Des Fauves aux Abois ETO (id:#58901)

Tactiques (Tactiques # 6 ID: TAC49)   [next]   [previous]

Golzow, Germany 1945-03-22 (5 others)

Overview:

"Big Cats at Bay" -- The Vistula battle lost, the remnants of the German army reorganized behind the Oder-Neisse river, in the vain hope to stop the Red Army. The situation was even worse since the 5th Shock Army already secured a bridgehead on the western side of the Oder. The battle was raging inside Kuestrin. The 56th Panzer Corps was assigned to stop the Russians without delay. A Kampfgruppe was built and deployed on both sides of the highway that linked Kuestrin to Berlin. No less than 28 Tiger II and 28 Panthers where assigned to the Kampfgruppe. The morning of the March 22nd, at 0600, the Russian steamroller started again. The front blazed up and the first German lines where flattened under a shower of shells and rockets during more than 90 minutes. Nevertheless, when then Russians met the defense, the Grenadiers offered a stiff resistance. Only a few tanks where able to make it through. Two armored arrows where repulsed by the Panthers and Tiger II. The Russians suffered heavy losses and did not wait long before withdrawing. At the same time, north of this battle, a third Russian group headed toward Golzow. The village hosted the Battalion HQ and was only very lightly defended by five Panthers from the recon group supported by a thin Grenadier company. Still, the German commandant decided to take up the challenge...

Defender: German (1st Stabs Company, Panzer Battalion "Brandenburg" and Panzer Anti-aircraft Battalion "Kurmark", Panzergrenadier Division "Kurmark" and 102nd SS Panzer Battalion armor reinforcements)  

Errata (source)