My second force in Flames of War were the Germans. I wanted an axis army too in addition to my British forces and decided to make a small German force. However a friend of mine allready had a sizeable collection of Germans, so I wanted to make something a bit more specialized. I was flipping through some army books and Bäke's group caught my eye, and in no time I had a small task force of Germans to play with.
The German army was very flexible during WW 2 and often combined tactical sub-units into a "kampfgruppe" for specific operations. By the late war period many of these battle groups became semi-permanent. One such formation was the Schwere Panzerregiment Bäke created January 1944.
Kampfgruppe Bäke's first battle at the Balabonowka pocket was in January 1944, where they had to stop a Soviet offensive. There Bäke's Tigers and Panthers destroyed over 250 Soviet tanks while only losing just four of their own. Bäke himself destroyed three Soviet tanks with infantry weapons at close quarters.
By 1944 Oberstleutnant Dr Franz Bäke was one of the most experienced and capable panzer commaders in the army. During WW 1 he had served as an enlisted man and fought in the battle of Verdun. He was wounded, awarded the Iron Cross Second Class and by the end of the war was a sergeant and an officer candidate. Between the wars he studied to be a dentist and gained his doctorate. He was still a reservist and was called back to the army in 1937 and at the start of WW 2 he was a Leutnant commanding a panzer platoon.
Kampfgruppe Bäke in Flames of War:
Oberstleutnant Bäke in the back commanding a platoon of Panthers:
Heavy and recon elements of the kampfgruppe, supported by a platoon of Gebirgsjäger and a Stuka dive bomber:
Organization of Kampfgruppe Bäke in Flames of War:
06/07/2026