[Music] When we think about the last month of World War II in Europe and the German armed forces, the impression given is that the German army had been reduced to exhausted and threadbear divisions, barely able to resist the steamrollering juggernaut of Allied armies surging ing into the heart of Germany from east and west. This picture is fairly accurate. And on the Western Front in particular, due to the strains of fighting to stop the Soviet assault in the east, the threadbear German forces facing the American, British, Canadian, French, and Polish forces had become very weak and illequipped.
The best equipment and the best units were of course sent east. The German defeat in the Arden offensive by January 1945 had witnessed much of the best remaining equipment in the west squandered and had also shown that the new Vox Grenadier infantry divisions often lack the experience and leadership of older units and paid a heavy price in casualties. The manpower and equipment shortages were further exacerbated by Hitler's idiotic refusal to allow Army Group B to withdraw to more defensive positions once the Anglo-American armies crossed the Ryan River in March 1945, dooming it to encirclement and destruction in the Ruer Pocket.
A defeat that cost the Germans about 360,000 men killed, wounded, and taken prisoner, the bulk being prisoners, and basically ending any proper organized resistance against the Allies on the Western Front as the remaining armies were strained to the maximum, attempting to keep some kind of line in order and allowing the Allies to begin to advance fairly rapidly across Germany towards the German capital of Berlin. However, the following story will demonstrate that even in the last three weeks of the war, the Germans were able to spring surprises on the Western Front and win tactical victories despite the apparent poor quality and equipment of its last military formations. The Allies learned that German forces could still fight with skill and determination in the defense of their homeland and inflict sharp lessons on those that underestimated them.
One such unit was the Shanho Infantry Division. One of the last divisions formed as the Reich collapsed. Formed on the 30th of March 1945 from amalgamating the battle destroyed remnants of the 340th and 167th Fox Grenadier Divisions.
It also received the 412th Fox Artillery Corps. However, its infantry companies were largely made up of men from officer cadet schools in military district 11 and some spare Luftvafer troops, many of whom were in fact decorated veterans who were also absorbed into the infantry. Also added was the fuselier company from what was left of the Potam Infantry Division.
The Shanhorse Division was arranged as a so-called 1945 Infantry Division, a new type of unit making use of lots of firepower to make up for a shortage of personnel. Was in fact the last stage, if you like, of the Folks Grenadier Division. The division had three Grenadier regiments.
80% of the Grenaders were officer cadets, trainee NCOs, or other cadetses, plus their instructors. The term officer cadet is a little misleading. Though a great majority were of course 17 18 year olds, some were seasoned ordinary soldiers who had been sent on officer courses before being commissioned as lit nuts.
Many of them were well decorated and of course the instructors from these schools tended also to be very experienced officers and NCOs's with plenty of combat experience and medals to show for it. And they knew how to command and organize extremely well. Having such experienced soldiers leading even raw recruits with a minimal of training would ensure that many were turned into good soldiers who were often keen to do well despite their inexperience.
The Grenadier regiments were reasonably well equipped, certainly in small arms and handheld anti-tank weapons. Overwhelmingly, the men were armed with Mouser K98K boltaction rifles. But at least one company in each battalion had the new and innovative STG-44 assault rifle.
Both MG34 and MG42 machine guns provided fire support. And of course, the men had plenty of Panza Fousts and Panza Shrek anti-tank weapons. The battalions also had mortars and a few anti-tank guns were distributed to the regiments.
Armored support was of course vital, but by this stage in the war, finding sufficient vehicles and fuel was a serious problem. The Shanhorse Division was assigned a Panza Abtailong or tank hunting unit that consisted of seven Hetsza tank destroyers. In total, the division was under 6,000 men strong, about a third the size of a comparable US or British infantry division, and had little organic armored strength and minimal artillery support.
US forces pushed on hard towards the Ela River, Germany's last line of defense in the west before Berlin itself. On the 12th of April 1945, the Shaunhorse Division was ordered as part of the German 12th Army to occupy defensive positions in the area around the town of Barbie, halfway between the cities of Magdabborg and Desowl on the west bank of the Ela. On the 11th of April, the Shan horse division had received some welcome reinforcements when Uptailong 1170 was attached to it consisting of 19US and 12U assault guns.
The same time US forces prepared to make crossings to the Ela at three points in this area. The German 12th Army deployed the Shanho and Ulic vonhutin infantry divisions to hold the bridge head on the west bank of the Ela around Desowl with a third division holding the east bank of the river far to the north of Mghddeborg supplemented by local Fogderm homeg guard battalions. The US second armored division had established a small bridge head on the east bank of the ela south of Magdabberg.
This bridge head now became the focus of German 12th Army commander Gennal Falter who ordered the commanding officer of the Shanhorse division Ganahal Litnand Hinrich Guts to eliminate it as soon as possible before daylight on the 13th of April 1945 a battalion of the US 30th division's 119th Infantry Regiment crossed into the second armored bridge head bringing the US forces there to three battalions but engineers had yet to complete a treadway bridge to allow tanks, tank destroyers, and anti-tank guns to cross to the east side of the river, leaving the US forces very vulnerable to a German counterattack. The crossing point was under sporadic German shelling. As soon as it became light, the German fire increased dramatically using many of the big guns from the Luftvafa flack batteries that protected Mugdeborg.
US artillery fired back and smoke was laid without much effect. But the Americans called for fighter bomber support. None materialized.
In fact, the US advance had been so fast that they had outrun their fighter cover. The bases now being far behind the US front lines. By the afternoon, US engineers had built a Treadway pontoon bridge to within 25 yards of the eastern shore.
But then German shells wrecked everything. Second Armored's commanding officer, Major General White, ordered the bridge head abandoned. Focus shifted three miles upstream to the sight of a bridge already blown by the Germans at Shernbec.
Three US infantry battalions moved up and by the morning of the 14th of April, company L119th Infantry Regiment and portions of a battalion from the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment had pushed 2 miles over the Ela to the town of Elbanau, while another armored infantry regiment unit had chased 250 Germans from the riverside village of Grunavalda. The Americans were busy digging in around the perimeter of the new bridge head whilst bridging operations got underway. It was here that the Shanhorse division struck.
One Grenadier battalion was ordered to assault the US bridge head, supplemented by assault guns and a handful of Panther tanks. The Germans attacked just as dawn broke, catching the Americans offguard. The Americans and the bridge head outnumbered the Germans by some 3 to one.
It is usual military doctrine that attacking forces outnumber the enemy by 3 to one. So the Germans were taking a bit of a chance here. The Germans advanced from Gomean, hitting the US positions at Elbanau and a second wing striking almost simultaneously at Grunavalda.
The entire German force named KG grouper Ringelheim after its commanding officer. First to be hit was Third Battalion, 119th Infantry, followed moments later by Third Battalion, 41st Armored Infantry Regiment. The 119th's Company I reported German tanks to its right, but having no bazookas, they couldn't stop them.
At the same time, Company L reported six German tanks or tank destroyers, two 20 mm flakvarens, and about a battalion or so of German infantry attacking from east and northeast. Company L's first platoon dug in on the extreme eastern edge of Elbanau engage one German column. The German armor and infantry swinging to attack them from the north in the process overrunning company L.
The US battalion commander ordered his remaining companies to fall back on company K's positions located in woods south of the town. But the order came too late. Most of the men went to ground inside the town.
Company L was cut off and Company I was split up with some of the GIs taken prisoner. The battalion command post group and all available men were sent forward to try and give support. The German armor was seen and fired at, particularly by US artillery on the opposite bank, but kept moving, throwing the guns off target.
In the meantime, second armor division headquarters promised to send US tanks to help. The second German attack struck the third battalion, 41st armored infantry regiment at Gronavalda shortly after the Germans had hit Elbanel. It was wellcoordinated, indicating that the training instructors now commanding the German attack knew their business.
The German armor had passed through the 119th Infantry's positions and now smashed into the 41st Armored Infantry Regiments positions, scattering many of the US platoon. However, at 5:00 a. m.
, Company I was assaulted by three Panther tanks with supporting German infantry. The Americans held their fire until the German force was only 150 yards away from their Ford foxholes, then opened up with everything they had. But unfortunately, their bazooka round simply bounced off the armor of the advancing Panthers.
The Shanhorse division also broke a rule of war. In some places, they place bunches of recently captured Americans in front of the armor and the infantry and forced them on at gunpoint towards the US positions. The Germans fired tank guns and machine guns through the ranks of the US prisoners at the American positions, and the Americans couldn't effectively return fire for fear of hitting their own men.
The US fell back towards the river, leaprogging as they went with platoon providing covering fire. Company G was also overrun with men fleeing past the battalion command post. The company had fought as long as it could, but it was destroyed one foxhole at a time with the survivors making it to the river.
Communications between the different battalions, companies, and platoon in the bridge head broke down completely. At one point 50 to 100 German infantry attacked southeast along the river and came into the left rear of the third battalion 41st armored infantry regiment's command group which consisted of some 20 officers and men. The command personnel formed a perimeter and defended themselves using four heavy machine guns and an 81 mm mortar driving the Germans back north of Grunavalda.
[Music] The order was received from combat command B's second armored division to evacuate the bridge head. Everyone was ordered to fall back to Grunavalda, form a perimeter defense, and hold it. By 11:30 a.
m. , the battalion of the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment no longer existed as a coherent fighting force, just as isolated groups. Engineers work feverishly to repair the damaged ferry cable and ramp, but the cable was cut again by German artillery fire.
Tanks and more infantry were needed to hold the bridge head, but orders were given to evacuate the bridge head using DUKWS. The US perimeter at Grunavalda was collapsed as the companies evacuated in stages under the protective fire of American tanks and tank destroyers on the west bank of the Elber and everyone who could be got out did so by 400 p. m.
Some GIs managed to cross the river after dark. The casualty role was heavy. Large numbers of Americans were recorded as either killed or missing with many of the latter dead.
But the bulk of US losses were men taken prisoner, wounded and unwounded. 10 vehicles were also lost. The Germans had captured, according to later estimates officially published by the US Army, over 300 GIS.
For the Shanhorse division, smashing the US bridge head was a major victory and indicated that even in the last weeks of World War II in Europe, such ad hoc German divisions could still hand out bloody noses to the enemy. In this case, the lack of US anti-tank guns or armor in the bridge head ensured that the flexibly handled German tanks and infantry managed to overwhelm an enemy force three times its number. Many thanks for watching.
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