Battle of Kowel

German campaigns and battles 1919-1945.

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Kocjo
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Battle of Kowel

Post by Kocjo »

I know, that the battle was in Aug. of '44. In this battle was involved "Wiking" Div. Do you have any other info about these battle?

I found two photos, where on the back is written Kowel, Heldenkampf, Wiking, Dorr,...

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Kovel 1944

Post by jhalcli »

In early March 1944, Major General Herbert Gille was given command of the rear services units defending Kovel. Gille’s division, SS Wiking, had no heavy weapons after coming out of the Cherkassy Pocket with the exception of the II/5 SS Panzer Regt which was in Germany reequipping with the Panther and III/Germania which was reequipping with armored half tracks. Westland and Germania Regt, equipped only with small arms and machine guns, were transported by rail into the area only to be turned back by the advancing Russians of the 1st Belorussian Front.

Throughout March and into April, Wiking Division, 131 I.D., 4 Pz. Div., and 5 Pz. Div. fought to break the encirclement and finally suceeded on 6 Apr. On July 6, 1944, 1st Belorussian Front finally captures Kovel at the start of it's Kovel Offensive (6-11 July 1944).

SS-Sturmbahnfuhrer Hans Dorr was the commander of 1st Battalion, Germania Regiment.
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Post by Kocjo »

jhalcli, thank you!

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Re: Kovel 1944

Post by M.Wittmann »

jhalcli wrote:In early March 1944, Major General Herbert Gille was given command of the rear services units defending Kovel. Gille’s division, SS Wiking, had no heavy weapons after coming out of the Cherkassy Pocket with the exception of the II/5 SS Panzer Regt which was in Germany reequipping with the Panther and III/Germania which was reequipping with armored half tracks. Westland and Germania Regt, equipped only with small arms and machine guns, were transported by rail into the area only to be turned back by the advancing Russians of the 1st Belorussian Front.

Throughout March and into April, Wiking Division, 131 I.D., 4 Pz. Div., and 5 Pz. Div. fought to break the encirclement and finally suceeded on 6 Apr. On July 6, 1944, 1st Belorussian Front finally captures Kovel at the start of it's Kovel Offensive (6-11 July 1944).

SS-Sturmbahnfuhrer Hans Dorr was the commander of 1st Battalion, Germania Regiment.
A bit late I guess :wink:

Commander of the relief unit was Hstuf Nicolussi-Leck PzReg 5. Although he had orders to return, he and his fellow Panthers did manage to reach the encircled troops in Kowel.
For this action he recieved his Ritterkreuz.
"Klagt nicht, kämpft!"

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Info about 5.SS-Pz(Gren)Div 'Wiking' and the dutch Waffen-SS volunteers.
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Post by Roger Griffiths »

Yes, Nicolussi Leck was CO 8th Company, SS PR5.

Roger
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Post by M.Wittmann »

Roger Griffiths wrote:Yes, Nicolussi Leck was CO 8th Company, SS PR5.

Roger
Thanks, couldn't remember it :oops:
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Post by olboeter »

tHERE WAS THREE PHASES IN TKE KOVELS BATTLE, ONE ,BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF THE EIGHT PANTHER COMPANY ,WHIT GILLES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TOWN , THE SECOND WHIT THE ARRIVAL OF THE PANTHERS , AND THE THIRD , WHIT THE ESCAPE OF THE GERMANS .
IT WAS A MAGNIFIC DEFENSIVE BATTLE , IN SPECIAL BY THE PANZERTRUPPE OF OBERLKAMP.......
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Battle of Kovel

Post by donwhite »

This from memory. There is a chapter in a book by Stephen H.Newton (German Battle Tactics on the Eastern Front?) on the relief attempt for Kovel. The particular chapter is by the Commander of XLII Korps (Mattenklock?). The Korps initially controlled one German division (131st?)recently relocated from Vitebsk and only 2 inf regt.'s strong as well as parts of a Hungarian division and a Battlegroup from the Wiking Division. The Korps HQ itself had only just come of 2 weeks rest after breaking out of the Korsun pocket with considerable equipment and personel losses. With such limited resources the Infantry division had to attack along a railway line on a limited front disregarding flank protection until elements of the Wiking KG & 1st Ski Bde (arrived unannounced)could be brought up to take over this role. Even with elements of the 904th StuG Bde, the Korps found it did have the required strength to break through aside from a small armoured KG from Wiking. With the reallocation of XLII Korps to 2nd Army, the latter committed a Panzerkorps (4th, 5th Pz Div's + a Jag div) with accomplised the linkup and relief. I found the found the book very imformative if you want to chase it up.

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Post by olboeter »

Panzer aces II , talks ,about the battle very well , and the actions of the eighy pantera company , and Gilles , Dorr ,ect,ect,ect.

I have one question

Why Wiking , could not have a heavy panzer company tiger? if it´s panzer regiment was so good,
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Post by olboeter »

germania ,play a good roll , in the final phase of the battle , in this time , Hans dorr ,was the regimental commander , but , not only Nico leck , was a heroe , i can remenber that , Scheneider the commander of other panther company , and untersturmfurher Alfred Grossrock, were awarded the knight cross for the panzer regiment, as Muhlenkamp and the commander of spw germania Franz Hack.
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Re: Battle of Kowel

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; a little complement.......................................

The field of death - Maciejow 1944 or as the "reds" in Volhynia lost 106 tanks in a day.

German forces.

On July 6, 1944, the Russian forces broke the German defensive lines in the direction of Krasnoduby. The Russian attacks were directed towards the Maciejow area. Mühlenkamp had at his disposal the HQ of the regiment, the II./SS- PR 5 and the III./SS-Germania. The 7./SS-PR 5 and the III./SS-Germania were directed to the attack towards the Smydin bridgehead. Near Maciejow the Battle Group of SS-Standartenführer Johannes Mulenkamp remained in waiting positions around the village. A platoon was detached while the CP of Mühlenkamp was established in Biliczy.

The Kampfgruppe included, in total, the following units:

II./ SS-PR 5 "Wiking", with 77 tanks "Panther" (Companies 5, 6, 7 and 8 );
III./ SS Germania mechanized, 42 machine guns, mortars, flamethrowers, anti-aircraft guns of 20 mm, two 75 mm guns.

The group covered the withdrawal from Kowel of the 26. ID and 342. ID that began on July 5, 1944.

On July 6, 1944, the SS-Standartenführer Mulenkamp withdrew his Panthers from the 5, 6 and 8 companies around Maciejow and placed them on the counterslopes of the heights between Paryduby and Torhovysche. The 7. Company (10 tanks) and a platoon of the III./ SS-Germania were in Smidyn, around which the Soviet troops had carried out a reconnaissance in force to identify the defense deployment. The CP of the battalion of "Panthers" was in Maciejow.

That same day the German survey found that the area, which was considered a wetland, dried up and the tanks could move about 100 meters further in places marked as impassable on the map.

Soviet forces.

On July 7, 1944 the 11th Tank Corps came to the Kowel area with the task of cutting off the German retreat, capturing the main retreat routes and preventing the infantry divisions from moving to the Western Bug. For this it was necessary to dominate Maciejow, then Liuboml and reach the Bug, if possible.

The 11 Tank Corps as an instrument of war constituted a kind of ram capable of piercing the defensive zone deployed in depth. For this, it had 21 heavy tanks IS-2 (50 independent Heavy Tank Regiment), 210 T-34-76 and T-34-85 (20 th, 36 th and 65 th Tank Brigades), 21 SU-85 self-propelled guns (1493 Self-propelled Artillery Regiment), 21 Su-76M self-propelled guns (1461 Self-propelled Artillery Regiment), 12 Motorized Infantry Brigade and 243 Rifle Division and numerous support units.

The Tank Corps was supported by two heavy artillery brigade with 62 guns and howitzers of 152 mm .

The Commander Maj-Gen F. M. Rudkin received from the Commander of the 47th Army, Lieutenant General M.I. Gusev the task of acting immediately and safely, but F.M. Rudkin had little or no precise information about the state of the enemy defense near Maciejow. For intelligence operations there was only the night of July 7 to 8 and the morning, but nothing good was found.

The calculations were based on a map with the routes of march and stages of retreat to the Bug found in the corpse of a dead officer of the 342. ID, and therefore they thought that in front of the Corps there were only remnants in retreat of infantry divisions. Army-level reconnaissance or aerial reconnaissance did not help much.

Sources: http://www.hroniky.com/articles/view/22 ... kiv-za-den
http://www.dws.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=122115
http://www.wiking-ruf.com/1944.html
http://www.panther1944.de/index.php/en/ ... ?showall=1

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Map of the area of ​​operations taken from the 11. Tank Corps ......................................
Map of the area of ​​operations taken from the 11. Tank Corps ......................................
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Re: Battle of Kowel

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; more....................................

The field of death - Maciejow 1944 or as the "reds" in Volhynia lost 106 tanks in a day.

Armored strugle and counterattack in height 197.2; north of Kruhel - July 7, 1944 (KTB SS-PR 5).

"During the night, the artillery fire intensified all over the front, enemy attacks in the left wing of the division (zone of 26. ID) and in the southern sector.
04:35 hours Ia telephone with information: 'At night from the forest to the northeast of Kruhel, enemy attack against Kruhel that broke into the defense lines, through the eastern part of Kruhel continued further south to the forest at west of Nowe Koszar and captured two anti-tank guns. The Russians are supposed to hit the west on Krasnobudy.
04:40 hours order for the Regiment HQ Company, the sapper company and the 2nd Battalion: "Prepare immediately protection from the direction to the southeast of Kruhel and counterattack other advances of the enemy in the sector of the position of the regiment".
The company of armored sappers is instructed to prepare the roads and bridges to Perewisy and recognize the roads to the location of Parybudy. Until 06:30 in the morning, the artillery fire intensified in the central sector of the defense.
06:35 hours information from the division says that the enemy in Kruhel has hit and the own defensive line will have to be recovered again. The II. Battalion begins the reconnaissance of Point 197.2, there 2 km east over the edge of the forest reported on enemy tanks.
07:45 hours phone call, the II. Battalion fighting 2 T-34 and 2 Sherman at the edge of the forest northeast of Point 197.2. A new survey was made at the edge of the forest 3 kilometers southwest of the west end of Szajna. There, they possess assault weapons.
At 08:30 hours, it is reported that 8 enemy tanks and trucks are traveling through height 178.9 towards the forest northeast of Kruhel.
08:50 hours, 11 enemy tanks were destroyed south of Szajna, one of which was burned down in Kruhel.
10: 00 hours enemy air attack. None of the bombs fell into own positions.
10:15 hours report of the II./ SS-PR 5: "The recon platoon in the area north of Point 197.2 destroyed 6 enemy tanks, of which 5 were set on fire.
10:20 hours enemy air attack. No harm.
10:35 hours phone call from II. Battalion: 'The number of destroyed enemy tanks rose to 7 "
10:40 hours Stukas attack the forest northeast of Kruhel.
10:40 commander and adjutant go to II. Battalion.
16:00 hours from the forest northeast of Kruhel there was a major Russian attack on Point 197.2.
16:35 hours penetration into defense lines in Kruhel. The battalion starts immediately to counterattack.
16:50 hours the division reports that Soviet tanks have already occupied Nowe Koszary and Krasnobudy. Defensive positions north of Zalisce in the area of ​​Point 197.3. The battalion is supervised by the adjutant of the regiment. Command post of the regiment northeast of the outskirts of Perewisy.
21:45 hours order to occupy the 'Blue Line'. The withdrawal maneuver was as planned. Command post of the regiment on the railway line 3 kilometers east of Maciejów. Area of ​​concentration of units of the regiment and II. Battalion near Parybudami, then eastern part of Maciejów. "

Sources: http://www.hroniky.com/articles/view/22 ... kiv-za-den
http://www.dws.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=122115
http://www.wiking-ruf.com/1944.html
http://www.panther1944.de/index.php/en/ ... ?showall=1

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
SS-Ostuf. Nicolussi-Leck talking with SS-Hstuf Hannes - summer of 1944 .....................................................................<br />The Axis forces 3. Massimiliano Afiero.
SS-Ostuf. Nicolussi-Leck talking with SS-Hstuf Hannes - summer of 1944 .....................................................................
The Axis forces 3. Massimiliano Afiero.
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Re: Battle of Kowel

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; more....................................

The field of death - Maciejow 1944 or as the "reds" in Volhynia lost 106 tanks in a day.

Then, on July 8, 1944 at 11:00 hours, the attack of the 11th Tank Corps began. It was conducted in two directions:

s. Kalynivka - s. Paryduby, 36th Tank Brigade, with around 65 tanks T-34;
s.Klychkovychi - s.Torhovyshche, 65th Tank Brigade, with around 65 tanks T-34.
Such attack directions secured Maciejow's surroundings from the north and south in order to create a "cauldron" with the German troops that were there.

Following the attack of the armored brigades, at a distance of 2-5 km advanced the 12th Motorized Infantry Brigade, the 243rd Rifle Division, the Independent Heavy Tank Regiment 50 and the 1461 Self-propelled Artillery Regiment.

Meanwhile, the Panther tanks commanded by SS-Ostuf. Ulf-Ola Olin, took positions near s.Pariduby. At 12:00 noon on the Paryduby-Godovichi-Torhovyshche line, the Soviet tanks unexpectedly encountered an organized anti-tank defense.

At the command of SS-Standartenführer Mühlenkamp, ​​aboard his command tank in the line of defense, Olin's "Panther" Platoon composed of five tanks near s.Paryduby, lost to the first ten T-34s due to the position where it was deployed and then managed to reach the first and the last tank, and within several minutes had destroyed the others. The battalions of the 36th Tank Brigade turned to Paryduby and attacked the "Panthers" of Mühlenkamp. For 30 minutes the German tanks opened fire from above, on the armored vehicles of the 36th Soviet Brigade.

One of the tank battalions (21 tanks) was able to break in 1 km north of Maciejow, but it was almost completely destroyed there.

The tanks of the 65th Brigade reached the outskirts of the eastern edge of Torgovishte, where they suffered heavy losses in 40 minutes. According to an account of the peasants of the place, on the north side of the village, were laying 12-13 tanks, on the south 5-6, two more tanks were left in the village near the pond. Part of the tanks managed to continue, one of them was trapped in a swamp one kilometer to the west.

Another veteran, tank commander of the 65th Tank Brigade, recalled:

"We were advancing with the Tank Corps on Torgovysh and Matsev (Maciejow)." Before the attack, there was a meeting, the zampolit shouted: "The Germans, panicking, left Kovel and fled westwards! Today we will reach the state border! ... "And we went on the offensive, so three and a half hours two brigades tried to break the defense of the Germans, but they could not." The "Wild German" gave us so much that our two brigades left 90 thirty-four new ones in the battlefield, we just do not get it ... Well, I'm alive "...........................................

Sources: http://www.hroniky.com/articles/view/22 ... kiv-za-den
http://www.dws.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=122115
http://www.wiking-ruf.com/1944.html
http://www.panther1944.de/index.php/en/ ... ?showall=1

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Soviet tanks T-34 destroyed in Torgovishte.....................................
Soviet tanks T-34 destroyed in Torgovishte.....................................
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Re: Battle of Kowel

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; more....................................

The field of death - Maciejow 1944 or as the "reds" in Volhynia lost 106 tanks in a day.

Only half an hour after the battle began, about 21 heavy tanks IS-2 (Heavy Tank Regiment 50) and the 12th Motorized Infantry Brigade tried to help the tank crews, but they had no effect on the fight.

Between 12:00 and 13:00 hours, up to 30 tanks of the 36th Tank Brigade and up to 40 of the 65th Tank Brigade were irretrievably lost. The remnants of the brigades had to go to the line that ran from Godovichi up to half a kilometer east of the town of Torgovishche.

At 14:00 hours, the Commander of the 11th Tank Corps, Major General F. M. Rudkin, ordered the conquest of Maciejow from the north.

In the attack took part 15 tanks of the remnants of the 36th Brigade (there were 65 in the morning of that day), the 12th Infantry Brigade, 21 heavy tanks, and 21 self-propelled guns Su-76M (of the 1461 self-propelled artillery regiment) . They finally reached the outskirts of s.Paryduby, but at 19:00 hours, the Commander F.M. Rudkin issued the order to stop the offensive and retreat to the starting line where the attack began.

The next day, at 08:30 hours, the Commander of the Soviet 47th Army ordered the Tank Corps to be moved at a distance of 5-6 kilometers from the front line.

According to the War Diary of the 11th Tank Corps, on July 8-9, 79 T-34 tanks were irretrievably lost, another 24 were damaged. Of the self-propelled guns Su-76 4 or 5 were burned.

The Staff of the II./ SS-PR 5 after the end of the combat, counted 103 tanks destroyed that was reported by SS-Standartenführer Mühlenkamp to his superior, the Commander of the LVI. Panzer Corps General Hossbach. To verify the report, the General sent Oberstleutnant Peter Sauerbruch to Maciejow, who confirmed the figures. In one of the disabled tanks, a Soviet commander was found dead, with a map showing the direction of the offensive Kovel-Bug-Chełm. For this battle, MülenKamp was awarded on September 29, 1944 with the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross.

According to the German data, during the battle, some "Panthers" of the SS Division "Wiking" were damaged, but none of them was destroyed.

On July 11, the victorious battle was announced in the Wehrmacht communiqué ...................

Sources: http://www.hroniky.com/articles/view/22 ... kiv-za-den
http://www.dws.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=122115
http://www.wiking-ruf.com/1944.html
http://www.panther1944.de/index.php/en/ ... ?showall=1

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
Tanks T-34 destroyed in Torgovishche ......................................................
Tanks T-34 destroyed in Torgovishche ......................................................
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Re: Battle of Kowel

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; more....................................

The field of death - Maciejow 1944 or as the "reds" in Volhynia lost 106 tanks in a day.

During the night of July 11 to 12, 1944, the 2nd Battalion of the SS-PR 5, was relieved east of Maciejow by the Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 600, but before it managed to eliminate another 18 additional enemy tanks in the course of immediate counterattacks between Scaino, Krühel and Krasnoduby and restore the situation. That was the last intervention in the fighting. On July 13, 1944, at the Lyuboml station, the "Panthers" of the Panzer Grenadier SS Division "Wiking" were loaded into rail cars and displaced to Brest.

The fight of July 8, 1944, stopped the advance of the Soviet army on the axis Maciejow-Lyuboml-Bug-Chelm for ten full days. The 11th Soviet Tank Corps had lost 63 officers, and 212 NCOs and troop killed plus 125 officers and 123 from other ranks missing, some of them in German prison camps.

Faced with the great loss of armored vehicles in this battle, Supreme Commander in Chief J. Stalin reacted.

"Order of the Supreme General Headquarters No. 220146 on the deficiencies in the organization when entering the combat of the 11th Tank Corps. (July 16, 1944, 16:00)

In the latest offensive operations, our troops and commanders of all ranks received extensive experience in choosing the moment to launch the tank formations into battle and organize this entry. However, the persistence of cases where the armored units entered the battle without the support of artillery, without infantry support and without the necessary intelligence, has involved great, unjustified losses.

Therefore, on the 1st Front of Belarus, when the enemy withdrew from the Kowel area, the 11th Tank Corps was given the task of pursuing the retreating enemy. Neither the commander of the 47th Army Lieutenant General Gusev, who had at his disposal the 11th Tank Corps, nor the Commander of that Corps, General of the tank troops Rudkin, without knowing the real situation, did not foresee the reconnaissance of the enemy or of the ground. The enemy, however, withdrew his troops to a previously prepared line and organized a strong anti-tank defense there. The 11th Tank Corps entered into battle without the support of the artillery and did not even deploy its self-propelled regiments. The infantry of the tank corps and the infantry of the infantry divisions did not advance behind the tanks.

The Commander of the 1st Belarusian Front, Marshal Rokossovsky, personally led the actions of the troops in the direction of Kowel, did not verify the organization of the battle of the 11th Tank Corps. As a result of this exceptionally bad organization when the tank corps entered into combat, two tank brigades, launched to attack, irrevocably lost 75 tanks. The Supreme Command Headquarters warns about the need to carefully and thoroughly prepare the entry of tank units into the battle and orders:

1. To sanction the Commander of the 47th Army, Lieutenant General N. Gusev, for the negligence he showed in organizing the entry into the battle of the 11th Tank Corps.
2. Remove the Major General of the tank troops F.M. Rudkin of the position of Commander of the 11th Tank Corps and put it at the disposal of the Commander of the Tank and Mechanized Forces of the Red Army.
3. Appoint Commander of the 11th Tank Corps to Major-General Yuschuk.

Headquarters of the Supreme High Command
J. Stalin
A. Antonov »

Sources: http://www.hroniky.com/articles/view/22 ... kiv-za-den
http://www.dws.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=122115
http://www.wiking-ruf.com/1944.html
http://www.panther1944.de/index.php/en/ ... ?showall=1

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
Attachments
The &quot;Panthers&quot; of the II./ SS-PR 5 are embarked in Lyuboml - July 1944; a nice note the mascot on the tank ..........................................
The "Panthers" of the II./ SS-PR 5 are embarked in Lyuboml - July 1944; a nice note the mascot on the tank ..........................................
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Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
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