Between Giants (42 page)

On 20 August,
Grossdeutschland
was ordered to shift its attacks somewhat to the north, towards Gruzdžiai. This would allow it to achieve contact with XXXIX Panzer Corps’ divisions, held up before Žagarė, and would eliminate some of the threats to the flanks of the German thrusts. Aware that the German point of effort was slowly shifting north, Bagramian ordered 3rd Guards Mechanised Corps to deploy around Žagarė, and ordered 43rd Army to release 19th Tank Corps in order to create an operational reserve. But the most important development of the day came in the north, where Strachwitz had finally assembled his forces. He attacked and took Dzukste, then pressed on to Tukums. There was a substantial force of Soviet tanks in the town, but help for Strachwitz came in the form of the arrival of the heavy cruiser
Prinz Eugen
off the coast. The warship fired over 250 rounds into Tukums with its 8-inch guns, destroying about 40 Soviet tanks, after which Strachwitz swiftly overran the Soviet defences. From here, the
ad hoc
division turned east, pushing through weak Soviet resistance to Sloka, where contact was established with elements of 16th Army. But despite relatively limited losses from Soviet action, Strachwitz finished the day with only nine Panther tanks; most of the rest had broken down en route, and were now subject to counter-attacks as the Red Army tried to close the narrow corridor that Strachwitz had established.

Perhaps in an attempt to justify their own failure to stop Strachwitz, units of the Soviet 51st Army reported that Tukums had come under attack from at least 300 German tanks.
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Bagramian dispatched 19th Tank Corps and 60th Rifle Corps to reinforce 51st Army, and to restore the Soviet corridor to the Baltic. There was an even more alarming development later in the day, when General Iakov Kreizer, commander of 51st Army, reported that German forces had landed along the coast in an amphibious operation involving 35 ships. Furthermore, Kreizer continued, powerful infantry and armoured forces were threatening Tukums from the east. Neither of these reports was actually true; the suggestion of amphibious landings was probably the result of the intervention of
Prinz Eugen
and a small number of accompanying destroyers in the fighting at Tukums, and although a small force had been prepared by 16th Army to cooperate with Strachwitz, it did not amount to a serious threat. Nevertheless, the reports persuaded Bagramian that 1st Guards Rifle Corps, still clinging to the line near Tukums, was in danger of being outflanked and overwhelmed. Consequently, he ordered the corps to pull back both of its divisions about 15 miles to the south.

The previous day’s discussions between German staff officers were renewed, with suggestions that some of the armoured forces struggling towards Žagarė and Šiauliai might be moved to the north, so that they could exploit Strachwitz’s success. Saucken pressed for a resumption of the attack towards Jelgava, on the grounds that even if a decisive breakthrough was unlikely, his corps was tying down substantial Soviet forces. If one or more of his divisions were to be redeployed to the north, he argued, such a move would take at least two days, by which time it was highly likely that sufficient Soviet forces would also have been moved north to force the redeployed German forces to fight their way through to Tukums and on to 16th Army. For the moment, it was agreed that the attacks would continue, though planning began for the withdrawal of
Grossdeutschland
from its current position, with a view to redeployment further north in support of Strachwitz. In the meantime, 7th and 14th Panzer Divisions, attacking south of
Grossdeutschland
, were ordered to close the gap between their spearheads.
²⁶

4th and 5th Panzer Divisions continued to struggle forward. 4th Panzer Division was ordered to deploy its southern battlegroup in support of 5th Panzer Division, which allowed the latter to reach the outskirts of Žagarė, but at the cost of slowing down 4th Panzer Division’s own advance. As darkness brought a pause in the fighting, there were yet more discussions between higher commands. Generaloberst Heinz Guderian, chief of staff at OKH, remained confident that there would soon be a major breakthrough towards Jelgava. By contrast, the local commanders were far gloomier.
Grossdeutschland
remained bogged down in heavy Soviet counter-attacks, and Saucken estimated that it would take his corps at least five more days to reach Jelgava. New orders were therefore issued overnight:
Grossdeutschlamd
was to be pulled out of line as previously planned, and would move to the north of 4th and 5th Panzer Divisions, which would continue their attack towards Jelgava.

Confusion remained in the far north of the battle, with a battlegroup from the German 52nd Security Division in Tukums, and some Soviet units withdrawing towards the south, while others continued to try to hold their positions. On 21 August, whilst the rest of 52nd Security Division attempted to establish a stronger connection between Army Group Centre and Army Group North, 4th Panzer Division resumed its attacks, pushing forward north of Žagarė in conjunction with elements of 12th Panzer Division, under almost constant attack from the air. Near the village of Bagaci, about five miles north-west of Žagarė, 4th Panzer Division had its first encounter with heavyweight Josef Stalin tanks. A unit of about 15 such tanks attempted to halt the German advance, and in a brisk action, seven Stalins were knocked out.
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By the end of the day, Saucken felt that there was the possibility of turning south with at least part of 4th Panzer Division to attack towards Žagarė, in order to allow 5th Panzer Division to resume its advance. However, it became clear by mid-morning on 22 August that the Soviet defences were far too strong. Numerous Soviet attacks forced 4th Panzer Division onto the defensive, with little ground being gained by either side. Towards the end of the day, Raus had a radio conversation with Saucken, and they agreed to shift the emphasis of the attack to the north: rather than continue along the original axis of advance towards the still-distant Jelgava, 4th Panzer Division would join
Grossdeutschland
and attack through Auce. Raus then discussed this with Reinhardt, commander of Army Group Centre, with much of the conversation centred on the issue of timing. Finally, they agreed that Saucken would attack Auce as soon as possible, rather than waiting for the full weight of
Grossdeutschland
and 4th Panzer Division to assemble.

Soviet reconnaissance flights spotted the redeployment of
Grossdeutschland
and 4th Panzer Division, and advised Bagramian that two panzer divisions were moving from the Žagarė area towards Auce. He decided therefore to attack from Žagarė with 51st Army, and from Šiauliai with 2nd Guards Army. 19th Tank Corps supported 51st Army in driving back elements of 12th Panzer Division, but was then pulled out of line and sent north to counter the German build-up at Auce. As
Grossdeutschland
pulled out of its positions, 2nd Guards Army reported that it had advanced perhaps seven miles; the reality was that the Germans had intentionally pulled back to a stronger defensive position.

The corridor that Strachwitz had established to Army Group North was slowly being consolidated, helped considerably by Bagramian’s decision to withdraw 1st Guards Rifle Corps to the south. The German units cautiously probed south, with 81st Infantry Division from 16th Army occupying Dzukste, about 16 miles south of Tukums, early on 23 August. At midday – far earlier than Saucken had anticipated when he opposed the redeployment of divisions to the north – the first redeployed elements of
Grossdeutschland
and 4th Panzer Division attacked towards Auce under the aegis of XXXIX Panzer Corps, and although 4th Panzer Division’s battlegroup was held up by tough resistance at the western edge of the town,
Grossdeutschland
made better progress a little to the north, penetrating the second line of Soviet defences in the early evening. Plans to replace 5th Panzer Division in the sector to the south of Žagarė with 201st Security Division were delayed by a Soviet attack on Kruopiai by 1st Tank Corps and 103rd Rifle Corps, which took the town in heavy fighting. A German counter-attack was launched, using the elements of 5th Panzer Division that had been extracted from the front line as part of the plan to withdraw the entire division, and fighting continued in the area for several days, effectively tying down the German forces and preventing their redeployment elsewhere, though the price for the Red Army was high, with over 50 tanks being destroyed by 5th Panzer Division in and around Kruopiai.
²⁸

After regrouping overnight, 4th Panzer Division attacked Auce at first light on 24 August, taking the town by 0800hrs. From here, the division attempted to push on to Bene, in order to protect
Grossdeutschland’s
exposed southern flank, but progress was slow along narrow, heavily mined roads.
Grossdeutschland
made better headway, penetrating the Soviet defences to the north-east of Bene, but Saucken was increasingly worried that a gap was opening up between his two assault divisions. Raus urged him to continue to bypass Soviet defences by edging ever further to the north, and orders were sent to XXXIX Panzer Corps to this effect in the afternoon – Raus was determined that the tough defences facing 4th Panzer Division should be outflanked and then destroyed by envelopment from the north, rather than by further frontal assaults.

Both sides had suffered heavy losses in the fighting. In previous battles on the Eastern Front, the advantage in such combat had usually been with the side that controlled that battlefield at the end of the day – it had the opportunity to recover damaged vehicles and restore them to service, something that the Wehrmacht in particular had done to good effect. For example, despite heavy fighting, 4th Panzer Division’s operational tank strength at the end of 25 August was 41, compared to only 21 two days earlier.
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During
Doppelkopf
, though, the balance of power remained relatively unchanged. Although the Red Army continued to lose tanks at a steady rate, and German possession of the battlefield prevented their recovery, a constant stream of reinforcements kept the front-line units – particularly 3rd Guards Mechanised Corps and 19th Tank Corps – from having to be withdrawn; on 14 August alone, trains brought 60 new tanks to the Šiauliai area.
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Nevertheless,
Grossdeutschland
continued to advance, reaching a point about five miles to the south-west of Dobele on 25 August. On its southern flank, 4th Panzer Division laboured towards Bene, and as a further development in the steady northward drift of the German point of effort, Raus ordered that 14th Panzer Division be extracted from the front line south of Auce and transferred to the northern flank of XXXIX Panzer Corps.

During the night, 4th Panzer Division once more reorganised its forces, and early on 26 August attacked south from its positions to the north-west of Bene. As before, progress was minimal, and a simultaneous attack towards Bene from the south-west by 12th Panzer Division also foundered in the face of strong resistance.
Grossdeutschland
continued its advance, making contact with elements of 81st Infantry Division advancing south from Dzukste, immediately to the north of Dobele. Saucken described the situation of his corps in a report to Raus:

So far, we have destroyed over 800 enemy anti-armour guns [i.e. tanks, assault guns and anti-tank guns] and have thus ensured that the enemy has had to deplete his other front lines almost completely … artillery ammunition is short. We have had to pull our heavy field howitzers out of the firing line, as they only have a few rounds left for self-defence.
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A further attempt was made by 4th and 12th Panzer Divisions to take Bene on 27 August, but, as before, the attacks faltered in the face of the Soviet defences. Towards the end of the day, Generalleutnant Clemens Betzel, the commander of 4th Panzer Division, reported to Saucken, his corps commander (and a former commander of the division):

The tough, constant and extremely costly fighting of the last few days against a determined enemy, who in terms of weapons and men has a relatively large superiority, has left the troops so exhausted that a pause of one or two days is urgently needed before a resumption of attacks.
³²

The divisions of Army Group North were weak in armour, and there had been recurrent discussions about the transfer of some of 3rd Panzer Army’s panzer divisions to 16th Army once contact between Army Group Centre and Army Group North had been re-established. With little prospect of
Doppelkopf
achieving its original objective, i.e. establishing such contact via the capture of Jelgava, and in any case with clear contact having been established along the coast, 3rd Panzer Army sent a new order to XXXIX Panzer Corps late on 27 August, bringing
Doppelkopf
to an end:

14th Panzer Division [which had now been extracted from the front line] is to be dispatched for use by Army Group North at Jelgava. As the attack by the corps’ left flank is not to be continued, as part of the increased defensive preparation on the entire corps front against expected enemy armoured attacks, the attack on the inner wings of 12th and 4th Panzer Divisions is to be resumed, with the intention of throwing the enemy out of the salient to the south and west of Bene, and thus release forces from the front. Contact by the left flank with 81st Infantry Division is to be strengthened.
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The operation had lasted 12 days, and the German divisions had advanced perhaps 30 miles. They had been stopped about 20 miles short of Jelgava, but despite failing to achieve this, the operation had restored contact with Army Group North. The divisions of XXXIX and XL Panzer Corps could claim with some justification that their assaults tied down sufficient Soviet forces to allow Strachwitz and his diminutive division adequate freedom of manoeuvre to reach Army Group North. Nevertheless,
Doppelkopf
represented a rare concentration of German armour in any part of the front in this stage of the war, and in almost any other period of the conflict, success for the attackers would have been almost guaranteed. On this occasion, despite the overstretched Soviet supply lines and the casualties suffered by Bagramian’s armies during their long advance, the Red Army retained its numerical superiority throughout the operation, and made particularly good use of defence-friendly terrain to hold up the German attacks. Another factor identified by the Germans was the failure of the panzergrenadiers in the assault formations to attack with the same vigour as in previous years. As Gerd Niepold, the chief of staff of 12th Panzer Division during the operation, concluded several years later, over three years of fighting on the Eastern Front had lowered the quality of the personnel of the panzergrenadier regiments, whose replacement drafts were far inferior in terms of training to the men who had led the Wehrmacht’s advance into the Soviet Union in 1941. Whilst this may seem like a harsh judgement on the men who fought so hard to reach Jelgava, the after-action reports of every division showed that the loss of key veteran officers often resulted in attacks faltering in a manner that would not have occurred in earlier years. NCOs were meant to take over in such circumstances, but by late 1944, few had the experience or training to cope with the demands of
Auftragstaktik
.
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