Opening Moves

‘Why is it always the damn tanks that mess things up?’ he mused, all the time watching the to-ing and fro-ing of American vehicles, bringing fresh meat to the grinder and taking away that which the grinder spat out, maimed and crippled.

A BA-64 arrived to his rear and he received word that ‘armour’ had finally deigned to arrive.

Taking one last look at the open ground he had spent over an hour reading and understanding, he nodded in satisfaction and went to speak to the assembled senior officers of the four arms of service about to immolate the capitalist legion on his chosen killing ground

As senior Colonel, he laid out his plan for destroying this Amerikanisti tank force, coordinating with the newly arrived Colonel of Tank troops, Popov of the Army anti-tank unit and a Captain from his own divisional Artillery regiment.

He explained the plan to them and it was a thing of simple beauty, requiring only one act of cooperation from the Americans to succeed.

Looking at his watch and judging how much time the tank Colonel would need to get back to his unit and brief them, he designated 1240 hrs as the start time for his plan.

1239 hrs 10th August 1945, Soviet Ambush and Counter-attack, vicinity of Reichenberg, Germany.

Allied Forces – 23rd Tank Battalion and 17th Armored Infantry Battalion and 495th Field Artillery Battalion and C Company, 92nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Battalion, all of Combat Command ‘B’ of 12th US Armored Division and 2nd Battery, 573rd AAA Btn, all of US Fifteenth Army, US Twelfth Army Group.

Subsequently arriving – 2nd Battalion, 255th Infantry Regiment of 63rd US Infantry Division, detached from US XXIII Corps, US Fifteenth Army, US Twelfth Army Group

Soviet Forces – 2nd and 3rd Battalions and Anti-Tank companies of 179th Guards Rifle Regiment and 127th Guards Artillery Regiment, all of 59th Guards Rifle Division of 34th Guards Rifle Corps, and 242nd Tank Brigade of 31st Tank Corps, and Special Anti-tank Gun Battery Popov,1317th Anti-Tank Regiment, all of 5th Guards Army of 2nd Red Banner Central European Front.

Simple orders issued and understood, Artem’yev had but to fire three flares to fully implement his plan.

In his right hand he held a battered but functional Model 26 flare pistol, his left arm crooked so he could count down the seconds on his father’s wristwatch, an inner whispering from his subconscious registering the newly cracked glass. At three seconds to time he pulled the trigger, sending one red flare skywards, and setting in motion the death of many a young man.

^{Fig#17 – Reichenberg, Soviet counter-attack}

Flare number one was the signal for PTRD’s and 45mm anti-tank guns to open fire on the tanks north of Rottenbauer. Neither type were of much use when targeting the Sherman tanks nearest them but some sought out the more vulnerable Stuarts and half-tracks, scoring hits and taking lives, causing 3-C/92nd troopers to displace south-west, searching for a way round the southern flank of the enemy.

The CCB’ Commander responded quickly and aggressively to the challenge, noting the ground between him and the Russian firing line on the other side of the railway track was sound, both to the military eye and on the map.

C/23rd were ordered to move immediately north with their armored-infantry component and to take a left turn into line when level with Lindflur orienting to the north-west, with a view to reaching the BahnhofStraße and turning north to Reichenberg. B/17th moved west and north to come in behind them, ready for an assault once the AT guns had been beaten down.

A/23rd were to take their cue from C/23rd and move forward to the crossroads before turning left to descend upon Reichenberg from the east. As a precautionary measure one platoon of tanks was to set up oriented north at the crossroads, screened by a recon platoon in the tree line ahead and the armored-infantry’s support companies were moved up to an off-road position between Rottenbauer and Lindflur, ready to react as directed.

The cavalrymen were immediately drawn into a close-quarter firefight with Soviet guardsmen stationed in the woods to their west.

A further tank platoon of B/23rd was added to the mix in Rottenbauer, the rest joining the support companies off-road as a mobile reserve. The Colonel set up his mobile command post adjacent to the destroyed cavalry M24, having decided that Fuchstadt was suitable for his command needs.

He climbed to the attic room of the modest private house on the village’s northern edge to test the view, the occupants having long taken to their heels when the Soviets returned.