Experimental Wehrmacht combating methods versus T-34s, Oct. 1941 - Dr. Haape Memoir Eastern Front

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Episode 172

Today we’re following an entry from this fantastic memoir written by Heinrich Happe a German surgeon who served with the 6. ID on the Eastern Front. It’s one of my favorite first hand accounts. Depending on your response it will likely turn into a new series so let me know what you think.

At one forty-five on the afternoon of 27 October, I lay with Heinrich in a hollow 300 yards from the Russian positions, while their machine-gun fire passed harmlessly overhead. Fourteen Stukas, in steady formation, approached the Russian lines and immediately over our heads peeled off into their attack. They dived vertically, screaming as they came. Every one seemed to have chosen me as the target for its bombs. In spite of my confidence in our pilots, I pressed myself into the ground. But, miraculously it seemed, they pulled out of their dives and their bombs pounded accurately into the Russian positions. Beams, mud, sods of earth, machine-guns and men were flung high into the air; the earth trembled. Fascinated, we stood up to watch the spectacle. The enemy anti-aircraft fire now came only sporadically from one or two Russian guns. We launched our attack as the Stukas came in again, this time at ground level with machine-guns blazing. We stormed into the Russian defenses and whoever did not surrender was shot down at close quarters. By five o’clock Mozhki was in our hands. An hour later, all our wounded had been treated and the dead buried. At 7.30 p.m. we received a divisional order to clear Mozhki and return immediately to our original positions.

Rumors flew round the battalion. Why, after winning valuable ground, had we retired? Were we to dig in here for the winter? Had the attack of our 3rd Panzer Group on Torzhok bogged down in the mud? Was this to be the limit of our advance before swinging eastwards to attack Moscow? Or had General Auleb got cold feet? All that we knew with any certainty was that our heavy formations and supplies were hopelessly bogged somewhere behind us and that it was still raining.

But it wasn’t the increased difficulty of being resupplied positioned on the Volga or the changing weather which made Lieutenant General Auleb call for the pullback.

The T-34 was the main reason. Auleb had also decided that we had thrust too far forward and were exposing our flanks, but it was the T-34 that had caused our first withdrawal.[1] This new type of Russian tank had broken through our neighboring division’s lines and we had nothing heavy enough to combat it.[2] A mighty juggernaut, the T-34 was said to be protected with impenetrable armor and early reports made it out to be invincible. Tales of the T-34’s exploits raced along the front like wildfire. Our 37mm anti-tank guns were useless against it and were now nicknamed “the Panzer-tappers.” A brave and determined detachment equipped with 37s had struck a T-34 more than 40 times, but the monstrosity had not even wavered in its course and had calmly lumbered up to our guns, driven over them and flattened them. Only our Panzer IV with its 75mm gun could successfully oppose the T-34s at this stage, unless they came within range of our assault batteries or our 88mm anti-aircraft guns.

Our battalion officers acknowledged the fact that we were defenseless against this terrifying new weapon, but immediately set about trying to develop some new counter to it. Platoon commanders experimented with the preparation of concentrated explosives. The heavy T-mine was tied together with one or more hand grenades and covered in sacking in such a way that the fuse cap of the grenade was exposed. Anti-tank combat squads were formed, whose job was to rush towards the T-34 and hurl the home-made bomb in its path; the weight of the tank would touch off the explosive. It was a near-suicidal remedy and many of our men were to lose their lives applying it. Some were blown up together with their weapon and the enemy tank, but on the other hand, many T-34s were successfully destroyed. And what was more important, the battalion’s infantrymen regained self-confidence when they saw the monster could be combated with a fair measure of success. The really effective 75mm anti-tank guns only came into service nine months later.

If you like this kind of material I suggest that you take a look at the website Barbarossa1941.com. It’s got an archive of photographs that’s outstanding and a comprehensive documents and maps archive.