The morning lightened hesitantly. It seemed that the fog would thicken even more. Lieutenant Kühnel ordered me to occupy a position facing south [actually south-east] with my section. We moved off alongside a brick-built barn. Facing the fields, running from east to west, was a breast-high earthen hedge in which we would dig our foxholes. The sandy earth was frozen rock hard. We picked and hacked with our spades. After a quarter of an hour of sweating work we discovered that the fine earthen wall was the covering of a pile of turnips. We could not expect much protection from that.
We had relieved an army unit, whose troops were happy to leave at last. The Russians had given them a hard time. They forecast some uncomfortable days ahead for us.
Our view to the south sank into mist and fog only 200 metres away. The terrain was completely flat without a tree or a house to be seen, and appeared to be devoid of people. We knew, however, that the appearance was false. Therefore, as we dug in, we had several men keeping watch. But nothing unusual happened.
With our morning rations came some bottles of Sekt of a good make. Unfortunately these precious drops were ‘served’ while we were sweating and were hastily consumed to quell our thirst.
Ivan was keeping quiet. We were able to move about freely between the turnip pit and the farmyard. Only occasional shots came out of the milky greyness. A bit to our left we could sometimes see the shadows of two guns, 105mm flak cannon, that for some unaccountable reason had not been brought in to safety.
We did not only use the day for digging in, we found our way around the farmyard, which did not look so grand by daylight. Its dirty grey façade was unpleasant. The house with the Westminster clock was the farm manager’s. It had been damaged. Apparently a shell had ripped off the south-west corner and one could see inside. The clock had not been damaged and could still be heard. Between the manager’s house and the manor itself our predecessors had dug a hip-deep trench, most of which was not flooded by groundwater.
The first day and the following night at the farm passed quietly. The Russians did not show themselves, but we mistrusted this quietness and kept silent ourselves. We crouched in our primitive foxholes and kept our ears alert, but there was nothing to see or hear.
The second day dawned slowly. The fog of the previous day had thinned, but a milky ground mist remained. When the daylight eventually allowed a view of several hundred metres, we were surprised to see that the Russians had made good use of the darkness. About 200–300 metres to the south of the turnip pit was an infantry trench, the light-coloured dug-out earth betraying the line of the trench. The Russians had had the same problem in digging as we had, the high groundwater allowing only a hip-deep trench. Presumably the enemy could move around crouched down without being seen by us.
The enemy position was in a straight line from west to east. It appeared to be only a trench beginning east of the Weinbergshof running at an even distance from our position and ending abruptly a little west of the farm. This was a sudden alteration to our position. The trench was occupied and we could no longer move around freely between the pile of turnips and the farmyard. It was wise to keep under cover. The Russians would fire at every individual. It gradually became more uncomfortable.
We dozed all day in our foxholes so that we would be fit for the night. But our legs quickly became stiff. It was still not spring temperatures. Although we kept an eye on the enemy, we were unable to see any Russians. Once again they had camouflaged their observation posts in a masterly way. In our opinion they must have used quite a lot of men for the construction of their position, and they too must have had to get through the hard crust of frost.
With nightfall we were able to leave our foxholes. At about 2200 hours we received hot food, or rather lukewarm food. With it were cold rations, a few cigarettes and a cigar. Bombardier Horn swapped my cigar for several cigarettes.
The next night was as disturbed as the last. There was some firing to the left of us at about midnight. Some comrades were investigating whether the 105mm guns should be removed or blown up when they surprised some Russian scouts. This skirmish was repeated on the following night. The Russians thus prevented us from either removing or demolishing the guns. Daylight the next day revealed that the Russians had extended their trench to the west. It annoyed us that we could not stop their trench digging, or even interrupt it. Our company was too weak and had not received any reinforcements so far. Apart from this, we lacked a mortar. We did not even have enough ammunition for our machine guns. Especially important would have been a Very pistol, but that was also lacking. We had become a poor lot.
After our third night in the Weinbergshof it appeared that Ivan had extended his trench even further to encompass both sides of the farm. During the night the Russians had dug their trench about level with the manager’s house. The Russians could now watch us, and fire at us from two sides. Our situation was critical and we felt as if we had a noose around our throats.
The weather improved in as much as the sun showed itself timidly. Then we discovered a digging Ivan some 120 to 150 metres from our turnip pile. That is, we did not actually see him, for he was in a hole, but every few seconds the black blade of a spade appeared and earth flew from it. He was digging himself a listening post at least 100 metres in front of the Russian trench.
We watched this Russian mole for a while and fired with our carbines at his spade, but without evoking any reaction. Then we tried with a rifle grenade, but it exploded uselessly on the open ground. Finally the Russian gave up digging. Had we achieved our aim at last? No. He put up a short stovepipe from his hole from which soon after smoke appeared. Such a cheeky rascal! He wanted to show us and tease us. A man from our section went back to the armoury in the manor and fetched a 150-metre range Panzerfaust and fired at the smoking pipe. There was a loud explosion and the stove was out.
Once the Russians had completed their trenches, they started harassing us. Especially at night, we were fired on from the front and from the side. Our primitive foxholes between the turnips offered us little protection and Lieutenant Kühnel ordered the position to be evacuated. We were not sorry. Our new task was the defence of the farm from the west. We were to occupy and improve our predecessors’ trenches.
The allocated sector began in the south at the farm buildings. A closed gate formed the main entrance from the track and a metalled path led to the manor. From the gate a hedge ran northwards on the right of the track to beyond the manager’s house. The trench ran along the east side of the hedge. We occupied the trench to a bit beyond the house. Not much improvement was needed for this trench. One hit groundwater just a few centimetres below the bottom of the trench. The thaw and the rising water level of the Oder were raising the water table. We had no option but to dig small shelter holes against the hedge. Everyone dug out his hole to his own specifications.
Night-times were hellish. Every few minutes the Russians would fire machine-gun bursts at the farm. Rarely did we get so much as half an hour’s peace. The explosive bullets were devilish. They pattered against the asters in the hedge, and we regarded the ensuing splinters as harmless sparks. To protect ourselves from them we turned our holes into little caves. The nights were still cold and the dampness of the earth penetrated our camouflaged uniforms.
Every night was a long one for us. Every quarter or half hour I went along the trench from man to man warning them to be alert. During the hours after midnight we all had to fight against falling asleep. The night was dark and one could only see a few paces. It was important to react to noises. Company headquarters had told us that we would be relieved next evening. It was certainly time!