Grodno 1941

[ViKinG]

During Boldin's counterattack at Grodno during the border battles of Barbarossa (June 24-26) can anybody tell me if the 13th mechanised corps was involved as well?? Boldin's main strike which included the 6th and 11th mechanised corps along with the 6th cavalry corps came from the Soviet 3rd and 10th armies, but since the 13th mechanised corps was a part of the 10th army along with the 6th MC seems kinda strange that it would not have participated?! Also second question is 14th mechanised corps of Soviet 4th army further south in the Bialystok salient. Not much is written on this action it seems it attacked in the direction of Brest against Guderian's pzg 2. Any further info on actual dates?? and support units that would have joined in the fight? Or if anybody has a great source or book that covers it well, id appreciate it! I have at least 15-20 books on Barbarossa alone, sadly hardly any of them cover the border battles for more than 5 pages long, and they always mention the same thing.

Thanks
Luc

[Art]

During Boldin's counterattack at Grodno during the border battles of Barbarossa (June 24-26) can anybody tell me if the 13th mechanised corps was involved as well??

No, 13 MechCorps was employed in the area of Bielsk against the German 4 Army.

Boldin's main strike which included the 6th and 11th mechanised corps along with the 6th cavalry corps came from the Soviet 3rd and 10th armies, but since the 13th mechanised corps was a part of the 10th army along with the 6th MC seems kinda strange that it would not have participated?!

Boldin's forces formed an ad hoc group directly subordinated to the West Front. Formally speaking his counterattack was called off on 25 June.

Also second question is 14th mechanised corps of Soviet 4th army further south in the Bialystok salient. Not much is written on this action it seems it attacked in the direction of Brest against Guderian's pzg 2. Any further info on actual dates??

22 Tank division was partly dispersed as a result of the surprise attack on the morning of 22 June, the rest was defeated in the meeting engagement with Guderian on 22-23. You can try this page with an automatic translator:
http://mechcorps.ru/files/mechcorps/pages/14_meh.htm

[ViKinG]

Thanks for the info Art. I realised as I posted the Topic that I found the info I needed at the same time hehe, turns out both your source and mine say the same thing so that's good!

Luc

[tigre]

Hello to all ; I need a little help here.................

The 1./Minenräum Abt.1 around Grodno 1941.

The 1st Company from the Minenräum Abt.1 (Mine clearance Detachment), was deployed at that time, as part of the improvised battle group in the battle area of the 83rd Infantry Regiment of the 28th Inf. Div. and served in the Grodno region, where the German troops were already on Jun 24, 1941. Thereafter, the 1st Company came under the command of the VIII. AK and remained in that area. Later, on July 3, 1941 the 1st Company was shifted to the LVII. A.K.

Source: http://www.forum-der-wehrmacht.de/index ... fz-301-ua/

Did that company see action during Boldin's counterattack there and anyone has on hand some details about the fights of IR 83 and the support furnished by that unit? TIA. Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; a little more....................

Fighting around Grodno - Jun 1941.

Although the 6th Mechanized Corps was to counterattack the German XX. AK, the 11th mechanized Corps unleashed a counterattack against the German 8. ID (VIII. AK) and the 29 Tank Div deployed near Grodno was able to respond on short notice. Under influence of the German impact, the staff of the 3rd Soviet Army had left Grodno and went to Luno. Pavlov order: "29th Tank Div, together with the 4th Rifle Corps must destroy the opponent, attacking in direction Sapotskin - Kalety. By 12:00 hours the Soviet division deployed its depleted 57th and 59th Tank Regiments and bumped into a kampfgruppe of the IR 84, supported by some assault guns of Stug Abt 184.

Soldaten gegen tod und teufel: A wide, endlessly long cloud of pale yellow dust weighs on the land. Almost flat, sometimes rising slightly in a gentle wave, it seems to lose itself in the endless distance. The roads run in straight lines toward horizon with no end in sight. We have broken out of the thick forests of the Suwalki point, with its strange melancholy of endlessness and monotonous colors. The short rest, used to look over the strange world in front of us, is over. The march eastward begins. The living river of German soldiers pours through the smashed open gate of the Soviet line of fortifications. Despite the severity and exertion of the previous battle, we must not rest. That was only the beginning. The bulk of the division (8. ID) has assembled for the great march after the comrades fought the way open.

"Panzers approaching from ahead!" The shout comes from an advance patrol and resounds along the ranks. This shout electrifies and penetrates to the marrow, for a moment causing a feeling of insecurity. The panzer is the deadliest enemy of an infantry division. We do indeed have defensive weapons, light and heavy ones. Shaking and rattling, our motorized assault guns drive up. They are heavy, massive panzer colossus without a turret with threatening gun barrels protruding. Although there are not many, just one battery, they are the heaviest weapon in anti-tank combat. This is their crews’ first combat, but they go into battle with an impressive calm and confidence.

The anti-tank crews have taken their positions, well camouflaged despite the haste. The motorized assault guns drive up the road to the right and left. Now we must wait. But it is only the beginning. None one us knew that cry "Tanks advancing from the front!" was just the start of a tank battle the likes of which had probably never been fought before by an infantry division. This battle started in the hot midday and lasted eleven hours, almost without pause.

However the counterattack failed and with the loss of half of its sixty-six tanks the Soviet caused fifty casualties to the Germans.

Sources: Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front 1941-1942: Schwerpunkt. Robert Forczyk.
http://www.internetinfosystem.com/opera ... /index.htm
Fights on Grodno direction. http://hwar1941.narod.ru/enminsk.htm
DAS PANZERSTERBEN VOR GRODNO. Soldaten Gegen Tod Und Teufel (1942)

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; a little more....................

June 23, 1941 – Front Report from Grodno.

"Already in the early morning hours of the second day of battle we harvested the first great success as reward for the stubborn, determined fighting of the last 24 hours. After the breakthrough through the fortification ring and after the more than ten hour long battle of annihilation against tanks in front of Grodno, we crossed the Lososna. In front of Grodno the Russians threw an infantry unit against us, which we smashed. Thanks to daring initiative, an infantry battalion forced an opening and its assault groups now pour into Grodno. Contact with the advance formation has been established........

When the Red soldiers again tried to bring us to a halt on the Lososna bridge, the entire advance formation dismounted and helped the infantry advance. The enemy was thrown back with a wild attack. We now roll into the city along the main road from the west! Carefully covering and occupying every street, motorized assault guns, anti-tank units and flak turn off onto the various streets. We must first see what we will find in the city. Huge clouds of smoke still hide entire parts of the city. German fighters and destroyers fly above us and protect our advance into Grodno.

The suburbs of Grodno look bad. We had fought hard and relentless here! But we made it. Slowly securing the area, we roll drive on. But the Russians seem to have lost their nerve. There is no more gunfire; the last shoots echoed as we passed from the suburbs into the city center. Down there flows the Njemen! Huge fires blaze in the other side of the city! The stench of war again stings our nose: biting smoke, powder and decomposing bodies. The inhabitants wander around dazed in the streets. However, larger groups are already forming, and they help us. The Poles here do not seem to have liked Bolshevism very much! At any rate, the change of attitude is very fast.

Signals from the infantry ahead! The bridge, there is the bridge! Damned, it has been blown up! We drive down the street toward the bridge! The Russians have only damaged it! There is the second bridge, 500 meters farther to the right. That’s the railroad bridge. It has been blown up by the Russians; the middle part lies in the river. Advance slowly! The bridge has not been heavily damaged, as I can now plainly see. It will be possible to repair it in a short time. Our first reconnaissance patrols already take off. Infantrymen climb along the railings and tightly hold onto the planks. The first infantry squads have reached the opposite shore of the Njemen. Other units follow. The Njemen has been crossed! The bicycle squadrons dismount, carry their vehicles around the damaged sections, and then thrust ahead with lightning speed to the infantry on the other side. Individual shoots rang out – machine-gun bursts. Shouts follow: Bring up the anti-tank guns! Are perhaps remnants of the defeated panzer units trying to advance to the bridge?

The anti-tank guns rush ahead and detach from the carriages. Men drag the guns across the bridge with a bit of difficulty. The men disappear over there in smoke clouds. The motorized assault guns roll up and, together with us, secure the bridge from this side. We can’t get across, either. The battle noise becomes louder, but it slowly distances itself from us. The enemy nests of resistance are systematically crushed. New infantry units rush across. Now there is already a strong unit other there, which widens the bridgehead. The ring of fortifications around Grodno had been quickly blown up tonight after the big tank battle. Individual forts, and later barracks and other military installments, still had to be taken after heavy fighting. But the Russian leadership was no longer in control of the situation. The barriers were overrun. Grodno is in our hands!

The city is now systematically occupied and secured from all sides. The improvement of the bridge will take a couple of hours. Then the mass of our division and again assemble, cross the Njemen and head toward new battles…"

Sources: Fortress Grodno Falls. Soldaten Gegen Tod Und Teufel (1942)
http://imf.forum24.ru/?1-2-0-00000011-0 ... 1361127267

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; a little more....................

Fortress Grodno falls.

"I am driving ahead to the advance formation, which has hit a snag. Do you want to come along?" the general asks me when I report in the morning. We gain pass through Grodno and cross the bridge, past glimmering beams and house ruins, until the open road is reached which north of the Njemen runs straight east. It’s a real road. Even though dust rises in yellow clouds, there is a firm foundation that lets us drive fast.

Along the entire, gigantic front the attack against the Soviet Union has gotten rolling. Deep penetrations into enemy territory have been won, which during the next few days must be expanded into decisive breakthroughs. Large-scale operations are starting to manifest themselves. Our own situation has stiffened since yesterday. The advance formation advanced about 40 kilometers eastward without major fighting. Skidel, a small city, was the goal. Shortly in front of Skidel a small river, the Kotra, runs diagonal to our line of advance. That is where the advance formation met heavy resistance from strong forces supported by artillery.

We have meanwhile passed the artillery limber positions of the advance formation. The general compares the area with his map. Then he orders a halt. We run to the observation post of the commander. It’s still quite a distance away. The midday is now glowing hot. The commander and his officers need a little time before they recognize their divisional commander. Finger thick dust covers us. The general attentively listens to the advance formation commander’s report. At the same time, he looks over the terrain point by point with a telescope and follows the discharges and impacts of the enemy artillery. I estimate there are only three or four batteries.

Last night and early this morning the advance formation tried to break the enemy resistance with a frontal assault. Heavy defensive fire forced them to dig in. Individual assault groups were sent ahead. Two assault groups with bicycles, anti-tank guns and motorized assault guns managed to cross the Kotra and enter Skidel after a fierce fight. They were met there by ferocious artillery fire, and strong Russian units started a counterattack. Only after intense combat were they able to avoid being cut off and pull back their starting point, leaving behind a few bicycles. Other reconnaissance patrols also reported heavy defensive fire. Since the morning, the enemy has launched isolated, localized attacks and systematically swept the terrain with artillery fire.

During the return trip the general does not say a word. He is completely collected, buried in himself, weighing and organizing what he has seen and heard. His features relax and the general attentively scans the landscape. We drive off the road down into a small village and establish quarters there. This here is the new divisional headquarters. The motorcycle messenger fetches a radio troop and telephones. Lines are built. The artillery commander is summoned to the general. Via telephone the general orders the move of the battle position of the divisional staff, informs the chief of staff of the situation and of his decision, and gives instructions that he will summarize in the divisional order and pass along for execution. The general himself drives to the marching infantry regiments, develops the situation in his conference with the commanders and issues his orders.

"The enemy is dug in at the Motra sector with superior forces and strong artillery, probably reinforcing Skidel with strong points. He will try to hold the sector under any circumstances in order to allow larger forces to be brought up from the east. The division will assemble by early evening with two infantry regiments and the bulk of the artillery and take the Kotra sector and Skidel with a systematic attack. One regiment will attack the enemy from the front, crossing the Kotra and throwing him back into Skidel. At that point Skidel will be bombarded by the concentrated artillery. The second regiment will outflank Skidel on the right and cut off the retreat of the frontally attacked units. These units, squeezed into a small area, will be destroyed or forced to surrender by artillery fire. A regiment secures the Grodno bridgehead toward the south and protects the division’s southern flank on the Njemen."

The situation at the front didn’t seem that bad. The general speaks again. "The division’s situation is a bit unpleasant, gentlemen. We are staggered 40 kilometers deep and hence have an open flank for 40 kilometers on the south, which are covered only by the Njemen and two battalions. I suspect that we will soon experience heavy pressure from enemy forces from the south against Grodno or against the Njemen. Preparations must hence be made quickly. The Motra sector must fall so that we regain freedom of movement. You will receive the maximum artillery support. Ammunition has been arranged. Utilize all heavy weapons relentlessly. Shot as much as the barrels allow, but be sparing with the blood of my men! The attack starts at 18:00!"..........................

Sources: Fortress Grodno Falls. Soldaten Gegen Tod Und Teufel (1942)

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; a little more....................

Fortress Grodno falls.

My armored scout vehicle bumps along the road to Skidel. It has been torn up by shells and littered with dead Russians and equipment of all every kind. The artillery battle has been raging for two hours. A devastating fire from our guns has befallen the Kotra sector. Our regiments have assembled for the assault. Russian guards division and several guard regiments that do not belong to that division plus strong are employed in this sector. After a ferocious bombardment from our batteries the assault battalions jump up and overrun the enemy lines in stubborn combat and force the crossing of the Kotra on a wide front. The penetration is deepened meter by meter.

Pressing onward, the first companies penetrate the enemy lines and thus break into Skidel fighting and advance to the center of the city. Then an embittered fight starts in the city. The Bolsheviks have turned the houses into strongholds. Furious fire from all directions forces our companies to take cover in some of the houses in the center of the city. The ring of Russian forces closes behind them. They are encircled in Skidel. The artillery cannot fire on Skidel without endangering our own men. The encircled parts of companies cannot hold out there for very long without bleeding to death in house-to-house combat. They must break out, retreat from Skidel two kilometers, so that the artillery can fire. It must be dared, contact must be established!

Our armored scout vehicle drives at full speed along the road that leads to Skidel. Fortunately, it has not been destroyed, so we can step on it. One must not think about mines. One must not think at all. There are comrades ahead, and they must get out. At the edge of the town we get some breathing room after a wild shoot-out. Infantrymen rush out of the nearest houses. "Assemble at the edge of the city." I shout, "We must withdraw! Where are the others?" They point toward the center of the city. Heavy infantry fire rages there. Let’s go! We stop at the crossroads and barrage the street so that ricochets fly with an infernal whine from one wall to another. There, somebody is calling! Military engineers! They fire in all directions from houses, trees, basements and windows. "Get out, get out! Assemble and withdraw!"

We must turn. The armored scout vehicle knocks down pickets and fences and pushes through a thick wall of boards. Constantly firing rearward from the turret, will retreat along the street. The military engineers and infantrymen and fought their way through and assembled in groups. They are already out of the city. It has become darker, which simplifies the retreat along the street to the regimental battle headquarters. All that took hardly thirty minutes. We were lucky. Then the guns roar and rain shells down into the city. Skidel collapses in the furious whirl of explosions, iron and flames.

Sources: Fortress Grodno Falls. Soldaten Gegen Tod Und Teufel (1942)

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; a little more....................

Fortress Grodno falls.

Alarm! Alarm at the divisional battle headquarters! Dazed, we come out of a deep sleep (On Jun 25?). After weak Russian forces had throughout the day probed our defenses of the Grodno bridgehead, heavy attacks by strong enemy forces coming the south now strike our defensive battalion there. Aerial reconnaissance confirms the situation. The marching columns – many kilometers long - of powerful Soviet forces with much artillery and many tanks are on the move from the Bialystok area toward Grodno. The first great battle of envelopment is commencing. German forces have broken through in the south. The Soviet leadership now tries to withdraw its battered forces to escape being surrounded. They want to retake Grodno and regain the bridge across the Njemen, in order to bring their forces northward to safety. The Russian know what fate balances over them. They will assault with the strength of desperation in order to force their way northward.

What the general foresaw has happened. Unfortunately, it is somewhat earlier than we had hoped. The situation is critical. The mass of the division is 40 kilometers eastward as the heavy fighting for the Kotra-Skidel sector is ending. At the present here is just an infantry battalion at the southern Grodno bridgehead. The mass of the two other battalions is indeed on the march, but now every minute is precious. The division must turn along its axis and concentrate the mass of its strength in the area around Grodno as fast as possible in order to stop the wild assault. The motorized units of the division must be pulled out and throw toward Grodno with the utmost speed. The infantry must march as fast as it can, ever faster.

We must constantly cover ourselves against the south, because it is possible that under cover of darkness Russian units have crossed the Njemen and hit our flank – all hell is loose at the Grodno bridgehead! The thunder of the artillery battle rolls across the land. Grodno is burning again. Despite hours of attack across the entire width of the front the Russian has not been able to make any decisive gain of ground. Now he changes his tactics and advances with massed forces in a very small area while pounding the other areas with very heavy artillery fire. How long is this insanity supposed to last? Russian artillery fire still hits our positions. Actually, the positions have long since ceased to exist. One jumps from shell crater to shell crater, sideways, forward and backward. Suddenly, the curtain of iron and earth over us disappears and moves on to the neighboring positions. Bring the weapons into position – now the attack will come!

The shout "They’re coming!" remains stuck in the infantrymen’s throats this time. That is insanity! Have we gone crazy? The attack waves of Russian infantry pour from a small hollow, man next to man, almost near enough to touch each other, with fixed bayonet and long machetes. Wave after wave with an interval of hardly ten meters – thousands, closely crammed together and echeloned, ran at a company. A shrill urrah roar precedes them. Then our machine-guns cut them off and mow into their ranks. The mortars tear large holes. They collapse by the hundreds until entire walls of human bodies lie between us and the following attack waves. The urrah roar collapses and the following waves scamper back. Then machine-pistols and machine-guns blast into the back of the masses, ruthlessly shooting down their own people. It is downright infernal. The political officers lie there with their blocking commandos and fire like crazy into the receding waves. Death in front of them and death behind them, the tormented mass turns around again and rushes – blindly and insanely – forward again.

In the furious man-to-man combat the lines mangle each other. For each of our men there are six or seven Russians. The company commander’s order penetrates the cries and shouts, "Disengage from the enemy!" Once again, we pull together the last forces, slugging and stabbing around ourselves, pulling out the last hand-grenades. Then we withdraw. The Russians do not immediately follow. They are too exhausted to press on. The companies assembled a few hundred meters back. What will happen if the Bolsheviks renew their assault?

Reinforcements arrive – two companies. A counterattack is immediately launched, the enemy is given no time to establish himself in the position. The battle rages on along other sectors. Reinforcements have broken threw burning Grodno and fill the thin lines - despite new attacks, now also supported by tanks. Our situation has solidified. The next morning (Jun 26?) brings us help and removes the greatest danger. In the distance we hear the deep hum of planes. Then it thunders over our heads. We shout hurrah – stukas! Squadron after squadron thunders past us. They turn in wide curves, descend a little and first look over the situation precisely. Then they dive, releasing its bombs. The day brings new fighting. Despite the terrible losses the Soviet leadership hurls regiment after regiment against our bridgehead. The unit commander quickly decides to take his batteries to the north shore of the Niemen, right on the riverbank, and go into an open firing position. There’s an excellent view of the Russian positions from there.

By evening the fight for the Grodno bridgehead is decided. With forceful counterattacks our infantry has struck and scattered the remnants of the Soviet units. The shambles of the Russian divisions flood toward the southeast into the pocket whose wall they vainly tried to break through at Grodno. They leave behind thousands of dead and masses of war material of every kind. The Grodno fortress has fallen and it remains firmly in our hands after the hardest defensive fighting. The next day the division assembles for the advance toward the southeast. The turn has been completed. The envelopment of these forces in the pocket around Bialystok has been completed. Other German divisions have pressed ahead from the south and north, holding the enemy in a pincer and forming a ring around him, into which our division will penetrate as the first.

Sources: Fortress Grodno Falls. Soldaten Gegen Tod Und Teufel (1942)

It's all folks. Cheers. Raúl M .