The tank’s hull machine-gun hammered out and the casualty station was no more.
“Tank action front!” he yelled, dropping into the turret as fast as he could.
The gunner, another veteran, was on the ball, already tracking his target as the loader drove home a solid shot shell. Their target, actually a T-34-85 of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Corps, was equally competent and experienced.
Both fired together and both hit.
The Chafee’s 75mm main gun was not noted for its armour piercing performance and the gunner tried for a turret ring shot. The shell struck the T-34 on the right side of the turret and sped away to bury itself in the village beyond. On its journey, it wiped three tank riding infantry off the vehicle, leaving only bloody spray marks where men had once clung.
The Russian 85mm shell struck the front glacis plate and easily penetrated the thin armour in front of the driver’s position. The rest of the crew were covered with the drivers remains as the shell carved its way through, moving on to remove both of Ravens legs at the hips before it buried itself in the engine compartment at the rear and the vehicle started to burn.
By the time the shocked and dazed crew started to exit the vehicle, Ravens was dead.
The three survivors dropped to the ground and in their shocked state were unaware of the approaching Soviet tank.
It swept on by as the riding infantry exacted revenge for their three dead comrades, killing the helpless American survivors as they passed.
With their deaths, ‘A’ Troop ceased to exist.
Allied Forces – 63rd Arm.Inf.Btn and 41st Tnk.Btn of 11th US Armored Division, US XI Corps, US Third Army.
Soviet Forces – 2nd & 3rd Btns of 440th Rifle Regt of 64th Rifle Division of 70th Rifle Corps of 49th Army of 3rd Red Banner Central European Front.
The two companies of the 63rd Armored Infantry had been there all night, as directed by the divisional exercise schedule. Set up on a east-facing line commencing on the Pernau side of Neumarkt, running along the heights all the way down until it curved to the east passing to the south of Wittinghof and terminating on the heights adjacent to the river Feldaist, with a strong reserve in Rudersdorf and a smaller force just to the north-east of Neumarkt.
The brief was for a narrow front dawn attack mounted by elements of the 41st Tank battalion, namely C & D companies who, along with C/63rd had laagered overnight in the fields south of Lasberg.
This was the enemy force that was to attack and breakthrough the defence, needing to enter Matzeldorf to triumph in the exercise.
Languishing around Netzberg were the Sherman’s of A/41st, presently untasked but slated to conduct a tank assault during the second exercise later.
B/41st was still on the northern outskirts of Linz unneeded in the exercise and conducting maintenance prior to the whole division being shipped back to the States for demobilisation.
None the less, in and around the exercise site nearly one and a half thousand experienced US troops were wide-awake and loaded for bear.
Umpires from Corps Headquarters, who had quartered overnight in Lasberg , had been rudely awakened by the distant sound of artillery and shortly after by the arrival of a jeep containing soldiers with incredible news.
That news was soon handed to Major-General Holmes Ely Dager, a competent, capable man born for combat. He had spent the night in the magnificent Schloss Weinberg and was well refreshed.
Immediately organising his units by radio, he pulled his formation into defensive order, moving to command them from close by a house on the six hundred metres line north of Rudersdorf, around which his armored-infantry were already arraigned.
Swiftly he pulled the ‘enemy’ units of the 63rd and 41st behind the lines drawn by the 63rd’s ‘friendly’ companies, sending the infantry of C/63rd to extend the line across the front of the tankers at Netzberg and retaining some as a mobile reserve in the same area.
Making sure his tank companies had topped off on fuel at first light as instructed, the problem of practice rounds was addressed. Each vehicle had retained only mock main rounds to avoid any accidents but each company had its own supply train close at hand with war rounds aboard. None the less, it was a long process and would take time to complete.
The infantry units had live rounds available nearby and the exchange went swiftly and without problems, a testament to the steady nature of the men, for all was conducted under the increasing noise generated by artillery moving its fire zones closer.
C & D/41st had withdrawn through the infantry lines and were rearming themselves, C/41st having made rendezvous with their ammunition trucks in the fields south of Neustadt where they commenced the exchange of rounds. D/41st had met with their supply vehicles parked on an overgrown country road in the woods to the south of Rudendorf and were already well into the rearming process.
A new problem for the silent American defenders arrived overhead, as four Ilyushin-II’s, the famous Shturmoviks, flew down the road line towards Linz.
D/41st, although nearer to the flight line, benefited from the overgrown road and was not spotted. C/41st was not so fortunate.
Off to the right one, pilot saw tanks and lorries concentrated in a small open area, oblivious to their presence.
Amazed that they should find enemy tanks so exposed, they held off the attack whilst the leader radioed his contact report and the position of his targets.
All four then turned and drove hard and fast, aiming at the tanks gathered around the Neustadt-Matzelsdorf road.
Each carried a very successful Soviet tank-busting weapon, the PTAB, which was essentially a small bomblet with a shaped charge capable of penetrating the top armour of most battle tanks, as well as killing any men close enough to the point of explosion. Today the PTAB’s, each aircraft was carrying two hundred, were dropped like a carpet all over the tankers of C/41st as they desperately toiled to load with ammunition.
The Sherman carried medium armour when dealing with tank versus tank combat but its roof armour of 25mm was not capable of resisting direct impacts from the PTAB’s.
Of the sixteen tanks targeted, twelve were knocked out by either direct hits or fires and explosions caused by strikes on the tankers and trucks around them. The casualties were enormous and few capable men survived, effectively removing the whole company from action in a few seconds.
All four aircraft circled lazily to assess the damage, undertaking individual strafing runs on the site before they flew back to re-arm, completely untouched and in celebratory mood.
The shock of that attack was felt in the headquarters tent of General Dager but he quickly adjusted to the loss and reorganised his right, ordering A/41st nearer to the centre in the woods to the south of Wittinghof and re-siting its supporting elements from C/63rd accordingly. D/41st would move as soon as rearmament was complete, secreting themselves in the woods to the east of Neumarkt.
Artillery was now starting to fall upon his infantrymen but caused few casualties, as they were dug-in. In any case, the barrage quickly passed on as it was supposed to be sweeping ahead of the advancing rifle corps it was supporting.
Overhead came the sound of an aircraft engine, immediately causing consternation until it was recognised as an L-1 Vigilant Observation aircraft, and more importantly, friendly.