Nemesis (32 page)

Division
had a Storch up to see what was up ahead, though low grey clouds frustrated the
reconnaissance. They did manage to spot what looked to be a single rifle
division west of Plavsk, but saw nothing in that town, where the Siberian
Guards were lying low after a long night’s rest. Wellmann’s other battalion was
still assisting Ruhn’s panzers of Munzel’s regiment about three kilometers
behind, so the enterprising Lieutenant decided to reconnoiter up the road. At
that moment, they were the spearhead of Operation Typhoon. Though none of the
men really thought about things that way. To them this was just what they were
doing after a meager breakfast of stale biscuits, moldy cheese, and coffee so
thin it could barely claim the name.

Morale
was high, even though supply stocks were at only 50% levels. So it was that
II/3 Panzergrenadier battalion rolled off in the lorries that morning, the men
huddled in the trucks with their rifles at the ready. They had gone about five
kilometers when they ran into a recon battalion that was coming down the road
from Plavsk for the very same reason, only these men looked nothing like the
typical rifle division rabble the division had cut through the previous day.

Wellmann
attacked, seeing it was just a motorcycle unit, undoubtedly much more lightly
armed than his own battalion. He was just two kilometers south of the town when
the action opened, and little did he know that the sound of those German
machineguns was perking up the ears of 30,000 hardened veterans of Karpov’s
Siberian Guards.

About five
kilometers to the southeast, and not to be beaten to Tula by Model’s boys,
Eberbach had cobbled together a mixed
kampfgruppe
with one of his tank
battalions, the 4th Division Recon Battalion, and one of KG Dorn’s infantry
battalions. This regimental sized force had stormed Hill 896 the previous
evening, and now they continued north, chasing the tracks of the artillery that
had fled north in the rout of 26th Rifle Corps. They found them right outside
the small village of Ulyanovka, where General Kuzma Podlas had spent a
sleepless night trying to organize what was left of his troops.

Even as
those attacks went in, a special Kampfgruppe that had been attached to
Schweppenburg’s Corps was moving well to the west, probing into the open
country between the two panzer divisions and the lines of the 10th Motorized
Division, about 20 kilometers off. It was comprised of two units from the
unique 1st Cavalry Division, the 1st Motorcycle Battalion, and the Lehr Recon
Battalion that had been attached to that division. To these, Schweppenburg had
added the 45th Pioneer Battalion, and topped the formation off with a little
clout in 1/53 Werfer Battalion.

The
kampfgruppe
had been screening the left of the main thrust up the road, while also trying
to make contact with 10th Motorized, which had been reporting growing signs of
enemy activity all along its very extended front. The division commander, Generalleutnant
Fredrich von Loeper, was a dour faced man who had followed his orders to the
letter with the onset of these operations. He was to push up to Belev, secure
the town, organize a forward depot there, and then screen the area south of
Kaluga, which was exactly what he was doing when the whole of Lelyushenko’s 5th
Army began to advance on his position.

The
General had reported growing signs of enemy activity, but his reports went
unheeded in the whirlwind advance that was then underway with the rest of the
Korps. Had Heinz Guderian been there, he might have had a more sympathetic ear,
but the
Panzergruppe
Commander was still on a plane returning to the
front when these events occurred.

It was
the ad hoc cavalry detachment, specifically the motorcycle battalion that had
moved up to high ground near Hill 935, that finally confirmed von Loeper’s
growing suspicions. Scaling the hill, the Leutnant was stunned to look out in
the grey dawn and see a large grouping of enemy troops on the move, to his
north, including infantry formations, mounted units and finally the telltale
movement of armor. He was on the radio at once, first to von Loeper with the
news.

“Herr Generalleutnant,
I have a lot of enemy movement to my front, about eight to ten kilometers out.
Where is your right flank?”

“So
someone else is finally listening to me! I have a battalion five klicks
southeast of Kykovka. Where are you?”

“We
passed through Ivanovka, and took hill 935 this morning. Now we see what is
happening!”

“Yes?
Well that means there’s a nice fat hole between my flank and your
kampfgruppe
.
I’ll try raising Schweppenburg again, but he won’t want his breakfast
disturbed.”

“It’s
either that or the Russians come for his eggs and sausages,” said the Leutnant,
and it was a statement that would not be too far from the truth. Generalleutnant
von Loeper was about to earn his Knight’s Cross…

That
same morning, Munzel’s main force mopped
up a pocket of Russian infantry, while Westhoven’s KG of 3rd Pz found an
isolated regiment that had retreated the wrong direction and was now cut off.
They took it upon themselves to force the resignation of the enemy, and that
action brought them about five kilometers west of the main road.

Generalleutnant
von Loeper finally managed to get Schweppenburg on the radio, and told him all
he had learned. “They will push a wedge right between my division and your
position along the road,” he said. “I believe I should move my troops east and
try to make contact with the Lehr reconnaissance force.”

“What
about the depot at Belev?” said Schweppenburg.

“I
could leave a couple battalions there, but they would only be cut off. Given
the situation we’re facing, I think that unwise. If we stabilize this flank,
then we visit Belev at a more fortuitous time.”

“Very
well, Generalleutnant. Move your division towards the KG Lehr at Ivanovka. We
will see what develops on the road ahead. If we can take Plavsk by storm, that
would put my division in a good position to flank any enemy move south against
you at Ivanovka.”

“If
wishes were horses,” said von Loeper. “If they had a full rifle corps at Gorbachevo,
then they will likely have troops at Plavsk as well. Be careful, general. Model
should be warned.”

It was
very good advice, but Model would not be having lunch in Plavsk that day as
Schweppenburg hoped. 1st Siberian Shock Army came storming into the
vanguard of the 24th Panzer Korps like an unstoppable red tide. KG Wellmann’s
II/3 PzGren took the initial attack by elements of 18th and 32nd Siberian
Guards, and was soon in a desperate battle with infantry on every side. The
enemy tank threat was not present, but the overwhelming pressure from the
Siberian infantry compelled the Germans to fall back and take up defensive
positions as casualties mounted. Prittman’s engineer company was hit by the
91st Siberian Guards, and was soon in danger of being completely overrun.
Wellmann made a desperate call on the radio, ordering his second battalion up
in support, and then he plugged a gap on his left flank with his Panzer Jaeger
company, a group of eight self propelled 45mm guns.

Further
west, where KG Westhoven had been mopping up that isolated Russian rifle
regiment, now no more than a battalion in strength, it was suddenly faced with
a wave of fresh troops from the 329th Rifle Division of 17th Rifle Corps. This
attack was far larger than anyone could have expected, the advancing corps of
three divisions extending some ten kilometers west, where the motorcycle
Battalion of the Lehr Group was hit by two regiments of the 344th Rifle
Division.

The
Germans had hit Podlas single corps the previous day with the full weight of
two panzer divisions, and made short work of that force at Gorbachevo. Now they
were facing two more fresh rifle corps, with the Siberian Guards hitting the
Schwerpunkt
right on the nose, while the 17th Corps was pushing to flank the German advance
from the northwest. Beyond that point, von Loeper had wisely moved his 10th
Motorized division east that morning, but he was still twenty kilometers or
more from the Lehr Battalion Recon Group near Ivanovka.

Suddenly
on defense against what Model came to call another ‘cannon fodder infantry
attack,’ the General gave orders that his troops should adopt a hedgehog
strongpoint strategy instead of trying to maintain a continuous front.

“All
units will stand and fight where they are,” he said. “I will not pay for the
same ground twice! Where is Munzel?”

“He is
forming up on the road,” said a Major.

“Well,
tell him to get moving!”

That
was going to be easier said than done that morning, for Munzel’s panzers had
fought hard the previous day, and his units had been taking on supply before
continuing up the road. Rhun’s detachment was in the best shape, with 50%
supplies on hand. While Rodenhauser and von Heyden were both down to 10%. He
moved Rhun into tactical reserve behind the village of Molochnyy on the main
road, which was all he could do for the moment.

For his
part, Eberbach’s visit with Kuzma Podlas at Ulyanovka was suddenly interrupted
by the onrushing arrival of two regiments of the tough 32nd Siberian Guards.
Podlas was relieved to finally get help, which gave him just the time he needed
to get his last two battalions of artillery to the rear, where they quickly set
up and began to pour out supporting fire.

Unlike
Model, Eberbach ordered an immediate counterattack towards the village, calling
in a battalion of KG Dorn’s Panzergrenadiers to support his tanks, and radioing
back for his second panzer battalion to hasten to the scene. It was then that
he got some bad news.

“Hold
on, enemy tanks hit Dorn’s pioneer company well south of your position. That is
very near the Corps artillery park!”

As if
on cue, Mikhail Katukov had chosen that moment to make a bold thrust at the
main road to Tula. After withdrawing from his brief engagement at Chern, he had
not moved north to join the Siberians, which is why there had been no reports
of enemy tanks in these attacks. Instead he move due east, regrouping at a
small village called Lugovka, and now, hearing the Siberians were attacking, he
took his tanks north looking for trouble.

What he
found was 3rd Company, 79th Pioneers, attached to KG Dorn, and screening not
only the Korps artillery park, but most all of the guns for 4th Panzer Division
as well! Eberbach cursed when he heard the news, for now he would not be able
to fight with his full
kampfgruppe
. He had no choice but to order his
second battalion to move south to confront the new threat. KG Seiden was also
holding that flank, though further north, and he was ordered to send one of his
two battalions in support. The troops were already engaged with remnants of the
men Kuzma Podlas had scraped together the previous night, and now it had to
fight its way out to get back south.

The
Division Commander, General der Panzertruppen Langermann, was fortunately in a
good position to see what was happening from his post on Hill 925 astride the
main road. He quickly ordered the division flak units to move to that flank and
lend any support they could give.

By
mid-day the situation was clear. This was no spoiling attack or blocking force.
The Germans had been hit by six fresh rifle divisions, and Katukov’s 4th Tank
Brigade. Model chafed at the bit to resolve the situation so he could continue
his advance, but this time the task was beyond even his considerable skills. He
soon found his entire division arrayed as small islands of steel in a Red Sea
of confusion. It was a sobering call to Guderian that day when the General
finally got off the plane at Orel.

“We
have hit a brick wall south of Tula,” he said. “These are fresh troops, a new
army, and they fight like wildcats. My men have been in active defense all
morning, and still they come. We are holding out, but many of our positions
have been swamped by these incessant attacks.”

“Tanks?”
asked Guderian.

“Not
many,” said Model, “but they do not even need them. I must be facing at least
five strong rifle divisions, and they have good artillery support. Under the
circumstances, any further advance is impossible, and I will need help—the
sooner the better.”

“Very
well,” said Guderian. “Hold on. I will see what I can do as soon as possible.”

To this
end, he called up his 29th Motorized Division, which had finally been relieved
by infantry near Bryansk, and was moving to Orel. It would be a most welcome
reinforcement, but would still be some time getting to the scene of the action.
In the meantime Generalleutnant von Loeper’s 10th Motorized Division had
reached Ivanovka by dusk, and was fanning out in a wide defensive arc. Without
that timely move, the situation on the main road would have been far more
grievous, because soon after they arrived, the division was hit by a massed
cavalry charge on its right flank.

The
Russians had put in their 4th Cavalry Corps there, five brigades of mounted
riflemen, some of them the vaunted Cossacks and Tartars that had recently
chased down Ivan Volkov’s 22nd Air Mobile battalions in that daring but
disastrous second raid on Ilanskiy. These troops were supported by the only
other armor available, two light tanks units with mainly T-60s. If von Loeper’s
men had not been there to take the brunt of that attack, these swift horsemen
would have swept right down to Chernyavka where Model’s headquarters had been
established. It was now clear what the Soviets were attempting to do, and
Guderian’s entire XXIV Panzer Corps was now facing attacks on every side.

Like
Langermann, Model was forced to throw everything he had into the defense,
including his division flak units. He looked over his shoulder, when a column
came up, but was disappointed to see it was only rail repair battalions.

“Soon I
will have to find rifles for those men,” he said, and he ordered them to dig in
north of Chernyavka to form a makeshift defense for his headquarters.

29th
Motorized got the word to move north, and the men leapt to their trucks, but
not even this new division would be enough to stop the attack. Its arrival
would stabilize the situation, bringing relief to the weary Panzergrenadiers,
some units down to 10 % supply. The situation looked more favorable—until the
Soviets suddenly attacked with fresh armor.

Sergei
Kirov was determined to stop the Germans at Tula, and now he ordered one of his
refitting tank corps into action, even though it was still reorganizing one of
its two scheduled tank brigades. Reforming far to the east and receiving all
new tanks, the 3rd Tank Corps was really a heavy division sized formation
comprised of a single tank brigade, and motorized rifle troops. The 5th Brigade
had 54 new T-34s, 12 KV-1 and another 12 of the massive KV-2 heavy assault
tanks. Following their improvised Corps structure, the Motor Rifle troops had
been built up to a full strength division, the 84th, with three full motor
rifle regiments, along with the corps motorcycle cavalry regiment. Its second
tank brigade had not yet formed, and the engineer battalion was still on the
trains, but Kirov ordered an immediate attack. As at Mtsensk, the shock of
encountering a full brigade of new tanks in a single massed formation was
considerable. With all his remaining divisions still trying to clear pockets of
Soviet resistance astride the road from Orel to Tula, Guderian called Hoth.

“I’m
told you have all the new tanks, Hoth. Don’t be stingy! I need them south of
Tula. Can you send me anything?”

After
learning what had happened, and seeing that his own troops were encountering
much less opposition well to the west, Hoth was more than willing to lend
support. “Seventh Panzer has been refitting since early August, and it received
some of the newer tanks. I have much less opposition on my front, so you can
have the entire division. For that matter, you can have
Schwerepanzerbrigaden
101,
as well. They are much closer to your operation than my main line
of advance. I will cut the orders immediately.”

And so
it was that one thing led to another, like two opposing sides throwing logs on
a fire, which would soon grow bigger and bigger until it burned as one of the
fiercest battles yet fought in the campaign to date. Known as ‘The Action South
of Tula,’ it would be the first real test on the new German Panzer designs, and
a rich hunting ground for one other man with a fated future, a simple Sergeant
who had joined the Wehrmacht in Czechoslovakia, because he had been too bored
with his old job in an auto factory there.

His
name was Kurt Knispel.

*

Schwerepanzerbrigaden
101
was very close, and the Germans had a man there
that would also make a name for himself as a deadly armored charioteer. Knispel
served with 12th Panzer Division for a time, as a loader in a Mark IV tank,
until his commanding officer recommended him for training on the new tanks
starting to arrive at the receiving stations. Some said he wanted to simply get
the man out of his regiment, for Knispel was a freewheeling Sergeant with a
chip on his shoulder when it came to senior officers, which he saw as busybodies
always sticking their noses into things they knew nothing about.

He had
come up through the ranks in the armored units, and had shown enough promise to
be recommended for training on the new Löwe-55, and soon found himself settling
into Germany’s premier new armored fighting unit.

A
short, rough hewn young man of just twenty years, Knispel had a thick head of
hair, and heavy brows that joined above his nose, prompting the men to call him
‘the werewolf.’ Soon they would see it as the Lion’s mane, and his unkempt
beard, long sideburns, and the non-regulation tattoo on his neck, gave him a
wild look, though he could clean up and sport the uniform as well as anyone
else if he chose to. More often than not, he would eschew the formality of regulations
and dress haphazardly, sometimes not even wearing a shirt, his coat open, the
grease of his own tank on his hands and forearms.

Yet he
was very popular with his fellow soldiers, amiable and quick to smile, who saw
him as a kind of maverick, though some never understood how he could get away
with all the things he did. Once he had even put his hands on an officer, when
he came across the man badly mistreating a few Soviet POWs. The Leutnant had
thought to amuse himself by urinating on the captured Russians, which infuriated
Knispel. He took hold of the man’s jersey, practically lifting him off the
ground, and told him that if he ever saw him do such a thing again, he would
personally do the very same thing to him!