Opening Moves

One or two unwounded men emerged from the village, gathering up the injured and creating a casualty station at the side of the road.

An M3 half-track drew up alongside the Chafee and Ravens went to seek orders and information in equal measure.

The young 2nd Lieutenant, so recent an arrival that Ravens could not recall his name, was no wiser than he, and certainly less experienced in the arts of war.

Against Ravens advice, he ordered the Chafee and his own vehicle forward into the village, the half-track immediately surging forward.

Ravens climbed aboard ‘Lucy’ and watched the M3 disappear into the smoke and then blossom into a fireball.

With eyes fixed on the death pyre of the young officer and his men Ravens tried the radio again but stopped as he became aware that the half-track appeared to be backing slowly out of the smoke towards him.

It took a moment for him to realise that the destroyed vehicle was being pushed along by a tank coming out of the village.

Ravens, shocked into inactivity for a short time, watched as the half-track refused to be pushed in a straight line and started to swing its burning body off to the right as he looked. The tank pushing it helped it on its way and, in a scream of anguished metal, broke loose.

The tank’s hull machine-gun hammered out and the casualty station was no more.

“Tank action front!” he yelled, dropping into the turret as fast as he could.

The gunner, another veteran, was on the ball, already tracking his target as the loader drove home a solid shot shell. Their target, actually a T-34-85 of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps, was equally competent and experienced.

Both fired together and both hit.

The Chafee’s 75mm main gun was not noted for its armour piercing performance and the gunner tried for a turret ring shot. The shell struck the T-34 on the right side of the turret and sped away to bury itself in the village beyond. On its journey, it wiped three tank riding infantry off the vehicle, leaving only bloody spray marks where men had once clung.

The Russian 85mm shell struck the front glacis plate and easily penetrated the thin armour in front of the driver’s position. The rest of the crew were covered with the drivers remains as the shell carved its way through, moving on to remove both of Ravens legs at the hips before it buried itself in the engine compartment at the rear and the vehicle started to burn.

By the time the shocked and dazed crew started to exit the vehicle, Ravens was dead.

The three survivors dropped to the ground and in their shocked state were unaware of the approaching Soviet tank.

It swept on by as the riding infantry exacted revenge for their three dead comrades, killing the helpless American survivors as they passed.

With their deaths, ‘A’ Troop ceased to exist.

0810 hrs Monday 6th August 1945, Neumarkt im Mühlkreiss – Kefermarkt Area, US occupied Lower Austria.

Allied Forces – 63rd Arm.Inf.Btn and 41st Tnk.Btn of 11th US Armored Division, US XI Corps, US Third Army.

Soviet Forces – 2nd & 3rd Btns of 440th Rifle Regt of 64th Rifle Division of 70th Rifle Corps of 49th Army of 3rd Red Banner Central European Front.

The two companies of the 63rd Armored Infantry had been there all night, as directed by the divisional exercise schedule. Set up on a east-facing line commencing on the Pernau side of Neumarkt, running along the heights all the way down until it curved to the east passing to the south of Wittinghof and terminating on the heights adjacent to the river Feldaist, with a strong reserve in Rudersdorf and a smaller force just to the north-east of Neumarkt.

The brief was for a narrow front dawn attack mounted by elements of the 41st Tank battalion, namely C & D companies who, along with C/63rd had laagered overnight in the fields south of Lasberg.

This was the enemy force that was to attack and breakthrough the defence, needing to enter Matzeldorf to triumph in the exercise.

Languishing around Netzberg were the Sherman’s of A/41st, presently untasked but slated to conduct a tank assault during the second exercise later.

B/41st was still on the northern outskirts of Linz unneeded in the exercise and conducting maintenance prior to the whole division being shipped back to the States for demobilisation.

None the less, in and around the exercise site nearly one and a half thousand experienced US troops were wide-awake and loaded for bear.

Umpires from Corps Headquarters, who had quartered overnight in Lasberg , had been rudely awakened by the distant sound of artillery and shortly after by the arrival of a jeep containing soldiers with incredible news.

That news was soon handed to Major-General Holmes Ely Dager, a competent, capable man born for combat. He had spent the night in the magnificent Schloss Weinberg and was well refreshed.