On the northern wing of Gruppe Stemmermann, Korps-Abteilung B made itself ready for its breakout on the evening on 16 February. Its strength was reported as 6,257 German officers and men, plus 1,155 HiWi, making it one of the strongest formations to take part in the breakout. Its first wave was lead by Colonel Viebig and consisted of Divisions-Gruppe 112, made up of Regimentsgruppe 110, Regimentsgruppe 258, Field Replacement Battalion 112, Engineer Battalion 112, and Antitank Battalion 112. The artillery of the Korps-Abteilung B was led by Colonel Böhm and made ready to fire against the Petrovskoye–Dzhurzhentsy area, before beginning to move west. One light field howitzer battery was to accompany each infantry wave, to provide direct fire. It was deemed impossible to save the heavy howitzers, which were to be destroyed after firing their last rounds.698
Despite congestion, the units reached their designated positions in time, and at 23.00hrs the Regiments-Gruppe 258 silently began to advance, followed ten minutes later by Regiments-Gruppe 110. Like Kaestner’s regiment, the Regiments-Gruppe 258 achieved surprise and attacked with edged weapons when it reached the first Soviet defenses. Almost complete success was achieved and the assault continued southwest, where another Soviet defense position was overrun south of Petrovskoye. The lead battalions of Korps-Abteilung B continued south of Dzhurzhentsy, crossed the road, and reached Oktyabr at about 05.00hrs.699
The elements of Korps-Abteilung B that followed behind Viebig’s men were not as successful. Only a few kilometers southwest of Khilki it was found that the howitzers could not be moved across the difficult ground, so they had to be destroyed. When the men continued forward they reached the screen of Soviet tanks along the Dzhurzhentsy–Pochapintsy road, which forced them to veer off south. They became intermingled with elements of the 72nd Division and SS-Wiking, and continued toward the Gniloi Tikich River, which they then had to cross.700
In some cases soldiers became separated from their parent units even before the breakout began. Nikolaus Romes served in Korps-Abteilung B, but found himself in Novo Buda, together with men from the SS-Wallonien Brigade. These elements still held positions in Novo Buda on the morning on 17 February when Soviet forces attacked. At about 10.00hrs the German defense gave way and the position had to be abandoned. Romes withdrew through the valley where Shenderovka was situated. A pitiful picture appeared before him. Long columns of panje wagons with wounded German soldiers had assembled in the hope that they could be moved out of the pocket. However, their dreams of rescue were literally crushed, as Soviet tanks crashed over the wagons. For Romes there was no alternative but to flee westward, and the German soldiers around him all seemed only to focus on one thing: to save their skin.701
All German soldiers still able to walk moved west, hoping to reach Oktyabr. Romes was engulfed in the crowd. Corpses of men and horses littered the snow-covered ground. Horses came galloping by with dead or half-dead men hanging in their stirrups, while fire from Soviet weapons riddled the closely bunched German soldiers. At about 11.00hrs General Stemmermann passed by in a halftrack, but the vehicle was hit by an antitank round while only a few meters from Romes. He did not see anyone come out alive from the halftrack, but at this stage of the breakout no one cared about the dead; everyone ran for his life.702
Romes, too, found his path to rescue blocked between Dzhurzhintsy and Potchapintsy. Together with the Wallonians, he veered off south, toward the Gniloi Tikich River. He halted in the forest south of hill 239.0, where Leon Degrelle had assembled numerous soldiers from shattered formations. By now daylight had passed, and not until early morning on 18 February did the assembled soldiers begin to move toward the bank of the Gniloi Tikich. Romes still had his horse, and when he reached the river he tried to cross it while mounted. The horse drowned in the crossing, possibly after heart failure, but Romes was able to swim the last few meters himself and continue walking to Lisyanka, still draped in his soaking wet clothes that only accentuated the cold.703
Romes might have hoped that the walking would be over when he reached Lisyanka, but the village was now a very exposed position. Almost immediately he and thousands of other soldiers had to continue walking, eventually reaching Uman where Romes found some survivors of his squadron. The remnants of Korps-Abteilung B were soon used to reconstitute other formations, and in a short time Romes was transferred to the 88th Division.704
The strongest formation of Gruppe Stemmermann was SS-Wiking, which was reported to have assembled about 11,500 men for the breakout. It also possessed more heavy weapons than the other formations. For example, it still had seven tanks and three assault guns, and its artillery consisted of nine Wespes and three Hummels, in addition to 25 light field howitzers, six heavy field howitzers, and four 10cm guns.705
The preparations were hampered by traffic congestion, but at 23.30hrs the SS-Wiking Division began its breakout, about half an hour later than Korps-Abteilung B and 72nd Division. Initially no opposition was met. A hilly area about two kilometers south of Petrovskoye was reached, where a few Soviet machine gun positions were overrun. When Soviet antitank guns opened fire on SS-Wiking’s flank, the Wespe SP howitzers quickly silenced the guns and the advance continued. However, the Soviet defense in the woods north of Potchapintsy proved too strong and the Germans were forced to bypass the forest on the northern side.706
Fritz Hahl had received a special mission for his company. He was the only officer commanding a company in his battalion, since the high casualty rates among the officers meant that all the other companies were commanded by NCOs. Perhaps this fact contributed to him receiving the mission to attack and hold a piece of high ground southwest of Shenderovka until all other units had passed. To Hahl it seemed like a “Himmelfahrtskommando,” a suicide mission. Nevertheless, when the breakout began he duly carried out his task. The high ground was captured with ease, and except for one Soviet solider captured, no enemy was seen. Hahl could not see any threatening Soviet forces, and after a while he began to question the judiciousness of clinging to the position. He saw how the men of his division moved westward and the tactical value of his position seemed marginal at best, but he had his orders. Fortunately the battalion commander arrived. Hahl reported the situation and asked how long the position was to be held. Spontaneously the battalion commander said, “Youngster, I leave that to your intelligence,” whereupon he continued west. Hahl recalled the words of General Hausser, which he had heard at the SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz: “The Prussian discipline is the discipline of independent decision making, not subservient obligingness.” Without much hesitation Hahl ordered: “Company, march toward Lisyanka, Parole Freiheit.”707
The soldiers of SS-Wiking continued west, where they were met by fire from Dzhurzhentsy. One battalion from the Westland Regiment attacked, reaching the church in the town. So far the breakout had proceeded quite well for SS-Wiking, but it too found the terrain impossible for vehicles and heavy equipment, which had to be destroyed. Furthermore, the Soviet tank screen along the road south of Dzhurzhintsy caused the SS troops to veer off south, like so many other German units had done.708
The longer the march through snow and darkness continued, the more the units became intermingled. Officers could only command the men nearby, but as everyone seemed bent on reaching Lisyanka it probably mattered little. The men of SS-Wiking skirted the forest south of hill 239.0 and proceeded toward the Gniloi Tikich River. A marsh caused the last vehicles to bog down. The troops continued toward the river, where Fritz Hahl found some of the soldiers of his company, at about the same time as the rising sun began to illuminate the landscape.709