Even with its left track blown off, the IS-2 continued to fire. Finally, a round hit a StuG killing its gunner. A second round managed to pass straight through the frontal armour before bouncing off the rear bulkhead and killing everyone else except the Danish driver. The round had started an engine fire – so with no other choice the driver leapt out of the StuG and ran backwards to the German mortar teams. The third and final StuG exploded after a HE round hit the rear section and ignited the engine and fuel tanks sending debris in all directions. The IS-2s still advanced as a Tiger hit another causing its ammunition to explode in a large ball of fire.
The whole area was now filled with burnt bodies in every direction. Some hanging out of armoured vehicles some lying in contorted positions in the snow. On both sides, loses were beginning to mount up. German infantry was trying to disable IS-2s with Panzerfausts. To use the Panzerfaust, the soldier took off the safety, aimed, and, with a little squeeze, fired the projectile. One soldier got lucky with a Panzerfaust and caused an engine fire that led to its crew bailing out before being cut up by heavy German MG fire.
Then another Tiger exploded from several hits from IS-2s. This left three Tigers against five IS-2s, which were advancing rapidly. They just rolled over the German infantry crushing them to death. Their tracks ripping arms and legs off in the process. Their death cries could even be heard over the deafening noise of battle. The MG gunners on the IS-2s cut the German infantry down as they approached, literally shredding their bodies in the process.
The Tigers continued to fire and destroyed another IS-2 with a well-placed round to the side that killed all the crew inside instantaneously. In revenge three IS-2s opened up on the single Tiger blowing it to bits in a matter of seconds. It’s turret half hanging off and the crew burning to death inside. The final two Tigers began to retreat backwards still firing on the remaining IS-2s. A Tiger as it reversed backwards scored another IS-2 hit, just below the tracks towards the rear. It caused the rear engine panels to blow off before an explosion blew the turret hatch open. A much bigger secondary explosion sent a huge tower of red and orange flame high into the sky. Black smoke poured out of the rear as diesel and oil caught fire. The Tigers reversed down out of the IS-2s line of fire. They continued to point their guns towards the ridge in anticipation for the IS-2s appearing over the ridgeline.
For whatever reason the IS-2s never appeared and the Tiger crews breathed a sigh of relief. The Tigers continued to reverse into a better position before requesting resupply and repairs before the next encounter. Both the Tiger crews were suffering from exhaustion, but knew that they still had to fight. The Red Army had proven to be a much more tenacious in battle than they ever thought they could be. The cold just added to their misery and valuable energy was being wasted just keeping warm.
One IS-2 had been taken out after multiple Panzerfaust hits to its rear. German infantry swarmed over the other IS-2 as it moved along. With German infantry frantically trying to get the hatches open before throwing in a couple of grenades and killing the crew inside. The IS-2 finally ground to a halt. The Red Army advanced had been halted but not without the loss of several tanks.
CHAPTER TWELVE – Lead Tiger
January 1944
From over the ridge a mixture of T-34s, IS-2s and SU-100s appeared. All of these tanks would be a formidable foe. The lead Tiger commander through his binocular saw the approaching Soviet Army and shouted over the intercom “feindliche Panzer von Westen.” The T-34s were not quite as much of a worry as the IS-2s and SU-100 self-propelled guns. The SU-100 was essentially an upgraded SU-85, which had been rendered obsolete with its gun being mounted on the T-34-85. Although the T-34-85 could still not quite match the Tiger, as a Tiger could destroy a T-34 from 1,500 to 2,000 meters compared to the 600 metres of the T-34-85. The SU-100 took the same T-34 chassis as used on the SU-85 and added stronger armour, which went from 45mm to 74mm in thickness. It also had a better ventilation system compared to the SU-85. Finally, it was fitted with the 100 mm D-10S gun, the SU-100 could penetrate around 125 mm of vertical armour from a range of 1.2 miles and the sloped 80 mm front armour of the Panther from 0.93 miles. They got given the name Cat Hunters as they could take out Tiger and Panther tanks.
The Tigers got off the first shots followed by two Panthers. The first round bounced off the huge frontal armour. The second Tiger round hit the left-hand track. The track shattered and track links blew off in all directions. The SU-100 still fired its gun and the round screamed towards the German armour before finding the side of Panzer IV and knocking off its slim armour covering the wheels. The German crews felt fearful, as they knew they were up against some powerful tanks. It was a case of kill or be killed as the crews loaded the next salvo of rounds into their gun breaches. More shells screamed over from the SU-100s, the IS-2s had moved out of sight and were going to try and flank us to the left. Just behind the SU-100s were three T-34s. The HE rounds from the SU-100s exploded in the snow around the German armour. Throwing up shrapnel that could be heard bouncing off the tank armour. They had been lucky so far, with not one round having knocked a single tank out far.
Both sides continued to fire, with a round finally hitting the top of a SU-100 causing it to explode. One of the T-34s behind was hit in the turret, which was blown off by the force of the round. Another SU-100 was hit in the front and the round penetrated the armour, causing it to fall silent. The crew were either dead or had been knocked unconscious.
A Panther was struck in the turret by a 100mm round from an SU-100, the subsequent explosion caused the turret to lift off from the hull of the Panther and roll off the hull and end up on it side a few feet away. The crew lay dead inside before the tank exploded throwing out body parts in all directions that fell back onto the hull and into the surrounding snow.
The Panther continued to burn until there was nothing left to burn and the remaining crew inside had been incinerated. Another SU-100 was hit by a Tiger shell, it seemed to move backwards slightly in a large plume of dirty grey smoke before catching fire. Further Tiger fire hit another SU-100 in the tracks and hull, splitting open a section of the hull and allowing a dismembered crew member to fall out lifeless onto the snow. The German armour had an elevation advantage and were able to fire shots at the weaker top sections of the SU-100s hull. Another SU-100 was hit in the transmission and it ground to a halt, still firing back. Trying to hit another Panther, which it did with great success knocking out the driver and right hand track. The German infantry was ordered to begin an attack on the last two remaining SU-100s using a Panzerfaust. The IS-2s suddenly reappeared obviously having been ordered to come to the aid of the SU-100s. In doing so they exposed their weaker hull and the first IS-2 had its lower hull blown apart. The dead MG gunner was half hanging out the hole made by the explosion. The IS-2 continued to moved forward before a well-aimed shot through the existing hole with a HE round caused the whole tank to lift up a few feet into the air with a very large and loud explosion ripping through the hull as if it as made of tissue paper. Inside the commander desperately tried to open the turret hatch as he was engulfed in flames screaming and wailing away before falling down into the inferno raging in the hull. Ammunition started to cook off and explode and this black oily residue started to run down the hull of the IS-2 which was now full ablaze. The other IS-2s pushed forward missing the volley of rounds being fired from the Tigers. The speed at which they were moving made it difficult for them to get a proper aim and their shots missed the Tigers completely. The German Infantry were cut down by the IS-2s MG guns their bodies and heads exploding as rounds impacted on them. One infantry man had his insides blown clean out by a single well placed MG round. Another 88mm shell from a Tiger hit an IS-2s track and blew three road wheels clean off in the process. The IS-2 swung round exposing its weaker side armour and another well-placed round hit the rear side of the tank, blowing the engine clean out of the tank and causing the fuel tanks to explode. Whilst diesel does not burn easily, when it becomes compressed it ignites quite easily, especially any compressed diesel vapour. The pressure wave caused by the impact of a well-placed round was enough to put the diesel under enough pressure to cause it to ignite into a fireball.