Turning Point (Kirov Series Book 22)

by John Schettler

  Behind O’Connor’s armor came the 22nd Guards Armored Brigade with another 277 tanks, making 615 tanks in a well concentrated mailed fist that was now moving right towards Crüwell’s division.

  The line he had established saw two infantry battalions and the pioneer battalion digging into the stony ground, with the recon battalion was on the right flank. The Germans had a well practiced defense, but the sheer number of enemy tanks was going to cause heavy casualties, exceeding 50%. Crüwell had been itching for a fight, and now he had one. In spite of Rommel’s order to hold his tanks in reserve, if ever there was a time or place to commit those units, this was it. Reports had come in stating the British had a new tank, but that it was not the same as the monster tanks that had so savaged the German divisions in the past.

  The General gave the order for his 8th Panzer Regiment to attack, and had no qualms about it when he did so. He had 168 tanks, including 48 Lions, 48 of the new Leopard medium recon tanks, 48 Pz-IVF2s and 24 of the new Panther tanks. Though he would be outnumbered nearly four to one, he hoped the German qualitative edge on tank design would at least give him parity.

  What ensued was a kind of Kursk like clash of armor at very close quarters when his panzers came charging in. His Lions might have done better by standing off and firing at range, but the swirling dust kicked up by so many armored fighting vehicles made that impossible. So it was all run and gun, with tanks careening over the sandy ground, through gravel beds and shallow mud pans, and into a titanic head on clash right amid the lines of the beleaguered German infantry.

  The action was at point blank range in many instances, with tanks on both sides ‘brewing up’ one after another in the terrible duel. The German armor proved very tough, particularly the Lions, but the chaos of the scene saw tanks all mixed together, taking side and rear shots at one another. It was 7th and 8th Hussars that took the worst of it, and twenty minutes into that hot armored duel the entire scene was shrouded with smoke and dust. Stricken vehicles lay in burning hulks everywhere, the hot fiery red tongues of flame making the whole scene look like a bed of burning coals.

  The 7th Hussars ended that duel with only 13 of 50 Grants operational, and 13 of 50 Valentines. 8th Hussars fared a little better, but still had only 19 of its 50 Grants, and 29 Valentines. The units had also lost the bulk of the new AEC armored cars that had been acting as the scouting force, with half of the 36 blasted to burning wrecks. Of the 222 tanks that made the attack in those two units, only 92 remained.

  On the German side, losses were not as heavy, but 12 of those 48 Lions had been killed, mostly by side and rear shots from the 75mm guns on the Grants. 18 of the 48 Pz-IVF2s were destroyed, but only four of the speedy Leopards and six Pz-IIIJs were killed. The Lions loomed so much bigger in the heat of the fray, that they bore the brunt of the British gunfire. Some surviving tanks had been hit multiple times on that heavy sloped frontal armor, and still remained battle worthy.

  The brief, violent action had proved one thing decisively—the German tanks were superior. They were better gunned, had much tougher armor, and the experience of the tankers who took them into that battle was unsurpassed.

  When 22nd Armored Brigade came up on the scene, its commander wanted no part of the swirling mess of fire, smoke and dust. So he led his columns west, jogging around the action with the idea of taking the enemy on the flank, if he could find one. This was going to take his units into a defensive screen manned by the 33rd Pioneer Battalion, and the 353 and 329 Light Flak Battalions. Behind him, O’Connor had sent the 2nd Armored Division right in the wake of his own armored fist, and so yet another wave of British tanks was lining up and ready to make a bold charge into the burning haze of the battle.

  Crüwell’s attack had proven the worth of his armor, but now he would feel the weight of yet another full division, with a situation developing on his front that was going to involve his units in desperate fighting for the next hour, and leave 15th Panzer Division a wrecked and broken formation when it was over.

  Far to the west, Kinlan’s Heavy Brigade was on the outer circle of the planned envelopment, its first units beginning to come up on the defensive infantry positions of Fischer’s 10th Panzer Division. It was there that the real battle that would decide the fate of the Afrika Korps would now be fought.

  Chapter 35

  Fischer’s 10th Panzer was the strongest of Rommel’s three divisions, with four battalions of Panzergrenadiers dug in around the edge of a region of very stony ground. The recon battalion held the left flank closest to Crüwell’s division, and the Pioneers the right flank, where Rommel had improvised and moved Ravenstein’s 21st Panzer Division into the place Fisher was supposed to be. Now, with the 3rd Mercian Battalion jogging into the lead position near a low rise labeled Hill 498, Rommel thought he saw an opportunity.

  He had poured over tactical reports on this Heavy Brigade, and had slowly pieced together its composition in his mind. It had at least two battalions of fast infantry, all riding in a swift moving medium tank, which was surprising enough. This was what he took the modern day Warrior AFV to be, as the 40mm gun it used was the equal or better of most tank guns mounted on British vehicles to date. These battalions were supported by other AFVs that mounted a kind of rocket weapon, very deadly against vehicles, but they were not in great numbers.

  Now, behind the outer crust of the infantry defense of his two divisions, all of eight battalions including troops of the 21st Panzer, he held both panzer regiments in reserve, waiting to see what the tip of the spear would do here. Would it continue west, thinking to bypass this defensive front and look for an exposed flank, or would it turn and give battle?

  Kinlan had thought that over himself for some time, and he came to the conclusion that moving west into thin air could be accomplished easily enough. But then what would he do? The farther he moved, the more he would place his brigade out of contact with O’Connor’s two armored divisions. Knowing that they had already turned north, and that there was a hot battle underway against at least one German panzer division, figured heavily in his thinking.

  “What do you make of this situation, Sims,” he said to his able Chief of Staff.

  “Well sir, It looks like O’Connor has his hands full well behind us. He’ll probably be able to handle the one division he’s tangling with now, but if we continue any further west, we’ll expose his flank. Rommel could send one of his other two divisions after us to keep us busy, and then use the other to swing down and get after O’Connor. The situation is fairly confused behind us, but signals traffic indicated they have had to commit 2nd Armored already, and that was supposed to be kept in reserve for the exploitation force. Drones can’t really see what’s going on. The whole area is wreathed in heavy smoke and dust from the silt we’ve been trundling through.”

  Kinlan nodded. “Under the circumstances, I think we should turn now and get to work. The point of this attack is to wreck the Afrika Korps—at least the panzers. Where are my Dragoons?”

  “About 10 klicks back, sir. 3rd Mercian had better ground, and they nosed ahead as we turned. “They say they’ve come up on a line of infantry positions.”

  “Very well….” Kinlan looked over the map. “This feature here, Hill 498…. We’ll make that our turning point. Swing the whole brigade north at that hill and tell Cooper he can attack. I’ll want the Dragoons to stand by if we need them. We’ve put five challengers into each company with the Warriors, so they have some heavy tank support as things stand, but it may not be enough.”

  Kinlan had 60 Challengers, but he had taken half of these and parceled out five to each of the companies in the Mercian and Highland Battalions. The remaining 30 he kept in one concentrated force, three Sabers of ten tanks each in the Scots Dragoons. The action he had ordered saw the Mercians move up to strike the right flank of Fischer’s position, falling on the 49th Pioneer Battalion and II Battalion, 69th Panzergrenadiers. There were 33 engineer squads with 18 Panzerfaust teams waiting for them in the Pioneer Ba
ttalion, but the Warriors were standing off and using that 40mm gun to good effect. The Spartan ATGM vehicles were also engaging with ranged missile fire. As German casualties mounted, a frantic radio call went out.

  “Come on! Where is our armor support? They’re picking my troops apart, mostly those medium tanks firing at a thousand meters.”

  Rommel now made a fateful decision. He reasoned that his armor could match those medium tanks well enough, and initial reports indicated only a very few of the heavy behemoth’s had been seen. His pulse quickened. Fischer had 156 tanks ready in the 7th Panzer Regiment, and Ravenstein had another 142 in his 5th Panzer Regiment. That was a mailed fist of 298 tanks, and a few more in the HQ troops gave him over 300. He could smash this enemy attack, possibly crippling a third of this deadly enemy brigade, and that was what he decided to do.

  The two panzer regiments moved to contact, the Lions beginning to open fire at just over 1000 meters wherever visibility permitted. Colonel Cooper saw them coming on infrared, a massive moving heat signature kicking up a huge storm of dust as it surged forward. 1st Company, 3rd Mercian was going to take the brunt of the attack and now the five Challengers supporting 15 Warriors and 10 ATGM vehicles were firing for all they were worth. The sharp report of the 120mm gun cracked out in reprisal.

  Had this been a static shooting contest, those five Challengers, each with 50 rounds of ammunition, could have theoretically picked off almost all of Rommel’s advancing tanks. But it wasn’t a static battle. The enemy was charging in at them at breakneck speed, taking many hits and leaving many wrecked tanks in its wake, but there was simply too little time to stop all those tanks. Cooper was in one of those Challenger IIs, and he felt one hard chink after another as enemy rounds were striking his tank, all defeated by that impenetrable Chobham 3 armor. They were seeing the Germans on infrared, the big turret tracking, firing, tracking again, firing, and blasting one German tank after another.

  Kinlan had been afraid of this very development, but he could both see and hear what had been happening on his digitally linked command screen. That battalion was going to be swamped by hundreds of German tanks, and so he quickly ordered the Scots Dragoons into action.

  “Come on Bob!” he said over the radio. “Time for the heavy cavalry!”

  On they came, the three Sabers accelerating rapidly in a massive armored charge, The thunder of their coming was heard even over the din and roar of the battle already underway. Moving at 40KPH, they closed on the scene with alarming speed, then broke column and fanned out in a wide line, their desert camo paint scheme blending nicely into the terrain. 1/3 Mercian was fighting for its life, as any gun the German panzers had was going to hurt a Warrior at those ranges. The infantry squads had all deployed, and were hugging the ground as the desperate fighting thickened. The enemy line drew ever closer, an unstoppable front of steel and thunder. But it was about to meet a force that was simply irresistible.

  The Challengers rolled up a low rise and Cooper gave the order to halt. Dust and smoke billowed about the tanks, and now he was going to volley fire into the enemy advance at about 700 meters range. It was Fischer’s 7th Panzer Regiment in the sights of those 30 Challengers now, and the rippling roar of those big 120mm guns sent a shock wave of molten steel tight through them. Not even the heavy frontal armor of the new Lions could stop those heavy depleted uranium and tungsten tipped rounds. Thirty guns fired on one side, and 18 German tanks were smashed in the first volley, some taking two and three hits. Seconds later the Challengers fired again.

  German tankers careening forward through the heavy silt and smoke saw one tank after another struck and savaged by that deadly enemy fire. The carnage was stunning, and it immediately prompted the regimental commander to give the order to break off, his panzers now turning and racing for any cover they could find. When it was over, Fischer’s 7th Panzer Regiment would stagger north into the more rugged rocky terrain and find they had 12 of 48 lions remaining, 18 of 48 Panzer IVF2s, and 25 of 48 Leopards, with seven of the twelve panthers still surviving. Of the 156 tanks in that Regiment that made that attack, only 62 remained.

  Ravenstein’s 5th Panzer Regiment was lagging on the far right of the scene, but when Rommel realized what was happening, hearing the desperate cries of his Panzertruppen on the radio as they died, he shouted an order.

  “Get them out of there! Get them back!” The order would reach the 5th Regiment just in time to stop its advance, and Rommel reinforced that order telling Ravenstein to get that regiment back to screen the artillery. But the Challengers then renewed their advance, coming up in a wedge of Chobham and steel, those long 120mm guns blasting any target before them, I/5th Panzer would take the full brunt of their charge, and be completely destroyed, all of 80 tanks, and 30 to 40 other vehicles left as smoldering wrecks on the field as they Challengers systematically obliterated that battalion.

  Rommel had hurt his enemy, but it was like a wolf biting the flanks of a bear. Now the beast had turned on him, and it was simply unstoppable, as it was at Bir El Khamsa, and at Tobruk. The swift moving heavy tanks had appeared on the scene to utterly smash his panzers. A brief lull ensued in the action, and The Scots Dragoons stopped to wait for the Mercians to collect themselves. Reeves 12th Royal Lancers was also coming up with his Scimitars and Dragon IFVs, and Kinlan ordered a brief halt to regroup his forces. An attack like that inherently scattered units about the field, and he wanted to keep the tip of his spear very sharp.

  In that interval, reports from Crüwell were now also having a desperate edge on the radio, and so the commanders of the three Panzer Divisions arranged to meet above a withered mud pan north of the stony cauldron that had been formed by Fisher’s infantry battalions.

  “Damn it Rommel! I’m up against everything the British have! Fischer—where are your panzers?” Crüwell was incensed.

  “I tried to get through,” said Fischer. “I threw my entire panzer Regiment at them, but it was blown to hell in twenty minutes! Those heavy panzers appeared just as I was breaking through. The Regiment will be lucky if it can form two companies now. This is no good, Rommel. We simply cannot stop these enemy tanks, and without panzer support, our infantry can only hold another hour or two at best.”

  “What is happening with the rest of the front?” asked Crüwell.

  “Montgomery is grinding his way past that escarpment south of Gazala,” said Rommel. “But the Italians are putting up a good fight. They threw both the Ariete and Littorio Divisions at them, and now Trieste Motorized has also reinforced that position. I do not think the British will get through. As for the rest of the line, it was not even attacked. The two motorized infantry divisions were just faced off by two or three enemy infantry divisions—Indian troops and a South African division. Their main effort was to try and turn this flank, as I suspected, which is why I concentrated all three panzer divisions here.”

  “Well a lot of good that has done us,” said Crüwell.

  “May I remind you that it was your division that made a premature attack, General.”

  “I had no choice. O’Connor was rolling his entire division over my infantry. Was I suppose to just sit there and wait for the Commanding General’s order to attack? Nonsense! Now what should we do here? We cannot attack without being utterly destroyed. We can stubbornly defend, but we will lose that battle in the end.”

  “We have to maneuver,” said Rommel. “They haven’t yet found our western flank, but they will soon. Crüwell, can you stop O’Connor?”

  “I’m under too much pressure. They must have hit us with a thousand tanks in both the 7th and 2nd Armored Divisions. I’ll be a light motorized infantry division in another hour.”

  “Well we can still get west if we move quickly,” said Rommel.

  “Retreat again?” Crüwell gave him a look of recrimination.

  “Redeploy,” said Rommel. “All our supplies must move along Trigg Capuzzo and the Tariq al Abd to Bir Tengeder. If we do not protect those lines of communication, then
they’ll bag the entire army. At the moment, the motorized Divisions and Hermann Goering can get back via Trigg Capuzzo easily enough. We’ll have more difficulty extracting our panzer divisions if they persist with their attack, but that is what we must now attempt to do.”

  “And what will the Führer say about yet another defeat here, Herr Rommel?” Crüwell gave him a smirk.

  “He can say I saved his Afrika Korps for him—again—only this time the price for that will be Cyrenaica. I took it from the British long before you showed up, so now I will give it back to keep this Army intact. We move to Agedabia with all speed. I will notify the Italians. Send the signal to all your units: Westfallen, and may god be with us on the road west.”

  * * *

  Looking at the situation now, Kinlan had yet another decision to make. Like O’Connor, he had a sense for the battle and could read which way the wind was blowing easily enough. His front line units were reporting the Germans were pulling out, leaving a thin screen of AT gun positions as a delaying force, mostly Pak 50s. The drones could see the long lines moving west along the Trigg Capuzzo. Rommel was on the run. The battle had spanned 18 hours of movement and fighting, and now he was waiting for fuel trucks to come up to his front line units.

  1/3 Mercian had been savaged by the initial attack of Rommel’s ill fated panzer charge. But many of the vehicles were thought to be salvageable. Of 140 Warriors in the entire Brigade, only 16 would be registered as total losses, though 10 of 50 Warrior Milans would also have to be written off, along with four Scimitars. Two Challengers had been put temporarily out of action with non critical hits, but the engineers would be able to replace tracks, a jammed turret and external equipment to get them operational again. All the other losses would be collected, stripped for useful parts and materials, and then the carcasses would be hauled off to a special hidden depot in the desert, well away from prying eyes. The human cost to Kinlan’s Brigade was 55 dead, 118 wounded, mostly in the infantry that had fought dismounted.