Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East, 1944 by Niklas Zetterling Anders Frankson

Author:Niklas Zetterling, Anders Frankson [Zetterling, Niklas & Frankson, Anders]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-02-27T05:00:00+00:00

As we have seen, Gruppe Stemmermann had been preparing to attack in a south-westerly direction. The 105th Infantry Regiment would lead 72nd Division’s attack on Novo Buda. Major Kaestner chose to place the submachine-gunners and machine-gunners in the lead, to generate as much firepower as possible at the front of his attacking regiment. As the attack first and foremost relied on surprise, there would be no artillery preparation, which perhaps was one of the factors that led Kaestner to place the automatic weapons in the lead.⁵⁴¹

During the day, Kaestner’s troops had been hiding further back, but after sunset they moved forward to the positions from where the attack would be launched. Including the attached elements, Kaestner’s force numbered 689 officers and men. There was no moonlight, but with the snow on the ground it was not completely dark; it was light enough for the soldiers to find their positions without allowing the Soviet defenders to discover what was going on. Silently the Germans crouched while they waited, until at 20.30hrs the attack began. In snow smocks they stealthily stalked forward, toward the Soviet defenses that had been revealed by previous observations. The Germans held their fire as long as possible. No signs of discovery were observed until they got very close to the Soviet positions, but then the Soviet troops seem to have noticed that something was going on. Immediately the Germans opened fire and assaulted the Soviet defenses, which were captured after a brief close-quarters combat action.⁵⁴²

There was no time to spare if the initial success was to be exploited. The lead elements continued forward while other troops protected the flanks. By midnight the northeastern outskirts of Novo Buda had been reached, when noise from moving vehicles was heard from the area around Sukhiny. The German spearhead halted and discovered a column of about 30 vehicles, plus a rocket launcher. Kaestner had ordered that 20mm antiaircraft guns should be brought along right behind the lead infantry. It had been arduous to move them through the snowdrifts, but at this moment they proved useful. When the guns opened fire at about 200 meters, the trucks were soon riddled with shells from the rapid-firing 20mms. Some of the trucks were evidently loaded with fuel, as they burned violently, illuminating the remainder of the column. The rocket launcher opened fire on the Germans, but as the Soviet troops were firing into the dark, they could not aim accurately, and after firing a few rounds the rocket launcher was silenced. After destroying the column, Kaestner’s troops quickly reorganized and continued toward Novo Buda, which was taken without fighting at about 02.30hrs.⁵⁴³

Kaestner’s regiment had been the spearhead, but was not alone in the attack. The other two regiments of 72nd Division, plus elements of SS-Wiking and SS-Wallonien had also taken part, and at dawn the Germans held Nova Buda, Komarovka, and the northern part of Khilki. Less than 20 kilometers now separated Gruppe Stemmermann from the spearheads of III Panzer Corps.⁵⁴⁴

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