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Attack of the "Feldferrnhalle" battalion on the Maginot Line 1940.
Infantry Regiment 271.
The Infantry Regiment 271 was organized on October 1, 1939 as a regiment of the 5th wave in the Jüterbog military training area, the II. and the III. Battalion in Luckenwalde. The Staff came from the Infantry Regiment 67, the I. Battalion of the Replacement Infantry Regiment (Ersatz) 20, the II. Battalion of the Replacement Infantry Regiment 22 and the III. Battalion from the SA "Feldherrnhalle", which was distributed throughout the Reich as a vigilance troop. This Standarte had been under the command of Hermann Goering since 12 January 1937. Parts of it were trained for airborne use and taken over by the Luftwaffe at the start of the war. The remaining part was moved to Jüterbog to be employed with the field army as III. / IR 271. The regiment was subordinate to the 93. Infantry Division and participated in the French campaign.
SA troops in feldgrau uniforms crossed the Maginot Line near Saarlautern.
As German troops advanced into the Netherlands and Belgium, the battalion was south of Saarlautern, 300 meters from the Maginot Line. While the Wehrmacht communiqués reported the advance of the troops, the capitulation of Holland and Belgium, peace still reigned on the Rhine and the Moselle. But the mood for an offensive was up in the air, and everyone knew that a major attack could be ordered at any time. Then came June 14. The Feldwebel Schn... speaks of these crucial hours: "It is about 5 o'clock. We sit in our holes, smoke and whisper softly to each other. The clock's hand moves slowly towards 8 o'clock. Then comes the morning blessing from our artillery. It rumbles and howls through the air and builds up to be the most violent hurricane we have ever heard in our lives. It throbs and roars from the impacts. "Finally, it's just an unceasing roar, a rumbling that subsides . Where it hits must be hell."
The village where the French dug their line of bunkers is on fire. Shortly after 09:30 the first squadrons of bombers and Stuka appear in the sky. More and more squadrons emerge from the cloud cover. Calmly and majestically they pass over the enemy line. Suddenly, the first Stuka falls, one after the other, they literally fall from the sky. We see the bombs drop and the planes rise gracefully again."
A large bunker can be seen.
“Our leading companies have gone on the assault. Heavy weapons cover our approach. Heavy machine guns unleashed an endless stream of fire. Band after band in the weapons to seize the opponent. The first 300 to 400 steps we advance without obstacles. We go down a slope, suddenly bundles of bullets whistle in our ears. We received machine gun fire from the edge of the town. In no time at all we were on the knee-deep grass and pressed against the ground. The buzzing bounce goes over the top. As soon as the machine gun fire dies down for a moment, we continue downhill in long jumps. The enemy fire intensified more and more. Finally comes the order that we must establish ourselves in the position we have gained. We waited all afternoon in the scorching sun and the next night, sleeping in cold, damp burrows that we hastily dug.
Wake up at 05:00 (June 15) Order: At 05:30, attack the bunker line by surprise without artillery preparation. Heavy machine guns, Pak (anti-tank), heavy mortars come forward. At 05:30 o'clock, our heavy weapons begin to hit. We can see from the tracer ammunition of the heavy machine guns that the enemy's targets are registered with incredible precision. We move at a rapid pace. We have to overcome the obstacles in the shortest possible time before the surprised opponent can recover and send us their projectiles. Suddenly we see a large bunker behind the barriers in our direction of attack. It has adapted perfectly to the terrain and is completely covered with vegetation. We can see that the bunker has a dome made of iron girders, armored plates, and sandbags as a replacement for the armored dome, which apparently hasn't been completed yet. Concentrated machine gun fire will shoot out of this dome until we get close. Its main loopholes are oriented to the east and west, while luckily we are not in its range coming from the north.
Hand grenades fly towards the armored dome.
Now their machine guns begin to fire and sweep, the valley to the right and left. Three jump forward and cut lanes through the wire barrier. We are surprisingly fast in the bunker and therefore somewhat protected from side fire from the neighboring bunker. The Feldwebel F and the Feldwebel S are already lying on the roof of the concrete monster. The first hand grenades fly towards the improvised armored cupola. With white flares we indicate that we have reached the bunker. On the ceiling, an outstretched swastika flag shows aerial scouts circling above us where is the front line. We are systematically trying to silence the two loopholes to the east and west. The enemy will hold fire for a moment. The Feldwebel F jumps out immediately. Ten, twelve steps forward, he breaks through the wire obstacle and plunges toward the western loopholes, which yawn before him darkly and menacingly. It is a matter of a few seconds. The first hand grenade, immediately followed by the second hand grenade, is already flying towards the opening of the slit. Finally it was silenced.
"Bon camarades! Pardon! Pardon!"
Meanwhile, the eastern loophole continues to fire non-stop with all the barrels of its machine gun and its anti-tank weapon. Luckily, two stragglers join us and plant a powerful demolition charge on the bunker's heavy iron door. Detonates with a tremendous crash. Now the chorus shouts: “Bon camarades! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" We point our guns at the entrance and then they stagger out. "Hands up!" Gray and yellow faces, eyes wide with terror, come out into the sun. We counted 25 men and an officer. The fight for this block of iron and concrete lasted an hour and a half. The breach in the Maginot Line is open, now we are advancing inexorably, right in the heart of France". We listen to this report in silence and shock. What a magnificent fighting spirit speaks in its details! The men of the "Feldherrnhalle" made their contribution to the great victory in the West in an exemplary manner, SA fighters in gray uniforms!
Source: Bataillon „Feldferrnhalle“ greif an. Neueste Zeitung. Donnerstag, 15. August 1940.
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... R271-R.htm
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums ... le-ashtray
Cheers. Raúl M
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Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.