The Battle of Mokra

Sir Richard

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Story 02 of The Polish Campaign

SETUP

2 September, 1939
Played as: German

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SETUP

"You're ride is here," Kriel said, pointing ahead of us on the road he was aiming to land on. A motorcycle rider with a side car was racing us down the strip, kicking up a tail of dust that the pilot was using to measure wind speed and direction. The motorcyclist pulled into a side street, and Kriel put the wheels on the gravel.

We quickly braked. Kriel wheeled the spotting plane around and drove up to where the motorcyclist waited.

"Have a good day," said Kriel. He kept the engine running as I stepped out and ran out from the cover of the wing. Then he spun around again and headed back up the road. As he took to the air he waved his wings goodbye.

The motorcyclist stepped up behind me. "Excuse me. Are you mister John Schmidt?"

It took me a moment to recognize that he was talking to me. "Yes, I am."

"Colonel Dybilasz wants to see you right away." He handed me a pair of goggles.

Just as we started to move, a gust of wind blew a cloud of dust at us, and it started to rain. It was just a weak drizzle; the water evaporated almost as soon as it hit, but it lowered the wind chill on the bike and caused the dust to clump up on my goggles. I could barely see.

After a few twists and turns up the valley, we started to pass a line of parked and fully loaded trucks. About a kilometer up the road, where we stopped, I could see that the line of vehicles extended for three or four kilometers before disappearing into a bundle of trees.

A tall, slender man with wispy blonde air and a colonel's insignia strolled over me as I got out of the sidecar. The wind caught his scarf, making it flap up over his shoulder. He held out his hand, and I shook it.

"Command says that I am supposed to be nice to you," he said.

I shrugged. "We're both just doing what we're told," I answered. "You didn't stop this whole convoy waiting for me, did you?"

"In a way, yes," Dybilasz said. "When command told me that you were coming, they mentioned your fight this morning. How did it go?"

"Very well," I answered. "We had sixty, seventy casualties, and took out over a thousand who were dug in and fortified."

"That's what I was told. Come, inside." He started off in the direction of his command vehicle, and I followed. "I am not accustomed to dealing with civilians. Where are you in the chain of command?"

"I have exactly as much authority as I need to do my job. Like I told
Colonel Keintz this morning, I am here to observe, not to interfere."

"That's where you are wrong," said Dybilasz. "If you are here, I am going to use you." He stepped into his command wagon. I followed him, and his aid closed the door behind us.

He handed me a radio. "This is linked up to Major Poetsch from the First Battalion. It's got a pretty short range. Just tell him what you know. That shouldn't be too much."

"What's the plan."

"I don't know," the Colonel answered. "I had it all worked out last night. Now . . ."

He unrolled a map. "I was going to take my regiment up this way," he said, following the road straight ahead. "I've got my recon battalion that's going to hit over here from the east. Since this afternoon, I was thinking that maybe I should go over here, meet up with my recon battalion, and hit this spot together, the both of us. We should be able to break through a lot more quickly."

"Is that what you're going to do?"

Dybilasz put the map away without saying a word. He stepped out of the command vehicle and called an aide. "Get this caravan turned around." We're going to Winowice. When we're there, tell the vehicles to get out of the way and let the tanks through."

He then turned to me. "You'll be with the tanks."
 
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Colonel Dybilasz commanded Kriel, "You will be Mr. Schmidt's driver for the rest of the day. First, drive him to Major Poetsch. Then, do whatever he says." He returned Kriel's salute, bid me farewell, and slowly walked to his car.

Around us, trucks started their engines and began the laborious task of turning their vehicles around on a narrow dirt road.

"Hop in," Kriel instructed as he handed me my goggles.

I followed instructions.

Kriel turned the bike and started to make his way to the far end of the line, only to run up against a mass of trucks trying to turn around on the narrow road. To get around them, Kriel took off across the field until he reached the point that the road entered into a copse of trees. There, it was harder trying to snake a path through the tangle of vehicles.

After a bit of a struggle, the drivers started to get their trucks headed in the right direction, and we had a clear road around them.

Tanks could be turned more easily than trucks. They just locked one of their tracks and used the other to drag the vehicle around until it faced in the opposite direction. However, once turned, the advantage went to the trucks, which were able to speed down the roadway to the next destination. By the time we arrived, the tanks were already falling behind the others.

Major Poetsch was in his command car at the head of the column. As he saw the motorcycle approach he tapped the driver on the shoulder and signaled him to pull off the road, then he waved the tanks on by. Kriel pulled the motorcycle up along the side of his car.

He held on to his hat to keep the wind from taking it. "You're my new spotter," he shouted. I could barely hear him above the noise of the trucks and the wind.

"Among other things," I announced.

"The colonel gave you your orders?"

"The colonel asked me for a favor. He has no authority to command me, and this is not on my official list of duties. I will do this nonetheless. For the fatherland."

The major scowled at me. "We are not doing this for the fatherland. We are doing this so that Hitler can play with his toy soldiers."

"The Poles . . ."

"Poland is no threat to Germany. Hitler is a liar. He lied because he knew that the people would not support the war if they knew the truth. The Germans are good people. Only, they are far too trusting."

I stood in stunned silence for a long moment.

Poetsch continued. "Look, we're here now. I have a job to do and I will do my job to the best of my ability. If you help me, we can all get through this alive and go back to our wives and children. Somewhere in this mess I have a command vehicle. They will be listening, but do not ask any questions. Their job is to acquire information, not to hand it out."

"I understand."

"I doubt it," said Major Poetsch. "Try to be useful anyway." He sat back in his seat to signal that the conversation was over, and motioned his driver to catch up with the tanks.

As I settled back in my seat, Kriel asked, "Where to next?"

"I can't do much observing from back here," I told him. "How quickly can you get me back to the head of this convoy?"

"Let's find out," he said with smile. He lowered his goggles, revved the engine, and nearly threw me from the car as he spun around. He sped past Major Poetsch, then continued past the trucks, cars, and halftracks.

We came to an intersection where a member of the military police was directing traffic to turn left. When he saw us, he had us pull over. "Winowice is just down the road. The Colonel has called a meeting of all senior staff there. He says to look for his command flag."

Kriel acknowledged the instructions, and continued down the road.

We found the colonel's command flag outside of a nice large hotel in the center of town. We were among the first to arrive. Kriel stayed with the bike, while I went inside. The guards at the door eyed me suspiciously as I walked through, but they had already seen me with the colonel.

It did not take long for the rest of the senior staff to assemble. Major Schilling commanded the 12th Motorized Battalion. He came with Captain Diepper who ran the 103rd Artillery Battalion, and Captain Aydle, leader Engineer Company 79. Major Poetsch arrived last.

As he entered, Poetsch pulled off his gloves and announced, "This is not wise. One well-placed bomb and the entire command gets wiped out. Do not forget, we are in enemy territory." He then snapped to attention and saluted Colonel Dybilasz.

"Unusual events call for unusual measures," the Colonel answered. "I must make sure that everybody understands our new orders, and I certainly cannot explain them over the radio."

"What is the plan?" Diepper asked. "It's obvious we're not going through Rebielice any more."

Colonel Dybilasz laid out his map. [See attached map.] "We're meeting up with the 7th Recon Battalion over here at the base of Hill 278. They will arrive before we do. I have no doubt that the enemy has got something up on that hill intent on making our lives difficult, so our first order of business will be to remove that observation post. Then we continue on to Berzizinki. We need to clear out anything that can fire on this roadway. That means eliminating anything on this side of the hill and back on the plateau. Once the road is clear, we move the trucks through. After Berzizinki, we turn on Wilkowiecko. Then, turn east. We won't have to go through any other cities. We can drive on to Lodz with nothing to stop us."

"You will leave most of the enemy intact," Diepper said.

"Intact, but cut off," said the Colonel. "Weak, powerless, and starving, playing havoc with their supply and rear echelon forces. If we want to take them, we can attack them from the rear at our leisure, or Command can send in another regiment to destroy them once they are sufficiently demoralized and weakened. If they are smart, they will realize how hopeless their situation is and surrender."

He poked his finger at the map. "This area, Hill 278, is our first obstacle. Captain Diepper, get your guns limbered up and target that hill. Major Poetsch, Your company takes point, but watch out what you're shooting at. Take your tanks across the river and make sure that our trucks can travel that road without being shot at. But, be careful. Remember, 7th Recon is up there. Captain Aydle, I want you near the front as well. We can expect mines, blockades, and all sorts of unfriendliness from our enemy. Major Schilling, you're just along for the ride, but have your troops ready to disembark if we end up getting in a shooting match. "

He straightened, looked each junior officer in the eye, and asked, "Does anybody have any questions?"

None came.

"Let's get this done. I don't want to be fighting after dark."

Each of the officers gave the Colonel a snappy salute, As he returned the gesture, the captains hurried off to their assignments. The majors moved a bit more casually.

Major Poetsch was standing just outside the door when I left, putting his gloves back on and turning the color of his coat to the wind. He said softly, "I assume you do not get orders because you have your own agenda."

"You could say that."

He pointed down the road leaving town and said, "We're going wherever that road goes. When the fighting starts, stay out of our way. If you drive over a mine, that's your problem. If you get shot by a sniper, that's your problem. Endanger any of my men, by riding out ahead and alerting the enemy we are here or any other foolish activity, and I will shoot you myself."

"That sounds fair."

"I can be fair," Poetsch answered. "If you tell me what I need to know to save my men, and you will find no more loyal friend in this army. All I want is to get my men and my tanks through this war in one piece."

"I'll do my best," I answered.

As Major Poetsch walked to his tank, Colonel Dybilasz stepped up beside me. He lit a cigarette and let it out slowly, forcing himself to relax. "I don't think he likes you," Dy6bilasz said softly.

I gave him a questioning look and said, "What do you mean? I just heard him tell me that he is about to become my most loyal friend."
 
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Sir Richard

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One disadvantage of being in a motorcycle side car is that there was too much noise too close. I had not realized how much I depended on my sense of hearing to measure a battle until I did not have that sense available. In the battle for Gross-Klonia, I kept track of the 3rd Recon Battalion entirely by the sound of their 20mm cannon and the answering call of enemy machine guns. I also located the enemy artillery by sound, and anticipated the movements of the 5th Panzer Battalion by the pitch of their engines.

Sitting on the side car, if I had not seen the explosions on the top of Hill 278, I would not have known that the 7th Recon had launched its drive to take the hill.

The noise also made it difficult for me to communicate with Kriel. I wanted him to get me to the battle that I could see raging ahead of me. My wild gestures accomplished nothing, so I stood up in the side car and shouted into his ear. When he got the message, he gunned the engine and sped down the road.

Ahead of us, I saw a bridge, with a steep climb on the other side. It was a choke point, and exactly the type of place where I would want to set up a defense. Its only draw back is that it did not offer the defenders any cover. There were no trees or buildings anywhere near, and I could see no sign of man made fortifications. I did not express my concerns to Kriel, and he sped across the bridge, up the slope, and turned right into the battle.

A company of armored cars sat on the hillside above the road firing on enemy positions at the top of the hill. Their cannon fire was augmented by artillery shells from the Deppier's batteries.

Further down the road, we came across a second armored car company just as they began to charge up the hill. Their drivers spun dirt in the air as engines struggled to lift the three tonnes of vehicle up the slope. I was surprised to watch as they actually accomplished task. They rolled up the hill and directly on top of the enemy fortifications, which the enemy had just abandoned.

I knew what was coming next. The defenders may be gone, but they had more than enough chance to radio in that we were here. A smart enemy would start carpeting this side of the hill with artillery.

The road that Kriel and I were traveling on ended at an intersection with a paved highway. Beyond that was a farm, and in the farm at least two companies of infantry sat in the area of the farm and the surrounding field.

I closed my eyes and mumbled, "You idiots!". I put myself in the mind of the enemy commander. One of the things I would have done, well in advance, is fixed all important positions -- crossroads, buildings, any place where an enemy might congregate or could be forced into a bottleneck, and I would have made sure that my gunners could hit those coordinates blind. At a moment such as this, knowing that the enemy is attacking and that my spotters have just been knocked out, I would be giving the orders to shell the roadway and that farm.

Then, I heard the artillery going off. It did not hit the farm, but blew apart the hillside about thirty meters above where Kriel and I were parked. Another shell landed slightly further uphill as we were showered with dirt from the first explosion.

"Get us out of here!" I shouted to Kriel.

We raced ahead a few hundred meters to the hardtop, where we had to stop. A train of fifteen tanks was heading up the road. These were the tanks of 4th and 5th companies of II Battalion.

Shells continued to land around us, but they were widely scattered. They spooked the cattle in a pasture by the river, who panicked and broke through a fence. That was the only damage that I noticed from the bombardment.

When the last of the tanks rolled past, I motioned for Kriel to follow them. When I did, I also noticed the radio that I was carrying. I had forgotten about it.

"Observer Schmidt reporting," I said into the radio. There was no response. "If you're listening, the recon post has been taken out, but the hill below is still getting bombarded pretty hard."

I then had to pause. I had no idea what the protocol was for an open-air broadcast, and if I said what I was intending to say, I could have been broadcasting important information to the enemy. That would certainly cause Major Poetsch to have me shot.

But, I was only doing what he asked me to do.

Kriel somehow sensed my problem. He asked for the radio, then asked me what I wanted to say. "Tell them that the road here is being shelled and that he should keep the soft vehicles back for a while. Also, that the II Battalion is on the road to Brzezinki." I could only guess that he had repeated my report accurately enough. When he finished, he fastened the radio to his belt and said, "I work on the Colonel's staff as a messenger. Of course I know I code."

He kicked the bike into gear and followed the tanks up the road. He was having trouble going slow enough to keep from passing the tanks. When the rear tank stopped, Kriel almost rear-ended the tank.

Then the tanks started to shift their formation from a column to a line.

"They're expecting trouble," I said to Kriel.

The road had been climbing relatively steeply as it cut diagonally up the side of the hill. Just ahead, it made a turn to the left and went straight over the top. The tanks, staying just below the saddle.

Taking advantage of the time it would take the tanks to get into battle formation, I left Kriel and ran up the slope so that I could get a look at what was on top. From my vantage point, I actually looked down somewhat on the location where the road crossed the top of the hill. The road entered into a well-positioned forest from which it would be easy to launch an attack on any passing convoy. Through the binoculars I could see that the enemy had in fact dug in on both sides of the road.

The tank line came over the hill and stopped just a couple hundred meters away from the forest and stopped, silently, pointed at the forest. On the road below me, traffic continued to back up, waiting for the tanks to clear the road. To my left, somewhere on the other side of the forest, the 7th Recon was finding something to shoot at.

Then came the artillery. Captain Deppier's shells landed square on the fortifications on both sides of the road. As the shells fell, the tanks moved forward slowly. In the trees, the infantry started to shift around both to accommodate the bombing and to prepare for the tank assault. That was a serious mistake. As soon as the tank drivers saw a target they opened fire. The defenders held only a few moments, before retreating off in the direction of Brzezinki.

I started off at a slow trot toward the battle ahead. Below me, a truck had made its way up through the line of tanks and was dropping a platoon of engineers off on the roadside.

They were still selecting gear from the trucks when the shells came. Again, they were widely scattered, but one lucky shell went through the cab of one of the engineers' trucks. It jumped a good three feet off the road and landed among flames and smoke. The engineers reacted quickly, forming a bucket brigade to get the gear off of the truck, and loading it into the trucks that survived. After the gear had been moved, they formed a column and double-timed it up the road.

I got to where the road entered the forest just as the engineers did. The fighting here had ended; a small gaggle of prisoners lay face down on the side of the road, some of them wounded, all watched over by a team of guards.

Kriel did an excellent job keeping track of me, and pulled up in his motorcycle just as I was starting to catch my breath. I was glad he was there. The battle was moving much too fast for a man on foot. I had seen about fifty tanks start down the forest road. When I looked, I could only see one tank, standing lengthwise across the road to block traffic. The sight of engineers with mine sweeping equipment heading off in that direction told me exactly why the road was blocked.

Still the tanks had gone in this direction, so I told Kriel to move out.

At the place where the tank blocked the road my suspicion that the road beyond had been mined was confirmed. The tanks had taken a short cut through the forest to the right. Their wide tracks left an easy path for us to follow.

The forest was not think. We quickly emerged in an area of grassy plain overlooking Brzezinki. Over a hundred armored vehicles had converged on the town.

"That's not right," I said, more to myself than anybody. I commanded Kriel to stop the vehicle and stood up. Then I looked off to the right. Training my binoculars on the forest, I could not tell if I saw the genuine movement of soldiers or trees blowing in the wind.

"Send this message," I told Kriel. He followed his orders quickly. "Two or three platoons had been guarding the entrance of the road into the forest. They had been driven off. I had assumed that they had gone to town, but the town was taken without a fight, and without a sign of prisoners. If they were not in town . . . "Tell them that we still have two or three enemy platoons hiding in the forest. They would be in a good position to attack our convoy if they are not driven out."

I trusted that the message Kriel spoke over the radio was a reliable translation of my report.

While Kriel was speaking, more artillery shells fell our way. This time I could hear the guns fire. I guessed that they were about five kilometers away on the hills overlooking Wilkowiecko.

With all three lead elements neatly assembled at Brzezinki, Colonel Dybilasz could not resist the opportunity for another meeting. He called Major Poetsch, Major Ocker of the II Panzer Battalion, and Major Liembke of the 7th Recon Battalion into a huddle. As I walked toward them, I was amazed at the guards simply letting me walk past and join them.

"Our next target is Wilkowiecko," he announced. It was easy to see the town sitting in the valley at the bottom of an ancient canyon. He did not need a map. All he needed to do was point.

The road from Brzezinki to Wilkowiecko had been mined. One could either go around the mines to the right, or go around the mines to the left. The Colonel selected both options. "Major Liembke, I want you to take your armored cars to the left of the mines. Go down into that grassland over there and see if you can get into town that way. Major Poetsch, go to the right, up the hill, and see if you can come down into town from that direction. As soon as the engineers finish with that last minefield, we will load them up and have them clear this road as well. Once the town is clear, we can move our infantry through."

Major 1 said, "This is not going to be an easy fight. We spotted two platoons of infantry retreating into town from the hills. There are two more already dug in at the edge of town itself."

"I assume I'm with Major Poetsch," said Ocker.

The Colonel looked confused for a moment, then said, "No. I want you to guard our right flank. Take your tanks down that road and see what's there. About four or five kilometers out, you should see a side road on your left. Take it. It should bring you around that hill where you can then join up with Major Poetsch. Once all three of you are in position, we'll take the town. If you think we need infantry support, let me know and I will arrange it."

The three majors saluted and went off on their tasks.

I caught up with Major Poetsch before he reached his tanks. "Be careful. The enemy has some artillery off in that direction."

He turned and looked, as if he would be able to see that far. Then he said, "Thanks", and continued off toward his tanks.

I signaled Kriel over, and we prepared to move ahead as well, but we were going to wait for Major Poetsch to break trail.
 
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We headed down the hill among a herd of fifty tanks like a gazelle running in a herd of elephants. Poetsch's earlier warning that we needed to take care of ourselves if a fight took out took on a whole new meaning as I looked at the cold metal treads on the tanks towering over us. I found myself looking behind me, as much as forward, nervous about the possibility of a tank in too much of a rush to get into the fight.

A widely disbursed line of Panzar I's went first. They stayed on the dirt road as they went down the hill. On the bottom, just before reaching the mine field, they made a right turn, down the gully that lined the road and up the other side, then across the grass. In the grass they made a wide line. The tanks on the right started to climb the hill north of town first.

At the top of the hill the three companies disbursed. One company continued on and parked facing the unknown plains beyond the town. The two remaining companies picked the best sites they could find for looking down on the town. The whole town was under the range of the guns.

Through the binoculars, I could see that the town was well defended. Several key buildings had been reinforced, and the infantry that occupied the buildings would be hard to dislodge.

Off to the left, I could see the armored cars on their approach. One company took a detour, having apparently discovered something worth investigating among the trees. The other started through the orchard.

"No! No!" I shouted. "Kriel! Get on the phone!"

There was no time to communicate a warning. When the armored cars reached the other end of a sparse collection of trees, looking much like a city park, they faced a trench line into which the enemy had placed three anti tank guns. The guns opened fire. I watched, and cringed.

I heard the report of the anti-tank guns, but I saw no damage to the armored cars. While the enemy gunners reloaded, the armored car drivers through their vehicles into reverse and retreated back through the orchard.

I glanced at my map then shouted back to Kriel. "Tell them that we have an anti-tank battery and an infantry platoon at grid 15 by 29.

Kriel followed instructions.

The tanks from Panzer 1 Company turned their turrets in the direction of the enemy guns and started firing down on the guns from its position on the hill. A short while later, artillery started landing on the grid. Combined, the artillery and tank fire destroyed the three anti-tank guns. However, at least a full infantry company stood in defenses on that side of town, and another company was entering town from the other side.

The town would not fall easily.

The two armored car companies eventually regrouped, and selected a more open route down to the edge of the city. Keeping a safe distance, they engaged the infantry, but did little damage against a foe that had fully dug in.,

Then I heard rumblings coming from off to my right, and slightly behind me, as I faced the town. This noise had a far deeper and more distant sounding rumble than the tanks produced. It had a deeper and more distant sound than the tanks firing on the town. It had the sound of large enemy artillery.

I counted the seconds, then turned my attention in the direction of Brzizinki. There, I witnessed the explosions.

I turned back to the source of the artillery and listened again. My attempts to hear the artillery were drowned under the whine of airplane engines. A squadron of Stukas came down on the town, sirens blazing, to hit the infantry that was holding on the outskirts of the village.

I cursed, and held my hand over the ear nearest the town, and tried to listen. The deep rumble of the artillery was sufficiently different from the high-pitched scream of the Stukas that I was finally able to identify them. I took my measure of the sound looked at the map to measure the terrain against the sounds that I heard.

"Kral, there is enemy artillery somewhere around grid 22 by 37.

I couldn't see very far in that direction against the wind and the dust from the wind and the tanks blocking my view. Those tanks were moving, slowly probing out to see what they could find.

There was more than artillery in that direction. I barely saw the enemy in the cover of the forest until they fired. Five enemy tanks lurched forward from the edge of the forest into the grass, where they faced the 16 tanks of Panzer 3 Company. The enemy tanks were larger and had bigger guns than was available in Panzer 3, though Panzers 1 and 2 had comparable tanks.

The enemy tanks could have done some damage, but they did not engage. After their initial salvos bounced off of the Panzers, they headed off and disappeared into a nearby valley.

As I watched the enemy tank platoon retreat, I became aware of more noises off to my right. It was the familiar drumming of 20mm cannon, coming down a dirt road came around the hill and into town. I remembered that two companies of II Panzer Battalion were supposed to be coming from that direction, and they were made up entirely of Panzer II tanks with 20mm cannon.

I raced toward Kriel and jumped into the side car. Pointing to the hill, I said, "That way. Stay off the road, it's mined."

I had picked up news of the mines from Major Poetsch, who had broadcast the warning over open air in order to make sure everybody knew about it on time. We went up the slope of the hill that the road skirted. As a result, we had an excellent vantage point for looking down on the tank battle below us.

Panzer 4 and Panzer 5 had caught two platoons of enemy mini-tanks hiding in a thin band of trees. They were hitting the tanks from two sides; from directly below on the road, and from the wheat fields on the other side of the forest. The mini-tanks were outnumbered four to one.

Major Poetsch apparently did not like those odds. I heard his tanks as they followed the same route we had taken. They were charging straight for us, anxious to join in the battle and probably unconcerned over the possibility of a pair of observers in their path.

I never actually truly appreciated the morale damage that a herd of charging tanks can inflict on an exposed soldier until that moment. I felt utter panic at the sight of the metal monsters heading toward us, knowing that they could destroy me without a thought. I suddenly recalled that I did not only have to worry about their treads, each tank had machine guns manned by gunners eager for enemy infantry to skewer.

"GO!" I shouted to Kriel. "Go! Go! Go!". Kriel picked a path parallel to the oncoming company of tanks and gunned the engine. We bounced along over the uneven ground, spending more time in the air than we did rolling over grass, to get out of their way. We were not shot at, as far as I could tell.

By the time Poetsch had stopped on the hill with his 1st Panzer Company, most of the enemy tanks had been destroyed. He opened up with his Panzer IVs and Panzer IIs, and it did not take long to obliterate the remaining tanks. The forest burned with the black oil from nearly a dozen enemy vehicles. Fires spread to ammo lockers, and the armored vehicles flew apart as if they were made of paper.

With the enemy tanks destroyed, Poetsch turned his tanks around and returned to his position overlooking the town, where he commenced shelling.

"Take me to the Major," I told Kriel.

Major Poetsch sat on top of one of the Panzer IV tanks, directing fire into the town. He picked a building that had all of the appearance of being fortified and occupied by enemy artillery, and fired at it. The other tanks in his company focused on the same building. As I watched, a three-story stone building on the edge of town was chiseled and chipped into a shell that looked like it could barely stand on its own.

Major Poetsch paused from studying the town as I approached to say, “Thank you for telling us about the artillery. 3 Company is out taking care of them right now.”

I looked in the direction of the artillery and saw the tanks of 3 Company firing into the trees. Where they aimed, smoke floated up through the trees.

“Now, tell me how we can get those rats out of that town,” Poetsch said. “They are embedded in that town more tightly than carbon in steel.”

“That’s what I came to talk to you about,” I told the Major. “Colonel Dybilasz sent II Panzer Battalion around the hill to see what was back there. Apparently, the only thing back there was the tanks, and the tanks have been destroyed. You don’t have to bring the trucks through the town. You can bring your infantry around the hill. You have to get around the minefields, but the minefields are not as much of a problem as that town will be.”

Major Poetsch turned around as if looking at the hill would answer his questions. He then shouted to his radio operator, “I want to talk to the Colonel.”

Within minutes, the orders went out. I watched as 7th Recon pull back from its attack on the town and head back toward Brzezinki. Behind us, the II Panzer Battalion lined up to lead the charge down the road. Our unit would then be behind enemy lines with the ability to destroy targets at will.
 
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Sir Richard

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When Colonel Dybilasz's orders went out, it took just a few minutes to prepare for the last step of the breakout. It was thought that if we could get beyond Kolakzcowice, we would be in the clear. The enemy would be in a panic trying to figure out what to do with an enemy Panzer regiment behind its lines. If we could get all of the trucks through, we would break through with more than enough supplies to do some serious damage.

Since II Panzer was in the front, it would take the lead down the road. I Panzer would follow.

However, the Panzer IV platoon I had climbed onto had different orders. There was an engineer platoon that had lost one of its trucks to an artillery bombardment that needed a lift. The remaining trucks carried all of their supplies, and they needed somebody to carry the troops.

I could see them down the hill, on the road from Brzesinki to Wilcowiecko, clearing the roadway of mines in preparation for an assault that would never come. They had received their orders to move out, had packed up, and were climbing up the hill toward us. It was only fair that we meet them half way.

The rest of the company went ahead.

When we showed up, the engineers quickly and eagerly climbed aboard. There was still enemy artillery falling throughout the area, and every soldier was anxious just to get out of here and get to a place of piece and quiet.

After loading the soldiers, the tanks turned around and headed for the road.

By the time we got to the highway, the caravan of trucks, armored cars, halftracks, and motorcycles had passed. We were lost in their dust.

One of the advantages of being last is, once we hit the road, we were confident that there was nothing around us that could take a shot at us. Anything that could do so would have shot already, and been destroyed in the process.

In fact, we found the remnants of a headquarters unit on one side of the road. The units ahead of us had each taken turns on using it as target practice as they passed. It was pretty chewed up by the time we passed by.

We were surprised, when we turned a corner in the forest road, to see a platoon of Panzer IIs moving slowly ahead of us. We were quickly catching up with them. The tank at the rear of this mini convoy was blowing smoke in the air. Even from a distance, we could hear its engine fitting and sputtering.

Our tank platoon pulled up along side.

As we passed the smoking tank, one of our engineers shouted over, "What's the problem?"

"Artillery broke through the top armor, damaged the engine."

The engineer looked up at his commander. "I know all about those engines. Maybe I can help."

The sergeant shrugged.

"Sarge, I'll catch up. I promise."

The sergeant shouted down the hatch. "Slow down a bit."

The Panzer IV did not stop. It just slowed down enough for the engineer to hop off and run over to the slower-moving Panzer II on the other side of the road. After climbing up, he could immediately see the hole that the shell had left in the top armor. He began examining the engine, even as the tank continued to roll along the road.

Our own Panzer IV sped up and raced ahead down the roadway. We would leave these tanks behind. If they could catch up, that would be fine. If not, then that was a part of the cost of war.

We reached Kolakzcowice without incident. We rolled through, with somber-looking Poles staring at us from the windows of their houses as we passed. We were not occupying this town, at least not yet. There would be time enough for that later. For the moment, we had other business to do.


Epilogue:

The engineer made quick repairs to the tank engine, and the platoon soon started gaining ground on the rest of the regiment.

Throughout the entire battle, all we lost was one truck. The engineering truck that took the artillery shell into the cab was the only vehicle or person that we left on the battlefield. Everything else made it off of the battlefield within two hours of the start of the engagement.

One truck.

When I collected all of the intelligence on the battle, we estimated the enemy losses at 10 mini-tanks, 8 anti-tank guns, 8 artillery pieces, and about 250 soldiers.

But the enemy lost more than men and machines. The whole defensive line collapsed as a result of our success. The line had been punctured. Units had to pull back, and they did not have the ability to do so in any organized fashion. It was a mess.

I was given a few days of piece and quiet to type up my reports. I decided to return to Gross-Klonia, where I could wander the streets as I prepared my observations.

I could still see the wreckage of the battle. I walked the trenches that we had occupied, strolled down the orchard, and stepped onto the street we had fought our way to three days earlier. The ruined tanks still sat in the field and on the side of the road, though German salvage crews were getting ready to haul the vehicles back either to be repaired, or melted down into new tanks.

I received a letter from Major Poetsch during my stay. He wrote:

"I write to thank you for your help. I learned a lot from your visit. Since you left, I picked the brightest and most observant person in my company, gave him a radio, and said that his duty was to do as you did. He watches and listens for the enemy. He has one duty, to let me know what is happening on the battlefield that I may have missed.

"I originally told you that if you helped my men live through this, then I would be your most loyal friend. If not, then I would kill you rather than suffer the threat. I had hoped that this would be a quick war and we could go home. Now that England and France have declared war, this is no longer hope.

"I fear that there are people in Berlin who are not doing a very good job at making sure that my men live through this. I fear that many of them will be dead before this is over."

As I read the letter, I looked out my hotel window down on the main street of Gross-Klonia. Black shirts were rounding up some of the citizens of the town and herding them into vehicles. Old men and women were pushed to make them hurry, though it only caused them to trip and fall. The children cried. I did not know where they were going, but I did not see how they deserved such harsh treatment.

After reading the letter, I tossed it into the fireplace. I do not know what Major Poetsch meant to say in the letter, but it had too many meanings to make me comfortable.

I finished my report, and received my orders. I was told to report to General Dietrich of the SS Motorized Rifle Regiment "Liebstandarte". They were approaching Pabianice and would be making a move to isolate the town. At Major Poetsch's recommendation, I would again be provided with a driver and a radio.

For some reason, I had become a bit less anxious at helping the Fatherland win its battles. But I could never even dream to say such a thing at the time, not even to my most loyal friend.
 
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