by Colin Gee
“By these means, we hope and trust that the Allied nations will forgive this unwarranted attack, accept that it was unintended, accept that we will continue to investigate it, will ensure no repeat, and that they will all return to the negotiating table without further escalation of the conflict.”
The Soviet Foreign Minister resumed his seat, his throat dryer than he had ever known.
A full glass of water barely touched the sides, and he set the empty tumbler down.
Still, there was no reply from the other side of the table, but there was much whispering, as lowered heads came together in urgent discussion.
Östen Undén, as disbelieving as the men sat to his right, felt compelled to fill the silent void.
“Minister Molotov, thank you for making delivering that clarification of the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate events of yesterday, and also, I thank you on behalf of the Swedish Government for your candour and renewed commitment to finding a peaceful path forward.”
He ignored the looks he was getting from some of the Allied contingent.
“However, it is not Sweden that had been sorely wronged here. It is not Sweden that has been the subject of this heinous attack, in clear contravention of Geneva Protocol.”
The looks from the right softened perceptibly.
“It must be for the delegation from the Allied nations to decide, in concert with their governments, how matters will proceed from here. As representative of my country, and in the light of the Soviet statement and full and frank admission of guilt, I can only urge restraint and forbearance on the Allied nations’ part. Unless there is anything else?”
Neither side rose or made any attempt to speak further.
“Then I will adjourn this meeting until either side calls for it to be reconvened, at any time, day, or night, from this moment forward. Please, speak to your governments, relay the words that have been spoken here, and remember the spirit that brought these two sides together in the first instance. Thank you. This meeting is at an end.”
Undén cracked the gavel down with more force than usual, highlighting his own anxiousness at what might be coming.
The delegations filed out of their respective doors, leaving the Swedish contingent alone.
“Adolfsson… please get some fans installed in here for when we come back.”
“Yes, Minister.”
His aide knew him well enough to venture a further comment.
“I thought I’d melt at one time. It was hot in here, Minister.”
Undén laughed loudly, relieving some of the tension that threatened his enjoyment of lunch.
“Not as hot as it could have been, Björn… nowhere near as hot as it could have been.”
Secure communications flowed out from and back into Sweden, as the negotiating teams reported back on the morning’s exchanges, apprising the leadership of all sides, and seeking guidance on how to respond.
Soviet information was delivered, revealing that the agent used was Tabun, liberated from the Germans in 1945.
Speer received a number of telephone calls seeking very specific information, and the characteristics of Tabun were soon common knowledge amongst the Allied leaders.
The Allied political leadership assembled in Versailles, and the French, Canadian, Spanish, Polish, and German heads listened, with varying degrees of shock, to the news that the Soviets had brought matters to the table, and the full details of the attack visited upon US forces.
The leaders deferred to Truman on the matter of the contravention of the Geneva Protocol, and he ordered a military operation, a retaliation in kind, to be prepared, using stocks of nerve agents captured from the Germans in 1945, although he conceded that converting the battlefield into a chemical one was not in the best interests of anyone, if only because neither sides soldiers, nor the civilian populations, could protect themselves, or be protected.
Secretly, Truman and his staff had wondered whether the attack would change public opinion on use of the bombs on Russia, but it was too soon to tell.
Truman stressed the fact that, however regrettable, the Hofbieber attack gave the Allies an even stronger bargaining position.
Surprisingly, use of the bomb was not mentioned.
There was little debate on military action, as all understood the need to take advantage of the situation, as the bonus of applying more pressure to the clearly weakened enemy would strengthen their own position further.
Ground and air attacks would be ramped up to a high level… an unsustainable level as General Eisenhower advised… but the benefits of exhausting some of the Allied forces would be far outweighed by the pressure placed upon the Soviet Union and the opportunity to bring an early end to hostilities.
It was the terms of a negotiated peace that caused the greater discussion… and the greater disagreement.
As the discussions focussed on the negotiations, and the recommended cease fire lines and future political boundaries, the German and Polish heads of state became more and more agitated, despite the assurances of further negotiations, post cessation of hostilities.
The meeting broke up for lunch, a break called by Truman, who clearly wanted a period of calm to enable Speer, and particularly the Polish President, Władysław Raczkiewicz, to calm down.
After enjoying a hearty spread, the leaders returned to the room, only to discover that the break had done nothing to soften the two leaders’ positions, and that new words, such as treachery, abandonment, and betrayal, figured heavily in their protestations.
It all centred on where the lines would be drawn.
The start negotiating position returned Europe politically to 1938 boundaries, but no one present really expected that to be the end position, and subsequent discussions seemed to end up with Germany minus Prussia at the minimum, and a partitioned and fractured Poland.
As the politicians continued to form their response, the soldiers acted.
1200 hrs, Thursday, 15th August 1946, Eberschutz, Germany.
“Panzer marsch!”
Maybach engines revved, creating a wall of noise, dragging even the least curious civilian to their windows to witness a full-scale panzer attack.
Even the experienced grenadiers of the 78th Sturm Division, responsible for liberating Eberschutz the previous day, watched in awe as the Europa Panzer Brigade ground forward, supported by a wave of aircraft in close support.
The scene was further enhanced as nebelwerfer batteries added their deadly rockets to the attack on Trendelburg.
The Germans were determined to continue to press the Red Army as hard as possible.
Fig # 218 - Soviet initial dispositions, Trendelburg, Germany.
Colonel Von Hardegen observed the plan unfold, his modified Panther G positioned on a small incline that overlooked the first point of contact at Sielen.
Grenadiers from the 14th Sturm-Grenadiere Regiment had smashed into the German village some thirty minutes previously, and quickly overcame the light Soviet resistance. They had also summarily executed the dazed prisoners for the benefit of the villagers, who spoke of the excesses visited upon them by the occupation force.
The lead unit of von Hardegen’s force skewed to the right as planned, securing the flank, should there be any enemy forces of note on the other bank of the River Diemel.
If there was, they were wisely staying quiet, as powerful 75mm and 88mm guns maintained in overwatch.
The remainder of Europa continued northwards, and von Hardegen ordered his headquarters unit to push forward to and past Sielen.
Inwardly, he cursed the absence of any means of crossing the Diemel at Sielen with heavy vehicles, the bridging equipment he needed prioritised elsewhere, except for the one bridging tank he had retained for a crucial task.
The original structure at Sielen had long since been deposited in the water by either the Allied air forces, or Soviet engineers, or both.
The only possible crossing point left was the small wooden bridge over the modest Hungerbac
h on the southeast edge of Sielen, which carried Route 68 over the water, to join with the 67, the road that lead northeast to Trendelburg.
A replacement bridge had been constructed by Soviet engineers and coerced locals, and was constructed in timber cut from the local forests It had easily succumbed to the attention of Allied aircraft. Although still standing, the repairs affected by the Soviets would not stand the weight of anything of any substance, the bridge itself initially constructed for light vehicles, not to allow the passing of heavy armour.
Another reason that the 14th Sturm-Grenadieres had launched a swift attack, without artillery preparation, was so that his own engineers could assess the likelihood of using Sielen as a crossing point for his panzers.
The initial report was enough to make him switch his attentions elsewhere, and instigate his second plan.
Aerial photographs had revealed the possibility of a surviving bridge, damaged but probably bridgeable, which is why he preserved his only bridge layer for use in Stammen, further up the Hungerbach.
Fig # 219 - Allied order of battle - Trendelburg.
Now leading the advance was his second company, equipped with the new and extremely impressive Jaguar, the very latest vehicle to roll off the production lines from the recovering German industry.
Its 88mm, the same as that which had graced the Tiger II, could dispatch most opponents with relative ease, and in the hands of veterans, such as the men of Europa, it was as lethal a tank weapon as the Allies possessed.
The formation of Jaguars pushed forward, ignoring the light artillery fire that suddenly came their way, manoeuvring almost as if on an exercise.
The ‘exercise’ turned to harsh reality as one artillery shell found an SDKFZ 251 carrying some of Europa’s panzer-grenadiers, spreading the vehicle and men over the German countryside in one bloody moment.
Von Hardegen gripped his binoculars more tightly, knowing he had just seen a dozen men die.
The lead unit increased speed and moved quickly through the choke point caused by the river bend and the two hundred metre high ridgeline to the west.
He waited to see the second phase enacted, and immediately saw the reconnaissance force push out down the riverbank, seeking to secure the positions around the damaged Soviet military bridge at Stammen, something that was key to the success of his plan.
Fig # 220 - Kampfgruppe Strachwitz’s initial attack on Trendelburg.
The other key part, a Churchill VII bridge layer, one of a small unit of special tanks seconded from the 79th Armoured Division, announced its presence as it noisily made its way past the headquarters unit, having been called forward by the recon force commander, who was clearly confident enough that he had secured Stammen’s west bank to bring up Europa’s prize asset.
The Churchill lumbered along slowly, encumbered by the additional weight of the reinforcing metal deemed necessary to make its portable bridge capable of sustaining the passage of the tanks of von Hardegen’s command.
Ahead, the lead Jaguars had been taken under fire by something that seemingly didn’t trouble them.
The lead vehicles halted and sent shells into three locations, two of which yielded secondary explosions.
Von Hardegen listened to the reports that some 45mm anti-tank guns had been engaged and destroyed in front of Trendelburg.
He checked the position of the bridge layer and silently cursed the slowness of the British-made vehicle, wishing it would move quicker. Further up river, a platoon of engineers had accompanied the recon troops and, equipped with inflatables, had moved over the river into Stammen.
The flashes and sounds of exploding grenades followed by automatic fire indicated that close quarter fighting was in progress.
The radio sang in his ear as the recon commander relayed the contact report to the lead echelon commander, who responded by ordering a platoon of sturm-grenadiers forward, intending that they should cross the river, using the inflatables, and back up the engineers in Stammen.
A pair of Allied aircraft swooped on something out of sight well to the east of the river, and it quickly died, whatever it was, flames and smoke indicating its fate.
A quick look at the map allowed von Hardegen to work out that it had been somewhere around Exen, on the raised ground overlooking Trendelburg.
At various points along the bank of the Diemel, Panthers and Jaguars had taken up position, intent on watching for any sign of movement on the east bank.
One Jaguar had thrown a track, and von Hardegen observed as the venerable Bergepanther recovery vehicle made its way forward to assist.
“Wotan-six, Wotan-six, Walküre-six, over.*”
The message was from the panzer battalion’s commander, Oberstleutnant Fürth, who had served with the 21st Panzer Division in North Africa, where he had been taken prisoner.
“Wotan-six, phase two complete. Request permission to execute Otto, repeat, request permission to execute Otto.”
Von Hardegen took a moment to see where the Churchill had got to, and made the same assessment as Fürth.
“Walküre -six, Wotan-six, execute Plan Otto. Out.”
Although he knew what was about to happen, von Hardegen was still extremely impressed with the discipline of the manoeuvre that turned the First Company of the panzer battalion sharply to the right, suddenly not heading towards Trendelburg, but instead towards Stammen, where the Churchill was just starting the process of bridging between the two stubs of the damaged bridge.
[* - The German Army began introducing a radio regime similar to that of the Allies in early March 1946.]
In Stammen itself, the engineers had overcome the modest resistance encountered, without the need for the extra firepower of the sturm-grenadier platoon, and to mark their success, a pair of green flares rose into the sky.
“Driver, advance.”
Von Hardegen repositioned himself once more, moving his headquarters quickly through the choke point, but keeping to the left edge of the slope, well away from the focus of the panzer battalion.
Up front, Third Company, with a mix of Jaguars and Panther Gs, had taken up a line abreast advance, still facing Trendelburg, intent on keeping any defenders fixed on them, rather than the flanking manoeuvre being undertaken at Stammen.
A familiar voice announced itself in his ear.
“Wotan-six, this is Siegfried, situation report, over.”
The Battlegroup commander, Major General Hyacinth Graf Strachwitz, was a no nonsense type with huge experience and an array of medals to reflect his combat experience.
“Siegfried, Wotan-six, all is proceeding to plan. Executing Otto now. No major resistance encountered, over.”
“Received. Out.”
Von Hardegen understood that his own report would trigger actions by other units in the battlegroup, and he took a moment to remind his commanders that they should be aware of friendly forces moving forward on their flanks.
As he spoke, the air cover again fell from the sky, clearly working over some enemy unit south of Deisel.
He concluded his warning but remained focussed on the air activity, as more and more aircraft seemed drawn to the area northwest of Trendelburg.
Puzzled, von Hardegen sought out the air liaison officer.
“Mime-two, Mime-two, Wotan-six, over.”
The DRL Captain responded immediately.
“Mime-two, Wotan-six, report on air activity northwest of Trendelburg, over.”
“Wotan-six, Mime-two, situation unclear. Reports state enemy armoured column under attack. We’ve no information on any armoured column in that area. The flight leader states they are Soviet tanks and vehicles. I’m trying to find out more, over.”
“Mime-two, received. Keep me informed. Out.”
Von Hardegen had a sense of something not right, and made a quick decision.
“Walküre-three-six, Walküre-three-six, Wotan-six, over.”
The response was swift and he gave the halt order, which was also speedily acknowledged.
“Walküre-three-six, Wotan-six, maintain your present position until further orders. Be aware of enemy armoured force northwest of Trendelburg, in the vicinity of Deisel. Out.”
One of the attacking aircraft, bearing the new German state’s markings, pancaked onto the ground spewing smoke and flame and bounced three times before flipping on its back.
For the briefest of moments, Stelmakh considered making an attempt to rescue the man frantically pushing at the canopy, but abandoned the idea, understanding that he would not reach the man in time.
There was also a part of him, the part that had lost much of its humanity in the meat grinder that was war, that discarded the notion on the principle that the man had it coming, given what the German pilot and his comrades had done to the column of T34s and infantry.
The mechanised unit had no business being where they were, and had brought unnecessary attention to the area where the small group of survivors from the 6th Guards Independent Breakthrough Tank Regiment were hidden away.
Fire consumed the cockpit within seconds, removing an doubt or guilt before it set in.
6th GIBTR now consisted of nine IS-IIIs in total, organised into two groups, one of five and one of four, plus an headquarters of two T-34s.
The now Captain Stelmakh commanded the larger group of heavy tanks, reflecting his position as the third senior rank within the ‘regiment’, and his growing reputation as an excellent tank commander and leader.
Two days beforehand, his Order of the Red Star and Order of Kutuzov 3rd Class were supplemented with the presentation of the Order of Suvurov 3rd class.
The young warrior who had once bemoaned his lack of decorations had, in a few months, become the most decorated officer in the regiment, something of which his unit and, in particular his crew, were extremely proud.
Fig # 221 - Soviet order of battle - Trendelburg.