Opening Moves

The particular round in question had left gun No. 2 of the Divisional Heavy Battery some seconds beforehand, lovingly wiped clean and slid into the breech of his A19 122mm field gun by a leathery old man who wished for no more than a swift return to his modest existence in the Ural mountains.

In truth, most of the OF-471H’s destructive power was wasted, as a fraction of it was all that was needed to eradicate the entire mobile command group of the 12th’s Combat Command ‘B’.

The round struck the apex of the dormer roof above where the Colonel was stood, radio handset at the ready. It did not explode, instead carrying on and obliterating the radio operator before surrendering up its destructive force at bedroom floor level.

If nothing else, it was quick.

The Sherman’s were fighting back, some reversing, keeping their front to the enemy. A few others turned tail and ran, quickly falling victim to anti-tank guns or T-34’s who lapped up kills on tanks displaying their weak areas of armour. The half-tracks fared badly, falling victims to the complete range of Soviet weaponry, one limping home with its full nearside bogie set removed by a 100mm shell.

More casualties were sustained as tanks and transports strayed into artillery and mortar zones, fire being shifted expertly by the Artillery Officer who was already on Colonel Artem’yev recommendation list, along with more than a few others in this wondrous victory.

Switching the rest of the 2nd Battalion to go to the aid of their beleaguered comrades in Rottenbauer, he watched in satisfaction as the 242nd Tank Brigade swept the field clean. He witnessed the sight of one vehicle turned into an instant fireball by a bazooka hit and then watched the dead tanker’s comrades avenge themselves by first machine-gunning then crushing the group responsible.

A pair of B Company Sherman’s dropped in behind shallow ridges to the north of Fuchsstadt and tried to cover the disorganised retreat.

Both scored hits, the first bounced off the tank unit commander’s vehicle having given the crew a huge fright, the second struck the driver’s hatch of the vehicle behind him flat on the vision slit just as the tank dipped into a depression.

It did not emerge into sight again; instead, the view became clouded with a rich oily smoke, marking the loss of more sons of Mother Russia.

Vengeful comrades hurled shell after shell at the brave Americans, occasionally hitting but not causing terminal damage.

Another T-34 shuddered to a halt, this time one from the outflanking force descending from Rottenbauer in the north. No fire, no smoke, no life.

An American half-track [D] burst from the village behind them, bouncing along in their wake, unseen by those closest, recognised by others more distant but immune from harm because of the nearness of their comrades.

Against all the odds it escaped, dropping into a small cut that took it northeast towards the river.

An M-16 ran from Albertshausen, its quad .50 mount lashing out at anything in range [E].

It died, victim of the fog of war, in this case smashed by a friendly bazooka round, hastily aimed by a terrified infantryman virtually blinded by smoke. Three men escaped, two more ran around, thrashing in their agony as flames slowly consumed them.

The Soviet Artillery Officer switched his radio to a different channel and sent information to the tanks, which started to perceptibly slow.

122mm shells started to arrive, accurately dispatched onto the point of dogged resistance.

Neither Sherman was hit but no further shells came from them. They were later recovered for use as spare parts by Soviet tank maintenance crews. The Americans who rode the Sherman’s into battle either died from blast or concussion within their chargers, or perished in a sea of metal and explosives trying to escape them.

Combat Command ‘B’ had been swept from the field with huge loss of life.

Soviet casualties amongst the 242nd Battalion’s armoured units were evenly spread, with each of the three medium companies losing four tanks, some of which were salvageable. Other gaps were made up with three Sherman’s salvaged from the field. 4th Company lost only one vehicle and crew, inexplicably driven over a ridgeline and turning over, killing all inside.

The most notable Soviet tank casualty was the commanding Colonel, victim of an excellent shot from Belinda’s Bus.

One of the 100mm guns had been hit, losing a wheel, and a jury rig was in place to keep it operational.

No Zis-3’s had been hit and none of the gunners touched during the exchange.

Losses in 45mm AT guns were much worse, with seven destroyed with nearly all their crewmembers.

Anti-tank riflemen had also sustained large casualties, and over thirty lay dead on the field, with as many bleeding in the aid stations set up in Reichenberg.

1st and 3rd Battalions of the 179th Guards counted less than forty casualties between them, mainly because they had not been heavily targeted during the battle.