Of all of his division, he was the only 101st trooper that had seen combat since hostilities began and lived to tell the tale, and his experience had been close-up and personal with Soviet Paratroopers.
Major Marion J Crisp was going back to the war.
The drive forward from Lühdorf had started with fourteen running tanks, in various stages of disrepair, lights knocked off, fenders ravaged, external items destroyed. Only one of the IS-III’s had not sustained damage.
As the advance progressed, tanks fell out as mechanical difficulties took their toll. The unreliability of the IS-III was its its greatest downfall, and on this line of march, it claimed tank after tank.
By the time the 6th [Independent] Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment entered recently liberated Buxtehude, there were only seven runners left, the others decorating various points of the road from whence they had come, engines and transmissions failed under the strain. Admittedly, the newly appointed regimental commander’s tank had not broken down, but that was no comfort to the dead man, killed with his crew by a German Panzerfaust on the approached to Elstorf.
Command of the unit now fell to a Captain, who organised the survivors into two platoons of four and three, himself in charge of the former, the latter falling under the command of Acting/Senior Lieutenant Stelmakh.
Allied forces – 1st Polish Armoured Regiment of 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, and 1st Polish Highland Battalion, and 2nd Platoon of 1st Polish Independent HMG Squadron, both of 3rd Polish Infantry Brigade, and 1st Polish Motorised Artillery Regiment, and A Squadron of 10th Polish Mounted Rifles Regiment, and 2nd Radar Section of 1st Polish Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, all of 1st Polish Armoured Division, and Fallschirmjager Batallione ‘Perlmann’, all of British XXX Corps, and 209 & 210 Batteries of 53rd Medium Regiment RA, all of 21st Army Group.
Soviet Forces – 1st and 3rd Battalions of 46th Mechanised Brigade, and 2nd Battalion of 376th Howitzer Artillery Regiment of 21st Breakthrough Artillery Division, and 72nd Penal Company, and 1st and 2nd Companies of 517th [Separate] Tank Regiment, and 3rd Battalion of 66th Engineer-Sapper Brigade, all of 11th Guards Army, all of 1st Baltic Front, and 6th [Independent] Guards Breakthrough Tank Regiment [Temporarily attached to 11th Guards Army], of 2nd Guards Tank Army, 1st Red Banner Central European Front,
25-pounder and 105mm high-explosive rounds commenced dropping on Nottensdorf and its environs on the stroke of 1pm precisely.
Formed up in the small German town were elements of the 11th Guards Army, about to launch their own attack, timed for an hour later.
The Soviet Mechanised battalions were arranged in line, which meant that the forward 1st Battalion bore the greater brunt of casualties. The tank-riding infantry were particularly badly hit, and frightened men ran in all directions seeking shelter from the barrage.
The battalion’s tanks, T-34/85’s suffered less as they dropped back to the back edge of the town, leaving only two of their number behind.
After ten minutes, the artillery stopped abruptly, encouraging the infantry to emerge from their hiding places and seek out their wounded and dead comrades.
3rd Battalion, positioned in the woods behind Nottensdorf, watched on in horror as two groups of aircraft arrived overhead, one clearly fighters intent on protecting their charges, the other more concerned with attacking the targets on the ground.
The next group of Allied aircraft swept down to the attack, discharging their mix of rockets and 500lb bombs on the first run, then circling around and attacking with Hispano cannon.
The fighters, Spitfire Mk XIV’s of 41 Squadron RAF, immediately clashed with a Soviet fighter regiment, the XIV’s proving more capable than the outnumbered and outclassed Yak-3’s.
The Yak’s jettisoned their bombs before contact, and tried to use their superior low altitude performance to escape, but 41 Squadron splashed five in quick succession, driving the Soviet Air Regiment from the field.
The RAF had very few Hawker Tempests capable of ground attack, but losses meant that the highly capable fighter aircraft were so employed this day. Twelve Tempest V’s of 486 Squadron RNZAF were tasked with blasting a path for the Poles, instead of sweeping the skies for enemy fighters.
The 46th Mechanised Brigade contained six triple DShK anti-aircraft machine-gun mounts, each fixed on Gaz lorry, all of which pumped 12.7mm rounds into the air.
Two of the valuable Tempests were hit, one driving hard straight into the town, adding its fuel and weapon load to the fires already burning there. The second aircraft hit seemed to stagger in mid-air and started burning immediately. The pilot jumped, too late for his parachute to open.
As per the air battle plan, 486 Squadron then withdrew to safer height to police the battlefield. and prevent Soviet ground attack units from interfering.
The Polish artillery then opened up once more, walking the barrage from Nottensdorf, straight down the Cuxhaven Straβe, intending to batter the outskirts of Buxtehude.
Again, Soviet soldiers moving in the town were caught unawares and incurred more casualties.
The Polish attack force started moving up, and was clearly seen in the fields behind Bliedersdorf, as well as emerging from Horneburg.
Colonel Rumyantsev, the Brigade commander, wisely decided that he was outgunned, his assault a non-starter, and that defence was his sole option for now. From his position on a small piece of rising ground behind Nottensdorf, he ordered the 1st Battalion into some sort of order and directed the howitzers of the 376th Artillery Regiment into action.
47th Mechanised was fortunate to possess a large number of lend-lease vehicles, and Rumyantsev profited from having a roomy M3 half-track as his headquarters vehicle.
He ordered his liaison officer to get the assigned Shturmovik Regiment to hit the enemy artillery positions as a priority.
Assessing the approaching enemy forces, he oriented the 1st mainly against those emerging from Horneburg, dispatching half of the 3rd Battalion down the road towards Grundoldendorf, where a short company of penal troops had already been defensively positioned. The other half of the 3rd, he retained as a reserve.
A message sent to the seven tanks of the 6th Guards Tanks asked them to move up immediately, in order to take advantage of their heavier guns and range, a message that was not received.
The Allied air battle plan had a final twist up its sleeve.
Successfully employed by RAF Coastal Command in an anti-U Boat role, three Mosquito FB Mk XVIII Tsetses had been pressed into service for ground-attack. Today was their first official use in this role, and they were accompanied by another Mosquito with purely observers onboard, tasked with an evaluation of the performance. The Tsetses were allocated to ground attack on enemy vehicles, giving the final close support to the attacker’s.
T-34’s and a handful of Zis-3 anti-tank guns opened fire at the lead elements of the Polish armour, being immediately rewarded with two very clear hits at long range.
Unfortunately for them, the Soviets were not using smokeless ammunition, and professionals with binoculars noted positions on maps whilst others talked into radios, passing on details to the Tsetse pilots circling over Ebersdorf.
The Mosquitoes approached from the south-east, confident in the cover provided by the circling Tempests above.