April 44-15 April 45)
Major Rolf Fromme (15 April-8 May 45)
SF, Jan I 44, South, Arrive
Nov I 44: Transfer to West
Return to Obscure Combat Formations of the Heer.
Return to Panzerkeil.