This was where we found Arno & Co at the beginning of this chapter. The counter-thrust by the Russian 4th Army was in full flow. It had been rolling forward since the day before. Now it threatened this road that Arno’s Platoon defended as an advance guard. The rest of 8th Company and Battalion Wolf grouped in thickets nearby, prepared to give support.
Arno had radio contact with a tank platoon and an artillery battery, the latter ready to deliver a barrage at one minute’s notice from the moment it was given the coordinates. The pieces were 10.5s from the heavy section of Kampfgruppe G. On another channel Arno had contact with Wistinghausen. The Captain for his part had grouped 1st and 2nd Platoon in the forests south and north of the village. The enemy was gathering southwest of the village. If Arno needed support from the Company he could contact Wistinghausen. This way he could also get support from Dion’s mortar platoon. But for the heavier support Arno today had direct contact. This was vital, because things happen so fast in armoured warfare.
The silence was torn apart by a rumble from the southern horizon, followed by a whizzing sound, followed by thunder and a series of detonations. Between the trees Arno could see clouds of smoke rise from the village they had just left. It was a barrage directly on the village by Russian artillery, directed by a fire controller on the southwestern edge of the forest. With this artillery salvo, the Russians would have erased 3rd Platoon if it had stayed in the village, but that had never been the idea. Arno’s platoon had deployed in the village, firing a few volleys towards the wood to trigger precisely this sort of reaction. It was part of the plan to lure the enemy into a trap. And it had all just begun.
The Russian artillery fist struck the village, hitting it like an empty bag. Shells blasted the village for two minutes. Deafening explosions were followed by the crackling of the fires that broke out. The houses were smashed and caught fire, logs and splinters flew.
3rd Platoon was probably beyond the risk of splinters in its new position but they couldn’t be totally sure. Occasional fragments could fly far and wide so they kept their heads down.
Arno donned the radio headset and called the tank platoon. These vehicles stood waiting some distance along the way to the northeast. Arno ordered them to be ready as he stared out onto the plain beyond the village. The barrage had ceased. And no sooner had the echoes of the last detonation died away when three T-34s broke out onto the open ground from the woods 1,000 metres away to the south. Arno swept his gaze towards them, then down along the slope that lay between him and the village. It was a small valley with a wildly gushing stream; the platoon had passed over the bridge over it on the way here. The brook ran further east, parallel to the plain and the road which crossed it – in line with the Russian tanks’ advance.
The whole thing was an invitation to a riposte. If the Russians so willingly played along, then Arno wouldn’t let them down. The plan was falling into place and he again called the tank platoon, ordering it to advance to the copse and liase with him. After a few minutes’ engine noise duly was heard from the north end of the road, exhaust smoke appeared over a line of trees, and soon the first of the German tanks arrived. It was battered Panzer IV with a broken front wing. Like all their vehicles it was still in its winter colours, irregular fields of white chalk paint.
Two others followed. The normal German medium armour platoon was five tanks, but normality didn’t count for much when trying to break out of a death trap. The platoon was operational, that’s what mattered.
Now they were in a hurry. The Russian tanks could easily push through the burning village and reach them up here. So a German unit had to be sent down in the dip and hit the T-34s in the flank.
Sergeant Bauer was ordered to defend the wood with half the platoon. Under his helmet Bauer’s head was dressed with bandages. So too was his left hand, sporting a bandage where splinter had hit and been removed. The wounds had been sustained the day before, in Kamenets-Podolsky.
While Bauer stayed in defence with half the platoon the rest, split into three fire teams, would attack along with the tanks. Arno explained the plan to the armour platoon commander after the black-clad figure had emerged from his manhole in the turret cupola. He understood immediately, no need for maps and sketches. It was just about Arno pointing:
“Flank attack against armour in the field! We follow along on the back of your vehicles as support. Advance across the creek, then over the meadows on this side of the village. Firing position beyond the village, outflank the armour on the plain.”
The German tanks would catch the enemy exposed in the open. The Panzer Lieutenant nodded and said, “Understood! Come aboard. And acknowledge by hitting the turret plate twice.” Arno confirmed and gave orders to his men. Then they clambered onto the backs of the tanks, Arno going with the point vehicle. When the green light had been given – knocking with the assault rifle butt against the tower plate – the three tanks rumbled off, leaving the trees and crossing the creek at the bridge. Then the column left the road. It turned right into the terrain, passing over the meadows with the burning village on the left hand. With roaring engines the three Panzers lurched along in the wet terrain, muddy to say the least. Sitting on the back of the vanguard tank, holding on for dear life, Arno hoped that the mud wouldn’t be so thick that the tanks would get stuck.
Swaying, bobbing, mud squirting from the crawlers and fumes belching from the rusty exhaust pipes, the three Panzer IVs forged across the meadow. The soldiers on the engine grilles clung to them as best they could. What happened up there on the field Arno didn’t know, but he hoped that the three T-34s would still be there. There was no point the T-34s going into the village because it was empty and on fire. And they probably wouldn’t venture beyond it, because Russian armoured spearheads were rarely so bold. Or were they…?
Now the three German tanks turned left and went up the slope. They halted just short of the crest. The infantry jumped off. Arno shouted to his men to go down the slope a bit and take up position to the right of the armour. Simultaneous to this move the Panzer IVs rolled up on the field, got the enemy in their sight and fired at the T-34s which now were on the field just west of the village. The Russian tanks were taken by surprise as Arno had planned. One was hit, then another. As both started to burn, the third, which was the farthest away, in turn scored a direct hit on one of the Panzer IVs. The German crew managed to jump from the vehicle before it floundered in a sea of flames.
There were also Russian infantry advancing across the field. Arno ordered his men to fire on them. He even had an MG 34 along, which mowed over the field like a giant steel scythe. The surprised Russians were struck by the jacketed 7.92 mm shots pouring out of the muzzle with its characteristic cone shape. But Ivan still managed to shoot back. Two soldiers from Arno’s group were hit, Ilo and Ebersen. The wounded men were pulled out of the line by Escher and Lenoir, who gave first aid.
But in general, the enemy soldiers were unable to form a line to defend themselves. The field with its patches of snow and its mud offered no protection whatsoever. Among the blackened wheat stalks many soldiers were mown down, shot full of lead. Gaping, ragged holes in the broken bodies. Arno took in this scene of destruction and thought: when in the combat zone, combat. It could remind you of Clausewitz’ remark: the worst errors in battle stem from benevolence. For example, allowing the retreating Russians to escape in this situation would have been operationally absurd.