Infantry Attacks - 1979 by Erwin Rommel

Author:Erwin Rommel
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Europe, World War I, Technology & Engineering, General, Germany, Biography & Autobiography, Military, Military Science, History
ISBN: 9780760337158
Publisher: Zenith Press
Published: 2009-05-04T14:00:00+00:00

Sketch 29

Preparations for the attack of August 11, 1917. View from the west.

Soon the bushes in front of us began to thin out and we advanced another hundred yards before lively machine-gun fire hampered our advance against a slope rising gently to the right. The fire, coming from a wood located on the highest hill about six hundred yards away across a broad grassy surface, increased in violence.

The platoon of the 3rd Company and the heavy machine guns of Grau's company took up the fight, and the remainder of the 3rd Company and the machine-gun company of the 11th Reserve spread themselves out to the left. The enemy on the edge of the wood was being reinforced and we were soon engaged with several dozen machine guns. There was no question of continuing the advance across the grassy unprotected area for, in our tired condition, we were having trouble holding our own.

Hostile reserves counterattacked from the woods with artillery support and made their main effort against our left. The mountain soldiers clung desperately to the ground. They did not want to give way and their rapid fire stopped the hostile counterattack (Sketch 30)

More and more enemy machine guns began to hammer us and our losses began to mount at an alarming rate with the result that our predicament grew more perilous with each passing second. I was up in front on the right of the 3rd Company. On my left Albrecht's heavy machine-gun platoon was engaged in most violent combat. The 2nd Company was in reserve to the right rear of the bushes where it was protected from the hostile fire. Should I commit my reserve? Would its fire power turn the tide of battle in our favour? No! Should I order a withdrawal? No! For then our dead and wounded would have been left in enemy hands and we would have been driven from this position down into the ravine where the Rumanians would have annihilated us with ease. The situation seemed desperate, but we had to master it or . . . remain on the spot.

There were some clumps of bushes down the slope to our right. The idea occurred to me that we might use these to cover an advance against the enemy on the hill and I decided to commit my last reserves in a surprise blow against the left flank of the enemy who was pressing us so hard. This move could decide the issue.

I gave instructions to those near me and crawled back and in a few seconds the 2nd Company and I were rushing impetuously to the south. It was a case of do or die. We overran a weak enemy in the clumps of bushes before he knew what had hit him and in no time we had gained more than a hundred yards. We turned eastwards and I hoped that the remainder of the detachment was continuing to resist.

I was just about to launch the attack against the hostile flank when elements of Jung's group appeared on the right rear of the 2nd Company.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.