Kingfish Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Does anyone know for sure whether this unit really existed? On the one hand we have the famous encounter with the pistol-weilding Hans von Luck, and the misidentification and subsequent destruction of two Tiger IIs by this unit. On the other hand there are quite a few out there who are convinced such a unit never existed. It is worth noting that this unit's supposed area of deployment (northwest of Cagny) would have placed them right in the path of the 2nd Fife and Fofar Yeomanry, yet this unit did not enounter any opposition (that I've read about) until the tanks were approaching Grentheville, and the fire came from Becker's assault guns, not flak 88s. So, does anyone know? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve McClaire Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 I did a quick read of a couple of accounts I could find: Von Luck observed British tanks moving "in the direction of Cagny" and then "spotted a Flak battery" and persuaded the battery to fire into the flank of the British attack. So the exact location of the Flak battery is tough to tell based on this description. Perhaps quite a ways north of Cagny, if in the 21st Panzer sector. A second account says 23rd Hussars were bogged down fighting 88mm Flak guns and took considerable time regrouping before they could move to the aid of Fife and Forfar Yeomanry, who were reportedly getting shot up by 1.SS Panthers. So ... bits and pieces, but nothing really helpful 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 Was the first incident the one in which a German commander hijacked a flak battery by drawing his pistol and threatening to shoot if they didn't open fire on the British tanks instead of scanning the sky for air targets? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 Phillipe: Yes, that was von Luck. Kingfish - von Luck's (presumably overblown?) account explains why the 2nd F&FY didn't encounter any opposition. Ie, the flak gunners were still too dazed by the bombardment (which also explains their otherwise inexplicable fascination with the sky) to be functional. von Luck provided the motivation to get back in the game, in time to screw with 23H. I have Delaforce's "Black Bull" at home. I'll have a trawl through there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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