Chapter Five
Throughout January and February, the winter did nothing to impede the Soviet offensives from grinding further west. At the beginning of March 1944, Army Group A and South still held about half the ground between the Dnieper and Bug rivers but, in a number of areas, the front was buckling under the constant strain of repeated Soviet attacks. As a consequence, Army Group South was being slowly pressed westwards, its Panzers still unable to strike a decisive counter-blow because of the Fu¨hrer’s order to stand fast on unsuitable positions. By 24 March, the Russians had spearheaded to the Dniester, and a few days later were penetrating the foothills of the Carpathians. Panzerwaffe units, that were refused by Hitler to withdraw, found themselves tied down trying in vain to hold back the Soviet avalanche. These battles became known to the Panzer soldiers as the ‘cauldron battles’ or Kesselschlachten.
By April mud finally brought an end to the almost continuous fighting in the south, and there was respite for the Panzerwaffe in some areas of the front. Once more, despite the setbacks, there was a genuine feeling of motivation within the ranks of the Panzerwaffe. There was renewed determination to keep the ‘Red menace’ out of the Homeland. In addition, confidence was further bolstered by the efforts of the armaments industry as they began producing many new vehicles for the Eastern Front. In fact, during 1944 the Panzerwaffe were better supplied with equipment during any other time on the Eastern Front thanks to the armaments industry. In total some 20,000 fighting vehicles including: 6,000 half-tracks of all variants, 8,328 medium and heavy tanks, 5,751 assault guns, 3,617 tank destroyers and 1,246 self-propelled artillery carriages of various types reached the Eastern Front. All of these vehicles would have to be irrevocably stretched along a very thin Eastern Front, with many of them rarely reaching the proper operating level. Panzer divisions too were often broken up and split among hastily constructed battle groups or Kampfgruppe, drawn from a motley collection of armoured formations. But still these battle groups were put into the line operating well below strength. The demands that were put upon the Panzerwaffe during the spring and summer of 1944 were immeasurable. The constant employment, coupled with the nightmare of not having enough supplies, was a worry that perpetually festered in the minds of the commanders. The Red Army, encouraged by the Germans dire situation, was now mounting bolder operations aimed directly against the German front.
With renewed confidence Soviet commanders began drawing up plans for a massive concentration of forces along the entire frontline in central Russia. The new summer offensive was to be called ‘Operation Bagration’ and its objective was to annihilate Army Group Centre.
On the morning of 22 June, the third anniversary of the Soviet invasion, Operation Bagration was launched against Army Group Centre. The three German armies opposing them had thirty-seven divisions, weakly supported by armour, against 166 divisions, supported by 2,700 tanks and 1,300 assault guns. At the end of the first week of Bagration the three German armies had lost, between them, nearly 200,000 men and 900 tanks; 9th Army and the 3rd Panzer Army were almost decimated. The remnants of the shattered armies trudged back west in order to try and rest and refit what was left of its Panzer units and build new defensive lines. Any plans to regain the initiative on the Eastern Front were doomed forever.
With the complete obliteration of Army Group Centre, the Germans were even more hard pressed to contain their enemy. What followed during the last weeks of July was a frantic attempt by the Panzerwaffe to stem the rout of the Soviet drive into Poland. Army Group North Ukraine tried its best to contain its slender position on the River Bug, whilst remnants of Army Group Centre tied with all available resources to create a solid front line at Kaunas, Bialystok-Brest and assemble what was left of its forces on both its flanks. But between Army Group Centre and Army Group North, German positions were depleted.
Between June and September 1944, the Germans had sustained some 1,000,000 casualties. To make good their losses many of the exhausted and undermanned divisions were conscripted of old men and low-grade troops. The method of recruitment generally did not produce very good results. Not only were the number of recruits simply insufficient, but the enlistment of volunteers into the German Army was beginning to show signs of strain and exhaustion. In the Panzerwaffe too many of the replacement crews did not have sufficient time to be properly trained and, as a result, losses soared. Lack of fuel and not enough spare parts, coupled with the lack of trained crews all played a major part in reducing the effectiveness of the Panzerwaffe in the final year of the war. Yet despite this deficiency in men and equipment, the German Army did manage to slow down the Russian drive in the East, if only temporarily. On the central sector of the Eastern Front the remnants of the once vaunted Army Group Centre had steadily withdrawn across the Polish border westwards in July 1944.
However, just seven weeks later in September 1944, the whole position in Poland was on the point of disintegration. Action in Poland had been a grueling battle of attrition for those German units that had managed to escape from the slaughter. Fortunately for the surviving German forces, the Soviet offensive had now run out of momentum. The Red Army’s troops were too exhausted, and their armoured vehicles were in great need of maintenance and repair. Although it seemed the Germans had been spared from being driven out of Poland for the time being, their position in the East was on the verge of collapse. On 1 September, the Soviets had reached the Bulgarian border. Within a week, the Red Army reached the Yugoslav frontier. On 8 September, Bulgaria and Romania then declared war on Germany. Two weeks later on 23 September, Soviet forces arrived on the Hungarian border and immediately raced through the country for the Danube, finally reaching the river to the south of Budapest.
During the last months of 1944, the Panzerwaffe continued to try its utmost to contain its growing enemy. Drastic attempts by the Germans to improvise and up-gun their vehicles, including their half-tracks, did nothing to alter the situation. Slowly and systematically, the Panzerwaffe were ground down in a war of attrition.
FlaK gunners with their shielded 20mm Flakvierling 38. These quadruple-barrelled self-propelled anti-aircraft guns demonstrated outstanding anti-aircraft capabilities, even during the last months of the war. By this period of operations in the east, many of these weapons were being used against Russian heavy armour, which was also very effective.
A Sd.Kfz.6 from the Bulgarian Army can be seen advancing up a gradient. Note the registration plate with the letter ‘B’, which is followed by a five-digit number. This indicates that the vehicle is attached to the Bulgarian 1st Armoured Brigade.
A gunner with his mounted 37mm FlaK gun on an Sd.Kfz.10. These deadly guns were much respected by low-flying Russian airmen and were also particularly devastating against light vehicles, as well as troops caught in the open. The weapon also armed a variety of vehicles on self-propelled mounts where they could be moved from one part of the defensive line to another quickly and efficiently.
Sd.Kfz.251 half-tracks move across a field. Throughout the war on the Eastern Front the supply situation was exacerbated by the almost non-existence of proper roads throughout the Soviet Union. Half-tracks and other tracked vehicles were utilized to help speed up the supply of ammunition and other equipment desperately required for the front.
A half-track races along a road passing a burning building, which has evidently been set on fire by a ‘Scorched Earth Policy’. During the German withdrawal from the East many thousands of buildings and important installations were set on fire in a drastic attempt to deny the enemy shelter or supplies.
General Model seen here standing next to a Sd.Kfz.251 in Poland in 1944. Many commanders in the field including the soldiers looked upon Model as the Fu¨hrer’s troubleshooter. It was Model that ordered his ‘Shield and Sword’ policy, which stated that retreats were tolerable, but only if they paved the way for a counterstroke later. Out on the battlefield Model was not only energetic, courageous and innovative, but was friendly and popular with his enlisted men.
A Sd.Kfz.251/3 advances along a road with two vehicles following closely behind. The Panzerwaffe continued to rigidly commit everything it still had. Despite the dogged resistance of many of the tank crews and supporting troops, there was no coherent strategy, and any local counter-offensives were often blunted with severe losses. The Soviets possessed too many tanks, anti-tank guns and aircraft for the Panzers and they remained incapable of causing any serious losses or delay.
Parked in some undergrowth is a Panzerwerfer prepared for a fire mission. This version was designated as the Sd.Kfz.4/1 and consisted of an armoured Maultier body with a ten-shot 15cm Nebelwerfer 42 rocket launcher mounted on the roof.
A FlaK gunner scans the sky through a pair of 6 × 30 field binoculars. He is standing next to a well camouflaged, shielded 20mm Flakvierling 38 quadruple-barrelled self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, which can be seen in an elevated position.
An SS FlaK gunner surveys the terrain ahead whilst standing onboard a Sd.Kfz.10/4 with a mounted shielded 20mm Flakvierling 38. Foliage has been applied to the splinter shield in order to try and break-up the distinctive shape of the gun.
A number of Sd.kfz.251 in a field during intensive heavy fighting. The Sd.Kfz.251 had become not just a half-track intended to simply transport infantry to the edge of the battlefield, but also a fully-fledged fighting vehicle.
A Sd.Kfz.251 armoured personnel carrier can be seen moving along a road. Halted at the side of the road is a late variant Pz.Kpfw.IV with intact side skirts. By late 1944, there was little in the way of reinforcements reaching German units in the field, and those that were left holding a defensive position had already been forced into various ad hoc Panzer divisions that were simply thrown together with a handful of tanks and Panzergrenadiers. Much of these hastily formed formations were short-lived. The majority were either completely decimated in the fighting or had received such a mauling in battle they were reorganized into a different ad hoc formation under a new commander.
Two Sd.Kfz.251 armoured personnel carriers have halted on a road with well armed Panzergrenadiers ready at a moment’s notice to dismount. For the troops this was the most effective and quickest way of being transported either to the battlefield, or being withdrawn to another line of defence. When the half-tracks arrived at the edge of a battlefield, the troops were able to quickly dismount to take up positions.
A Sd.Kfz.11 hauls a 105mm artillery piece along a dusty road. Note the divisional insignia painted in yellow on the rear of the half-track. This indicates that the half-track is attached to the SS-Division ‘Wiking’.
Panzergrenadiers on the march in 1944. A stationary Sd.Kfz.250 can be seen which still retains its winter whitewash camouflage paint. For the Panzerwaffe fighting for survival on the Eastern Front, shortages of every kind were affecting most of the old and experienced Panzer divisions. The Soviets had unmatchable material superiority. Yet, despite this major drawback in late 1944, armoured vehicle production, including half-tracks, tanks, assault guns, and self-propelled assault guns, was higher than in any month before May 1944. In October and November 1944, assembly plants managed to turn out 12,000 trucks by rebuilding disabled vehicles and transporting them both to the Eastern and Western Fronts.
In Poland and a Sd.Kfz.7 crosses a waterlogged field following a torrential down-pour. The vehicle has a coating of winter whitewash paint. By September 1944, the whole position in Poland was on the point of disintegration. Action in Poland had been a grueling battle of attrition for those German units that had managed to escape from the slaughter.
During winter operations in Poland and Waffen-SS troops can be seen hitching a lift on board a Sd.Kfz.10/4. The half-track mounts a shielded 20mm FlaK 30 gun and tows a S.Ah.51 trailer.
Two photographs taken in sequence showing a medic tending to an injured comrade next to a Sd.Kfz.251. All of the troops wear the green splinter pattern, army camouflage smocks. These smocks were very popular among the Wehrmacht and proved to be an extremely comfortable combat garment, giving the wearer plenty of movement and freedom and, at the same time, plenty of concealment.
A Sd.Kfz.251 armoured personnel carrier appears to be towing a truck across a river during winter operations in Poland in 1944. Despite fervent efforts to increase the combat strength of the Panzerwaffe, Panzer units and individuals of Panzer and Panzergrenadier divisions were too exhausted to avert the situation decisively. As a result, the Russians continued pushing forward, whilst German forces retreated through Poland to East Prussia.
Two Sd.Kfz.251, one an Ausf.C and the other an Ausf.D, pull alongside each other during winter operations in Russia. The crew appear to be exchanging details. The Ausf.C mounts the typical frame antenna, while the Ausf.D has no antenna. Both mount the MG34 machine gun with splinter shield.
Here a crewman prepares to launch his Panzerwerfer. He is standing on the open hatches, through which rockets are being passed. Note a jerrycan wedged behind the forward wheels to help keep the vehicle from moving when the rockets were fired. The back blast from the Nebelwerfer was very powerful and could often move a vehicle as large as this by a foot.
This Panzerwerfer can be seen racing through the snow towards the battlefront. Note the MG34 has been mounted on the driver’s compartment roof for local defence.