tss Posted June 2, 2000 Share Posted June 2, 2000 I recently read details about Finnish advance to Loimola (and beyond) on July 1941. The attack was pretty unique in Finnish army and I would like to know whether anything like it ever happened on other fronts. The thing that made the attack special was the fact that the point unit of the drive was a Panzerjaeger batallion. The spearpoint of the attack was two trucks that both towed a 37 mm AT gun and carried a gun crew. The gun crew was organized so that one man stood on the carriage of the gun and he was at all times ready to disconnect the gun the moment that the truct started to break. Another man who was armed with a SMG stood in the front and watched over the truck cabin as a lookout. When he noticed some enemies he would hit the top of the cabin with the stock of his gun and start firing at them. At that point the truck driver stopped, the gun crew disembarked and without any specific orders fired a couple of shots at the enemy while still on the middle of road before pushing the gun to better cover. While they were finding better positions the second gun had arrived at the scene to provide fire support. The guns were transported loaded and it took approximately 10 seconds to get the first shot off after the gun was detached. The initial rounds were not too accurate but they served to get the Sovied troops careful. The Panzerjaeger batallion didn't suffer any casualties on that attack... (The guns advanced some 10-20 km as point elements) - Tommi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikester Posted June 2, 2000 Share Posted June 2, 2000 Tommi, I've read several accounts of the Germans doing this, especially earlier in the war in Poland, France, the Balkans, and even the early part of the Russian campaign. The book I'm reading right now called, Grenadiers, offers several such accounts by Kurt Meyer who was an officer in the AH Liebstandarte for the entire war. Typically employing a 37mm AT gun for quicker moving strikes and bringing up 88mm AA/AT guns for emergencies / planned operational support of ground attacks. But these accounts of AT gun usage by the Germans are not quite in the manner that you described. They would typically have an AT gun near the point of attack though that could quickly be unlimbered and offer support both in an AT role as well as firing HE rounds and infantry and soft targets. Mike D aka Mikester PS: The "Grenadiers" book is a great book, but unfortunately isn't easy to find since it is out of print. I'd highly recommend it to anyone that likes to read first hand accounts of combat actions. It's one of the best books I've read in this regard (probably why it's hard to find). It covers the entire war from Poland until the end. [This message has been edited by Mikester (edited 06-02-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dar Posted June 2, 2000 Share Posted June 2, 2000 Fascinating! I've never heard of such tactics. It seems you would need to do something rather unorthodox like that since towed guns really aren't that well suited for attacking. Mike, do you have more info on that <u>Grenadiers</u> book, e.g. author, ISBN, publisher? Is that the complete title? Thanks, Dar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikester Posted June 2, 2000 Share Posted June 2, 2000 Dar, Yes, the title is simply: Grenadiers It's an autobiography of sorts, and the author is actually Kurt Meyer and the book is a translation I believe from the German version (quite well translated I might add. You'd think it was written originally in English). I believe the publisher is JJ Fedorowicz(sp?). I'll check the ISBN number when I get home tonight. I found the book at my local military book store about a year ago. Just got around to reading it recently. The owner had highly recommended it and told me that it was out of print so I went ahead and bought it. He generally knows what he's talking about, so I took his advice. I don't think I've seen it on his shelves since then. There may still be a few copies floating around somewhere at other dealers though. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabot Posted June 2, 2000 Share Posted June 2, 2000 I've read accounts of Rommel's troops using a leap-frog tactic against the British in North Africa. They would blitz towed 50m AT guns into little hollows and folds in the ground to establish a base of fire for the Panzers, who would race ahead to gain their own cover. Once the tanks were emplaced, they cover the towed AT guns to leapfrog to new positions, and so on. ------------------ "I do like to see the arms and legs fly" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tss Posted June 2, 2000 Author Share Posted June 2, 2000 As I'm once again writing from home using Lynx I don't try to quote anybody's text. The attack formation on Loimola advance was more or less improvised. At the time Finns had only one tank batallion that was deployed on other front. Major Lehtinen noticed that the Soviet defenders of the 71th Division were poorly trained and demoralized and a quick attack could probably rout them if they were not given time to regroup. When Finns advanced with tank support the formation was led by one infantry squad. About 50 meters after that was on tank platoon. A infantry platoon followed the tanks along with 2 AT rifle teams. Next was one AT gun section along with a 81 mm mortar section. Behind them was one infantry company that was again followed by one tank platoon and an AT-gun section. The rest of the point batallion followed the second AT gun section. When the column met enemy resistance is started attack immedietely. The point squad would recon the enemy positions and tanks and AT guns would start shelling them. The point platoon would spread and attack the Soviet positions. If the defenders were a simple delaying force, they would usually disengage at this point and the advance could continue in a matter of few minutes. If the resistance was stiffer, the mortars would be set to firing positions and the rest of the point company would outflank the defenders. The Finnish practice was that an artillery observer would go with the point platoon and the usual order was that the platoon leader and the FO should "be close enough to wear only one pair of trousers". This ensured that the artillery support would arrive quickly and that it would fall where it was needed. - Tommi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikester Posted June 2, 2000 Share Posted June 2, 2000 Exact info on the book: Title: Grenadiers Author: SS BrigadeFuhrer (Brig. General) Kurt Meyer, aka Panzer-Meyer to his troops. Translated by: Michael Mende Publisher: J.J. Fedorowicz, copyright 1994. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada ISBN: 0-921991-19-3 Good luck in finding a copy. Mike D aka Mikester [This message has been edited by Mikester (edited 06-03-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dar Posted June 2, 2000 Share Posted June 2, 2000 Cool beans! Thanks, Mikester! Dar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londoner Posted June 3, 2000 Share Posted June 3, 2000 "Citizen Soldiers" by Steven Ambrose is a book u peeps might want 2 read 2 get uz in the mood 4 our up comin treat in the mail. It covers Normandy from all points of view particularly from company level and below using many first hand accounts. Ambrose basically takes a battle, enagagement, even skirmish or patrol, and gives an in-depth view of it from MANY different sources, mainly Allied but some German. Sometimes many guys comment on the same action as low as Platoon level so u get a much clearer idea of the encounter. The book is seen (at least by the KCL War Studies Dept) as one of the most historically accurate, well researched books on the GI's experience in Normandy. (Most of uz prob know bout it already but jus in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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