Infantry Against Tanks 1941

[Mad Russian]

Also, I could not find the battle that would honour the division with the "Guards" title, as well it is documented that this divisions early commander's performances bordered on attrocious. It would seem that this title was given when the division was reformed into a mech. division from a rifle division. With the amount of titles given including Proltarian-Minsk, Moscow Proletarian, Moscow-Minsk, Guards Moscow, Guards Mech., it kinda leads me to believe that this division in it's various forms might have been given the Guards title amung others in order to keep up morale, more so then from great battle performances. Now, I did just take a quick look, so I very well could be mistaken. MR, you will for sure have more information at your fingertips then do I.

8 August 1941
Klematina, Russia

The German Army had been advancing for more than a month. They Red Army was in full retreat and the Germans were almost at the gates of Moscow. Soon Moscow would fall.

Then things changed. The Red Army stopped retreating. For the first time in the war the German advance was stopped.

The Germans were stopped around the small town of Yelnia. In this area on 8 August 1941, the 100th Rifle Division attacked the village of Klematina, on the Uzha stream, just to the north and west of Yelnia. The attack caught the Germans in a weak position. The attack hit the seam of the 15th Infantry Division and the SS "Das Reich" Division.

Between July 1940 and July 1941, the 15th Infantry Division had been located in the region of Dijon, France. In July of 1941, it was transferred to the Eastern Front. The 15th Infantry Division arrived at the front and came under the control of Army Group Center. There it advanced to the north of Minsk, and on to the region of Mogilev, where it entered combat against the Red Army. It then took part in both offensive and defensive combat in the Yelnia Bend, at Tokarewo, and between Ustrom and the Dnieper Rivers.

A. N. Yermakov Kombrig, had commanded the 100th Rifle Division during the Winter War. During which, the 100th Rifle Division had taken part in the assault on the Summakyla defense sector.

Assigned to the Western Military District, at the start of the war, the division was in constant combat. The division took part in the heavy fighting for Minsk, from 25 June through 3 July. The division then fell back to the Berezina River, later even further to the east into the Smolensk, and finally in the Yelnia area during July. But then, finally, it would be their turn to attack. No more defending!


Historical Result:

The difficulty of the combat can be measured by the fact that during the period from July 20 - August 9, elements of 20 Soviet divisions attacked the Yelnia Bend. From these, 7 were definitely identified; including 2 tank divisions. During this time the Soviets supported these attacks with approximately 50 artillery batteries supplied with large amounts of ammunition.

Soviet losses during this time period amounted to roughly 35,000 men dead.

The losses of the 46th Panzer Corps for the period from July 22 to August 8 were:
4,252 officers, NCOs, and men. While 15th Infantry Division was not a part of the 46th Panzer Corps, their neighbor, SS "Das Reich" Division was. This report shows the intensity of the combat in the entire Yelnia Bend.

The awarding of medals and citations for valor and distinguished service figured prominently in boosting Red Army morale. A Soviet soldier whose army work consists chiefly of baking pies in an officers' mess may be the proud wearer of a "Distinguished Cook" badge. Another Red Army G.I. (Krachhoapmeeu) may sport the Red Star, a myriad of campaign ribbons, and a "Distinguished Sniper" badge. Pride of military achievement is inherent among all warriors, and one of the most valued designations a Soviet soldier can earn is to be cited as a "Guardsman." Besides wearing the distinctive Guards badge, the soldier enjoys a great amount of prestige and, moreover, receives double pay.

Guards units are picked Red Army troops who have distinguished themselves by their excellent training, discipline, and courage in battle. The Guards title in the Red Army is significant, not only because it was sometimes used during World War II as a means of restoring impaired morale among badly cut up units, but also because the honor combines the traditional Guards of the old Czarist army with the memory of the Soviet Red Guards of 1918.

Under Peter the Great the first Guards regiments (Preobrazhensky and Izmailovsky) were established; others were created in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Czarists Guards were elite units with resplendent uniforms, rigid training, and great traditions. The term "Red Guards" was a designation first applied by Lenin to the groups of armed urban workers who supported the Soviets after the October Revolution. These Red Guards were absorbed into the Red Army early in 1918 and lost their separate identity.

On 18 September 1941, the 100th, 127th, 153d and 161st Rifle Divisions were redesignated 1st through 4th Guards Rifle Divisions. This establishment of Red Army Guards units occurred at a time when the Soviet Government was endeavoring to counteract the effects of initial reverses by associating its defensive war with all the greatest days and traditions of Russia's military past. The war with Germany was termed the Fatherland War; new orders and decorations named for great soldiers of Russia's past were created; and Russian patriotism was drawn upon heavily to furnish the steadfastness and energy necessary to stop and drive back the German invaders.

The awarding of Guards titles in the Red Army is rather elastic. Units from entire armies down to independent battalions can receive the honor. Exceptions to the general rule are the rocket-launcher regiments, all of which have the designation Guards Mortar Regiments as distinguished from ordinary mortar regiments armed with mortars, and the 10 Guards airborne divisions whose employment has been primarily as shock infantry and not as airborne troops.

Non-Guards units, upon conversion to Guards status, are renumbered in the Guards series; during the war their old numbers were often reassigned to newly activated units. Tank armies, on the other hand, retain their old numbers upon conversion to Guards tank armies.

This was taken from my scenario HSG B Guards At Klematina. It too can be found at The Scenario Depot II.

I think that if the Russians had been performing so greatly and consistantly across the fronts and that the mighty molotov was indeed so mighty, the Germans would have picked up the weapon and produced it in great numbers instead of investing research into the Pzfaust and other AT weapons. As well, there should be Russian formations that are common knowledge of everyone, that are well know for combat greatness like many German formations such as the GD and several SS divisions, to name a few.

As Bear pointed out the Soviets eometimes fought hard.

Here is a battle description of one of the units Bear pointed out.


3 July, 1941
Lipki, Russia


The German Army had been advancing for less than two weeks. The Red Army was in full retreat and the Germans would soon be at the gates of Moscow. Soon Moscow will fall. That was the OKW assessment of the situation in early July 1941.

2 July 1941, the 18th Panzer Division forces a bridgehead over the Berezina river at Borisov. On 3 July, Colonel I. G. Kreizer's elite 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division is ordered down the main Minsk-Smolensk motor road to put a stop to the German advance.

German aerial reconnaissance report Russian heavy tanks of a type never before seen. More than 100 heavy tanks were advancing along the Minsk-Smolensk motor road.

Here, on the 3rd of July, just six miles to the east of Borisov, the 18th Panzer Division is the next to meet the heavy Russian tanks. Each Panzer Division in turn has met the heavy KV tanks along with the new T-34's! These tanks are much heavier than their German counterparts.

The two armored forces come together near the village of Lipki. Here, the 18th Panzer Division, would get it's opportunity to stop the Russian heavy armor.


Historical Result:

The 18th Panzer Division started the invasion of Russia with 6 PzI, 50 PzII, 99 PzIII(37mm gun), 15 PzIII(50mm gun) and 36 PzIV's. The division started Operation Barbarossa with tanks that were originally designed for amphibious operations in England. The division had trained for Operation Sealion and still had the same tanks in it's TO&E. It was interesting to note, that while the 18th Panzer Division was almost exclusively made up of PzIII's with the 37mm gun, it had 50mm Pak38 antitank guns instead of the 37mm Pak36 versions.

By 3 July the 37mm guns on the lighter PzIII's were showing themselves incapable of taking out the heavier Soviet tanks. On this day, Colonel I. G. Kreizer's elite 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division, would attack the lead elements of the 18th Panzer Division. The German's were able to destroy the lighter tanks and then bring in a platoon of PzIV's.

1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division had over 100 of the new model T-34, KV-1 and KV-2 tanks. As was the practice of the times though, they were divided up and used as infantry support instead of an armored strike force.

The action was lead by a single KV-2, and a single T-34, with supporting T-26 and BT-5 tanks. The Germans soon destroyed the lighter Soviet armor and then took care of the two heavy tanks. The Germans isolated the T-34 and shot the tracks off it, immobilizing it, while the KV had gotten stuck in soft ground and was abandoned.

This was taken from my scenario HSG B Each In Turn. It too can be found at The Scenario Depot II.

As you can see there are early war scenarios available that show the Soviets fighting. They weren't completely paper tigers. Most of the time they had numerical advantage and superior equipment. They had inferior tactics and the German command/control put them at a severe disadvantage.


You can also read about the early part of the war in these Department of the Army Pamphlets.

No. 20-230 Russian Combat Methods in WWII.

No. 20-271 The German Northern Theater of Operations 1940-1945 (Part 1/2)

No. 20-271 The German Northern Theater of Operations 1940-1945 (Part 2/2)

No. 20-292 Warfare in the Far North

Here:

http://www.easy39th.com/documents.php

Hope this helps.

Good Hunting.

MR

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