Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

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tigre
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Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; a new topic dealing with the operation on the eastern front.

The Broniki's case – 01 Jul 1941.

The Eastern Front showed its brutality from the beginning and later was growing up more and more. Here goes the case involved an unlucky german company which was slaughtered after being captured…………

The action.

On Jun 29 1941 at 15:00 hours, the 25 ID (Mot) relieved the 13 Pz Div at Rowno (main road hub) securing there against south, east and northeast. The enemy retreating southeastwards to Klewan broke through the road Dubno – Rowno, hence the Division had for the time being a new thread closing in from the west.

On Jun 30 1941, the Army Corps ordered that the security had to be strenghtened to the east so the IR 119 (Mot) was engaged in the direction given. Meanwhile it was ordered also that a reinforced battalion should press to the northwest in order to seize Klewan. The task was given to Hauptmann Dr. Keller’s II./ IR 35.

On Jul 01 1941, at 06:00 hours, the battalion jumped off along the road between Klewan and Broniki in Ukraine, in spite of they met strong resistence and heavy hostile artillery fire the attack went under way. But around 09:00 hours, the battalion’s commander gave the withdrawal’s order towards the high ground located northeast of Broniki in order to set a defensive line there. While the Germans were carried out that movement, the Russian counterattacked from the wooded land located northwest of Orzew with two infantry battalions supported by 15 tanks. The thrust knocked the II./ IR 35’s right flank, which was being protected by the 7./ IR 35.

After this attack, parts of the german battalion (among them the 7. Company) were encircled and when they spent all their ammunition were taken as prisoners. At that time fell as POWs around 180 soldiers, most of them belonging to the II./ IR 35 ( there were soldiers from the 6./ IR 119 and the 5./ AR 60 also). Nevertheless as the sun was rising on Jul 02 1941, the IR 35 (reinforced) counterattacked and took again the whole ground lost previously.

Source: Geschichte der 25. Division - Erwin Boehm.
Fuente: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/hiag/panzerkorps_ddw2.htm

Cheers. RAúl M 8).
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Situation as 01 Jul 1941.
Situation as 01 Jul 1941.
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; the story follows...............

The Slaughter.

Hence were found the corpses of 153 german soldiers; in the spot were the Judge Dr. Heinrich and Leutnant Franz Kröning, who helped to identify the bodies. Later another 12 corpses were found 200 meters away (the officers??). It was known later that seven men survived the slaughter, they had saved their lives running away or were left as dead. One of them Schütze Michael Beer told his history:

“Together with other 150 / 200 comrades without injuries or slightly wounded we were in a hollow some 20 meters away from the road. Suddenly the Russian came and started shooting at us. We ran looking for cover in the ditches beside the road. In spite of the intense fire I could reach the left ditch and managed to escape”

Later Michael Beer went back and on Jul 02 helped to identify his comrades. Together with a little group and the engineers he buried the fallen near the Broniki’s church”.

Another testimony was given by Gefreite Karl Jäger as follows:

“After being captured together with others comrades on Jul 01 1941, they obliged us and we should take off ours boots, socks and trousers. Also we should empty our pockets and all values were taken by the soviets. Those who were not fast enough in obeying were stabbed with the bayonet. Obergefreite Kurz was slightly wounded in his hand so he could not untie his shoelaces quickly hence was stabbed from behind at the neck so that the bayonet came out through the throat. A seriously wounded but yet alive man was trampled and his skull was smashed with the rifle butts. I went rounded up together with another 12 or 15 men north of the road. From behind the russian started the slaughter while we had our hands up yet. When the first shots rang up I ran.”

The Oberschütze (Private First Class) Wilhelm Metzger told the following:

“The russian took us and then deprived us of all our values (rings, watches, uniform’s patches, jackets, boots and shirts). After that the group was slaughtered with hand granades and machinegun pistols’ fire. This I’m telling wasn’t a legend I was there and could escape in the middle of the confusion.”

The Schütze Hermann Heiss could not escape but was left as dead in the spot with his hands tied on his back; he was discover by Germans soldiers and taken to the hospital. Later he recalled the following:

“Together with some others comrades we were laying side by side with our hands tied on the back. I was face up when a Russian soldier stabbed me on the chest so I turned to my side just to take seven hits more on my back. They though I was dead so they left me there lying on the ground. Next morning some landsers saw me and I was taken here (hospital). I could see that the comrade next to me had the skull smashed and the most part of the soldiers in my group had been slaughtered.”

Source: Geschichte der 25. Division - Erwin Boehm.
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/hiag/panzerkorps_ddw2.htm
The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau 1939-1945. Alfred de Zayas

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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A slaughtered German POW with his hands tied on his back.
A slaughtered German POW with his hands tied on his back.
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German POWs slaughtered at Broniki.
German POWs slaughtered at Broniki.
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

Post by Nicolai »

tigre wrote:Another testimony was given by Gefreite Karl Jäger as follows:

“After being captured together with others comrades on Jul 01 1941, they obliged us and we should take off ours boots, socks and trousers. Also we should empty our pockets and all values were taken by the soviets. Those who were not fast enough in obeying were stabbed with the bayonet. Obergefreite Kurz was slightly wounded in his hand so he could not untie his shoelaces quickly hence was stabbed from behind at the neck so that the bayonet came out through the throat. A seriously wounded but yet alive man was trampled and his skull was smashed with the rifle butts. I went rounded up together with another 12 or 15 men north of the road. From behind the russian started the slaughter while we had our hands up yet. When the first shots rang up I ran.”
Hmm, this Karl Jäger? Seems unlikely, but it'd be interesting if it was the same guy.
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

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Hello to all :D; thanks for joining Nicolai. The story ends...............

The Slaughter as told by Kurt Meyer in his work “Grenadiere” Schild Verlag.

We past through the woods along the road leading to Klewan. The village was taken and we proceeded towards Rowno.

The road there ran straight like as a string heading southeast. From Klewan the road went down gently and after a few kilometers it went up again towards Broniki. Over the horizon some clouds of smoke were rising straight to the sky. I was with the leading platoon and was looking the field around me through my binoculars. I could see a truck over there on the slope and some light shadows close to it.

Now we could see a light gun ready to fire. For the first time we could see an abandoned German weapon on the battlefield, it was very depressing. After passing by the gun we could see a field ambulance, it had its doors wide open with blood’s trace on it. We saw all this in silence. We could not see any German soldier, neither dead nor alive. We went along the slope and the light shadows could be seen clearly now. I put my binoculars down, I scrubbed my eyes and rising the binoculars I looked again.

My God, it could not be possible. The head platoon detrucked and went to those light spots without words. Before us, were lying the naked corpses of at least one German company. We took off our helmets holding them in ours hands as we would be praying. The corpses had the hands tied on his backs with wire strings. Their eyes wide open as if they were looking steady to us. Surely the company’s officers has got a horrible end, they lain some meters away from their comrades. We marched past in silence in front of our dead comrades.

Source: Geschichte der 25. Division - Erwin Boehm.
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/hiag/panzerkorps_ddw2.htm
The Wehrmacht War Crimes Bureau 1939-1945. Alfred de Zayas

It's all folks. Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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The march road.
The march road.
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A view of the slaughter.
A view of the slaughter.
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; just by chance Nicolai (or someone else), do you happen to know which Soviets units fought along the road Klewan - Broniki at that time?. TIA. Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

Post by Rchrd »

I think 5th Army. Rokossovsky's 9th Mechanised Corps attacked this day with 2 divisions. I think the division in question was M.E. Katukov's 20th Tank Division, which advanced about 7 miles before returning to it's start point. Just to illustrate the varieties of perspective, Kamenir's book,"The Bloody Triangle" refers to the incident thus; "Still, there were flashpoints of heavy fighting, such as the plight of one german infantry battalion being temporarily surrounded in the Bronniki village and losing 153 killed and an unknown number of wounded."
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

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Thanks pal :D; all piece of info counts here :wink:. Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all people :D; a little story dealing with the first tank action near Radziechow.....


First tank battle on the Eastern Front.

'On the second day after hostilities started on the Eastern front, reconnaissance planes report that 120 russian tanks are deployed in front of our positions. We will advance through the corn fields by dawn, to attack the enemy in the left flank. Then the first hit: a Russian tank was hit in the munition chamber. Our tanks move towards the enemy to reduce the distance, and our reporter makes pictures of the leading vehicles which are under artillery fire. We pass the first enemy tanks, armored with 65mm plates and sometimes armed with 8cm guns.'

'Another hit: this tank needed 20 hits, but soon the ammunition will explode. There is a lot of flames and black smoke; the German reinforcements don't have to participate in the battle and are just spectators.'

'Our second wave is advancing, with burning vehicles as markers for their road. They have orders to join the fight on the left and right flank. The black smoke is accumulating over the battlefield, and the Russians start to retreat after 11 hours of fighting. We will pursuit the enemy, who have already lost more than 40 tanks.

Source: First tank battle on the Eastern Front. Signal Magazine. Arthur Grimm http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quart ... 2/home.htm

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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We will advance through the corn fields by dawn.
We will advance through the corn fields by dawn.
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Our second wave is advancing
Our second wave is advancing
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The Russians start to retreat after 11 hours of fighting.
The Russians start to retreat after 11 hours of fighting.
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

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Hello to all :D; here goes another incident, this time the 161 ID was implied...........

161 ID at Porzecze Jul 1941.

According to the statement of Simon Sindersberger (45 years old) who was a catholic war minister (Katholische kriegspfarrer) in the 161 ID and Erich Klinger (34 years old) protestant Armed Forces Minister (Evangelische Wehrmachtspfarrer) in the same unit they found and buried several soldiers belonging to the 161 ID against who the Russian troops had committed atrocities around Porzecze on Jul 1941…

They found Leutnant S..ommer from the Field Replacement Battaillon with his legs up to the abdomen perfectly charred; still were present remainders of boots and meat. Others 5 to 6 soldiers’ corpses -belonging to the same division - had been charred beyond recognition and could not be identified. Seemingly the Russians had poured fuel over the wounded or fallen and stuck on. They could not see any shot wounds on the Leutnant’s corpse.

They found also Uffz P. from IR …..with a hit on his head. He would have been wounded before and close to him, was hanging a first aid packet in the bushes. A medical soldier with a Red Cross armband laid there with a hit on his head.

On another site they found the following members of that division:

Oberarzt Dr. A…delhelm Divisional Staff.
Assistenzarzt Dr. H.. ottenroth from the Feldersatz battaillon.
Uffz K. from the Feldgendarmerie troop.
Kraftfahrer P. from 2. Krankenkraftwagenzug (ambulance unit).
Gefreiter K. from 2. Krankenkraftwagenzug.
Obergefreiter L. from another medical unit.

The fallen lay lined up facedown, with the exception of the Uffz K, which lay about 1 meter apart. Seemingly all of them were captured and then shot from behin. Oberartz Dr A. had a shot on his right shoulder and two shots on his back. Uffz K. had received three neck shots. They had been robbed. The boots had been taken off.

There were also found among others killed Leutnant W…ordell from the Divisional Staff and Gefr. R

Source: http://www.horst-koch.de/joomla_new/con ... w/395/440/

Could anyone here kindly help me with the actions of this Division in Barbarossa?. TIA. Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; here goes a little report................

Alarm – antitank fire.

The reconnaissance patrol of an antitank element advances by a street of the locality when suddenly receives fire of a Soviet antitank weapon. The crew leaves the panzerspähwagen Sd Kfz 250 in searching for cover.

Image

In the neighborhoods an abandoned Russian gun of 76 mm is put quickly ready to fire.

Image

A grenade is loaded.............

Image

And the enemy is knocked down…..

Image

Source: Revista Signal Nº 42.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

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

Hornets to the hunting (hornissen auf der jagd).

In this war generally the increasing capacity of the armored combat vehicles requires of an increasing quality of the defense. Originally the Pak of 37 mm was sufficient and it could be displaced by his crew by all type of land. The maximum distance of the Pak of 37 mm was usually of 800 meters but to obtain a good effectiveness the effective range was generally of about 300 meters. During the course of the war this had changed with the appearance of better weapons.

The coronation of the German designs is the Hornet (Hornisse) a self-propelled Pak of 88 mm. The initial speed of its grenades is so high that it can fight to the enemy tanks to the majors distances. The best Soviet tanks as the T-34 and the KW are generally victims of the Hornet still before its grenades leave the guns of the armored. In order to demonstrate the worth of the hornets we can say that a single heavy detachment of tank killers has destroyed 200 Russian armored in two months of operations.

Souirce: Hornissen auf der jagd. Kriegsberichter v. Koerber im Die Wehrmacht November 1943.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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To the front.........
To the front.........
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Hornisse.
Hornisse.
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

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

Hornets to the hunting (hornissen auf der jagd).

The Bolsheviks armored has been successful in breaking through the German lines. A dispatch rider was sent to rear from the CP of a regiment of grenadiers ordering that the heavy tank destroyers must reinforce the defense.

The hostile group, which includes several T-34 and KW 1, fall within the visual field of the hornet. For not showing a good target the hornet took cover and the fighting against the blocheviques starts a great distance.

Source: Hornissen auf der jagd. Kriegsberichter v. Koerber im Die Wehrmacht November 1943.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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A dispatch raider brings the order.....panzerjäger nach vorn...........
A dispatch raider brings the order.....panzerjäger nach vorn...........
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The hornet took cover..................
The hornet took cover..................
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

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

Hornets to the hunting (hornissen auf der jagd).

A T-34 was located in the front sight, it disappeared a few moments of visual field. The cannon continued the tracking, waiting for the most propitious moment for the shot.

The impact has been accurate and the crew of the hornet could take a look on the burning enemy tank. Another mark should be added to the gun’s barrel.

Source: Hornissen auf der jagd. Kriegsberichter v. Koerber im Die Wehrmacht November 1943.

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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Aiming on the target.........
Aiming on the target.........
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The hunting was over..............
The hunting was over..............
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; the end.................

Hornets to the hunting (hornissen auf der jagd).

The success depends largely on the ability of the loader. Before each shot the hornet should stop and fire quickly. In order to protect the loader against the noise, he is wearing hearing protectors (picture 1).

A difficult day has passed and the enemy tanks which were not rejected have been destroyed. The tank hunters can spend a relaxing break in their shelter beneath the chassis of the hornet, conditioning to keep them warm at night (picture 2).

Source: Hornissen auf der jagd. Kriegsberichter v. Koerber im Die Wehrmacht November 1943.

It's all folks. Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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Re: Incidents and actions from the Eastern Front - 1941.

Post by tigre »

Hello to all :D; here goes a new thread dealing with the first stages of Barabarossa...............

Fighting in the forests of Russia. Ambush at Melniki - June 1941.

The 255 ID.

In April 1941, the 255 ID (formed in August 1939 as a division of the 4th wave) was assembled in the vicinity of Schweidnitz, Waldenburg and Reichenbach (Silesia). In the fall of 1940 and after participating successfully in the Western Campaign, a third of the division was detached in order to organize new units. On April 21, 1941 the 255 ID was moved to the Training Camp at Radom by Landsberg, Wielun, Petrikau, arriving at the training ground in early May. During the period in Radom the division greatly improved its tactical skills. Towards the end of May 1941, the division continued its march along three different routes to reach the Bug river on both sides and west of Wlodawa.

Only a few days before D-Day the commanders became aware of the new impending campaign. As a result of the marches the manpower of the unit was 5% lower than the authorized ones. Gradually, the troops were moved to the Bug river without being detected from the east. The training was carried out in the woods or at night and since April 1941 it was banned the use of the emblem of the unit. Morale was high and the soldiers believed in the superiority of the German Army on the opposing side of the border.

The 255 ID as part of the XXIV AK (Mot) under the command of General Geyr v. Schweppenburg had the following mission: to protect the southern flank of the Army Corps which was to attack north of the division. At the beginning of the operations the 255 ID consisted of the following units: IR 455, IR 465, IR 475, AR 255, Pz. Jg. Abt. 255, Pi. Btl. 255, Nachr. Abt. 255 being its Commander Generalleutnant Wilhelm Wetzel.

Sources: ARMY PAMPHLET NO. 20-290. TERRAIN FACTORS IN THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN.
FMS MD # 183. Operations of the 255 ID in Russia.
142# 6x Orig_ Foto Gräber i_ R_ 487 Russland bei eBay_de 1918-1945 (endet 20_01_08 212400 MEZ)
Dr.Rolf Hinze "Bug, Moskwa, Beresina",
Erloschene Spuren. Soldat der 267 ID. Eine Illustrierte Dokumentation

Cheers. Raúl M 8).
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