Here is another story I worte, hope you guys like it, let me know what you think. Its a bit longer than the other, so praise to all those who read the whole thing.
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Our company was stationed behind the front lines as a reserve. The front line soldiers are spread out, not enough men to cover the front so we are attached to this regiment as a reserve in case of an attack. It is bitterly cold, the ground frozen, the snow covering the trees, and blanketing the landscape. It is beautiful sight, but the harsh reality of the situation takes all that away in an instant.
My crew and I have to be ready at a moments notice, we live in our tank, only having a few minutes to stretch out our tired legs and cramped bodies and then right back into the tank. During this time of year, the inside of the tank is freezing, during hot days the inside is blistering hot. There is never a perfect temperature inside of a tank it’s either one of the extremes.
Our tank, a PZ-IVH just recently repaired by the maintance company is nothing special to us. We can go head to head with the Soviet tanks, but have to be careful as their rounds can easily penetrate our armor. We hear of new type of tanks arriving at the front, but we haven’t seen them yet. But in the hands of an experienced crew like us, we can turn this tank into a beast.
It was about early morning in January 1943, I can’t exactly recall the date, it has been such a long time. But the day started as any other, relatively calm, the Soviets said good morning to us in their usual fashion, sending their 76.2mm greeting cards. Usually they hit nothing, if they are lucky they sever our communications cable and it has to be repaired.
Soon after that we get some coffee, some bread and some meat. As I am sipping away the last drop of my coffee all hell breaks loose. Thunderous explosions all around us, I drop my cup on my lap, luckily there is nothing in it and I avoid getting scolded. The rest of the crew drops everything and gets into position. I curse at the Soviets for not letting us finish our breakfast in peace, little do I know, by the time this over it’ll be the least of my worries.
My instinct tells me to shut the hatch and keep my head down, but then I wouldn’t be able to see anything. In training school it was drilled into us to keep our heads out as long as we could to be able to observe the surrounding so we know of everything going on around us. This way we avoid being surprised or miss spotting the one tank on our flank.
So I keep the hatch open, and peak out, only sticking my head out a little. I can’t really see much, too much smoke and dirt flying all about. No sooner do I hear the company commander of the radio. “Stand-by, looks like Ivan is about to attack”. I already had the driver start the engine, so we sit where we are.
I want to ask what is happening, but we have to keep the radio clear as much as possible. So I pull out my binoculars so I can maybe spot the front line and see for myself. At first all I see is smoke and a haze, I can’t make out anything in the distance. I strain my eyes and try to look through the smoke. The artillery is starting to die down; the Russians will be on the move.
But they were already moving, using the artillery as a wall of fire. I see brown clad figures moving towards our infantry, among them T-34s. I get ready to move out, I haven’t gotten any orders yet but I know we will in a few seconds. I order the driver to move out.
We start out from behind what is left of a church, ahead of us the terrain is a somewhat flat, but with gentle slopes, and dips. It is doted with scattered trees here and there, tall bushes and what use to be some farm houses. Most of them rubble, but still provide us with some cover.
I order the driver to wheel to the right, about a 30 degree angle to the front line trenches. This way we’ll be able to catch the enemy in the flank. Our right flank is protected by a slight hill, which is occupied by our troops, plus some sparse woods as well. No sooner do we move a 100m do I hear the CO give out orders. He already spotted my tank moving out; he tells he will provide us with cover but stay close to us.
I try to look ahead with my binoculars again, but with the tank moving it’s a little hard to focus on anything. I try to steady myself against the copula of the tank, which at this point half my body is sticking out. Apparently the Russians noticed me and rounds start whizzing and snapping all around me. I have no idea where this is coming from; I can’t see any Russian infantry around us. But I quickly drop down and only poke my head out.
We come to a small dip, covered by some tall bushes, I order the driver to stop. I survey the battlefield; some of the Russian tanks broke through the defensive line and are firing parallel into the trenches. This has to be stopped. They Russian armor hasn’t spotted us yet, I order the gunner to take on the nearest tank.
The turret turns to its 11 o’clock, the barrel slightly moves up, a few seconds delay and then the blast from the muzzle, the recoil of the tank and the round is on its way. I try to look trough my binoculars to see the result of the shot. The enemy tank is about 500m away; the shot is a direct hit. The 75mm round penetrates, all the while I can hear the loader working feverishly to load the next round into the chamber. The enemy tank lays motionless, a direct hit. Smoke start billowing out of the hatches, I notice them fly open and the crew attempts to bail out.
The gunner not waiting for my next order already picks out another target. The round loaded, he aims and fires. The round is sent flying to its target. Another direct hit, and it also penetrates. But the enemy tank all of a sudden turns to face us. It must have had no affect. In a few seconds another round is loaded, the gunner fires once again. The round strikes the enemy tank right below the turret. The tank is still rolling forward, but the turret is now slightly dislodged. It is not a threat anymore, and it slowly comes to a halt.
In the meantime however, other enemy tanks have taken a notice of us. I spot another tank from our platoon about 300m to our left engaging the enemy tanks as well, thus giving us some breathing room. Even though we haven’t been fired on yet, the Russians have spotted us and will focus their efforts on us now.
We now have the Russians caught in crossfire, but there are more of them. About 15 more, possibly more we haven’t spotted yet. We only have three tanks; it does not look too good for us. But we have no time to think, only to act and try and save our comrades in the trenches and prevent a breakthrough. My gunner, Sepp tracks another target. He does not hesitate and lets another round rip through the air. It strikes its target, an enormous explosion follows.
One of the Russian tanks, halts, aims at us and fires, as I see this happen I drop down into the turret. I can see the tank fire through the vision slits in the copula. The round whizzes close by and hits the ground some distance behind us. Sepp has him in the crosshairs already and fires. The round hits the enemy tank on the hull. I order the drive to back up and move in reverse in a zig-zag pattern so to make it harder for the enemy to track us.
My goal is to reposition ourselves behind better cover, I aim for the partially destroyed farm house. My driver revs the engine, smoke shoots out of the already hot exhaust and we speed of backwards. The enemy tank does not fire, but just sits there. Most likely the shock of the round has caused some casualties no doubt, but they might still be in the fight, who knows.
All the while, the other 2 tanks try to give us some covering firing. Within a few minutes, we make it behind the farmhouse. Only the tank’s turret is visible over the rubble. As soon as the tank comes to a halt, Sepp re-engages the enemy. However this time his first shot is a miss. But the second shot lands on target, we again receive incoming fire. An enemy shell strikes right in front us into the rubble, creating a huge puff of smoke and debris. This blinds us for a few seconds before being able to see.
When it is clear enough to see another enemy shell flies by. I think to myself, this is getting a little tight. Machine gun rounds slam into the hull and turret of the tank, creating a terrible noise. I slide down into the hatch once more and look through the copula instead. All the while Sepp engages another tank and fires with precision, disabling yet another tank. But the enemy keeps on coming, I am not so sure we can hold out much longer.
Another enemy rounds flies by the close to the turret, this one very close. Suddenly I hear Heinz over the radio, “we’ve been hit, bailing out”. I look over to my left and there is smoke billowing out of his tank. Small arms fire hammers at his tank, we need to do something. I order the driver to pull forward through the rubble only a few meters, when we do I order the radio operator to open up with the hull machine gun. Hopefully to give some cover fire to our comrades.
I notice Heinz jump out of the turret, but he half tumbles out of it, and falls on his face on the ground. The driver leaps outs and so does the radio operator but no one else. Either they are trapped, wounded or dead. At least the smoke offers them some protection. I order my driver to make way towards Heinz and his tank all the while Sepp to track the nearest enemy tanks and open fire on the move.
As we move out rounds slam into the ground all around us, small arms fire hammers the tank. I yell at the driver to speed up, the engine roars and the tank rocks backwards. Sepp fires on the move, but does not hit anything. Fritz the loader, picks up another round, and slams it into the breach with lightning speed. Within seconds we make it to the knocked out tank. The wind is blowing in a south easterly direction, lucky for us. So the smoke is partially covering us.
However small arms fire still hammers at the hull and the enemy tank rounds are still flying all about. I fear one of them will finally hit home, but regardless I jump out of the turret. I land right next to Heinz and help him to his feet, his face blackened from the soot, he has look of despair. I ask him where the loader and gunner are, he tells me they are both dead, the round went right through the gunner and some fragments penetrated the loaders skull. Heinz himself sustaining multiple wounds to his legs from the shrapnel, I help him on top of our tank, he quickly slides down into the turret.
The driver and radio operator are all right, they get up on our tank under their own strength. We take them on board the tank; I quickly jump back up on to the turret and quickly get inside. I order the driver backwards, to face the front. I want to get into some cover and closer to the HQ so I can let Heinz and his two crew members out, so they can get to safety. Within a few minutes we make down a gully out of sight of the enemy, I tell them to make their way to HQ on foot. They climb out with reluctance; Heinz has to be helped out. The driver and radio operator carry him back, I hope they make it.
We roll forward again, to engage the enemy once more; I just hope we can still make a difference. I have no idea at this point if any of our infantry men at the front are still alive. If so I don’t see how it is possible, but never doubt a grunt. We roll out of gully and spot two T34s to our right, about 150m away. They are driving with the hatches shut, they do no spot us yet. Sepp rotates the turret and fires, the closest tank is hit and rolls to a halt.
The other tank not even noticing his wingman being hit keeps on going, a few seconds later he is hit as well. The crew attempt to flee but our machine guns cut them down. I feel sorry for those chaps, but they would do the same to us.
About 400m to our 10 o’clock three more T34s are fast approaching. I am not sure if they have spotted us, but they move as if unconcerned about the whole situation. Immediately we open fire, the lead T34 is hit and smoke immediately pours out of it. The two other tanks spot us immediately and engage us.
Before we can reload, an enemy round smashes right next to us, sending frozen ground all around. A piece strikes me in the cheek, it doesn’t hurt, I just feel some liquid dripping on my hands, I look and see blood. But the wound is minor, so no worries, I just have to keep my head down, I don’t want to loose my head.
As we exchange fire with the 2 remaining T-34s, I spot 3 more to our right, attempting to flank us or by-pass us. They are moving fairly fast so I am not sure, but this has me concerned there is just too much for us to do. We are now one tank surrounded by a wave of enemy tanks. I feel like a small water drop in a raging inferno, I feel helpless.
I call over the radio to the CO who I have no idea has gone. We sure could use his damn help right about now. He answers back, saying he went to get help, I am thinking with your tank? You can’t just call over the radio? But he informs me he has a forward observer with him as well, so now we’ll be able to lay down some artillery, give us some breathing room. However they are still a few minutes away, for now we are on our own.
Enemy shells smack into the ground all around us, this is getting to be a bit much, and I tell the driver to pull back into the gully. We then swing left and drive in the gully parallel to the front. I hope to catch the enemy tanks unaware when we come up in a different position. I just hope this works, I am also worried they just might go after us, this would mean certain death.
However they seem not to pursue either they do not notice or they are afraid of a possible trap. I notice tracers flying over head; they must be targeting something else on the other side of the gully. We travel a good 400-500m, so we slow down and slowly turn to face the front line, or where it use to be and creep up the gentle slope.
As soon as I can see above the slope I notice the two Russian tanks have multiplied and there are more of them, I see about five all together now. I look back and see my CO engaging the enemy. The driver quickly positions the tank and Sepp engages the enemy. Within minutes they are all knocked out or on fire.
One thing I did notice through this battle so far, all the tanks were unaccompanied by infantry. Which means our infantry is still holding out and pinned down the Russian infantry, and allowed the tanks through. Now we have to make it back and rescue who ever is left over there.
The FO who is with the CO calls down a barrage in front of our old position, allowing our infantry to pause or withdraw. Within a few minutes we make it up to the trenches. What I see is horrific, dead Russians everywhere in front and all around the trenches, hundreds of them. Many within the trenches as well, many still lay wounded where they fell. Among them, German infantrymen dead and wounded, but those who were left held out against overwhelming odds. Sporadic small arms fire is still coming our way, we fear another wave.
Our artillery has stopped firing; the battery is short on ammunition as it is. The CO picks up the severely wounded and drives to rear area hospital not more than a 1km behind the front. My crew and I stand watch in case anything else happens. We notice only a few AP shells left, but plenty of HE. I just hope another attack like this does not come before we can re arm.
Medics arrive and treat our wounded and the Russians as well and haul them off in converted kubelwagons to the rear. No sooner does this happen when a platoon of T34s opens fire on us. They are obviously taking advantage of the situation and trying to catch our medics and wounded comrades in the open. We immediately return fire, hitting one of enemy tanks right in the turret.
The other two open fire on us the first salvo missing us, we return fire and hit one of them in the lower right hull, near the tracks. Not a knock out hit, next thing I see is a muzzle flash out of the other tank and then an ear splitting noise, a bright flash nearly blinding and the just black.
When I come to I can barely see, my head is in pain and I can barely hear, everything sounds muffled. I immediately realize we have been hit. The smoke it the tank is not thick or black, but smells of burnt rubber, metal and sulfur. Which is good news, which means the tank is not on fire at least. The smoke slowly clears, and I see Sepp opening the hatch. He pulls the loader out who is unconscious and missing an arm. Only a bloody stump remains where his arm was just a few seconds ago.
Even though my crew has started to bail out I yell over the radio for them to bail out anyway. I stand up to get out through the hatch, when I do my left leg feels weak and my head is spinning. I still manage to stumble out of the turret and jump down to the ground landing on my side, I have no clue at this point what has happened to the driver or radio operator. But at least Sepp is ok, but I am not sure if Gerd, my loader will make it.
I try to get up, but my leg is too weak and everything is still spinning, two infantry men run up and grab me by the collar and drag me to safety. They run back to the tank and pull out Erich, the driver, he is alive and moving, thankfully, he just became a father a week ago. They pull him to safety as well, right next to me. His face is covered in blood, on the right side of his body, the uniform is torn to shreds, but he is conscious and alive.
Next they pull Herman, the radio operator out; he seems to be in a better shape then Erich or me and walks over to us on his own. After bailing out, haven’t seen Gerd, or Sepp. They are most likely on the other side of the tank. One thing that I realize is why didn’t the Russians fire on our tank again, or why haven’t they peppered the tank with machine guns? I quickly look over in their direction and notice they are on fire, the CO must have come back and knocked them out.
As I sit there and look around, I see burning and wrecked tanks littering the battlefield. Bodies laying everywhere, some crushed by tank tracks, some torn to shreds, others just lay there as if asleep. The all too familiar smell of burnt fuel, rubber spent gun powder, and burnt human flesh fills the air, screams of the wounded takes place of cannons and machine guns. Unless a person has experienced this they have no idea how horrible it is.
A few minutes’ later medics come running up to us and look us over. As they come up I see Sepp make his way over as well and he tells me Gerd is dead. The boy hasn’t even turned 19 yet, his brother I found out later died in North Africa a few days before. His mother is going to be devastated, I wish there was something I could do for his family.
Sepp seems ok, he has a few cuts and scrapes nothing that looks to serious, same with Herman he is standing up and waking around ok. The medics look after me and tell me my leg is broken, and I have some shrapnel in the left part of my abdomen, I also later learn I suffered a severe concussion. The force of the blast must have knocked me around pretty good, but I have no clue as to how I broke my leg. Erich is an a little better shape than me, he has no broken bones and no concussion but did receive a lot of shrapnel to his upper body, head and face, he’ll be ok though.
By now its late afternoon, the battle lasted a few hours and it only seemed like a few minutes to me. We are all exhausted and all I want to do is sleep but I am not allowed as the medics fear I might have a concussion, rightly so, but it is frustrating. Erich, Sepp and Herman all fall asleep and accompany me to the rear area hospital. Soon I am in pain as the adrenaline wears off, and my hands begin to tremble. The reality of it all hits us, and Herman begins to weep and tears roll down my cheek as I think of poor Gerd and his family.
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Our company was stationed behind the front lines as a reserve. The front line soldiers are spread out, not enough men to cover the front so we are attached to this regiment as a reserve in case of an attack. It is bitterly cold, the ground frozen, the snow covering the trees, and blanketing the landscape. It is beautiful sight, but the harsh reality of the situation takes all that away in an instant.
My crew and I have to be ready at a moments notice, we live in our tank, only having a few minutes to stretch out our tired legs and cramped bodies and then right back into the tank. During this time of year, the inside of the tank is freezing, during hot days the inside is blistering hot. There is never a perfect temperature inside of a tank it’s either one of the extremes.
Our tank, a PZ-IVH just recently repaired by the maintance company is nothing special to us. We can go head to head with the Soviet tanks, but have to be careful as their rounds can easily penetrate our armor. We hear of new type of tanks arriving at the front, but we haven’t seen them yet. But in the hands of an experienced crew like us, we can turn this tank into a beast.
It was about early morning in January 1943, I can’t exactly recall the date, it has been such a long time. But the day started as any other, relatively calm, the Soviets said good morning to us in their usual fashion, sending their 76.2mm greeting cards. Usually they hit nothing, if they are lucky they sever our communications cable and it has to be repaired.
Soon after that we get some coffee, some bread and some meat. As I am sipping away the last drop of my coffee all hell breaks loose. Thunderous explosions all around us, I drop my cup on my lap, luckily there is nothing in it and I avoid getting scolded. The rest of the crew drops everything and gets into position. I curse at the Soviets for not letting us finish our breakfast in peace, little do I know, by the time this over it’ll be the least of my worries.
My instinct tells me to shut the hatch and keep my head down, but then I wouldn’t be able to see anything. In training school it was drilled into us to keep our heads out as long as we could to be able to observe the surrounding so we know of everything going on around us. This way we avoid being surprised or miss spotting the one tank on our flank.
So I keep the hatch open, and peak out, only sticking my head out a little. I can’t really see much, too much smoke and dirt flying all about. No sooner do I hear the company commander of the radio. “Stand-by, looks like Ivan is about to attack”. I already had the driver start the engine, so we sit where we are.
I want to ask what is happening, but we have to keep the radio clear as much as possible. So I pull out my binoculars so I can maybe spot the front line and see for myself. At first all I see is smoke and a haze, I can’t make out anything in the distance. I strain my eyes and try to look through the smoke. The artillery is starting to die down; the Russians will be on the move.
But they were already moving, using the artillery as a wall of fire. I see brown clad figures moving towards our infantry, among them T-34s. I get ready to move out, I haven’t gotten any orders yet but I know we will in a few seconds. I order the driver to move out.
We start out from behind what is left of a church, ahead of us the terrain is a somewhat flat, but with gentle slopes, and dips. It is doted with scattered trees here and there, tall bushes and what use to be some farm houses. Most of them rubble, but still provide us with some cover.
I order the driver to wheel to the right, about a 30 degree angle to the front line trenches. This way we’ll be able to catch the enemy in the flank. Our right flank is protected by a slight hill, which is occupied by our troops, plus some sparse woods as well. No sooner do we move a 100m do I hear the CO give out orders. He already spotted my tank moving out; he tells he will provide us with cover but stay close to us.
I try to look ahead with my binoculars again, but with the tank moving it’s a little hard to focus on anything. I try to steady myself against the copula of the tank, which at this point half my body is sticking out. Apparently the Russians noticed me and rounds start whizzing and snapping all around me. I have no idea where this is coming from; I can’t see any Russian infantry around us. But I quickly drop down and only poke my head out.
We come to a small dip, covered by some tall bushes, I order the driver to stop. I survey the battlefield; some of the Russian tanks broke through the defensive line and are firing parallel into the trenches. This has to be stopped. They Russian armor hasn’t spotted us yet, I order the gunner to take on the nearest tank.
The turret turns to its 11 o’clock, the barrel slightly moves up, a few seconds delay and then the blast from the muzzle, the recoil of the tank and the round is on its way. I try to look trough my binoculars to see the result of the shot. The enemy tank is about 500m away; the shot is a direct hit. The 75mm round penetrates, all the while I can hear the loader working feverishly to load the next round into the chamber. The enemy tank lays motionless, a direct hit. Smoke start billowing out of the hatches, I notice them fly open and the crew attempts to bail out.
The gunner not waiting for my next order already picks out another target. The round loaded, he aims and fires. The round is sent flying to its target. Another direct hit, and it also penetrates. But the enemy tank all of a sudden turns to face us. It must have had no affect. In a few seconds another round is loaded, the gunner fires once again. The round strikes the enemy tank right below the turret. The tank is still rolling forward, but the turret is now slightly dislodged. It is not a threat anymore, and it slowly comes to a halt.
In the meantime however, other enemy tanks have taken a notice of us. I spot another tank from our platoon about 300m to our left engaging the enemy tanks as well, thus giving us some breathing room. Even though we haven’t been fired on yet, the Russians have spotted us and will focus their efforts on us now.
We now have the Russians caught in crossfire, but there are more of them. About 15 more, possibly more we haven’t spotted yet. We only have three tanks; it does not look too good for us. But we have no time to think, only to act and try and save our comrades in the trenches and prevent a breakthrough. My gunner, Sepp tracks another target. He does not hesitate and lets another round rip through the air. It strikes its target, an enormous explosion follows.
One of the Russian tanks, halts, aims at us and fires, as I see this happen I drop down into the turret. I can see the tank fire through the vision slits in the copula. The round whizzes close by and hits the ground some distance behind us. Sepp has him in the crosshairs already and fires. The round hits the enemy tank on the hull. I order the drive to back up and move in reverse in a zig-zag pattern so to make it harder for the enemy to track us.
My goal is to reposition ourselves behind better cover, I aim for the partially destroyed farm house. My driver revs the engine, smoke shoots out of the already hot exhaust and we speed of backwards. The enemy tank does not fire, but just sits there. Most likely the shock of the round has caused some casualties no doubt, but they might still be in the fight, who knows.
All the while, the other 2 tanks try to give us some covering firing. Within a few minutes, we make it behind the farmhouse. Only the tank’s turret is visible over the rubble. As soon as the tank comes to a halt, Sepp re-engages the enemy. However this time his first shot is a miss. But the second shot lands on target, we again receive incoming fire. An enemy shell strikes right in front us into the rubble, creating a huge puff of smoke and debris. This blinds us for a few seconds before being able to see.
When it is clear enough to see another enemy shell flies by. I think to myself, this is getting a little tight. Machine gun rounds slam into the hull and turret of the tank, creating a terrible noise. I slide down into the hatch once more and look through the copula instead. All the while Sepp engages another tank and fires with precision, disabling yet another tank. But the enemy keeps on coming, I am not so sure we can hold out much longer.
Another enemy rounds flies by the close to the turret, this one very close. Suddenly I hear Heinz over the radio, “we’ve been hit, bailing out”. I look over to my left and there is smoke billowing out of his tank. Small arms fire hammers at his tank, we need to do something. I order the driver to pull forward through the rubble only a few meters, when we do I order the radio operator to open up with the hull machine gun. Hopefully to give some cover fire to our comrades.
I notice Heinz jump out of the turret, but he half tumbles out of it, and falls on his face on the ground. The driver leaps outs and so does the radio operator but no one else. Either they are trapped, wounded or dead. At least the smoke offers them some protection. I order my driver to make way towards Heinz and his tank all the while Sepp to track the nearest enemy tanks and open fire on the move.
As we move out rounds slam into the ground all around us, small arms fire hammers the tank. I yell at the driver to speed up, the engine roars and the tank rocks backwards. Sepp fires on the move, but does not hit anything. Fritz the loader, picks up another round, and slams it into the breach with lightning speed. Within seconds we make it to the knocked out tank. The wind is blowing in a south easterly direction, lucky for us. So the smoke is partially covering us.
However small arms fire still hammers at the hull and the enemy tank rounds are still flying all about. I fear one of them will finally hit home, but regardless I jump out of the turret. I land right next to Heinz and help him to his feet, his face blackened from the soot, he has look of despair. I ask him where the loader and gunner are, he tells me they are both dead, the round went right through the gunner and some fragments penetrated the loaders skull. Heinz himself sustaining multiple wounds to his legs from the shrapnel, I help him on top of our tank, he quickly slides down into the turret.
The driver and radio operator are all right, they get up on our tank under their own strength. We take them on board the tank; I quickly jump back up on to the turret and quickly get inside. I order the driver backwards, to face the front. I want to get into some cover and closer to the HQ so I can let Heinz and his two crew members out, so they can get to safety. Within a few minutes we make down a gully out of sight of the enemy, I tell them to make their way to HQ on foot. They climb out with reluctance; Heinz has to be helped out. The driver and radio operator carry him back, I hope they make it.
We roll forward again, to engage the enemy once more; I just hope we can still make a difference. I have no idea at this point if any of our infantry men at the front are still alive. If so I don’t see how it is possible, but never doubt a grunt. We roll out of gully and spot two T34s to our right, about 150m away. They are driving with the hatches shut, they do no spot us yet. Sepp rotates the turret and fires, the closest tank is hit and rolls to a halt.
The other tank not even noticing his wingman being hit keeps on going, a few seconds later he is hit as well. The crew attempt to flee but our machine guns cut them down. I feel sorry for those chaps, but they would do the same to us.
About 400m to our 10 o’clock three more T34s are fast approaching. I am not sure if they have spotted us, but they move as if unconcerned about the whole situation. Immediately we open fire, the lead T34 is hit and smoke immediately pours out of it. The two other tanks spot us immediately and engage us.
Before we can reload, an enemy round smashes right next to us, sending frozen ground all around. A piece strikes me in the cheek, it doesn’t hurt, I just feel some liquid dripping on my hands, I look and see blood. But the wound is minor, so no worries, I just have to keep my head down, I don’t want to loose my head.
As we exchange fire with the 2 remaining T-34s, I spot 3 more to our right, attempting to flank us or by-pass us. They are moving fairly fast so I am not sure, but this has me concerned there is just too much for us to do. We are now one tank surrounded by a wave of enemy tanks. I feel like a small water drop in a raging inferno, I feel helpless.
I call over the radio to the CO who I have no idea has gone. We sure could use his damn help right about now. He answers back, saying he went to get help, I am thinking with your tank? You can’t just call over the radio? But he informs me he has a forward observer with him as well, so now we’ll be able to lay down some artillery, give us some breathing room. However they are still a few minutes away, for now we are on our own.
Enemy shells smack into the ground all around us, this is getting to be a bit much, and I tell the driver to pull back into the gully. We then swing left and drive in the gully parallel to the front. I hope to catch the enemy tanks unaware when we come up in a different position. I just hope this works, I am also worried they just might go after us, this would mean certain death.
However they seem not to pursue either they do not notice or they are afraid of a possible trap. I notice tracers flying over head; they must be targeting something else on the other side of the gully. We travel a good 400-500m, so we slow down and slowly turn to face the front line, or where it use to be and creep up the gentle slope.
As soon as I can see above the slope I notice the two Russian tanks have multiplied and there are more of them, I see about five all together now. I look back and see my CO engaging the enemy. The driver quickly positions the tank and Sepp engages the enemy. Within minutes they are all knocked out or on fire.
One thing I did notice through this battle so far, all the tanks were unaccompanied by infantry. Which means our infantry is still holding out and pinned down the Russian infantry, and allowed the tanks through. Now we have to make it back and rescue who ever is left over there.
The FO who is with the CO calls down a barrage in front of our old position, allowing our infantry to pause or withdraw. Within a few minutes we make it up to the trenches. What I see is horrific, dead Russians everywhere in front and all around the trenches, hundreds of them. Many within the trenches as well, many still lay wounded where they fell. Among them, German infantrymen dead and wounded, but those who were left held out against overwhelming odds. Sporadic small arms fire is still coming our way, we fear another wave.
Our artillery has stopped firing; the battery is short on ammunition as it is. The CO picks up the severely wounded and drives to rear area hospital not more than a 1km behind the front. My crew and I stand watch in case anything else happens. We notice only a few AP shells left, but plenty of HE. I just hope another attack like this does not come before we can re arm.
Medics arrive and treat our wounded and the Russians as well and haul them off in converted kubelwagons to the rear. No sooner does this happen when a platoon of T34s opens fire on us. They are obviously taking advantage of the situation and trying to catch our medics and wounded comrades in the open. We immediately return fire, hitting one of enemy tanks right in the turret.
The other two open fire on us the first salvo missing us, we return fire and hit one of them in the lower right hull, near the tracks. Not a knock out hit, next thing I see is a muzzle flash out of the other tank and then an ear splitting noise, a bright flash nearly blinding and the just black.
When I come to I can barely see, my head is in pain and I can barely hear, everything sounds muffled. I immediately realize we have been hit. The smoke it the tank is not thick or black, but smells of burnt rubber, metal and sulfur. Which is good news, which means the tank is not on fire at least. The smoke slowly clears, and I see Sepp opening the hatch. He pulls the loader out who is unconscious and missing an arm. Only a bloody stump remains where his arm was just a few seconds ago.
Even though my crew has started to bail out I yell over the radio for them to bail out anyway. I stand up to get out through the hatch, when I do my left leg feels weak and my head is spinning. I still manage to stumble out of the turret and jump down to the ground landing on my side, I have no clue at this point what has happened to the driver or radio operator. But at least Sepp is ok, but I am not sure if Gerd, my loader will make it.
I try to get up, but my leg is too weak and everything is still spinning, two infantry men run up and grab me by the collar and drag me to safety. They run back to the tank and pull out Erich, the driver, he is alive and moving, thankfully, he just became a father a week ago. They pull him to safety as well, right next to me. His face is covered in blood, on the right side of his body, the uniform is torn to shreds, but he is conscious and alive.
Next they pull Herman, the radio operator out; he seems to be in a better shape then Erich or me and walks over to us on his own. After bailing out, haven’t seen Gerd, or Sepp. They are most likely on the other side of the tank. One thing that I realize is why didn’t the Russians fire on our tank again, or why haven’t they peppered the tank with machine guns? I quickly look over in their direction and notice they are on fire, the CO must have come back and knocked them out.
As I sit there and look around, I see burning and wrecked tanks littering the battlefield. Bodies laying everywhere, some crushed by tank tracks, some torn to shreds, others just lay there as if asleep. The all too familiar smell of burnt fuel, rubber spent gun powder, and burnt human flesh fills the air, screams of the wounded takes place of cannons and machine guns. Unless a person has experienced this they have no idea how horrible it is.
A few minutes’ later medics come running up to us and look us over. As they come up I see Sepp make his way over as well and he tells me Gerd is dead. The boy hasn’t even turned 19 yet, his brother I found out later died in North Africa a few days before. His mother is going to be devastated, I wish there was something I could do for his family.
Sepp seems ok, he has a few cuts and scrapes nothing that looks to serious, same with Herman he is standing up and waking around ok. The medics look after me and tell me my leg is broken, and I have some shrapnel in the left part of my abdomen, I also later learn I suffered a severe concussion. The force of the blast must have knocked me around pretty good, but I have no clue as to how I broke my leg. Erich is an a little better shape than me, he has no broken bones and no concussion but did receive a lot of shrapnel to his upper body, head and face, he’ll be ok though.
By now its late afternoon, the battle lasted a few hours and it only seemed like a few minutes to me. We are all exhausted and all I want to do is sleep but I am not allowed as the medics fear I might have a concussion, rightly so, but it is frustrating. Erich, Sepp and Herman all fall asleep and accompany me to the rear area hospital. Soon I am in pain as the adrenaline wears off, and my hands begin to tremble. The reality of it all hits us, and Herman begins to weep and tears roll down my cheek as I think of poor Gerd and his family.
