Soviet Union 1941 ▶ Barbarossa to Stalingrad - Nebel-Werfer-Regiment 51 (1) 7./20. Panzer-Division
As reconnaissance detachments of the 1st Rocket Artillery Regiment of the Wehrmacht - the Thrower Regiment 51 -.
we reach the Tannenberg Monument in East Prussia with the tomb of Field Marshal Hindenburg early in the morning on June 5, 1941.
It was built in memory of the decisive battle in August 1914,
where the Russian attack on East Prussia was finally repulsed.
In front of the walls of the monument still lie the old Russian soldiers' graves.
While supply units are still providing more ammunition and fuel for the already deployed frontline troops,
the combat units of our launcher regiment reach us only in the afternoon.
The hawsers have already been moved under in reverse.
With these batteries, our regiment is fully cross-country with four-wheel drive or half-track vehicles - the 1- or 3-ton tractors.
In addition to the 3.7-cm PaK, each battery has a machine gun carriage with the twin MG 34 for air defense,
but also for breaching roadblocks or local defense.
It also has all-wheel steering for this purpose.
The six 15-cm Nebelwerfer per battery with their 6 tubes each
enable the 3 batteries of a Abteilung to fire a salvo of 108 shells 15cm within 10 seconds,
and this salvo can be repeated 3 times in 5 minutes.
This achieves an unprecedented impact density of over 300 kg of explosives
on an area of 300 x 200 m.
On June 22, 1941, at 03:10, our attack on the Russian border fortifications begins with bunker blasting,
mine clearing, and embrasure firing on the heavy Russian weapons under concrete.
Then at 07:00 the whole 7th Panzer Division with its 120 Czech loot tanks 38(t)
and 30 German tanks III and IV passes by its division commander,
but also by our B position on the mine-free route.
To push through in the direction of Kovno (Kaunas, Kauen; Lithuania) with protection by 15-cm heavy infantry guns on self-propelled gun carriage
and advanced light field howitzer with tractor.
At 09:00 the motorized troops roll behind the tank top and spread out behind the border
into several parallel marching columns,
which, however, are also repeatedly stopped during the combat operations of the top.
We will think about it often later, because the further the Wehrmacht penetrates into Russia,
the wider the area becomes.
So that later gaps of 50 or 100 km between the advance rollways become normal.
The 3rd Abteilung/Werfer-Regiment 51 under Lieutenant Colonel Korwion begins the advance on Kalbaja and Olita (Alytus, Alitten; Lithuania).
We hear only isolated short tank battles, the dreaded Russian air force must already be largely destroyed on the ground.
Then the first "Red Bombers" arrive.
But with the wrong calibers and wrong fuse settings.
This bomb was intended for a whole company bunker, but they must now take what is still available.
Our 8.8-cm anti-aircraft gun is monitoring our advance, but also some Russian tanks fall victim to it.
Only a few weeks later, it is the only reliable defense against the new Russian tanks
that our leadership did not know about.
We pass between Russian tank wrecks and modern gun bunkers, at night through burning Olita,
to encompass Vilnius (Vilnius; Lithuania) from the south.
By evening we realize that behind the border almost as many Russian tanks were shot down
as we had provided in total for this whole campaign.
So this had not been a defensive position, but an enemy army
broken through in the buildup for an offensive, immediately before their own attack.
Shortly before Vilna we are turned off to the southeast for the thrust against Minsk (Belorussia),
in order to cut off the Russian Army Group Timoshenko to the east there.
We no longer have a regulated order of march with divided routes,
only defended or enemy-free spaces ahead, which will be pushed through as quickly as possible to take advantage of the favorable situation.
A traffic jam on the runway makes everything immediately fall into deep sleep.
The commander, the battery chief and the driver.
With the motorcycle I make another quick reconnaissance.
Next to the BT-70, the Russian breakthrough tank, which could drive 70 km/h even without chains,
the first thing I see are never-ending columns of Russian prisoners of war,
accompanied only by isolated soldiers with a rifle.
You can see the relief of all of them that they have ended the war this way.
Passing through the completely burned Molodechno (Maladzechna; Belorussia), we reach our tank headquarters,
which was shot, but also lost its commander Colonel Karl Rothenburg (Panzer Regiment 25, 7th Panzer Division, killed 28.06.1941 near Minsk).
But the important bridges and crossings won, as a prerequisite for the attack on Minsk.
The city is already attacked from the south-west, we encompass Minsk in the north,
before attacking from there with the 20th Panzer Division the hard and determined defense,
which demands heavy sacrifices from our troops.
Here the heavy fire of the launchers is needed,
which carries only 25 salvos and was saved for these special cases.
Passing German tanks shot down or driven onto mines,
then issuing orders on the highway to Moscow.
Lieutenant Emde as the regiment's ordinance officer, our Abteilung commander,
the chief of the 7th Battery von Lüdinghausen, the Abteilung adjutant,
and the launcher tractors driving into the firing position.