Prinz Eugen supports Panzervervand Strachwitz II at Tukkum

German campaigns and battles 1919-1945.

Moderator: sniper1shot

Charlie645
Supporter
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:26 pm
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Prinz Eugen supports Panzervervand Strachwitz II at Tukkum

Post by Charlie645 »

I am researching the battle of Tukkum (now Tukums) Lativa on August 20, 1944. I am trying to learn more about the role of the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen in supporting the attack of Panzerverband Strachwitz II there. How was the decision to commit the cruiser and its escorting destroyers made? Was there a personal connection between der Panzergraf and someone in the Kriegsmarine or on board the warship?What exactly was the target, how was it directed, and how long did the bombardment last? The account in Frashcka's biography of Strachwitz is full of errors. I want the truth! I can't afford to buy Paul Schmalenbach's excellent books right now, I just want information on this one engagement.

Thanks for your help.

Charlie645
Jan-Hendrik
Patron
Posts: 1984
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 8:42 am
Location: Wienhausen
Contact:

Post by Jan-Hendrik »

Hm, as far as I remember the account by Schmalenbach on this was pretty interesting, but I had it only as a scan...had to ccheck my archive at home if I printed it out before my HD crashed in 2005...

Jan-Hendrik
Charlie645
Supporter
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:26 pm
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Post by Charlie645 »

Thanks, Jan-Hendrik. I hope you can rescue some informatiion for me!

Charlie
User avatar
Richard Hargreaves
Author
Posts: 2073
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2003 11:30 pm
Location: Gosport, England

Post by Richard Hargreaves »

I've just had a look through Fritz Otto-Busch's book on Prinz Eugen, but it only covers her sortie with the Bismarck, sorry.
No-one who speaks German could be an evil man
Charlie645
Supporter
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:26 pm
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Post by Charlie645 »

I appreciate the effort, Richard. It's a fascinating episode--I believe it was the first time in nearly two years that the Germans let a capital ship venture out of port. The situation was desperate given that Army Group North had been cut off and Strachwitz was mounting a critical rescue mission close to the Baltic coast. It apparently worked, in that fire support from the cruiser reportedly played some sort of role enabling Strachwitz to break through to AG North. But the facts are very murky and I hope to learn more.

Charlie
Jan-Hendrik
Patron
Posts: 1984
Joined: Wed May 04, 2005 8:42 am
Location: Wienhausen
Contact:

Post by Jan-Hendrik »

The fire support went excellent, it was a muster for such employment during the further fights in the Area around the Ostsee, if I remember correctly the fire was conducted by VBs who were with the first line of the Heer troops and controlled by the plane of the PE....must have been a god demn hell when the PE and the Scheer started their barrage of 20,3er and 28er shells :shock:

:[]

Jan-Hendrik
User avatar
Richard Hargreaves
Author
Posts: 2073
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2003 11:30 pm
Location: Gosport, England

Post by Richard Hargreaves »

There's a good four-five page overview in M J Whitley's German Cruisers of World War Two with some images (including the ramming of the Hipper).

It also might be worth contacting the Naval Historical Branch in the UK as they have Prinz Eugen's log and other papers.
No-one who speaks German could be an evil man
Charlie645
Supporter
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:26 pm
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Post by Charlie645 »

Thanks to both of you for your information and suggestions. It would be interesting to find out just how the decision was made to commit the Prinz Eugen group to this dangerous mission in the fairly narrow waters off Latvia, with Russian subs and aircraft possibly in the area.

Charlie
manchu19
New Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:43 am

Re: Prinz Eugen supports Panzervervand Strachwitz II at Tukkum

Post by manchu19 »

I transcribed the Prinz Eugen's logbook for that operation while at the Military Archives at Freiburg. Of interest is how they coordinated naval gunfire between ground and naval forces on their maps, incorporating aerial observation with the Eugen's seaplanes and sending liaison cells to each force.
Charlie645
Supporter
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:26 pm
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: Prinz Eugen supports Panzervervand Strachwitz II at Tukkum

Post by Charlie645 »

The plotting map is also fascinating, depicting the exact back-and-forth course of the Prinz Eugen over time as it bombarded Tukkums.

Charlie
User avatar
Die Blechtrommel
Supporter
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:51 am
Location: Tampere, Finland

Re:

Post by Die Blechtrommel »

Charlie645 wrote:Thanks to both of you for your information and suggestions. It would be interesting to find out just how the decision was made to commit the Prinz Eugen group to this dangerous mission in the fairly narrow waters off Latvia, with Russian subs and aircraft possibly in the area.
In August 1944 there were no Soviet Submarines in the Baltic Sea.
The Fenno-German, well guarded anti-submarine net, from Porkkala to Estonia was still present and preventing subs to break through from the Bay of Finland's eastern parts. That meant that the Soviet submarines weren't able to operate in the Baltic Sea until late September, after Finland made truce with the SU.

With best
Juha-Pekka :beer: (It sure is hot here in Finland, how about you in Central Europe?)
“Die Blechtrommel trommelt noch !!“
User avatar
hucks216
Contributor
Posts: 296
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2006 8:46 am
Location: England

Re: Prinz Eugen supports Panzervervand Strachwitz II at Tukkum

Post by hucks216 »

There is a brief mention of this shore bombardment in Battle Of The Baltic: The Wars 1918-1945 by Robert Jackson.
All it says is that the operation on shore... ' was effectively supported by Prinz Eugen, now with the Baltic Fleet Training Squadron, whose 8" shells destroyed forty-eight T-34's assembling in the town square at Tukkum on the Gulf Of Riga. Fire support was also provided by the destroyers Z25, Z28, Z35, Z36 & the torpedo boats T23 & T28.'
Charlie645
Supporter
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Dec 12, 2005 1:26 pm
Location: Seattle, WA, USA

Re: Prinz Eugen supports Panzervervand Strachwitz II at Tukkum

Post by Charlie645 »

Thanks to Die Blechtrommel and hucks216 for your interesting information. If the Prinz Eugen was already operating with the training squadron in the Baltic behind that anti-submarine net, then it was an obvious decision to have it engage in a shore bombardment to support Strachwitz's effort to break through the encirclement of AG North. The Prinz Eugen's plotting map also shows the destroyers attacking a target right at the coast, perhaps as a diversion. The operation was very well coordinated and executed. It is possible that the Soviet armor destroyed in Tukkums consisted of American M4A2 Sherman tanks--not T-34s--from the 8th Guards Mechanized Brigade under Colonel S.D. Kremer, which had led the Soviet breakthrough to the coast of the Baltic at the end of July. Soviet sources are mostly silent about the defeat at Tukkums, as is typical whenever the Red Army suffered a major defeat.

Charlie
Michate
Contributor
Posts: 204
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2004 1:29 am

Re: Prinz Eugen supports Panzervervand Strachwitz II at Tukkum

Post by Michate »

IIRC, there is a short description of the support mission in the book "Abwehrkämpfe am Nordflügel der Ostfront". It mentions that Prinz Eugen's shooting was rated as relatively accurate, one of the destroyers was rated excellent, while another one was rated very inaccurate.
User avatar
Die Blechtrommel
Supporter
Posts: 87
Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:51 am
Location: Tampere, Finland

Re: Prinz Eugen supports Panzervervand Strachwitz II at Tukkum

Post by Die Blechtrommel »

Charlie645 wrote:I am researching the battle of Tukkum (now Tukums) Lativa on August 20, 1944. I am trying to learn more about the role of the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen in supporting the attack of Panzerverband Strachwitz II there
I have very little information of the Panzerverband Strachwitz.
Was this the same attack, where 7.Pz. broke through from south to north? :?

Greets
Juha-Pekka :beer:
“Die Blechtrommel trommelt noch !!“
Post Reply