German Tactics in Defence at Battalion Level

[JonS]

DAF, there is a map floating arund teh intarwebs that may be like what you're after. It's been a while since I last looked at it, so please forgive the vagueness in what follws.

It's from the US sector in Normandy, sometime in June/July 1944, and is overprinted on a small-scale topo map (1:50k, or thereabouts). It depicts individual weapon positions, foxholes, trenches, etc., and shows - as I recall - something between a company and a battalion. The map and over-printing is in colour. Unfortunately, I don't recall what the URL for it is. As I recall, it was linked to the description of a particular battle.

There is also, I think, a reasonably detailed map linked to a MMS thesis written sometime in the 1940s about the (unique) US use of a rolling barrage to secure a hill as part of the advance to St Lo in July. That doc can be obtained from the US CGSC website. Here.

I've also seen overprinted topo maps that were produced on a regular basis for the UK and Cdns at the other end of the line in Normandy (and other locations). The downside of these, as far as you're concerned, is that because they're based on Allied intelligence they don't specify where various elements are located. For example, platoon boundaries aren't marked, and the location of HQs at various echelons also isn't marked. OTOH, with a bit of time and thought it is possible to deduce likely locations and boundaries.

As a general point, it isn't too surprising to me that detailed German-drawn maps of their own defensive positions are hard to find. It seems to me that they are the kind of things that would be developed on the basis of cascading verbal orders at multiple levels and never formally documented in anything other than outline form, rather than being planned in full and documented in detail. The maps and diagrams above highlight the principles that the positions should conform to, with detailed implementation for any given position left to the sections/platoons/companies/battalions that had to construct and occupy it.

[Der Alte Fritz]

I will have a look at the Normandy links, thank you. However the Germans had a second doctrine of defence called The Stabilised Front which was about fixed defences such as the Atlantic Wall so there may well be differences with field defences.

I have discovered two documents of interest in the Foreign Military Studies series:

D-082 Rommels system of fortifications in North Africa
D-133 Principles and experiences of positional warfare and retrograde movements
D-156 Construction of a Strategic Defence Line in the East

but do not know how to get hold of them. They are not listed on the www.milspecmanuals.com website or at CGSC or AMHI websites

[Michate]

They should be available at www.footnote.com

[Der Alte Fritz]

Michate
This turn out to be a good source with quite a number of interesting documents in the Foreign and Military series. So on the doctrine side I now have a fairly good idea of the pre-war doctrine and now have some concrete examples of the way defenses were made in Russia and Italy. Have got quite a stack of documents to wade through for now but would still be interested in any maps of real positions.

[Der Alte Fritz]

Another thread in the fortifications section had a link to a site with maps http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 4&t=166538
And this site has real life German position maps of Stellung type positions on the Eastern Front.

[grassi]

Well, this is not specifically about defence at Battalion Level, but it is worth reading:

Allgemeine schweizerische Militärzeitschrift (ASMZ):
"Overlord": die Landung der Westalliierten: militärgeschichtliche Nachlese zur Invasion in der Normandie 1944, ASMZ 1984
http://retro.seals.ch/digbib/view?rid=a ... id=hitlist

Look out for the "Merkblatt für den Kampf im Heckengelände", p. 645 passim

Best regards

grassi

[Der Alte Fritz]

Mt trawl through the US Foreign and Military series on footnote.com came up with two good accounts of Infantry Division defensive tactics

P-143C Examples from Divisions -
Chapter 13 Defence of an Extended Frontage - 15th Infantry Division on the Mius Front August 1943
Chapter 14 A Sustained Defensive Battle - 78th Infantry (Sturm) Division at Orscha November 1943

The first account is how a division (not in action) prepared itself for defence and then took over a large part of the line from other divisions so that they could be moved to the fighting at the Mius Front. At one point the 15th ID was defending 47 miles of front.

The second account is how the 78th ID used its defences to beat off a heavy assault on its prepared position. At one point it is pushed right out of the MLR but counter attacks and recovers the position.

Well worth a read.

[JonS]

Be aware, though, that the 78th was a particularly unique fmn, so you'll need to be careful drawing too much in the way of general conclusions from its experiences.

[Michate]

The 78 was a somewhat stronger than other units, with its own assault gun, grenade thrower and flak battalions, but otherwise fairly standard in 1944: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 0&t=164358
Anyway, it belonged to 4th Army, which seems to have had a peculiar way of gradually reinforcing its divisions at the hot spots with a wide array of separate batalions and regiments of all kinds, often taken from neighbouring divisions in quieter sectors. This to enable them to stay through the attritional process of several days of fighting despite the absence of a separate division in reserve in this army.

That did no longer work in June 1944, because the division, which had initially fought quite well and given comparatively little ground, was passed by the Soviets in the north after their breakthrough of VIth Korps' defenses and then forced to fall back on Orsha, after which chaos set in.

There is a chapter of the same division's defense along the Smolensk-Minsk highway in November 1943 in the study of German divisional experiences in the east, available at footnote.com. It gives a fair account of what measures were taken at the divisional level, but still does not go down to battalion level.
On the other hand, there can be found a number of studies of "small units" there as well, but I have no idea what they actually are about.

[Michate]

Oops, I noticed the study I referred to has already been mentioned, sorry. Wer lesen kann, ist klar im Vorteil :roll:

[Der Alte Fritz]

When I get a moment I will type it up and post it here.

The reinforcement plan is given by Raus in one of his books and in the Foreign and Military series. Also the other F+M article used the same technique of stripping one or two battalions a day from neighbouring units and they just extended their frontages. In the case of the 15th (Wurtemburg) ID ending up guarding 47 miles of quiet front.

Thanks to Piet Duits who provided a very detailed breakdown of 78th Sturm Division. Does anyone know what Army level units the 4th Army had in November and then in June?

[Der Alte Fritz]

A Sustained Defensive Battle
The 78th Assault Division
Conducts a flexible defence and succeeds in holding its sector against a superior Russian assault along the Minsk-Smolensk Rollbahn (November 1943.)

Following strategic withdrawal from positions east of Smolensk in September 1943, the Fourth Army moved to a new line called the Panther Position (map 1). Here as an element of Army Group Centre it prepared to deny the Russians access to Orscha, a communications centre where three railway lines and two important highways intersect. The capture of Orscha by the Russians would have jeopardised the position of the Third Panzer Army to the north and the Ninth Army to the south. The Fourth Army sector was 75 miles wide, and ran from a point 10 miles north of the Minsk-Smolensk Rollbahn, a main axis of motor transportation, to the southern outskirts of Chausy. The Germans held this line for more than 6 months against repeated Russian assaults.
In November 1943 the 78th Sturm Division, an elite formation designated as an ‘assault’ unit in regonistion of its outstanding performance in combat, held a secot of the Panther position on both sides of the Roll Bahn. The 78th Division was a unit of the XXVII Corps, with the 197th Infantry Division and the 25th Panzer Grenadier Division on its left and right respectively. Its sector was bounded on the south by the Orsha-Smolensk railway line and on the north by an extensive peat bog which at that time of year was almost impassable to foot troops. The divisions main line of resistance ran northward from the railway past the village of Novo Selo to the bog which protected the left flank.
Facing the 78th Assault Division was the Russian 10th Guards Army, containing four infnatry divisions, one infantry regiment, a engineer assault brigade and an armoured brigade.This formidable forces was supported by two mortar regiments and four artillery briagdes. The Russians had launched two unsuccessful attacks along the Roll Bahn in October. By the beginning of November there were indications that they were planning to attack again.
The organisation of the 78th Division was that of a normal infantry division, with the 14th, 195th and 215th Infantry Regiments supported by an artillery regiment and the usual Pionere, signals and anti-tank battalions (appendix A). The division was also fortunate enough to have mortar and anti-aircraft battalions, an Assault Gun battalion and a motorised reconnaissence company permanently attached. Light and medium Corps artillery units were on call to the division as was the artillery regiment of the adjacent 197th Infantry Division. The actual strength of the 78th Divisions infantry battalions at this time was between 50 and 60 percent of authorised strength. The troops were tired from previous fighting but nonetheless combat effective. The division had no particular supply problems and had sufficient ammunition on hand for three days of heavy fighting.
In the sector of the 78th Division, the Panther position consisted of 4 miles of forward trench fortified with wire entanglements and concrete emplacements and shelters (map 2). A second incomplete trench paralleled with the first a few hundred yards to the rear. An unfinished anti-tank ditch ran behind the second trench in the left and centre portions of the sector and in front of the forward trench on the right. The village of Novo Selo (Ново Село) in the sector of the 215th Infantry Regiment was organised for perimeter defence, as were the regimental command posts and heavy weapons positions. Artillery positions in the division rear areas were protected by a single trench north of Lasyrtsiki and a double trench south of the village. Combat troops, engineers, reserves and even service personnel worked feverishly to complete and improve these trenches.
Although by German standards the 78th Divisional sector was narrow, the division commander General Hans Traut had committed all three of his infantry regiments on line because of the reduced strenght of his command. The 215th Infantry Regiment in the centre occupied the widest portion of the sector., while the 14th Infantry Regiment on the right held little more than a mile, overlapping the Roll Bahn. The 14th Regiments 2nd Battalion in the Lobany area, together with the 178th Pionere Battalion, anti-tank and assault gun battalions and the motorised reconnaissence company, constituted the divisional reserve. Fields of fire throughout the sector were adequate for short range. Observation extended from high ground around Novo Selo to the Pehiki Hills but was limited in places by depressions, woods, and villages all of which provided cover and concealment for the Russians.
During the first two weeks of November, German patrols and artillery observers reported that the Russians were bringing in new forces. Radio intelligence confirmed that the Tenth Guards Army had been strengthened by two divisions. German air reconnaissence detected 280 occupied Russian battery positions facing the XXVII Corps, most of which were concentrated on either side of the Roll Bahn. The 215th Infnatry Regiment troops noted intense Russian movement in the deep depressions around Sudilovichi (судиловицхи) and there appeared to be considerable reinforcement of Russian observations posts on the Pehiki heights. About this time the Russians began to adjust the fire of their artillery, and on the 6th November all three German regiments reported that the Soviets were preparing jump off positions.

[Der Alte Fritz]

The Russian build-up continued for several days. On 12th November the Orscha-Minsk underground telephone cable running parallel to the Roll Bahn was cut in fifty four places and Russian partisan activity increased all along the highway and railway line. Early on the morning of the 14th November a prisoner captured by the 215th Regiment stated that the Russians were going to attack that day, following a massive artillery preparation. The attack was to be carried out on a broad front with the main effort in the Novo Selo area. Russian patrols were already cutting the wire entanglements in front of the German main line of resistance, so General Traut called for artillery fire on known and suspected Russian assembly areas, especially those at Sudilovichi and a finger shaped hollow (called Finger-mulde) leading from that town toward the German lines.
The Russian attack began at 05:45, when thousands of artillery shells poured down on the positions of the 14th and 215th Regiments. Wire communications in those sectors were destroyed. German artillery and rocket projectors retaliate, directing their fires principally at Russian artillery positions and assembly areas. The Russian fire intensified at 06:30 and under its cover the Russian troops worked their way forward into jump-off positions. At 08:00 they moved westward in heavy attacks against the centre and right portions of the 78th Divisions front. (Map 3)
Reports received at General Trauts command post at Orekhi during the first hour indicated that the Russian main effort was, as the prisoner had stated, centred around the village of Novo Selo. The northern sector of the division front, occupied by the 195th Infantry Regiment was quiet. Operations along the Roll Bahn against the 14th Infantry appeared to be diversionary attacks although at 09:00 that regiment reported heavy Russian assaults on either side of the highway. Since the morning fog made observation difficult, German artillery defensive fires were concentrated in front of the threatened sectors and in the areas west of the Redki and Sudiiovichi and in the Finger-mulde.
The Russians increased their attacks at 09:30, and following another heavy artillery concentration succeed in breaking through the main line of resistance along the Roll Bahn and southeast of Novo Selo. After an hours fighting they were in the vicinity of the command post of one of the 215th Regiment battalions, just west of the Novo Selo cemetery. The 215th moved up a reserve company and elements of the regimental anti-tank company went into position in the artillery defensive trench southwest of the village. Shortly thereafter the Russian artillery shifted its fire to the north and Soviet troops east of Novo Selo broke through the positions of the 215th Regiment’s 1st Battalion and pushed towards the village.
Novo Selo fell at 10:50. The 215th Regiment reported also that the Russians have reached a point immediately southeast of the village, and that an estimated two Russian battalions had broken through its right flank. The 14th Regiment reported that it had contained the attacks along the Roll Bahn but towards noon the 195th Regiment to the north sent word that the enemy was pushing west through its right battalion and that it was swinging back its right flank. Positions on the main line directly east of the Novo Selo cemetery were still in German hands however, and the northernmost company of the 215th Regiment was holding firm northeast of the village.
The 78th Division commander decided at this point that the crucial point was the Novo Selo cemetery. The 14th Regiment had sealed off its area and the 195th Regiment by refusing its flank was intact. Elements of the 215th Regiment still held positions on the main line of resistance. With the Russians occupying Novo Selo and pressing forward north and south of the village, it was important to reinforce the German positions on the shoulder of the Russian penetration at the cemetery. The division commander therefore released his major reserve, the 2dn Battalion 14th Regiment to its parent unit and directed it to counter attack north of the Roll Bahn, regain the main line of resistance and link up at the cemetery with the 215th Regiment. He attached two assault gun batteries to the 215th Regiment and ordered it to establish contact with its 1st Battalion and effect a junction on the left with the 195th Regiment. At 13:00 the regimental commander of the 14th Regiment visited the command post of the 215th to co-ordinate the linkup of his 2nd Battalion with the forces holding out at the cemetery. The two commanders agreed that local reserves of the 215th Regiment would assist by pushing forward from the southwest towards Novo Selo.
At this time a number of new developments took place. Shortly after noon the Russians thrust westward from Novo Selo and over ran the position of a rifle company of the 215th Regiment. The force of the Russian attack drove the German troops back to the artillery defensive positions in that area. A 1st Lieutenant named Jordan, who had been sent out by 215th Regimental Headquarters to check the accuracy of certain reports was in this vicinity and at 13:15 this officer launched a counter attack with the Regiment’s Pioneer platoon, elements of its anti-tank company and remnants of the rifle company that had been over-run. This attack succeeded in restoring the lost position and he immediately advanced on Novo Selo. Lt Jordan’s success prompted General Trauts to attach the 1785th Engineer Battalion and a self-propelled anti-tank company to the 215th Regiment with orders to capture Novo Selo. He also ordered the 195th Regiment to attack southward towards the village. By 14:30 Jordan’s group had penetrated into the southern end of Novo Selo and taken up defensive positions. The situation along the 78th Divisions front improved during the afternoon. Attacks by the 215th and 14th Regiments south of the village recaptured the second line of trenches and sections of the forward trench north of the Roll Bahn. The 178th Engineer Battalion with its attached anti-tank weapons penetrated into the western end of Novo Selo at 18:10 and General Traut ordered it to recapture the German main line of resistance east of the village during the night. He sent two construction companies to rebuild positions around Novo Selo but at 21:30 Russian troops swept into the village from the north east and attacked the working men. In the bitter fighting that followed, German troops drove the Russians out of the southern part of Novo Selo and re0ccupied their positions there. The rest of the night was marked by severe fighting for the northern part of the village with the Russians resisting the German attacks stubbornly.
The days fighting had been difficult and costly for the 78th Division. An estimated five Soviet divisions and one assault engineer brigade had attacked its narrow front and German casualties included 22 officers and 800 NCOs and men. The Russian main effort had been concentrated near Novo Selo and only timely counter attacked had prevented a breakthrough.

[Der Alte Fritz]

The attack was part of a series launched by the Western Front running from just north of the join between the German 197th Infantry Division and the 78th Sturm Division at the edge of a large area of bog and peat cuttings down to the Dnepr River and across to the other side. Soviet attack sector was 25 km wide and had the 10th Guards Army in the north, the 31st Army from the highway to the river and the 5th Army south of the river.
The 10th Guards Army deployed the 7th GRC in the north, the 19th GRC (56th GRD 22nd GRD and 65th GRD) opposite Osintori and the 15th GRC (85th GRD, 30th GRD) at Sudilovichi and had the 153rd Tank Brigade, 119th Tank Regiment and 1445th SAU Regiment in support.
The 31st Army had the 70th RC (338th RD 371st RD and 58th RD) north of the highway and the 36th RC (359th RD, 215th RD and 274th RD) south of the highway with the 45th RC and 71st RC taking the rest of the assault to the river. In support was the 2nd Guards Tank Corps. 42nd Guards Tank Brigade, 1435th and 1830th SAU Regiments.
In total the Western Front deployed 32 Rifle Divisions (18 in first echelon and 14 in the second) supported by 1 Tank Corps, 4 Tank Brigades, 7 tank and SAU regiments, 16 artillery brigades and 23 RGK artillery regiments. This gave a total of 410 tanks, and 120-260 guns per km of front. This force faced 4 German divisions (two infantry and two panzer grenadier) plus an SS Infantry brigade and had in total 70 tanks and SP guns.

[Der Alte Fritz]

DAY ONE -15th November (Soviet account)
The 56th, 85th and 30th Guards Rifle Divisions attacked the enemy after an artillery and aviation preparation. They captured the first trenches by an audacious dash but an anti-tank ditch up to 6m wide and 4m deep obstructed the attacks subsequent advance route. It was so well concealed that even one close to it could not discover it. During the summer the ditch had become overgrown with grass. It was a distinctive trap not only for tanks but also infantry. The obstacle was ranged in by enemy artillery firing from concealed positions in timely fashion.