Breakthrough (The Red Gambit Series)

by Gee, Colin

  Selecting the enemy Stuart tank as his first target, he warned his company to prepare.

  The Panther’s gunner took careful aim and waited for the order.

  Two seconds later it came and the firing button was pressed, sending a 75mm armour-piercing shell on its way.

  The Panther’s 75mm gun could penetrate the M5 Stuart many times over and its high-velocity shell passed through the vehicle and buried itself in a small mound behind the American tank. Its journey through the US light tank had been catastrophic. On its arrival at the glacis plate of the Stuart, the AP shell had easily penetrated the metal plate before messily destroying the co-driver, proceeding on to amputate Teo Li’s left leg at the knee and finally smashing the rear-mounted engine virtually in half, before exiting the back of the tank.

  The crew bailed out at speed, all save Li, whose screams of pain and fear harried the fleeing tankers until a second shell from the Panther smashed the tank into silence.

  The Stuart driver was struck down by a burst from Hamuda’s hull machine-gun, the gunner walking the tracers across the ground and into the running figure. Using the distraction, a breathless Hardy found refuge in an animal pen, diving over the wall into the deposits of the previous occupiers.

  He lay there, trying to make himself as small as possible, not knowing what it was that had killed his tank and men.

  Other Panthers were also engaging and five more Shermans had been destroyed. The Japanese gunners were doing their best and, whilst they were not up to the standard of German panzer crews, being sat in an invulnerable tank, killing enemy armour with side shots, wasn’t too difficult.

  Caught between the 2nd Company’s Tigers and Shinhotos to his front, and the Panthers of 1st Company to his right, the American commander rightly called a withdrawal of all three companies committed to the advance.

  The accompanying Chinese infantry had already made their own decision, withdrawing to safety immediately the Shinhoto’s had opened fire.

  To the rear of the column, a battery of 105mm Howitzers was brought online and targeted on the enemy tanks to the Battalion Commanders front. The 81mm mortars of the Provisional battalion’s mortar platoon commenced dropping smoke to the right flank of the unit, trying to mask the Panthers from their quarry.

  Hamuda ordered his company to switch positions to counter any enemy artillery fire, and to try and seek better firing positions. The euphoric commander of 2nd Company committed an error, and did not shift his company until the first heavy calibre shells started to arrive. The battery’s third salvo caught another Japanese tank, a basic Type 97 Chi-Ha, throwing the wreck on its side and killing the crew with the concussion.

  By now, 2nd Company was scattering, permitting the savaged allied tankers to withdraw in good order, leaving nearly half of their number on the field, twenty-three wrecks testament to the capabilities of the gunners and their German weapons.

  1st Company found themselves without targets as the American tankers used the terrain to mask their retreat. Some commanders contented themselves with the occasional shot at moving trees and bushes without further success, something which Hamuda called a halt to as it wasted ammunition.

  One of 2nd Company’s Tigers halted and its deadly 88m spat a shell out. Hamuda noted the sudden pall of smoke from beyond a group of huts, which quickly turned into the traditional fireball that tended to mark the demise of a Sherman tank.

  His professional eye swept the field, counting out the pyres and concluding that the two companies engaged had destroyed twenty-five enemy vehicles in total. Only two of the four tigers of 2nd Company had engaged, whereas all of 1st Company’s Panthers had taken the American unit under fire. Hamuda’s own tally amounted to two tanks destroyed and another hit. He had already decided to employ the German system for recording tank kills, and was looking forward to displaying two kill rings on his gun barrel. Some of his unit’s tanks had possessed rings earned by their previous owners, but his own late production Ausf G had apparently been a virgin until this day.

  Across the river, the Allied artillery made a spectacular kill.

  During 1944, the top armour of the Tiger I was increased to 40mm. The tank struck by the shell was a pre-44 model, whose armour was still the 25mm production standard thickness, which yielded easily to the force of the strike.

  The whole crew were killed instantly and Hamuda knew he had just watched the 2nd Company commander die.

  In almost slow motion, he watched as the Tiger’s turret was propelled up and left by the internal explosion, gently rotating, barrel over turret. Through his binoculars he watched as it crashed to the earth, coming to rest upside down on an animal pen. He swore he saw a face appear at the moment of impact.

  American artillery continued to mask the withdrawal for some time, but failed to secure any more kills and the battle was over within twenty-four hectic and bloody minutes.

  Hamuda called for his supply vehicles and withdrew to a safer place to replenish, using the opportunity to discover the facts of the battle.

  To his chagrin, he learned that many of his gunners had failed to score hits, let alone kills, and that most of the damage had been done by five of his tanks.

  Kagamutsu had enjoyed success four times whereas Hirohata had five kills to his name, four of which were American Shermans. Two others of Hamuda’s Panther unit had a brace each, leaving the other successes to their comrades in 2nd Company.

  None the less, Rainbow’s war had got off to an excellent start.

  "One minute can decide the outcome of the battle,

  one hour - the outcome of the campaign,

  and one day - the fate of the country."

  - Russian Field Marshal Prince Aleksandr Vasilyevich Suvorov

  Chapter 59 – THE WITHDRAWAL

  1455 hrs Monday, 13th August 1945, SHAEF Headquarters, Versailles, France.

  All morning the reports had flooded in, a village lost, a unit overrun, and a myriad of information from hard-pressed commanders desperately trying to salvage their units from the maelstrom.

  Some units stood and fought, others simply withdrew under pressure. Some ceased to exist in defiant defence, whilst yet others ran away.

  The staff of SHAEF were desperately trying to bring together the big picture so that their General could make informed choices, rather than trying to fire fight each individual report that arrived from his senior commanders.

  Rather surprisingly for Eisenhower, it was Bradley that was least forthcoming with information, the normally genial and calm general clearly rattled by what was happening to his units.

  It had taken all morning to establish that 12th Army Group’s frontline had been badly broken, Soviet units seemingly pouring through and driving hard into the heart of the Allied Occupation Zone.

  Having just got off the phone with General McCreery, Eisenhower savoured the positives of the call. Soviet attacks had taken place, but not at the heavy level of Central Germany, and not with the same effectiveness. Leastways, not in and around Hamburg. Hannover was under heavy pressure and the British General did not expect to hold beyond that evening. But still McCreery’s report was better than any of the others Eisenhower had endured so far that day.

  Opening his third pack of cigarettes, the commanding General examined the situation map, seeing the front sundered at Kassel, Frankfurt, Geissen, Heilbronn and Ingolstadt, the red markers seemingly breeding on the map before his eyes, as tired staff placed up the markers of processed reports.

  A red-eyed staff Major attracted Ike’s attention and gestured towards the telephone, mouthing the word ‘Bradley’

  “Eisenhower.”

  “Ike, this is Omar. We can’t stop them.”

  ‘Well that is pretty unequivocal’, thought Ike.

  “Go on, Brad.”

  “If my brief is still to preserve my force, I have no choice but to conduct a controlled and rapid withdrawal, and to be frank, for some of my units it may be too late already Ike.”

  “You mus
t preserve your force, that order still stands Omar. You’ve been updated about Ingolstadt I hope?”

  “Yes Sir. Depending on where they go, I don’t believe they will be a problem for me just now.”

  Drawing quickly on his cigarette, Eisenhower focussed on the map to his front.

  “So, what do you propose, Brad?”

  “The Rhine.”

  “The Rhine?”

  “Has to be, Ike.”

  Eisenhower’s eyes took in the situation, assessing distances from enemy forces to the Rhine, new units arriving at French ports, others available in France, bringing everything together in his mind.

  “No good for the British, Brad, no good for the Germans,” Eisenhower shook his head at the inanimate object in his hand, “No good at all.”

  “I understand, Ike. We have to hold the Ruhr in any case, that is a must, so we can establish a defensible line from there up to Bremen, I hope.”

  “There’s not as much going on with McCreery at the moment. He should hold for now.”

  “Regardless, I need to start pulling back now, and to cut the orders, now,” Eisenhower didn’t care for the school teacher emphasis his General used but let it go, “It means abandoning large areas of Germany to the Russians and the Council ain’t gonna like it, Ike, but if I’m gonna have enough Army to kick them back again then it has to be done...”

  “…And done now?” Eisenhower completed the sentence.

  “Yes, Sir, it surely does.”

  A few staff officers had stopped what they were doing and were looking at Eisenhower, aware from his posture and expression that the day was about to take a different turn.

  “No.”

  Bradley was actually physically shocked.

  “Sorry Brad, but I cannot give up that much ground without a fight. There are other natural lines of defence we can dig our heels into.”

  “Yes Sir, but none with the worth of the Rhine.”

  “But none the less of worth, General.”

  Eisenhower consulted a small map on the table in front of him.

  “Too much ground. We can hold them for some time on other lines, Brad. Dropping back to the Rhine in one hit removes other options. I can’t sanction that.”

  “I’m not proposing a mass bug out, Ike. A controlled and fighting withdrawal back to the Rhine, to give myself time to beef up the defences.”

  “I can buy into that, General, but ceding the ground only when absolutely necessary. There will be other lines to hold, before the Rhine, and I will tell the Council that we will hold them as best we can whilst we prepare the Rhine. Combat engineers have been working hard, but we are light on mines from the reports I see.”

  Bradley clearly wanted to make certain of his remit, ignoring the point to ensure he understood fully.

  “So can I look to drop back on the Rhine?”

  Eisenhower wanted to make sure his man understood his orders.

  “A fighting withdrawal, establishing more defensive lines and holding on to them for as long as is possible, pulling out only to preserve your force. Not a general bug-out to the Rhine. Am I clear, Brad?”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “How long can you keep the Reds away from the Rhine river line for?”

  “Mainz worries me. It’s the shortest route, and we seem to have half the Red Army committed around Frankfurt and Giessen. I think a minimum of three days for them to get there, but I can hold Mainz for now, Sir.”

  “Right. Make sure you tie in on your flanks, liaise with McCreery and Devers, particularly work out the plans with Devers, as the join between you is crucial, Brad.”

  A swift look at the sheet of paper on his coffee table and Ike continued.

  “I will cut three of the newly arrived infantry divisions to your command immediately. Details to follow.”

  “Thank you for that, General, but twenty-three would be needed right now.”

  “Would that I had them to send you, Brad.”

  “The Germans?”

  Eisenhower overcame an automatic reluctance.

  “I am speaking with the Council this afternoon.”

  “Good, cos I’m sorry to say we need those sonsofbitches right now. Put some of them in the field soon and we can free up some assets and start thinking about hitting back.”

  Something stirred in Eisenhower’s memory as he sought more tobacco. Lighting up, his mind suddenly clicked.

  “Did you see that report on those unusual attacks in the Pacific, Brad?”

  Momentarily confused by the curve ball his commander had thrown, Bradley switched his train of thought.

  “Yes, Sir, I did. Anthrax bombs and infected fleas that carry Bubonic Plague; nasty business, Ike.”

  “Just thinking out loud here but, as the Japs and Russians are allies; do you think that there could be a possibility that they might have given the Reds something in return for the tanks and guns?”

  A pause suggested that the ramifications were being swiftly processed.

  “Possibly so, but I can’t see it. The Soviets are advancing into our areas, whereas the Japs used the nasties to mess up areas under our control. But it will pay to consider the possibility, Ike.”

  It was a fair point.

  “Ok then, Brad. You sort your forces out, dropping back towards the Rhine only if you must, and only as a last resort. Tie in with Devers and McCreery. I will speak to both now, Devers first. I will also speak to Alexander and see if he will cut some more forces out to send around Switzerland to secure the bottom end of the Rhine.”

  A staff Captain placed a sheet of paper in front of Ike and retreated. Scanning as he spoke, Ike was able to pass on some good news.

  “It seems we have some more Air coming on line too. We are steadily making good our losses. According to what is in front of me now, we are at 70% of pre-action numbers and climbing.”

  “Well that’s just fine and dandy, but we are going to need those boys to do miracles, Ike.”

  “Yes indeed, Brad, as they’ve been doing since day one.”

  Placing the paper back on the table, Eisenhower concluded his call.

  “Get it done, Brad, and blow everything as you fall back. Every rail junction, every bridge, every airfield, every supply dump. Leave them nothing, and hinder their advance to the maximum.”

  “Will do, Ike. Good day to you Sir.”

  “Good day to you, and good luck, General.”

  Pausing to sign off the aircraft replenishment report, Eisenhower communicated the decision to his staff and commenced his calls to the senior commanders.

  The four Germans sat opposite Eisenhower, their coffees untouched, impassively listening as he described the military decisions taken that afternoon, decisions that would temporarily condemn the greater part of Germany to Soviet occupation.

  The Tech-4 sat in the corner, making her normal record of the meeting.

  For the benefit of Dönitz and Von Vietinghoff, a military map had been prepared and Eisenhower rose from the table to approach it. The two German officers took their cue and joined him, whereas Speer and Von Krosigk watched on.

  Ike quickly went through the situation that had been updated at 5 o’clock to include the threat to Augsburg and fall of Frankfurt, as well as the withdrawal from Nürnberg. There was no way to dress up the disaster that was unfolding in these men’s homeland.

  He mapped out the ongoing withdrawal, ending on the most upbeat note, namely his decision not to fall back to the Rhine immediately but to set up other lines to the east, buying time to make sure the great water barrier was as impregnable as it could possibly be.

  Eisenhower finished and stepped back as Goldstein finished his translation, permitting the two to do their own closer examination.

  Dönitz swept a hand over south-west Germany and fired a question at Von Vietinghoff.

  Goldstein spoke.

  “Herr Dönitz asks if it is truly necessary to concede so much ground, Sir.”

  Eisenhower went to move forward, but was
beaten to it by Von Vietinghoff.

  The ex-General jabbed a finger at a few places on the map and spoke swiftly, so much so that Goldstein had not even started to translate before he was finished.

  “Herr Von Vietinghoff says that no defence can be sustained for long at any of the points he indicates, despite the assurances you have just given, and that the Rhine is the first and last line that can be manned and held in time. A slow gradual withdrawal is the best solution.”

  Eisenhower nodded and inclined his head to acknowledge Von Vietinghoff’s understanding of the military position. He also realised that something had just been said that he simply had not properly understood himself until that moment.

  “First and last line indeed, gentlemen. We will stop them on the Rhine, and then we will roll them back.”

  Goldstein ended his translation and waited for the response.

  It came from Von Vietinghoff, and was in perfect English.

  “To the Polish Border and beyond, Herr General.”

  Eisenhower’s words were repeated back at him, at a time when such an advance seemed impossible to contemplate.

  The two Germans returned to their seats, offering up a small explanation of the situation as they saw it for the benefit of the two politicians.

  When they had finished, Eisenhower drew hard on his cigarette and stubbed it out before he posed the big question.

  “I have been hearing good reports about your soldiers and their willingness to serve. I wonder when we might see some forces free to send forward into action?”

  Eisenhower had heard a number of reports, not all of which were good. ‘Agents provocateurs’ within the ranks causing trouble, and there had been desertions by a number of men from the forming up camps. Even a report of a bloody fight near Emmerich, which ended with over forty men dead and hundreds hospitalised.

  ‘Maybe that is why I feel like I do?’