Trommelfeuer

Thanks a lot for your comments! Adreas, I've just sent you the file (den Auszug aus v. Manstein's "Verlorene Siege" : Störfang - die Eroberung der Festung Sewastopol). Stoffel, I'll try to get the book ! Which WW1 type heavy machingun (wassergekühlt?) do you mean ? Regards, Sven

My grandfather was there when the Totenkopf was formed in KZ Dachau. "Ich war seit Aufstellung der Division dabei und werde versuchen aus eigenem Erleben meine Erfahrungen und Eindrücke zu schildern. Im Lager Dachau führte man die Totenkopfstandarten I. OBERBAYERN, II. BRANDENBURG und III. THÜRINGEN zusammen. Dieser 6.500 Mann starke Verband setzte sich in der Masse aus 17-18 jährigen Freiwilligen zusammen, die 1936 und später eingestellt worden waren. Sie versahen neben ihrer militärischen Ausbildung den turnusmässigen, 4-wöchentlichen Wachdienst im K.Z. im Aussendienst. Die bekannten K.Z. Horrorbilder hat es zu dieser Zeit noch nicht gegeben. Um die Kriegsstärke einer Infanteriedivision zu erreichen ist ein Personalbestand von 18-20 tausend Mann notwendig. Die Wehrmacht war nicht bereit, Rekruten abzugeben, so musste man auf die sogenannte SS-Reserve zurückgreifen. Die Reservisten waren Angehörige der "Schwarzen SS", ungediente Jahrgänge deren körperliche Verfassung und das Alter bei der späteren Ausbildung erhebliche Schwierigkeiten bereitete. Jetzt mussten Ausbilder her und aus allen SS-Verfügungsregimentern wurden geeignete Kräfte zur "Totenkopf" abgestellt. Ich kam vom III. Batallion GERMANIA, 4. Kompanie, Standort Radolfszell. Die 4. war immer eine schwere Kompanie gewesen, die Gliederung wie folgt: 3 Züge S.M.G. und ein Zug mittelschwerer Granatwerfer. Versetzt wurde ich zum Divisonsbegleitschutz als Gewehrführer beim Divisionsstab. Der Divisionsstab bestand aus Divisionskommandeur, 1A mit Generalstabsoffizieren, Kartographie-Einheit, Fernmelde-Einheit, Divisionsbegleitschutz, Feldgendarmeriekompanie, Quartiermeister, Waffenzug, Mechaniker, Stabsarzt und Stabszahnarzt. Der Divisionsbegleitschutz bestand aus 2 S.M.G. Gruppen zu je 2 Maschinengewehren und einem Panzerabwehr-Zug mit vier 3,7 cm Geschützen. Unsere Aufgabe war die Sicherung des Divisonsstabesund und des Kommandeurs am Gefechtsstand und auf dem Gefechtsfeld. In Dachau habe ich erlebt, was es heisst eine kriegsstarke Division aufzustellen und mit Waffen und Gerät zu versehen und zu versorgen. Hier habe ich Theodor Eicke als souveränen Menschen und Offizier mit einem Herz für seine Mannschaft kennengelernt. Bei all dem Durcheinander war er der ruhende Pol, der verworrene Dinge mit ruhiger Hand ordnete und stets bereit war, selber tätig zu werden. Aus dem Waffenarsenal der Tschechei kamen Panzer vom Typ T-38, Maschinengewehre vom Typ Bren, leichte Artillerie Kaliber 10,5cm mit Kastenlafette und dreiachsige geländegängige Skoda-Lastwagen mit Seilwinde. Die Zugmaschinen waren aus deutschen Beständen, vorwiegend die Krupp- und die Borgward-Protze. Die Infanterie wurde mit Opel-Blitz Lkw befördert. Ich erinnere mich immer wieder an die BMW Maschinen. Frisch vom Band standen da chromglänzende R12 als Seitenwagenmaschinen mit Waffenträger, die Sportmaschine R66 als schnelle Kradmaschine und die 250er, der Aufkärer und Kradschützen. Mir sind fast die Tränen gekommen, als die feldgraue Spritzpistole all den Glanz eliminierte. Parallel zum VW Kübelwagen hatte auch BMW einen Kübel zur Truppenerprobung geschickt, leider ist der Wagen bei Extrembelastung immer wieder umgekippt und wurde als truppenuntauglich abgelehnt. Die ersten Tage waren chaotisch, Tag und Nacht kamen die Versetzten und Kommandierten aus allen Himmelsrichtungen und mussten untergebracht werden, und so mancher Kamerad hat bei uns die erste Unterkunft gefunden. Verteten waren alle Dienstgrade und sozialen Schichten und diskutiert wurde in Gruppen und Zirkeln bis tief in die Nacht. Hier ist manche Verbindung entstanden die über den Tag hinaus Bestand hatte. Nachdem die personelle Einstellung und die materielle Ausrüstung abgeschlossen war erfolgte die Verlegung in den Raum Stuttgart auf den Truppenübungsplatz Münsigen auf der rauen Alp. Es war Winter 39/40, an die genauen Daten kann ich mich nach über 60 Jahren nicht mehr erinnern. Eins steht mir noch deutlich vor Augen: der letzte steile Straßenabschnitt vor dem Lager "Gänsemarkt". Keins von unseren Fahrzeugen war in der Lage die vereiste Straße nach oben zu befahren. Hier haben wir die segensreiche Einrichtung von Seilzügen an den tschechischen Fahrzeugen schätzen gelernt. Im Mannschaftszug wurden die Seile nach oben geschleppt, das Seil um einen Baum gebunden und schon war der erste Wagen oben, und nun konnte man mühelos Fahrzeug nach Fahrzeug nach oben befördern. Eine große Hürde musste noch überwunden werden, die Aufstellung des Artillerieregiments. Da die Division innerhalb eines 1/4 Jahres Einsatzbereitschaft melden sollte, war die Ausbildung nicht machbar, und deshalb wurde vom Heer ein komplettes Regiment zur "Totenkopf" abgestellt. Nach Komplettierung wurde dann in den Großraum Arolsen, Frankenberg, Winterberg, Brilon verlegt. Der Divisionsstab war in Korbach untergebracht. Hier wurden auch die großräumigen Verbandsübungen im Divisionsrahmen im Zusammenwirken aller Waffen geübt. Anfang Mai wurde die Division als Heeresreserve in den Raum Mönchen-Gladbach verlegt und trat am 17.5. ihren Weg in den Krieg an...." Translation: Babelfish I just had another phone call with him, and he says that he's sure that they already recieved the Panzer 38(t) when the division was still being formed in Dachau. Another interesting detail: He says they didn't have any MG 34s, but czech Bren MGs! (I think he's referring to the czechoslovakian ZB-26 & ZB-30 LMGs and the ZB-37 HMGs, I'll show him photos of the MGs and ask him again.), At Arras they still had the Bren MGs and no MG 34s! (Sorry for posting the wrong info above!) He also says that they could'nt create an artillery regiment in the short time in which the division was formed (within 3 months, the division was formed, equipped and prepared for combat...), and so they recieved a complete artillery regiment from the Wehrmacht ! So there was no need for "stealing" any artillery guns from the Wehrmacht, 'cause the complete Wehrmacht artillery regiment joined the "Totenkopf". My grandpa didn't hear any stories of a stolen 150mm battery. Regards, Sven [ April 12, 2004, 04:39 PM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

Oh, and one more thing I forgot to post, my grandpa said that the 3rd SS Totenkopf Division wasn't equipped with any Flak (anti aircraft cannons) in this time. They "only" had Bren HMGs on special tripods and twin-mounted Bren HMGs for air-defence. Regards, Sven [ April 12, 2004, 01:23 PM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

This might be useful for you: British Expeditionary Force - OOB Regards, Sven [ April 11, 2004, 12:16 PM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

Here's what he remembers: After I showed him this thread he thought about it and said he was near Mercatel, when row after row of tanks attacked the flank - in the beginning the tanks attacked without infantry support. So he witnessed the british attack and not the french. It was afternoon and he was sitting on a Opel Blitz truck with his HMG group (in the middle of the marching column, Opel Blitz trucks and Krupp- and Borgward Protzen, the whole division was almost fully motorized) when suddenly ~500m to the right many tanks came into view as they drove over a small hill. Most trucks hit the gas and raced forward to get away from the tanks, some left the road to find cover. Everything was quite confused. The Panzerjäger deployed like on field exercise, and quickly opened fire on the attacking tanks. But the rounds just bounced off, aiming at viewing slits / tracks was also quite fruitless. The 37mm ATGs were overrun...(the next day he saw members of the Panzerjägers on the march, many of them were missing...) and the chzech 105mm fieldguns were not very useful 'cause they bounced/jumped while they fired from the street because they lacked a "Sporn" and so they couldn't "festschiessen". ( normal: gun fires, Sporn is pushed into the ground, gun is in fixed firing position.(well, sort of) Without Sporn, no fixed firing position.) He said this was the first real "Panzerschreck" for his divison, they couldn't do anything against the heavy british tanks. Further ahead on the road they met one of Rommel's units, and there they formed their position. Later the "Acht-Acht" Flak arrived and deployed in the open on a field (without any cover), from where they engaged the attacking tanks on "Kernschußweite" at ~500-700m distance, free line of sight. When a dozen or so were burning, the others were retreating, and some Stukas showed up and destroyed some more. The next morning General Rommel walked through the fields and talked to the soldiers, and my grandpa reported to him. Rommel was pleased that my grandpa had secured the "Acht-Acht" battery with his HMG group during the battle. (2x HMG 34) The only real panic he heard of was this: A rear truck support column was attacked in the flank and the crews ran away / were killed / captured. He also said that's just natural, and that support crews don't stand and fight when they are overrun by enemy tanks... He also said they had no other armored vehicles than 2 companies of Panzer 38(t) in this time, and that these were operating together with the motorbike recon company in front of the division. He says that he is uncertain about some details after more then 60 years... Maybe he'll remember more if I find some more photos... Regards, Sven [ April 11, 2004, 01:46 PM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

I am not worried Nils </font>

@ Stoffel: I have to ask him about the book (I don't know it)...I wish I had more free-time, so I could post more memories of my grandpa... @ Panther Commander: The negative point about this is that we'll see no "horrified" SSTK 37mm ATGs crunched beneath the tracks of allied tanks in this scenario... ( source: Somua S35 ) I had a phone-talk with my grandpa an hour ago, unfortunately he has not time today, but we'll talk about the battle tomorrow...he said that the 21st May 1940 is "unforgettable" for him, so I guess he can tell me some good details... Here are some photos: 1er ou 2e régiment de cuirassiers Détruit entre Berneville et Wailly au sud-ouest d'Arras le 21 mai 1940 ( click the photos to enlarge ) --> my grandpa said the landscape in this area was relatively flat, with few trees...the photos tell the same... I'll search for more info / photos ! Regards, Sven

I've only had a quick look at the scenario so far...so I can't review it yet...the map seems to have good potential but looks a bit small to me... ( I'm playttesting huge & great CM:BB Operation Störfangand maybe I'm not used to "normal-sized" maps any more ? ) Anyway, here's what a veteran has to tell... My grandpa took part in this battle. He was Zugführer of the 1st HMG, 1st heavy MG group of the "Divisionsbegleitschutz" (division escort), 3rd SS-Totenkopf Division. His duty was to guard the "Divisionsstab" (divison staff) and the "Kommandeur" (commander: Theodor Eicke) at the "Gefechtsstand" (command post) and on the "Gefechtsfeld" (battlefield). Divisionsbegleitschutz * 2x heavy MG groups, each with two HMGs ; * 1x 37mm AT gun battery (four guns) ; ...this is from his written memories: Translation: Babelfish I'll ask my grandpa if he remembers any more details about this battle! (Well, not this evening, it's late and he's old and he needs his sleep.. ) Regards, Sven P.S. Are there any Stukas in this scenario ? P.P.S. Map source: Der Weg des PzRgt25 als Teil der 7.Panzerdivision, während der ersten Phase des Westfeldzuges, des "Fall Gelb" P.P.P.S. Oh No! I hope the Master (Eichenbaum) doesn't see that I'm playing other sceanrios beesides his right now...he'll rip my head off! (Just taking a short eastern front holiday Nils, don't worry! ) [ April 09, 2004, 06:29 PM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

Jawoll! Please do it Andrew ! Regards, Sven

The "Iron Roadblock" can be disabled without great losses by "hail-fire" - if enough grenades hit the KV the crew panics and runs away...( or the gun is damaged / track broken, etc...) Regards, Sven

Ups, I just checked it, there are three Panzer IVGs in this scenario and NOT any Panzer IIIs...sorry! Mit freunlichen Grüssen, Sven

Sergei, the FO didn't have LOS to the spot of land where the wrecked Sherman stood, only clear LOS to the turret and maybe a bit of the upper hull. When the wrecked Sherman was pushed away by the other Sherman, the target line still ended on the same spot behind the wall (or was it a hedgerow ? doesn't matter...) but the FO didn't have LOS to it any more and so the barrage came down elsewhere.... Of course this is a very rare situation, I just wanted to share this experience with all of you. Unfortunately I haven't saved the file, but I'm sure it will happen again in a similar situation. Regards, Sven [ April 06, 2004, 03:00 PM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

Off Topic: (but it's an artillery problem, so...) Has anyone ever noticed this: Scenario "The Melfa Bridgehead": Warning! Maybe some spoilers below! . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lots of knocked out Shermans and other AFVs were littered over the landscape. I aimed with my ?mm rocket FO for a Sherman III which was behind a small wall, but I had clear LOS to it. Now I waited for the barrage to fall...but in the meantime another Sherman III drives into my target Sherman and pushes it some meters away. Guess what happened. My FO lost LOS to his target and the barrage came down miles from the target area outside the map... This does make no sense to me. The FO sends coordinates back to the battery, and the battery fires at the coordinates. If the target is "pushed away" from it's place, the coordinates don't change. Just like it is with smoke... Regards, Sven [ April 06, 2004, 02:56 PM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

Really great work MikeyD! Thanks a lot! BTW...cmmods.com rules! Regards, Sven [ April 05, 2004, 05:51 PM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

What I'd like to see in the next CM game... * Railway cannos, ( offboard ) * Remote controlled vehicles like the Ladungsträger "Goliath", * Motorbikes for recon units, * "Smart" behaviour of soldiers under fire, I don't want to see any more of this "Hey, we are under fire, come on, let's panic and crawl towards the enemy instead of staying in our foxhole / trench / whatever." - behaviour...please! * I would like to see a little more detailed info about casualities. Example: 9 soldiers killed/wounded <---- ? Why can't it just be: 4 soldiers KIA / 3 ligthly wounded / 2 serious wounded ? Regards, Sven

Surprise attacks would be great... You'll always meet enemies ready for combat in CM, but you'll never encounter an unprepared / surprised enemy. Regards, Sven

Wenn alle Brüder schweigen / When all brothers are silent Regards, Sven P.S. The website above seems like a Nazi-fanclub to me, there's so many **** written there...but the book is great, if you have a chance to pick it up, do it! (It's not exclusively about the eatern front, but you'll find lots of eastern front photos in it.) [ April 03, 2004, 06:36 AM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

Now that would be something I'd enjoy too - I guess... Unfortunately, I don't have the time for it now, I'm playtesting Operation Störfang SP & MP scenarios... But "The Melfa Bridgehead" is certainly one I'll play as a PBEM match as soon as I can! Regards, Sven

Warning! Spoilers in da house! Don't read on if you haven't played this scenario yet! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I know this scenario is best played as Allies (Canadians) vs. AI (Germans), but I couldn't resist and played it as the Germans. Wow! This was great fun! I just sent my Panthers forward and enjoyed watching the complete destruction of the canadian attack force without losing a single Panther... The Nashorns proved to be very vulnerable at close ranges, I lost two of them on the graveyard to heavy incoming machinegun fire...but on long ranges, they kicked some ass! The Panzer IVGs were also very useful, one of them knocked out three Sherman IIIs in one and a half minutes! ( near the graveyard ) The funniest thing was when I ordered my 82mm mortar FO to open fire "blindly" (witout LOS) on one of the canadian attack columns. Of course the barrage didn't strike the target area, but struck the other canadian attack column... The AI lost sixty-three vehicles in this battle, while I lost two...har har... Oh well, I think I'll try it as the canadians now...can't be that hard against the AI ... Regards, Sven [ April 07, 2004, 05:50 AM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

Aye Sergei, message recieved...Ich geh' dann mal zum Lachen in den Keller... Regards, Sven

Of course I do not want to suggest that German recon units attacked all the time...but when the commander saw a chance that the enemy might be surprised / confused in a daring atack, it was done. Redgards, Sven

There are plenty documented cases when german recon units just attacked against overwhelming enemy units. Did you ever read Panzermeyer's "Grenadiere" ? Regards, Sven

I'm not sure about that, 'cause I've never tried it. The best thing you could probably do is to download all the CMBO-goodies from Combat Mission HQ , there are many great MODS there! Here's a very nice example, Dainius Kartanas' awesome Tiger VI Ausf. B - MOD: ..found in the Third Party Mods - Vehicles - German Tanks - section. Regards, Sven

Hmmm...it's very silent in here...maybe we should show some more goodies, eh ? In Operation Störfang you'll have the chance to engage in deadly combat in realistic landscape. Here's another example, the town "Tankovoe" and surrounding terrain. Just beautiful, isn't it ? The Eichenbaum.org team is working as fast as possible on the project, and we are all looking forward to the release. ( ...but careful testing and tweaking + takes some time... ) Regards, Sven [ March 26, 2004, 11:01 AM: Message edited by: Trommelfeuer ]

When I try to view the screenies, I get this message: "You are attempting to reach a page that does not exist. » Please use your browser's back button to return." Sounds good though... Regards, Sven