sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

In January 1941 the Abteilung (group) moved to Braunsberg. In February 1941 the movement continued towards Elbing. Here the Abteilung was converted to adapt to tropical conditions. At the end of April 1941, the 3. Battery under Oberleutnant Geitner was withdrawn for employment in Africa. Shortly afterwards the transfer to the east of Berlin took place: the command to Ahrensfelde, the 1st Battery to Eiche, the 2nd Battery to Blumberg and the column to Lindenberg. Here the tropical equipment was received.

On June 20, 1941 they were embarked on the railway to the south. The Abteilung was unloaded at Bagnoli via Munich, the Brenner Pass, Rome and Naples. From Naples, the Abteilung was sent to Tripoli and Benghazi. The transport ship "Preußen" and parts of the group were sunk in the Mediterranean. The Abteilung assembled in Tripoli. From there, it moved to the Tobruk area in several night marches along the Via Balbia.

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

Date of arrival in north Africa for the 3. Battery and the rest of the Abteilung. Losses at sea. Cheers. Raúl M .

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

The logistics train remained in El Adem and the batteries were located to the south-east of the encirclement ring. First of all, the rear positions, which had been expanded by the Italian construction companies, were occupied, while the forward positions, which were in the process of being expanded, were only occupied at the beginning of the attack.

The 3. Battery was still deployed in Tobruk East. The battery positions had been occupied on the other side of the axis road. The wire net was designed only provisionally and was only fully expanded for the attack. The Abteilung Command Post was located on the El-Adem ridge.

On the night of October 21, naval units unsuccessfully bombarded the firing position of the 3. Battery. On October 22, General Böttcher, Arko 104, visited the group's positions. The expansion of the observation positions at the front began on October 23. At the same time, the 2. Battery moved with a platoon at dawn to the already completed gun emplacements of the rear position. By October 24, the 2. Battery was ready to carry out firing missions with four guns on the rear positions.

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

On the same day, October 24, the rest of the Abteilung's HQ arrived from Naples with 1 officer, 4 non-commissioned officers and 57 men. On October 27, the 3rd Battery was moved from Tobruk East to the positions at El-Adem. On October 31, 1941, Oberkanonier Max Holländer was killed after stepping on a mine with his Volkswagen.

On November 3, 1941, the Abteilung received a third batch of ammunition, which was taken to the forward positions. The two batches that had already been transported initially remained in the rear positions. On November 4, 1941, the forward firing position of the 3rd Battery came under enemy artillery fire. As the English observers could see the position, the first salvo already hit the target. The Abteilung suffered five wounded, one seriously.

On 13 November the artillery group was able to secure a fourth supply of ammunition. Three batches were in the forward firing position, one batch remained in the rear position. On November 14, 1941 the Abteilung moved into the forward firing positions with the three batteries, but was initially prohibited from firing. On November 19, 1941 at 9:00 p.m. the 2nd Battery was ordered to immediately change position and subordinated to the command of Rifle Regiment 155 to be deployed against a British combat group marching from the south.

It was said that the weak British forces had crossed the Egyptian border to attack the German forces in the rear who were ready to storm Tobruk. However, it should be a short-term operation. Equipped only with the essentials, the 2nd Battery abandoned its position and advanced along the Via Balbia to Sidi Rezegh, where the battery reported to Rifle Regiment 155.

On the morning of 20 November, British tanks advanced against the positions of the battery and the rifle regiment. The 2./s.Artillerie-Abteilung 408 immediately engaged with fire directed to the south. During the long battle, the battery position was covered by intense fire. However, the British attack was repelled.

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

The 3rd Battery and the Staff with the HQ battery were then withdrawn from their current positions and relocated south to Rifle Regiment 155. The General Staff and the 3rd Battery took up positions on the southern slope of El Duda. On November 21 at 9:00 a.m. the British launched another strong attack with tank support. The observation posts of the 3rd Battery were barely able to find safety among the individual enemy tanks, while the observation positions of the 2nd Battery were severely damaged.

The British tanks were able to penetrate the positions of the 3rd Battery. The commander of the Abteilung, Major Wirth, was killed. The 2nd Battery managed to repel the British attack in intense fire fighting. Some of the tanks had broken through the German positions and driven through Bel Hamed to the firing position of the 1st Battery against Tobruk. The remaining six guns of the artillery group, which were now directly subordinate to Arko 104, changed position in the afternoon to the area west of Bel Hamed, right on the axis road.

Oberleutnant Geitner took over the leadership of the Abteilung. The group suffered the following losses on 20 and 21 November: On November 20, 1941, Oberkanonier Johann Ross and Private Nikolas Mayr were killed. In addition, the Abteilung had three wounded. On November 21, Major Max Wirth, Leutnant Adolf Heermann, Kanonier Alois Fischer, Gefreiter Heinrich Lackner, Gefreiter Hermann Neumayer, Gefreiter Walter Mößlang, Kanonier Andreas Margraf, Gefreiter Georg Leubl and Gefreiter Alois Lehner were killed. The artillery group also suffered 36 wounded.

On November 22, the positions of the 1st and 2nd Batteries were under heavy artillery fire from batteries that had left Tobruk. The damaged guns were partly restored on site and partly at the logistics train position near El Adem. At around 4:00 p.m., the Abteilung supported a tank advance of the 21st Panzer Division on Sidi Rezegh. During the night, the 1st Battery changed position on the southern slope of Bel Hamed and fired southwards. That day the detachment had three wounded.

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

On November 23, the artillery group with the 2nd and 3rd batteries came directly under the control of the 21st Panzer Division, while the 1st Battery remained with Arko 104 at Bel Hamed. During the morning, the 2nd and 3rd Batteries changed positions south to the area of ​​the Sidi Rezegh airfield and from here supported the attack of the 21st Panzer Division to the south. Riflemen of Rifle Regiment 155 were again supported in their attack. That day, the Abteilung suffered two wounded and Hauptmann Poelzer succumbed to his wounds the next day.

On November 24, 1941, at around 11:00 a.m., the Abteilung started the march through the desert towards Sidi Omar from the Sidi Rezegh airfield with the 21st Panzer Division belonging to the DAK. That day the group suffered four casualties: Lt. Josef Plötz and gunner Georg Apel were killed.

At 07:00 a.m. on the morning of November 25, the Abteilung crossed the border into Egypt. From here, about 15 kilometres south of Sidi Omar, the march continued almost in a northerly direction. At this time the group was in support of the II./Schützen-Regiment 104. Several low-altitude attacks harassed the marching group. Around noon the Abteilung reached the sea east of Halfaya. Here the artillery group took up firing positions with fires directed westwards.

On the evening of November 25, the enemy near Bel Hamed had approached its own lines with two divisions and offered a valuable target for the 1. Battery. However, several enemy batteries covered the 1./sArt. Abt. 408 with intense fire. During the afternoon, the 1st Battery changed its position towards the gap between Bel Hamed and El Duda. That day the Abteilung suffered ten wounded. Obergefreiter Ludwig Fritsch and Gefreiter Franz Würnstl were killed.

As a result of the advance of the 21st Panzer Division towards the sea, the enemy was cut off from its rear communications and surrounded by German forces in the area of ​​Sidi Omar. The British attempted to break through to the east, which they partially succeeded in doing.

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

The 21st Panzer Division, on the other hand, had to break through westwards via Musaid on November 26, because it was also cut off from supplies. The German attack was planned for four o'clock in the afternoon. The 2nd and 3rd Batteries were brought up to Halfaya and were ready to fire at 4:00 p.m. The German troops managed to break through to Bardia, where the Artillery Group arrived without losses.

On the night of November 26, the English infantry broke through to the positions of the 1st Battery and attacked at dawn at a distance of 1,500 m. The attack was repelled by well-placed ricochets. Another attack in the afternoon, supported by tanks, almost completely surrounded the battery. The 1st Battery remained in its vulnerable position during the day because the order to change position had not reached them.

At around 8:30 p.m., a wave of about 20 enemy tanks surprised the battery and broke through the position without causing major damage. At 8:45 p.m., 209 light tanks with infantry followed, which had a devastating effect on the position. There were severe casualties in the hand-to-hand combat, most of the fire battery was captured. That day the 1. Battery suffered one wounded and 50 missing. Obergefreiter Josef Paul and Kanonier Heinz Gaugler were killed.

On November 27 1941, the Abteilung with the 2nd and 3rd Batteries was assigned to the MG-Bataillon 8 (Machine Gun Battalion 8 ) and marched with it along the Via Balbia and then towards Sidi Azzeit. There the marching group met the enemy and prepared to attack. The Abteilung supported its own attack, but was unable to defeat its superior enemy. An imposing height was taken at the expense of our own losses. At about 10:00 p.m. the preliminary order to change position arrived and at midnight the Abteilung broke contact with the enemy.

The last remnants of the 1st Battery, which had remained hidden in the position after the enemy breakthrough, disabled their own guns at about 6:30 a.m. on November 27 and broke through to their own lines. During the day the survivors were assembled at Arko 104 and were assigned two new howitzers, which were emplaced near the airfield at Sidi Rezegh. Here the battery was subordinated to Heeres-Küsten-Artillerie-Abteilung 528 (Army Coastal Artillery Detachment).

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

At midnight on 28 November 1941, the artillery group changed position to the west, while the 1st Battery remained in the area of ​​the Sidi Rezegh airfield. The next day, the division advanced further west and took up positions in the area of ​​Hagfeleez. In the subsequent attack on Zaafran, the Abteilung relied on cooperation with Machine Gun Battalion 8 and II./Rifle Regiment 104. Intense enemy artillery fire hit the German troops in the concentration area. However, a commanding height was gained until the attack left the enemy fire behind.

While the infantry was still charging forward and watching the advance of the artillery, an enemy combat group pressed towards the battery positions from the rear. The 2nd Battery turned under enemy fire and fired towards the east. After dark, the group and the II. Battalion moved westwards and reached the positions of the 15th Panzer Division. On that day, the 1st Battery opened disruptive fire on enemy batteries detected in the area of ​​El Duda. On that day, the 2nd Battery suffered one casualty: Wachtmeister Anton Höger.

On 30 November, the Abteilung fought against concentrations of enemy tanks and vehicles near Bel Hamed. Around noon, the 2nd Battery came under heavy fire from the south. After heavy losses, the battery had to abandon its positions. The 2nd Battery suffered one casualty on that day.

On 1 December, the Abteilung supported the attack of the 21st Panzer Division against Zaafran. The enemy batteries were held at bay and the concentration of tanks and motor vehicles was fought. In cooperation with Reconnaissance Detachment 3, tank battles were again fought in the south and southeast. That day the 2nd Battery suffered one casualty: Kanonier Hermann Labonte. It also had seven wounded.

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

December 2nd was a day of rest for the artillery group. On December 3rd the artillery group moved to reconnoitered firing positions in the area west of Sidi Rezegh. At 7:00 a.m. on December 4th the German attack on El Duda began. Once again the artillery group was to cooperate with Machine Gun Detachment 8 (MG-Abteilung 8 ). While the 2nd and 3rd batteries fought northwards, the firing positions were attacked from behind with such violence that one gun was disabled by a direct hit.

The battery train positions were also attacked. The 2nd Battery abandoned its position at the opportune moment as it ran out of ammunition. As night fell the artillery group moved towards El Adem. On that day the unit had one wounded and four dead: Unteroffizier Meinard Gogel, Gefreiter Heinrich Stölting, Unteroffizier Ludwig Friedel and Gefreiter Alb Fehle. Gunners (Kanoniere) Rudolf Stolz and Josef Bellesich were reported missing.

On 5 December the artillery group reached El Adem and halted south of the airfield. During the course of the day the group took up position with a fire direction to the south-east. At noon there was another change of position and the group marched south-east together with the 21st Panzer Division. The 1st Battery was still in its old firing position and was still fighting vehicles and tanks. The battery was occasionally attacked by low-flying aircraft. On that day gunner Wilhelm Hellenbrand was killed and Oberkanonier Georg Kleindl suffered a fatal accident. On 06 December 1941, the artillery group with the 2nd and 3rd Batteries moved towards Bir el Gubi and fought against British reconnaissance armoured vehicles. At 4:00 p.m. that afternoon, the 21st Panzer Division began its advance on Bir el Gubi.

The artillery group also fought near Bir el Gubi on 7 December. The 1st Battery, together with the 2./528th, was followed by the DAK to Bir el Gubi and subordinated to Reconnaissance Detachment 3 (Aufkl. Abt. 3) to provide security to the south. The 3rd Battery had one man wounded that day. On 8 December, the unit's batteries took up positions near the divisional command post of the 21st Panzer Division at Shigfet el Genadel, firing to the south and south-east. The positions were exposed to enemy artillery fire. Ammunition had to be used sparingly as supplies were not arriving at the time. That day the 3rd Battery suffered one casualty.

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

On 9 December the artillery group continued its march to the north-west and took up positions in the Caimar area. Enemy armoured reconnaissance vehicles were engaged. After a quiet day on 10 December, the group advanced further westwards on 11 December 1941. Towards noon the group reached the Gazalla position and took the front to the east. The 2nd Battery took up position on the left wing, the 3rd Battery was assigned to II./Schützen-Regiment 104. In the afternoon they again fought tanks and armoured patrols.

On 12 and 13 December, they again fought enemy vehicles. The artillery group suffered four wounded on 13 December. In addition, Private Ernst Dirter was killed. On 16 December the German retreat to the west continued. The Italian fort Mechili was reached at around 11:00 a.m. on the morning of 17 December. In the afternoon the group took up position behind the mine belt, with fire direction to the south and southwest.

On 18 December the artillery group continued its retreat to the west in association with the 21st Panzer Division. That day the group lost Obergefreiten Peter Schwarzen and Leonhard Grupe missing in the desert. On 19 December the march continued towards El Abiar, which was reached on 20 December at around 3:00 p.m. From here the advance was made towards Régima.

On 21 December, in the rain, Fort Régima was passed and the march was made towards Benina. At 5:00 p.m. Cremines was reached on the Via Balbia. On 22 December the march continued along the Via Balbia and around midday positions were taken up a few kilometres north of Beda Fomm. After a relatively quiet day of 23 December, the artillery group moved 4 km south on 24 December to better support the 8th Machine Gun Battalion (MG-Bataillon 8 ).

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

On 22 December the march continued along the Via Balbia and around midday positions were taken up a few kilometres north of Beda Fomm. After a relatively quiet day on 23 December, on 24 December the artillery group changed position 4 km to the south in order to better support the 8th Machine Gun Battalion. During the day there were repeated enemy fire on the batteries. Around 6:00 p.m. the group changed position again and headed for the Via Balbia to continue the march westwards.

On 25 December Agedabia was passed and positions were taken up in its vicinity. On 27 December the group moved to its new position 13 km south of Agedabia. The artillery group worked together with the 8th Machine Gun Battalion and was tasked with operating in Agedabia and the Via Balbia. At 8:00 a.m. the position was changed a few kilometres to the northeast and observation posts were set up against Agedabia. At 1:00 p.m., in heavy rain, the 2nd Battery was withdrawn to be deployed in a special operation together with 12 guns of Panzerjäger Abteilung 39 (anti-tank detachment) in the area of ​​the command post of the Deutsche Afrika Korps (DAK). On their way out, the battery and the command post were severely damaged by low-flying aircraft.

The newly formed "Kampftruppe Hauptmann Boeckmann", consisting of Panzerjäger Abteilung 39 as well as the Command Post and the 2nd Battery of s.Artillerie-Abteilung 408, was tasked with first going to the staging area near the command post so that it could be used, if necessary, for defence in the event of a British armoured attack breaking through the Via Balbia. After no such British armoured movement, the 2nd Battery and the command returned to the 21st Panzer Division during the night. That day, the Gefreite Friedrich Speimann and the gunner Georg Angermeier were killed in the 2nd Battery. The battery and the command also suffered four wounded.

At 6:30 a.m. on the morning of 28 December, the 21st Panzer Division began its march through Agedabia in a south-westerly direction into the desert. Enemy tank forces had positioned themselves in front of the Italian "Gambara" corps and were now to be encircled and destroyed in cooperation with the DAK. After a 27 km march, the 21st Panzer Division encountered concentrations of enemy vehicles. The group immediately opened fire on the vehicle columns heading south. While the 21st Panzer Division continued to advance south, the artillery group remained in its positions and fought against tanks, self-propelled guns and motor vehicles.

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

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sArt. Abt. 408 North Africa 1941.

On the morning of 29 December, the artillery group changed position to the east. The 21st Panzer Division changed position to attack Bul Haseya at 10:00 hours. Since the terrain was still expected to be extremely bad, all non-militarized motor vehicles available in the sector, as well as two tractors and a gun that had suffered a broken spring, were returned to the rear position. As a result of the rapid pace and the undulating terrain, another vehicle and a gun failed. This left the group with four operational howitzers.

Two heavy howitzers (21 cm Mörser) of the 5th Battery of Artillery Regiment 115 were then placed under its command. Around noon, the detachment and the heavy howitzer battery took up positions and fought off armored patrol vehicles and vehicle columns retreating across the high ground of El Haseya in a southerly direction. At dusk the objective for the day in the area of ​​El Haseya was reached and the artillery group, with great difficulty, freed the baggage train, which was partially stuck in the sand. The artillery group took up position with a fire direction to the east. That day the 3rd Battery had three men missing.

On 30 December the 21st Panzer Division continued its attack eastwards towards El Haseya. The march route of the group led via Haseya on the road to Agedabia and at midday the march destination was reached in the area of ​​Bel-Audah. ​​There was fighting here and the group was transferred to cooperate with the 8th Machine Gun Battalion.

On 31 December 1941, at around 07:00 hours, a change of position took place about 10 km after Belaudah and the group moved into a very favourable position to the east with the heavy howitzer battery. The three guns that were still operational were already severely damaged. The entire group was now combined into one battery. As a result of this simplified deployment, a large number of officers and non-commissioned officers, as well as men, were moved to the rear position to recover. On this day Gefreite Kurt Fiedler died.

Source: https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gl ... A408-R.htm

Cheers. Raúl M .