The Last Stand Of The Wehrmacht At Courland | Gottlob Herbert Bidermann

we had arrived at our new and final battlefield coland for three and one-half years almost without relief the 132nd Infantry Division had faced the enemy on the Eastern Front this last front not only provided our final resistance against an overpowering enemy in a geographical location but also served as the final culmination of our operations as our homeland far away collapsed in Fire and death during these last months of war the divisions constituting Army group coland continued to hold ground albeit growing ever weaker from many wounds ammunition was scarce our artillery batteries were allotted only two limited rations of shells daily for expenditure machine guns were permitted to fire only in the semi-automatic mode the firing of entire belts was allowed only when the situation required the repelling of attacks our latest assault rifles newly developed and distributed in the final months of the war were sometimes rendered useless when the initial allocation of intermediate-sized ammunition was expended the troops often resorted to relying upon carefully concealed caches of supplies hidden for such contingencies this system pertained not only to Munitions but also to gasoline and food the resourceful drivers had always held a few carefully hidden canisters of fuel in reserve an extra sack of barley or dried rhubarb was always put aside for the horses as our supply lines were disrupted more often the movements of entire companies would sometimes depend upon the resourcefulness of the individual soldiers within the horse-drawn units the condition of the animals was taken very seriously all reports required statements regarding the status and condition of horses as well as of troops as with the soldiers the ranks of the horses on which every troop movement now depended grew ever smaller it was not unusual for the horse-drawn Supply carts to cover a distance of 20 kilometers or more to the front per day during which they were compelled to dodge artillery barrages and run gauntlets between squadrons of strafing fighter planes in the closing months the troops in the coolant pocket received little meat for their diet and many of the horses suffering from debilitating shrapnel wounds were turned over to the cooks to be slaughtered for food with these Desperate Measures our dire situation became quite clear to us the cooks learned to prepare baked horse liver with onions horse meat goulash was added as a welcome respite to our otherwise meager and bland diet in the first days of January 1945 I was granted a rare furlough for Valor and I received from my company a large quarter section of smoked horse meat to carry as rations while on route to the Homeland it was dark red in color hard and sweet tasting but was nevertheless eaten with great relish following the evacuation of Riga we had the opportunity once again to savor fresh sausages which had been salvaged from a warehouse in the Latvian capital while packed into vermarked trucks and wagons on route to our new destination we feasted upon the hard sausages and filled our bread bags with the delicacy to deprive the advancing Russians of all foodstuffs even the entire contents of a schnapps Distillery was taken with us we had been on the move for several days our withdrawal consisted of movement by night digging in prior to the onset of daylight to hinder any sudden Soviet assault Upon Our open rear should the enemy attempt a massive push toward the Baltic ahead of our withdrawing forces the roads remained packed with refugees fleeing from the Red Menace that followed at our heels the ox carts and farm wagons the women children and elderly marching through the sodden roads in files of misery and sorrow the regiment took up positions in the new line of defense on Lithuanian soil far to the southwest of frauenburg the second company of regiment 437 occupied the town of piccolia the commanding presence of an ancient wooden Church dominated the center of the town and approximately 100 meters distant was a smaller wooden Sanctuary also at least 200 years old I inspected the buildings in the tiny settlement as we prepared to establish our positions and chose a small log structure behind the sanctuary in which to locate our communications center the building was not imposing but was steadily built of thick Timbers with several small rooms that could serve as administrative office areas adjoining our Communications office I found a small room approximately three by four meters in size one small window provided light and on the rough hewn wall directly opposite the window hung a 17th century oil painting of the Madonna in a worm eaten wooden frame a large ancient wooden bed occupied the end of the room next to the painting complete with a threadbare but inviting mattress other than the Madonna and the bed the room had been completely stripped of all Furnishings by its previous inhabitants a soft Breeze floated through the open window the shattered remnants of the glass panes that had once sealed it lay scattered on the floor beneath the gaping window pane unslinging my submachine gun I hung the weapon on a hook that protruded from the wall beneath the painting and in full uniform stretched out for a moment's respite on the bed to momentarily Savor the unaccustomed luxury in the distance I could faintly hear the movement of the Lancers as they worked to prepare and reinforce their positions I attempted to concentrate on our withdrawal and the rear guard actions conducted throughout previous days and as I gazed at the ceiling in the dim light of the room I soon fell asleep I awakened as evening descended on the settlement near peakley eye and the Setting Sun cast a dim Golden Glow through the solitary window of the room raising myself slightly from the comfort of the mattress I vaguely discerned the soft sound of footsteps running rapidly but quietly among the buildings I was abruptly jolted upright by the explosions of several hand grenades against the side of the log structure and in the dim light I struggled to gain my feet and locate my weapon I lunged forward and frantically sought my MP40 from the corner of my eye I caught the motion of a helmeted figure in khaki Brown appearing at the window the unmistakable ventilated barrel of a Soviet submachine gun was instantly thrust through the window and a blinding muzzle blast filled the confined area with a deafening Roar throwing myself on the floor I desperately scrambled and clawed at my weapon hanging above me as bullets slammed into the wall with my eyes fixed on the window I could observe the rounded helmet of the Soviet infantryman behind the intense flash of the barrel below which was the clear silhouette of a circular drum magazine as I frantically attempted to gain my own weapon the burst from the enemy submachine gun continued to impact against the wall immediately above me filling the confined space with smoke cordite fumes brass cartridge cases and wooden splinters I found myself grasping my MP40 and instinctively rolled onto my back and fired into the muzzle flash of the enemy gun praying that no Russian grenade would follow I held the trigger and emptied a full magazine directly into the window within seconds my ammunition was expended and as I pulled another Magazine from my belt I became aware of the silence that had descended on the room the smoke and dust slowly settled in the dim light and in the distance I could hear the rapid firing of automatic weapons and isolated explosions of hand grenades accompanied by the shouting of the Lancers as they defended their positions against the Soviet incursion releasing the spent magazine and inserting a fully loaded one into the magazine well of the submachine gun I crawled to the window and chanced to gaze through the shattered pains into the village within seconds it was over the enemy soldier who had fired into my room had disappeared the only trace of his presence were the dozens of 7.62 millimeter cartridge casings that littered the ground near the window and the floor of the room badly shaken I inspected our positions and was relieved to learn that we had suffered no casualties the Soviets had left behind two dead and several wounded by returned to the log building intent on abandoning the deceptively inviting shelter that had so nearly become a death trap on inspecting my quarters I discovered that the oil painting had received the Full Burst from the enemy weapon the frame was shattered and destroyed it was obvious that the enemy soldier when hurrying past my window had discerned movement at the very moment I sat upright on the bed in his haste he had instinctively thrust the barrel of his weapon through the window and had opened fire on the silhouette of the first human figure observed in the dim light In the Heat of the decisive moment the silhouette of the painting had drawn his full attention and he had concentrated his fire on it at a close deadly range within the confined space only this had allowed me vital seconds to recover my weapon and defend myself several days later the village came under intensive artillery fire that set the building Ablaze and I pulled the bullet riddled painting from the wall and removed it from the shattered frame resolved to prevent further destruction of the Madonna whose painted countenance had saved my life later I unrolled the painting to further inspect the damage inflicted on the Century's old canvas it was then that I discovered that despite the extended burst fired Point Blank into the painting not a single bullet had struck the face or body of the Holy virgin numerous bullets had perforated the background area in a deadly Halo of fire but the countenance had remained untouched this painting remained constantly with me until my last furlough to Germany where I chose to leave it in safekeeping with my family as a reminder that whatever outcome the war was to bring us I had perhaps been protected on this day the clergy and pickly eye had served as a conduit of German culture to Lithuania two centuries ago and in the rough hewn building I discovered spiritual books from the 17th and 18th centuries as well as a lengthy manuscript describing the art of chemistry as being the source of all knowledge by Dr Johann Casper Ellen reader printed in Hamburg in 1723 I took advantage of our momentarily quiet sector and spent nights reading by candlelight the candles were manufactured locally of pure beeswax and emitted a pleasant aroma we later removed the candles together with the beautifully worked candelabra to the seller in hopes that at least these works of art might survive the conflagration of Russian Artillery shells which we had Learned was inevitable one evening one of the lanzas sat at the ancient organ that required two men to pump the massive leather Bellows and played A Chorus and the song of Mary which was audible even to the men in the foremost positions throughout the concert not a shot was fired from either side for some days the tiny Chapel remained Untouched by the shells as if the Russian Gunners had made a conscious decision to respect a religious object of beauty eventually it too fell prey to the vicious bombardment from unseen guns and was soon completely devoured by flames on this same day a civilian appeared at our position and in great distress he introduced himself as the priest of the chapel when we turned over to him the sacral cups the Candelabra bedding and other items of Economic and spiritual value that we had previously removed to a secure place within the cellar he expressed joy and relief at having recovered the things so dear to him and his congregation he later made many trips through the falling artillery shells to take with him what he could carry away to safety the inhabitants of the Town sought refuge in the surrounding forests in anticipation of the Soviet offensive and the inevitable capture of the Town by the Russians the priest left us to accompany them to their Haven of relative safety but not before giving us his Blessing in view of our very uncertain and ominous situation we were grateful for his words of comfort apart from enemy attacks in company strength during the first battle for coland and the intermittent artillery barrages our sector remained ominously quiet it was not until mid-october that Russian tanks appeared near palangan to the north of Memel on the Baltic which lay to our West and we were brutally reminded once again that our Lifeline to our homeland had been severed the ranks are bounded with rumors and news from Mostly dubious and unconfirmed sources we will break out toward the South and make our way to our lines as a moving pocket strike the Russian flank as a Levering Force to push them out of East Prussia we will shove the Red Army back over the borders of the Reich to keep Central Europe free from domination and slavery under the red Soviet star indeed toward the end of October A desperate plan for breaking out of the pocket was actually conceived by some of the units located to the south of libau but before it could be put into effect the Soviets struck with an offensive of such ferocity that the surviving units had to consider themselves fortunate to have endured the attacks thus far and continued occupying their defensive positions through an order from the commander of army Group North it was forbidden to use the phrase call and pocket it was even rumored although to my knowledge never carried through that a death sentence could be conferred on any of the lanzas that were heard to speak of our hopeless situation in a pocket since the destruction of the sixth Army at Stalingrad the word had carried ominous connotations of impending inescapable disaster with the issuance of this regulation however even the most optimistic Among Us those of us who continued to cling to the belief in a final Victory now realize the hopelessness of our situation that said however the will to resist the Soviets the fighting Spirit within the ranks of the colon Fighters remained Unbroken the term coolant Bridgehead became the official name for the trapped Army from the Strategic Viewpoint a Bridgehead is regarded as a jumping off point for the launching of offensives the use of this term served as a dubious attempt to provide the impression that our positions would later be used as a Bridgehead for an offensive to free East Prussia thus the requirement that we continue to cling tenaciously to our shrinking positions in October some units were prepared to depart call and on board ships for transport to the east Prussian front however such plans were canceled when it was realized that the heavily battered divisions with few tanks remaining lacked the strength to launch an attack of any measure thus the Kurland troops were destined to remain in their positions and to conduct themselves on the principle of fighting to the last round the strength and resolve of the men in the trenches could by no means be credited to the general obust with the golden party badge the attributes the will to resist and the sacrifices made had been instilled in the individual soldiers in the three and one-half years of war the division had faced on the battlefields of Southern and Northern Russia for these qualities we had no need of guidance from a political officer we saw the true sense of our operation in cooland as having one clearly defined objective the defense of European culture we believed that our presence on the Northern flank of the Soviet Army could prevent the red tanks from thrusting deep into the heart of Europe perhaps the hour of birth for a new Europe was at hand and remained solely dependent on our will to resist the Soviet Army to the last hour little did we realize that the Western politicians had shut their eyes to the tragedy unfolding in Eastern and Central Europe communism descended on an entire culture as the Western armies demobilized and effectively ceased operations the guns had long Fallen silent and the survivors of Cortland were decaying in the Russian prison camps surrounded by The Four Towers perched on tall posts and the high barbed wire enclosures of the death zone the okh chief of staff in the fuhrer headquarters Genera loburst guderian attempted desperately to persuade Hitler to evacuate the troops from Cortland and employ them in the defense of Berlin the Soviet propaganda had made it clear for years through the tons of leaflets dropped into our lines that the final goal of the Red Army was the capture of Berlin made even more obvious by the printed scene of attacking Soviet soldiers storming the Brandenburg gate complete with tanks and waving banners rather than choosing to follow strategic reason and face reality Hitler insisted on sticking to his order to hold all ground in corland General Oberst cherna vowed the impossible to hold the front along the lines of October 1944. although the Navy prepared detailed plans that would have made the evacuation possible Hitler stuck firmly to his belief that the Kurland positions would be needed for a future offensive he had found in cherna a general who would bow to his every demand who would promise miracles the professional opinions of guderian and other senior officers were dismissed often accompanied by hysterical outbreaks of rage and Hitler would again launch into quixotic plans for new offensives using divisions and Men long since decimated in the expanses of Russia Promises of new and revolutionary weapons would steer the course of plans and strategic decisions even as the German industry was crashing in Ruins under the weight of overwhelming fleets of bombers in December 1944 the Arden offensive ground to a halt and the impending disaster became obvious to all realists thus the 132nd Infantry Division in Army Group North now referred to as Army group curland stood to The Bitter End on the last front for nearly seven months the regiments on the Baltic prevailed against enormous odds in terms of men and material we were resolved never to surrender and the troops in corland were to Bear the ominous distinction of being the only combat units in the German army that were never defeated in open battle in November 1944 the last front in cooland extended from the banks of the Baltic 30 kilometers south of libau in a general direction toward the East turned past mosheiken and swung again toward the north of tukum to the Baltic area of Riga Bay the position of the division was very similar to the situation faced by the units of the 18th army during the battle for Leningrad in the sense that the Red Army was attempting to reach the supply channel in labor and thus cut the pocket in half the entire front extended a length of approximately 200 kilometers in which our division from the end of 1944 was centrally situated to the southeast of frauenburg the Venta or vindal as it was named in German roughly followed the defense lines of the division on the 1st of November 1944 the division occupied the positions on the vindal and within a few days the sector was reinforced by a number of companies despite the newly arrived supporting units the situation on the 19th of November had become so critical that we were required to defend a sector of the line 11 kilometers in length this roughly averaged a total of two beleaguered lanzas for every 100 meters of line that had to be defended in our sector one afternoon in early November I received a message from the 2nd battalion of the 437th regiment to expect the arrival of General Oberst cherna this dreaded and feared officer would be touring our positions and would expect a briefing of our situation on his arrival sherna was Notorious for his obsession concerning Communications details it was also widespread knowledge that when he found something to his dislike a hail of reprimands demotions and punishments were immediately to follow he would sometimes demote or promote on impulse as the situation suited him it was rumored that his driver kept three uniform tunics in the staff cobal wagon and that on several occasions the driver had started the day as a Feld Rebel then for a minor infraction or perceived mistake was degraded to schutzer only later to be promoted to feldrebel again later that afternoon every visit to the front would be accompanied by threats and those who served in the rear areas could expect to be punished by immediate transfer to the foremost lines general of mountain troops Dietl a professional officer in every sense had once said of sherna that he was better suited to serve as a field police Feld Rebel known to the Lancers as chained dogs than as a general this opinion was widely shared by the troops who remained ever perceptive of their leaders ironically this very same general who had exhibited no understanding of the troops at the front and who had callously condemned thousands of men to their deaths with his orders to hold untenable positions at all costs was captured by American troops at the end of the war in an Alpine Hut where he had fled in an attempt to avoid facing his responsibilities when Germany surrendered when captured he was wearing a traditional Bavarian Alpine costume for which he had exchanged his uniform and golden party badge only weeks earlier he had subjected Untold numbers of soldiers to summary execution for similar displays of cowardice the general Oberst did indeed make an appearance to inspect our position his kobelwagon arrived in the late afternoon bearing the impressive checkerboard pennant of a field commander and I correctly greeted him in the prescribed manner saluting him sharply as he approached he responded with a surly impersonal salute after which he did not offer a handshake I was immediately struck with the impression that he had arrived specifically to create problems for us I had prepared the unit carefully for his inspection at The Dugout entrance were two centuries meticulously outfitted in complete field uniform with helmets and rifles as required the communications NCO Feld Rebel stenitzer was personally occupying the field desk to ensure that everything went as planned the radio men had repeatedly inspected and tested their equipment beforehand all contacts with the artillery liaison command and the forward observers were flawless the general requested a status briefing on our sector which I had prepared for presentation in advance I had committed myself to portraying our situation exactly as I judged it and I presented this picture to him frankly and honestly daily a Russian observation balloon would appear on the horizon despite our repeated requests no German aircraft appeared to disrupt the activities of the enemy observers thus the Soviet artillery fired uninterruptedly on chosen targets as they desired moreover we were of the belief that a number of positions along the window in our sector were being taken Under Fire in preparation for a tank assault which we expected to occur within the next several days the number of troops was too few to hold the assigned sector our defenses were too thinly spread along the line the lack of heavy weapons above all anti-tank weapons was critical our supply of model 42 telemines could not be used as they lacked the necessary detonators the esteemed General obust was obviously not pleased to receive such a Negative report from a junior officer he abruptly departed leaving us with the distinct impression that he was less than satisfied it was later rumored that while visiting the positions in the rear he had shared bottles of wine with artillery Battalion Chomsky and had openly complained about the attitudes of the Infantry units on the line he certainly had not aroused my trust or faith in his leadership but had only confirmed the reports we had previously heard of his peculiar style of command not one single encouraging word had been spoken either to me personally or even to those men shouldering weapons for him in the defense positions I was accustomed to a different type of German general furthermore he had ridiculed my assessment of the situation rebuking my prediction of an oncoming tank assault with the remark that if and when such an attack did take place it would be far to the West toward Lebo the great strategist was mistaken on the 20th of November a Russian Artillery barrage pounded our positions and those of the regiment to our left and large concentrations of Soviet tanks pushed over the vindal in what was to be the Second Battle for Kurland the Russians tore through the front in several locations including the sector held by our division only with reinforcements from various units was the offensive halted near frauenburg several days later similar to our great Panzer offensives early in the war the standard tactic for the Russians was to attack the line at various locations along a front and wherever the front was penetrated all additional resources would be concentrated to gain a Bridgehead from where all available forces would be thrust through the gap on occasion a false attack would be launched and in another sector a massive push would attempt to penetrate defenses after the defender's reserves had been committed to the faint in order to gain control of the situation it was often necessary to move entire divisions within hours to weak points where a breakthrough had occurred or was considered imminent this was made even more difficult because of poor road conditions during the fall rainy season when roads and positions were churned to a morass beneath convoys of heavy vehicles and Columns of countless men and horses during the Second Battle for coland our units were successful in containing the Russian Onslaught but immediately thereafter the Reigns began and all movement regardless of how insignificant was conducted only with great effort along the line the terrain became a vast swampy morass to which even the Russians with their overwhelming motorized units had to yield the German reconnaissance units reported that Soviet tank units had retreated to the South and were concentrating in the vicinity of Vino de picelia this marked the end of the Second Battle for Kurland the troops were exhausted and worn the line consisted mostly of shallow muddy holes half filled with water from melting snow and ice in which the lancer's alternated Century duty while attempting to remain physically able to further resist the enemy resupply when at all possible became sporadic due to the impossible roads and constant disruption from the artillery barrages and the Relentless strafing aircraft that appeared suddenly and without warning from the gray sky the horses were now often collapsing from lack of nourishment and for the Lancers in the Earthworks warm food had become a rare luxury in early December I was shocked to learn that I was to be placed under two weeks quarters arrest General obust-cherna had obviously been displeased with my negative albeit honest and accurate appraisal of our situation and had demanded this punishment following his inspection of the positions it is also possible that he was displeased with my swabian dialect revealing to him that I was from wurttemberg which served to remind him of our famous desert fox General felt Marshall Rommel whose Fame and reputation he probably envied and resented our division Commander General Wagner arrived at our Battalion headquarters to inform me personally of my impending punishment this thoroughly professional and responsible officer advised me that under no circumstances would this report negatively reflect my service to the Army and that only with great reluctance was he carrying out these orders as directed furthermore he stated that my service backed by years of combat experience was badly needed elsewhere behind the front I then reported to the operations officer of the regiment major descham who advised me that construction battalions and various parts of other units had been collected deep within the center of our pocket it was necessary to initiate the construction of defensive positions in the rearward areas during lulls in the fighting past experience had proven that in the event of a breakthrough rear-based units such as artillery troops had become a critical asset in halting the enemy penetration thus I was assigned to plan and construct a second and third line of defense it was to contain deep interconnecting tank traps area defense trenches gun positions and an interlocking earthwork system that extended 1000 meters between positions far to our rear was a network of rear guard positions to be prepared for an eventual evacuation by sea of the coolant divisions should the order from the highest command ever be received the solution was relatively simple in the minds of the lanzas better to dig trenches than Graves my work was enhanced by the acquisition of a tractor-powered machine that was capable of digging trenches up to 80 centimeters deep and 500 meters long in one night throughout the hours of daylight we remained engaged in pouring over and developing plans for additional defenses and during the hours of darkness when we could work without the danger of the ever-present fighter bombers we constructed miles of bunkers and Earthworks in anticipation of a final massive Soviet push through our lines to the Baltic our work was interrupted abruptly in mid-December by a deep sudden Frost the Earth froze to the consistency of stone the muddy roads were once again possible and a forbidding atmosphere of expectations swept over the Ragged Army the company's far in the front and the artillery observers reported the sound of heavy movements of vehicles coming from within the Enemy Lines throughout the nights the grinding of tank tracks was clearly Audible our artillery remained powerless to fire on targets of opportunity as Munitions had become scarce and were carefully rationed bands of fighter planes and squadrons of bombers displaying the red five-pointed star on their fuselages and wings flew over us at random with impunity they made daily excursions during these clear Frost Laden December days on their way to bomb the supply harbors of libau and windau in attempts to disrupt our tenuous lifelines the flak units and the few Fighters remaining with the Army group battled valiantly against the endless numbers of enemy aircraft a fighter squadrons were commanded by luftwaffe General flugbile and during 15 and the 16th of December alone they shot down 25 Soviet planes over corland to better enable me to fulfill my assignment for constructing and planning the defenses I was invited by the regimental medical officer of the 438th regiment Dr schlip to share the Latvian Farmhouse he occupied two women and an elderly man continued to inhabit part of the dwelling and the younger of the women the daughter spoke fairly good German when asked why they did not take refuge farther toward the rear to seek safety from the daily artillery barrages they replied to where there is no home anymore only the sea they heated the washroom for us and fried potatoes while the old man chopped wood in a nearby shed and he was once observed tacking the skin of a Martin to a board he had thus spent his entire lifetime here on this land he once remarked we latvians now have the dogs in our land but soon we will have to have the Wolves as friends the meaning of his words required no explanation we had nicknamed the Dr poldy and his work was never-ending Legions of wounded were brought to him in Pony carts lying on scattered straw often under the protection of Darkness they were wrapped in dirty blood-encrusted bandages weak unshaven and filthy without hope or barely retaining a glowing Ember of optimism poldy would take them under his care and beneath the uncertain protection of the Red Cross flag he cared for the wounds replacing bandages administering pain relieving injections stitching torn flesh and splinting broken bones the serious cases would be loaded into the sankas as to be driven to the division collection point a few kilometers behind the front for surgery these assistants to the beaten and weary doctors and medical corpsman who wore the staff of caduceus on their shoulders and carried the scalpel in their tunic pocket were to prove themselves indispensable many times in the future During the period of imprisonment in Russia poldy and I shared many thoughtful conversations in his Hut I would appear in the dead of night from my work constructing the defenses and would sit next to the Hearth near the warmth of the fire in the flickering light he and his medical assistant would join me and drink a toast to my safe return here existed warmth and comfort a part of home that exuded not only from The Hearth but also from the heart poldy was a dark-haired very serious doctor with deep brown eyes I often imagined him a descendant of the Roman or gallic legionnaires who occupied the area of Castile mines which he called home we would speak of our homes often and would ask ourselves if we would ever again stand before the ancient monuments of our homeland if we would ever again step into the half darkness of the Mainz Cathedral to pray always again the Specter of Our Fate would rise to loom over us and would surface during each conversation how would it all end would the Army in coland be sacrificed to the overwhelming onslaught of Communism bolstered by the immense industrial might of the combined allied powers would it be later said over our Graves as was said following the Stalingrad debacle that the coland Army had fulfilled its true duty to its country and people to the last round fighting against overwhelming odds to allow new defenses to be established making it possible to protect the Homeland the fate of the troops who were eventually isolated and abandoned far to the south on the Crimean Peninsula our former Battleground came to mind it was said that as boats and ferries plunged toward the Open Sea on a course toward Odessa the remaining Defenders who were left behind had called to the departing vessels we are the honorary citizens of the nation they then marched the long bit away into captivity a few days before the expected offensive a new medical bunker was prepared near the regimental headquarters enabling the wounded to be brought to a safe area for care the Latvian Farmhouse at stadini where Paul D and I had enjoyed temporary Comfort was later riddled by tankfire we saw no more of its inhabitants and never learned of their fate a solid passable Road LED through a sector of the division from the direction of pampali towards stadini then split into a fork one branch LED Northeast toward frauenburg the other toward libau it was at this Junction that the Russians attempted to break through in order to split the Kurland Army and to capture Libo at exactly 6 a.m on the 21st of December 1944 our sector of the division was enveloped in a firestorm The Horizon came alive glowing with the muzzle flashes from countless heavy guns it was confirmed that within the sector of Grenadier regiment 438 alone more than 800 barrels consisting of a deadly combination of heavy artillery rockets and mortars fired multiple salvos on our positions an incredible raging Firestorm rained on the trenches machine gun nests Earthworks bunkers and reinforced fire positions along our front collapsed in clouds of dust and smoke the Earth trembled roared heaved and tossed the bunkers collapsed The Trenches were leveled for three long hours an unseen unreachable Force assaulted the Earth with Fury seeking out our last refuge in the shadow of battle first the heavy fire was directed on the foremost positions it then careened over the stadini heights after which it Advanced into the wooded area to our rear to descend upon the regimental headquarters the Treetops were splintered entire trees sailed into the sky and shells struck the reinforced bunkers and completely enveloped our surroundings minutes became an eternity the first wounded appeared stumbling and staggering aimlessly often without helmets uniforms covered with blood those unable to walk arrived wrapped in shelter quarters carried by lanzas straining against the load the wounded screamed in agony and thrashed wildly on the ground as they awaited the care of the medical officer poldy and his assistants worked feverishly I attempted to assist them by Plastering an airtight bandage to a sucking chest wound some of the Wounded who remained coherent reported that Ivan had broken through the nearby left sector and concentrations of Tanks piled high with infantry had been cited suddenly The Barrage on our position lifted in the distance to our right and left flanks the shells and Rockets continued to fall with Indescribable Fury I looked across the makeshift operating table at poldy and felt the nerves at my neck tingle with anticipation he glanced up at me from his work nodded knowingly then wordlessly resumed repairing the wounds of his patient the silence in our sector was an ominous sign which I had experienced in battles past the Soviet artillery had lifted in our area and was now concentrating on our flanks we were occupying the corridor through which the enemy armor would attempt to thrust toward our open rear sectors I dropped the roll of bandages and dashed toward the door of the medical bunker seizing a carbine along the way at the entrance I detected the sound of roaring engines and the screeching of tracked Vehicles accompanied by ear splitting explosions red fighter bombers were overflying the woods releasing bombs and firing with wing cannons and machine guns the sound of engines grew louder and through the Rolling Thunder of explosions I recognized the unmistakable grinding of a Soviet t-34 from the ruins of the headquarters I caught sight of several Lancers running in panic past our location with carbines at their sides racing headlong toward the bunker they collapsed upon the ground with burning lungs rasping Panzer Panzer I dashed outside and immediately stumbled over the splintered branches of large trees that had been torn from the now naked stumps Rising vertically in the air on all sides shells were bursting and close to the communications bunker I Came Upon My longtime friend loit nantrek the son of a Rector from zarbrucken an exploding tank projectile had torn open his abdomen and as he sank to his knees I caught him and lowered him slowly to Earth as I looked into his dying eyes an intense feeling of Rage overcame me a rage I had known only rarely from previous battles and other deaths consuming rage without reason that only barely recognizes a distinction between enemy and friend an overwhelming sense of anger that knows no limits a feeling that reaches far beyond the simple emotions of Bravery or fear bravery and fear are emotions of the saying and have no place in the suicidal Quagmire into which we have been thrust one felt overcome with the simple primitive Obsession for Revenge destroy the attackers kill them those who have destroyed those close to you when so many have perished why should I survive better to die now killing the enemy than to await the inevitable I leapt to my feet and charged blindly forward I became vaguely aware of two of resh's men running alongside me as we approached the 14th company headquarters I observed several members of an anti-tank unit frantically preparing their panzerfaust stovepipes for close combat several of the anti-tank weapons were primed and leaning against the wall next to the door of the bunker come on I shouted desperately let's go let's go they're coming I seized one of the long gray green tubes loaded with the blunt bulbous projectile and lunged through the trees for a distance of approximately 50 Paces to the edge of the Woodline toward the sound of the heavily armored vehicles the shrill wine of bullets filled the air around me and exploding shells continued to burst in the Treetops sending white hot fragments whistling and thudding dully into the Earth Suddenly at approximately 20 meters distance I observed through the undergrowth the long barrel of a t-34 moving slowly but steadily forward acutely aware that the tank was normally accompanied and supported by at least a platoon of infantry I backtracked in a long Arc through the woods and turned to approach the massive silhouette from concealment jumping into an opening in the trees near the huge tank I knelt with burning lungs between piles of splintered branches from where at about 30 Paces I could now clearly see the steel Colossus that displayed several large numbers painted next to a red star on the turret I quickly pulled the safety pin from the Panzer Faust and flipped up the perforated sights I held my breath in a vain attempt to calm my fluttering pulse I was aware of my pounding heart throbbing with tension in my throat and I concentrated on aiming correctly I centered the quadrant of the site directly in the middle of the giant red star bordered with white on the turret with my last strength of will I forced myself to remain calm and to hold the sight picture steady against the Target and I slowly but firmly squeezed the trigger with a loud explosion a ball of flame erupted behind me from the open breach of the weapon into the woods the projectile flew forward with a roar clearly visible to the naked eye and struck squarely on the turret the Warhead detonated flawlessly spraying the interior of the heavily armored vehicle with fire and white hot shrapnel immediately a large round hatch flew open and a fine wisp of smoke Rose from within the tank followed only by an overwhelming silence pressed tightly against the earth I observed a second tank previously unseen some 50 Paces away crashing through the trees in reverse gear as it backed away from its destroyed attendant it broke through the tree line into an open field where a company of Russian infantrymen were now lying in view prone upon the ground the two men who had accompanied me from the Panzer Jaeger company destroyed this tank with their weapons just as I had dispatched the lead vehicle from the concealment of the tree line the two men and I opened fire with carbines upon the Russian company lying on The Frozen Ground some 200 meters distant we exchanged a short burst of fire and the Russians began to withdraw pulling their wounded with them we sank to the ground physically and psychologically numbed by the experience we had successfully repelled a reinforced enemy company and we were alive the self-propelled guns of helpedman brantner arrived one of them received a direct hit while on the road the other was able to position itself and open fire on the column of oncoming Russian tanks on the heights of stadini on the first day of the battle of Kurland at stadini the Russians lost more than 20 tanks to regiment 438 during the fighting at the tiny Crossroads that led to frauenburg and liebau my Panzer Faust had destroyed the lead tank at the head of the assault group and the second had been knocked out by the two men of the 14th Panzer Jaeger company three additional tanks were destroyed by other grenadiers in close combat and the self-propelled gun had accounted for the remainder of those that were left burning and exploding on the battlefield thus on the first day the spearhead of the attacking Force had been broken and a major catastrophe was thwarted on the 10th of December Knights cross holder helped manzoll commander of the 14th company regiment 436 received the assignment to March toward pampali as battle group Commander with a strength of approximately 100 men it consisted of two infantry platoons one heavy machine gun platoon one five-man pack crew a small number of pioneers and one or two forward artillery Observers on the 12th of December the day remained quiet the sky remained dark with low-lying clouds as zol's battle group began constructing defense positions they waited expectantly for the Russian attack days came and went as they feverishly reinforced their positions on the 16th of December Heavy Artillery fire burst on the Earthworks forcing the lanzas to seek shelter in the narrow trenches and makeshift bunkers the artillery fire continued sporadically for several days with barrages impacting without warning only to lift for several hours before resuming on the 21st of December the Russian attack was launched preceded by Heavy Artillery fire that rendered all movement impossible the positions near pampali were penetrated by the Infantry and tank units by midday and that afternoon the beleaguered lanzas were isolated and surrounded the numbers of dead and wounded continued to rise the dead lying in the trenches where they fell the wounded receiving only cursory care under Relentless fire from an overwhelming enemy ammunition medical supplies and food supplies were quickly exhausted radio contact with the regiment or division was no longer possible the last orders received repeatedly stressed to hold the positions at any cost the pocket continued to shrink facing total Annihilation within hours a breakout and withdrawal to the division was planned ammunition for the heavy weapons was expended and lacking prime mover resources the guns were to be destroyed and abandoned transport for the wounded was quickly organized despite all efforts repeated attempts to contact the division met in Failure thus official approval for the withdrawal was tracking the decision to break out before Dawn was made without command from higher authority columns formed for the transport of the Wounded on sledges or in shelter quarters as makeshift stretchers the exhausted survivors prepared to break through to our lines at 3 30 a.m the 22nd of December the order was given for the evacuation The Columns launched out toward the German lines an hour later to the west of pampali through an unoccupied depression and headed in a Northerly Direction the Ragged column was sparsely scattered a point element forward the wounded in the middle and a rear guard following progress was slow but successful and with no movement noted from the enemy they gained the German lines on initial contact with the Army curland positions the point element was taken Under Fire having been unable to give the password but they were quickly recognized as German troops and at 7 am the main column crossed into friendly lines the survivors of the battle group had entered a sector occupied by the second Battalion Infantry Regiment 436 and were quickly taken to the regimental headquarters to be greeted there they celebrated a successful escape and were offered the opportunity to receive food and a short rest before being sent into the line the fighting raged through the end of December this Sixth and last Christmas of the war remained muted and depressing for the troops our thoughts were constantly occupied by the tenuous if not hopeless situation in which we found ourselves we received Solace only in our numbers and in being with comrades with whom we had shared so many experiences over the weeks months and years on the 24th of December Christmas Eve a fusilia battalion from another division marched toward the line to reinforce the sector and only the steady rhythm of worn muddy boots upon the frozen ground could be heard as the columns slowly passed the trenches above the marching ranks of ragged lanzas the faint sound of silent night holy night could be detected there remained no peace on Earth the division had suffered heavy losses in the recent fighting many soldiers having fallen victim to the Russian Artillery batteries and machine guns and we had been forced to surrender some territory to the Soviets to avoid annihilation at the end of December the division was relieved and transferred to a quieter sector south of libau the third battle for Cortland had become another test of the troops ability to withstand overwhelming odds and again we had passed the test albeit with pirick success the official reports of okw thus cited our last battle of 1944. Army group coland has destroyed 513 tanks 79 field guns and 145 aircraft in the center of the heaviest fighting had been not only our division but also the 225th North German infantry division which held the area to our left a total of 20 reinforced enemy divisions was thrown against the thinly held positions of the 24th 205th 215th 290th 329th infantry divisions and the 31st Volks Grenadier division the 912th army assault gun Brigade a unit of the 12th Panzer Division and the schutzen panzavagan Battalion of the fifth regiment led by hubtmann Gauss who on many sectors of the front was known simply as the man with the wizard cap were constantly thrown into the counter-attack without the reliable reinforcement of the self-propelled guns and the few remaining tanks in the coland Army the great defensive battles could never have succeeded in holding the enemy at Bay during the second and third battles for corland our already weakened division had lost in excess of 1000 Irreplaceable men killed wounded and missing

Channel: WW2 Stories

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Keywords: history documentary, Gotlobb Herbert Bidermann, audiobooks full length, audiobooks, audiobooks best sellers

Id: YeryUekatPY

Length: 51min 52sec (3112 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 13 2023