Beasts at Baruth ETO (id:#63385)

(Dispatches from the Bunker #46 ID: DB140)   [next]   [previous]

Baruth, Germany 1945-04-21 (16 others)

Overview:

With the capital of the Third Reich now in sight, Stalin pitted his two best generals in a race against each other, and as a result the armies of Georgi Zhukov’s 1st Belorussian Front and Ivan Konev’s 1st Ukrainian Front were each vying to be the first to capture Berlin. Approaching Berlin from the south and constantly spurred on by Stalin’s threats, Konev unleashed his two tank armies, the 3rd Guards and 4th Guards. The 3rd Guards Tank Army aimed to advance towards Zossen via Luckau, sidestepping the German Ninth Army. OKH quickly tried to throw any units they could lay their hands on to try and stop Konev. On March 31st, OKH ordered the formation of a panzer company from the various test vehicles at the nearby Kummersdorf Proving Grounds. As part of Kampfgruppe Möws, the ersatz panzer unit was ordered to detrain at the town of Baruth on the road to Zossen, where they would try and block the Russian advance. Accompanied by a grenadier company, the motley collection of panzers included huge beasts such as a King Tiger, Jagdtiger, and a Nashorn.

Defender: German (Elements of Grenadier-Begleits-Kompanie 1., Kampfgruppe Möws and elements of Panzer-Kompanie Kummersdorf)  

Errata (source)