“Please forgive the interruption, Sturmbannführer,” ventured von Schroif, “but do you have any intelligence on whether the Reds have improved their use of technology?”
“That’s a very good point,” said Voss. “The industrialization of the country, carried out in a comparatively short period of time, has made a large number of industrial workers with full command of technical skills available to the Red Army. The Russian has mastered all new weapons and fighting equipment, all the requirements of machine warfare, with amazing rapidity. Soldiers trained in technical subjects are carefully distributed through the ranks where they are to teach the necessary rudiments to their duller urban comrades, and to those who came from rural areas. The technical skill of the Russian is especially notable in the field of signal communications.
“Mark my words, the longer the war lasts, the better the Russians will become at handling this type of equipment. Their communications have improved steadily since the end of the last war, and with noteworthy skill the Russians will soon make themselves familiar with German signal communications. Whereas in the last war the telephone was still magic to the average Russian, in the coming battles we must assume that he no longer regards the complicated radio as an amusing toy.” Voss turned to von Schroif and continued his lecture. “As you will no doubt recall from our time at KAMA, monitoring and tuning in, jamming and deception, all were arts which the Reds understood very well.”
Wohl could stand the mystery no longer. He just had to know. “Permission to speak, Sturmbannführer?”
“Granted,” replied Voss.
“I keep hearing mention of KAMA. Can you please explain, Sturmbannführer?”
“Certainly I can, SS-Kannonier. During the Weimar years, when we were not permitted to develop tanks, a number of Reichswehr officers and various specialists attended a secret development facility at Kazan in Soviet Russia. I was one of those who spent a number of years among our former adversaries and it gave me a great insight into the working of the Russian mind.” With a warm smile Voss turned his attention once more to von Schroif. “You will all be familiar with the events of the beer hall putsch of 1923. Well, following that unfortunate series of events it was decided that your Hauptsturmführer might benefit from a few years outside the Reich… and KAMA was the best fit.”
“It was there that we developed the Panzer I and laid the foundations for the Panzer II,” continued von Schroif, drawing a veil over the reasons why he urgently had to absent himself from Bavaria.
“During our time out there we learned a great deal about Ivan,” said Voss, picking up where he had left off before Wohl’s interruption. “In contrast to the good side of the Russian soldier, there were bad military aspects of equal significance. To us Germans, it was one of the imponderables about each Russian unit whether the good or bad would predominate. There still remained an appreciable residue of dullness, inflexibility, and apathy which had not yet been overcome, and which probably will not be overcome in the near future.”
“We thank you for your generosity with your time, Hauptsturmführer,” said von Schroif. “We are anxious not to detain you further. Is there anything else you’d care to impart?”
“I will leave you with a word about the craftiness of the Russian. He seldom employed large-scale ruses. The usual tricks, such as feigning the existence of troops by increased fire and other means, were just as common with the Russians as with all armies. They seldom carried out feint attacks. We found, however, that we had to be on guard against dishonesty and attempts at deception by individual Russian soldiers and small units. One trick, a particular favourite, was to feign surrender, or come over to us with raised hands, white flags, and all the rest. Anyone approaching in good faith would often be met by sudden surprise fire at close range. The Russian soldier, who can lie motionless for hours on end, often feigned death. An unguarded approach often cost a German soldier his life.
“Finally, I’d just say his emotions drive the Russian into the herd, which gives him strength and courage. The individual fighter created by modern warfare is rare among the Russians. Most of the time a Russian who has to stand on his own feet does not know what to do. During the last war, however, this serious weakness was compensated for by the large mass of men available. The unpredictability of the mood of the Russian soldier and his pronounced herd instinct at times brought on sudden panic in individual units. As inexplicable as the fanatic resistance of some units, was the mystery of their abrupt mass flights, or sudden wholesale surrender. So these, gentlemen, are some of the many faces of Ivan… Who knows which Ivan we’ll meet tomorrow?”
- CHAPTER 2 -
Der sich versammelnde Sturm
APLAN OF an altogether different kind formed the focus of attention as the StuG commanders and infantry liaison team from the 45th Infantry Division gathered round von Schroif in the farmhouse which served as his temporary battalion office. The lamps cast just enough light for the assembled officers to make out the details of the plan of the fortress spread out on the table in front of him.
For once, even OKH was in tune with the reality in the field and the general staff had correctly identified the fact that von Schroif was particularly well qualified for the task ahead. Less than two years previously von Schroif and his abteilung of armoured cars had been seconded to general Guderian’s XIX Armoured Corps. They had played a key part in seizing the fortress of Brest-Litovsk from the Poles◦— only to see it handed over to the Soviets. For that logical reason the SS Sturmgeschütz battalion, now commanded by von Schroif, had been detached from its parent formation and formed into an ad hoc battle group which consisted of elements of the 45th Wehrmacht Infantry Division, a company of combat engineers and some supporting units and artillery all charged with seizing the fortress of Brest-Litovsk.
According to the most recent orders, Kampfgruppe von Schroif was due to be joined by an SS ‘Special’ Sonderkommando who would provide rear area security and a battery of ‘special mortars’, but as yet there was still no sign of either unit. In the confusion of the unheralded preparations now engulfing the command system von Schroif could obtain no clear information as to the location, or even the identity, of the missing units.
In addition to the frustration produced by the absent reinforcements, the recurring sense of déjà vu irritated von Schroif. For the hundredth time that morning von Schroif’s thoughts strayed to the two additional units had been promised to complete the Kampfgruppe. The purpose of the first was obvious, a Waffen SS formation to provide rear area security against partisans and the like; the other was intriguingly described as ‘special mortars’.
Like soldiers everywhere, von Schroif and his team were anxious to discover exactly what made these new toys so ‘special’◦— anything which gave an edge in combat was welcome and their interest was piqued by an insatiable demand for the newest and the best. In all the hubbub surrounding the preparations for Barbarossa it had been impossible to obtain clarity; all von Schroif knew from the cagey intelligence officer was that the additional units were definitely on the way.
Not wishing to have to repeat himself, von Schroif waited before commencing his briefing. He made the correct decision, for just as he was about to commence the briefing the sound of ragged and ill-disciplined marching could be heard. The dim sounds of a hurried conversation with the sentry on duty outside the hut followed. Eventually the door opened and, squinting in the light, stood a gaunt Waffen SS-Obersturmführer. His skeletal features were scarred. His lank hair was slicked down and parted Führer-style. His battle dress was dripping with decorations. His Legion Condor medal marked him out as a combat veteran from Spain. He appeared to be in his mid-forties which was rather old for a rank which equated with a lieutenant.