Dane49
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« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2012, 11:46:36 AM » |
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Kampfgruppe Peiper and the Rescue of 320. Infanterie-Division- KRASNAYA POLYANA While fighting raged southeast and east of Kharkov, particularly in the Rogan area, Kampfgruppe Peiper began its operation to reach 320. Infanterie-Division at 0330 hours. After assembling in the pitch black, bitter cold night, the SS Grenadiers stood around the half tracks, stamping their feet and clapping their frozen hands in futile attempts to stay warm. The SPW exhaust pipes sent out clouds of vapor while the men and drivers gathered in small groups, quietly talking while they waited for the order to begin the attack. To shut a motor off risked not being able to get it started again because of the intense cold. As a result there was a constant dull rumbling of idling motors throughout the assembly area. Finally the NCOs re- . turned from a last mission review and the men clambered aboard the vehicles clutching their weapons. The Kampfgruppe moved off toward the south while to the rear the long line of ambulances also got under way, following at a distance behind the combat troops. Led by two assault guns, the lead elements of the relief column drove southward toward the Udy River. At 0515 hours, Peiper's lead detachment surprised a Russian security force on the bridge over the river at Krassnaya Polyana. The bridge was in German hands before it could be destroyed by the surprised Russian troops. Those who were not killed or captured fled into the night and disappeared. After mopping up the area, Peiper left a platoon behind to protect the bridge and quickly pushed on. The following column of vehicles snaked through Krassnaya Polyana and crossed the bridge after a brief halt due to a Soviet counterattack that destroyed several vehicles and caused havoc for a time before it was driven off. Burning vehicles were pushed off the road into the deep snow and the lead vehicles left the river and its platoon of guardians behind. A few minutes later intense firing suddenly was heard once again from Krassnaja Polyana. The detachment guarding the bridge had been attacked once again and were fighting for their lives, but no help could be sent back to aid them because the column had to keep moving. An hour later Peiper's Kampfgruppe reached Zmiev and crossed the Northern Donets River on a still intact rail road bridge, at first meeting no Russian resistance on the eastern bank. However, the Russians were alerted to the presence of the SS column and after Peiper's spearhead moved on, Soviet infantry mounted several attacks against the SS troops guarding the bridge. Machine gun fire snapped overhead and mortar shells began to impact around the bridge. Several small groups of Russian infantry attacked the bridge guard detachment, firing machine pistols and hurling grenades. Peiper received word that 320. Infanterie-Division battle groups were on the move, making their way toward their rendezvous with the SS troops. A reconnaissance plane spotted the first regimental group of the division traveling along the rail line only a few kilometers southeast of Zmiev. A trail of dead horses, discarded equipment and abandoned vehicles marked the passage of Postel's troops. Peiper sent patrols to establish contact with the division, while the main body of his battalion remained near Zmiev. Shortly before noon, the first element of the infantry division could be seen in the distance. At 1230 hours, the lead group of the division, with its commanding officer, Generalmajor Postel at its head, made the first contact with Peiper's men. The regiment serv- ing as the divisional rear guard was still several kilometers away in the Liman area. Peiper reported that the appearance of the men of the first group was shocking and brought to his mind visions of the retreat of Napoleon's Grand Army from Russia. Shortly after the link up was established, elements of a Russian rifle regiment occupied Krassnaja Polyana and took possession of the bridge. The Russians killed the last surviving men of the guard detachment, thus cutting Peiper's line of retreat. While Peiper had waited for Postel's division to reach Zmiev, one of the bridges in his rear had fallen into Soviet hands. There was nothing to be done however, except carry out the mission and then find a way to fight their way back to their own lines. Throughout the night the assembly of bone weary German infantry continued, as the exhausted men of the three regimental groups called on their last mental and physical reserves in a final effort to reach safety. Columns of exhausted men reached the SS lines, unshaven, wrapped in rags and half frozen. Along the way they had collected all manner of animals to help drag their guns and equipment. Scores of little Russian panje horses had been taken from Russian civilians and hooked up to sleds or supply wagons. Officers rode horses on makeshift saddles of blankets, while cattle or oxen had been commandeered to drag the division's remaining artillery pieces. The men staggered past the SS soldiers wrapped in layers of tattered blankets, ice hanging from beards and eyebrows. Sleds and wagons rolled up to the river, loaded with wounded and dead. But regardless of their appearance, the men had kept their order and discipline and had not collapsed in the face of a terrible mental strain. They had brought out their wounded, retained the ability to fight and had occupied elements of three Soviet rifle divisions during its march west. This was an amazing achievement in itself and before all of the division had even reached safety, Armeeabteilung Lanz considered several assignments for it. This included a probably unrealistic role as reinforcements for the SS-Panzer-Korps attack south of Kharkov. Only the lead group of the division had actually reached Peiper's position on the afternoon of 12 February in any event. The entire division did not assemble in time to contribute to the attack before other events completely changed the situation in Kharkov. The last regimental group, made up of the survivors of the division's 585. Grenadier Regiment, did not reach the rescue assembly area until 14 February. With the arrival of the rear guard detachment, the nightmarish withdrawal of the division was at an end. Peiper's battalion spread out on each flank to protect the march route and the column got under way, with the long trail of ambulances carrying their cargo of wounded. When the leading detach- ments of the column neared the bridge at Krassnaja Polyana, they were fired on by a Russian ski battalion. The bridge was partially destroyed and the small German guard detachment, as well as a number of German medical personnel and wounded had all been killed. Their bodies lay in the snow, strewn in piles along the town streets. Peiper launched an immediate assault and took the town from the Russians. Little imagination is required to guess what happened to any Russian survivors after the dead SS Grenadiers and medical personnel were discovered. The remains of the bridge were used to construct a fragile temporary bridge and the wounded of the division were taken across. For those men, their ordeal ended when they crossed over to the north bank of the river in the ambulances and trucks. While the wounded and sick were taken across the makeshift crossing, the rest of the division gathered on the southern bank. However the improvised bridge was not strong enough to hold the assault guns and SPWs of Peiper's battalion. One of Postel's surviving assault guns attempted to cross the frozen ice but fell through and had to be abandoned. After the entire 320. InfanterieDivision crossed the river to safety, Peiper was to assemble his battalion at Merefa. In order to reach Merefa as soon as possible, Peiper decided on a bold course of action and raced back to Zmiev. After reaching the town the battalion turned west and drove down a road on the northern bank of the Msha River. Passing through the towns of Sidki and Mirgorod, Peiper was able to slip between Russian forces in the area and reach Merefa, which lay about 15 kilometers southwest of Kharkov. The first of Peiper's remarkable operations during the winter of 1942-43 had reached a successful conclusion. Meanwhile, to the south, while the men of 320. Infanterie-Division marched into safety, the drama of the battle for Kharkov was reaching a climax.
This was taken from the book "Last Victory in Russia" by George Nipes.
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