On the 16th of December 1944, Hitler had unleashed Operation Wacht Am Rhein or Watch on the Rhine. A huge attack through the snow-covered Ardennes forest on the German border of Belgium and Luxemburg, the massive attack fell on a very weakly held sector the American frontline and came as a shock for the allies. They thought that the Germans lack the capabilities to launch any more attacks to them, but they were wrong. Hitler’s aim of this offensive was to cross the Mers River and capture the allied supply port at Antwerp, cutting the British and American armies off from each other and from their supply base.
But things didn’t go quite as planned, American resistance
was even tougher than the German offensive causing holdups on the time table; that
allowed the allied to begin rushing supplies and reinforcements to the allied
defenders. As the German offensive slowed, Hitler ordered another small attack
to the South codenamed Operation Nordwind. The goal of the attack was to break
through the lines of the US 7th army and the French 1st
army on the upper voge mountains and the Alsatian plain and destroy them, then
recapture the city of Strasburg by the end of January 1945. Nordwind would also
take some of the pressure off the Ardennes sector forcing the allies to
redeploy troops away from the region, Operation Nordwind was launched on New
Year’s Eve.
On the 16th of January 1945, US forces trying to
reduce the German bulge around the town and the US 12th armored
divisions sent in 3 taskforces one of each was based on the 43rd
tank battalion, this task force was hit by 8 dug-in German tanks and some
anti-tank guns. The attack was faulted and sustained heavy loses and the other
2 task forces was repulsed by German small arms unit, the next day the US 12th
armored division tried again and the 17th armored infantry division
got into the town but was fought for a standstill because of a never ending
Germans. On the morning of the 17th of January SS Schtumbanfura tech
and his Panther battalion from the 10th SS Panzer Division Fonzberg
set off from the nearby town of Offendorf, but before reaching the town they
were met by US forces and manages to destroy 4 Panthers and damaged more in
foggy conditions.
Tech’s unit turned around heading back to the town of
Offendorf, Battalion adjutant SS Erwin Bachmann took over 3rd
company whose commander was wounded in the battle. Bachmann decided to reconnoiter
the US forces; he rode to the town in a motorcycle sidecar combination. He and
his driver drove the rode until they reached the road junction stopped and dismounted;
moving on foot Bachmann went alone along the road on the right covering about 50
meters to a bend, as he reached the bend American machine gun fire opened up.
Bachmann ran back and grab the Panzerfaust from his sidecar, during his one man
reconnaissance Bachmann had seen several Shermans lumbering across the road, he
ordered his driver to head back to the German lines and bring up a Platoon of
Panther tanks. 2 Panthers would approach to the edge of the town while Bachmann
was on his one man mission inside the town, Bachmann edged his way to the town
armed with his Panzerfaust he had a good view of over the main street 2
Shermans appear on the road.
Taking careful aim at about 30 meters Bachmann fired his
Panzerfaust and hit the one Sherman; Bachmann then withdrew and went to place
where 2 Panthers are waiting. They shut off their purring Maybach engines and
quick orders group was assembled with Bachmann and the other German commander.
The Germans would charge into the town and shoot up the Shermans they
encountered with Panthers covering each other as they advance; the first
Panther with Bachmann on the side armed only with his pistol would drove up the
road on the left while the second Panther drove at the right to engage the
Americans and distract them. When the first Panther entered the town it
immediately engage and knocked out the first and several more Shermans while
the second Panther fired to cover him, after several hectic minutes of battle a
white flag appeared.
An American officer walks where Bachmann stood and offer to
surrender himself and his men with 6 fully intact Shermans were captured,
Bachmann agreed and ordered him to assemble his men and to pile their weapons
on the street. 60 American soldiers came out from the shattered buildings and
piled their arms as ordered. Bachmann was even more surprised when the officer directed
him to the 20 German soldiers who have been captured and prison earlier for the
battle. In a courtyard close by 6 more fully intact Shermans were found with no
damages at all, thinking fast Bachmann ordered the American tank drivers to
step forward next rearming the liberated German soldiers with captured US
weapons he assigned a US driver and a German guard to each Sherman and ordered
the tanks driven back to Offendorf before radioing his battalion headquarters
to expect a little gift.
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