Vitebsk: The Fight and Destruction of Third Panzer Army by Otto Heidkämper

Author:Otto Heidkämper [Heidkämper, Otto]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Military / World War II, World War II, Military, Biography & Autobiography, Personal Memoirs, Europe, Germany, history
ISBN: 9781612005492
Google: fMnXDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Published: 2017-07-19T23:40:39.120521+00:00

The tough defensive battles of 8 and 9 January 1944 (Maps 6 and 10)

Early on 8 January, after an hour-long heavy barrage, the enemy counterattacked with his new infantry and armoured units. These units probably belonged to the 5th Army, and with close air support they struck the Feldherrnhalle and the left wing of the 246th Infantry Division. We fought hard and lost 57 tanks, but prevented a breakthrough by the much stronger enemy, who had temporarily pushed as far as the Luchesa. Nonetheless, the north–south road in the sector of the Feldherrnhalle was now in enemy hands. A two-kilometre gap had opened up between this division and the 131st Infantry Division. A counterattack by the latter sought to close this gap, but the division soon ground to a halt under enemy barrage fire. Out in the open, our infantry, artillery, and rocket-projector units distinguished themselves in defending their positions. In cooperation with our air units, they crushed the enemy’s attempts to make preparations, to concentrate his troops, and to send in new formations. Northwest of Krynki alone, we observed and fought against several thousand men and more than 100 tanks. The 299th Infantry Division was assembled on the Luchesa in readiness to launch an attack, although it would only be carried out if the enemy pushed further west on 9 January.

The fighting northwest of Vitebsk had been ongoing for several days, and at this time it still continued relentlessly. The enemy made the situation particularly difficult by delivering more than 1000 airstrikes. 30 of his tanks were put out of action in the course of the day (out of a total of 87 in the entire area of the panzer army, which itself possessed only about 75 combat-ready tanks). The two battalions of the 6th Luftwaffe Field Division that had been encircled the previous day managed to extricate themselves overnight. A gap had opened up between the 3rd Luftwaffe Field Division and the combat command of the 129th Infantry Division, on this day subordinated to the 6th Luftwaffe Field Division. This gap was still open the evening. The 12th Infantry Division came under the command of the LIII Corps due to the shift of the corps boundary to the Uzhlyatsina area.

There was a heavy snowstorm southeast of Vitebsk on 9 January, and the Soviets attempted fruitlessly to lunge further westwards from the advanced position that they had established the previous night in the right sector of the Feldherrnhalle. Our troops, though weak and overextended, held this sector against all attacks, destroying 60 enemy tanks and immobilising another 27. The Hornets of the 519th Heavy Panzerjäger Battalion played a preeminent role in this regard. In view of the snowstorm and the large snowdrifts, we withheld the order for an attack by the 299th Infantry Division.

We all felt that our fate would be decided at Vitebsk. Yet we were also confident in our ability to hold out. The exertions and deprivations of the combat troops were incredible. All of our forces were strained day and night to the utmost.

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