New After Action Report

panzergrenadiere · #1 (**permalink**) October 28th, 2002, 10:58 PM

This was written by Langemann about our last reenactment.

Männer!

Those of you not selected by OKW to fight in the neighborhood of Arnhem
(Rensselaer, IN) this past weekend
missed out on a very memorable battle. Seeing as this area is our home
turf, it was good to see 14 of our unit members show up. Rensselaer is a
great battle site that will only continue to get better with time.

Many members were sent ahead to the Arnhem sector and arrived early on
Friday to prepare camp and to prep vehicles for the attack that OKW was
sure to come on 10/26/44. Mother nature decided to intervene and prevented
any major work from being done outside due to her constant rain. So the
majority of Friday was spent enjoying Kameradenschaft with the other units
present. The rain even kept the Allies from making any exploratory night
attacks, so a good nights sleep was available to all.

The morning of 10/26/44 started at 0445 when Opa woke the unit members in
order to get breakfast cooking. Breakfast consisted of; scrambled eggs
with mushrooms, rye and pumpernickel bread and marmalade. Slowly but
surely the other unit members arrived via Motorrad and via Maultier. With
the other vehicles on site, the unit was up to 3/4 strength and fully
motorized. As usual, the morning was hectic, but thankfully the supply
lines had not been cut so everyone had plenty of food and ammunition.

At 0800 the commanders were all pulled together to be briefed and to be
outfitted with their units' OKW assigned liaison officer. The 25th
Panzergrenadier Division/125th Panzeraufklärung Abteilung were ordered to
race forward and hold a pillbox built by the Organization Todt after the
fall of the Low Countries. Using the speed of the three Motorrad's to race
ahead and secure the objective, the unit captured the first objective with
no casualties. Our OKW liaison informed us that the attack was planned on
coming from the east or south, so a skirmish line was established and
reconnaissance was sent out. Some time went by, and some Allied Airborne
troops were spotted, but before any action could be taken, the 1st SS had
already engaged them. At the same time, word was received that the FJR6
had run into problems and we were requested to help clear the enemy.

Once again the column of 25 Panzergrenadier Division vehicles moved out,
and within moments all members were in the fray. Ahead lied members of the
American 9th Infantry Division, deeply entrenched and covered by thick
woods. A few mortar rounds later combined with a big push with all the
available forces drove the Allies out of their emplacements and forced them
to retreat. The new orders were to hold the newly captured crossroads
until word came from headquarters. The next hour was filled with repeated
attacks from the remaining members of the 9th Infantry. All of these
subsequent attacks were met with disaster. During one 5 minute period, the
Allies lost 15 men while attacking 3 of our members. At the prescribed
time, the 25th mounted up and moved to the next assigned objective.

Headquarters had learned that the Allies that had been rooted out by the
FJR6 and 25 Panzergrenadier Division had moved east and were attacking from
there towards the days starting point. We were assigned to cover the
original crossroads and prevent any Allies from crossing. After all of the
positions had been established a lone American soldier was noticed
wandering toward our position. Complete silence was maintained and our
position went unnoticed. Some time went by and as gunfire was increasing
in the east, it was decided that a swift attack by our unit might end the
stalemate that was going on with the American Airborne and the 1st SS.

Plans called for a fast attack by 9 troops mounted on motorrads from the
rear, while the mortar would provide fire from the Maultier as it moved
forward. When everyone was clear as to what the plan was, we moved off
with lightning speed towards the battle. Obergefreiter Steffeter's mortar
rounds were landing perfectly amongst the Airborne just as the kradschützen
jumped off of their bikes and began firing on the unsuspecting Allies. As
the kradschützen neared the American command jeep a mortar round landed
right in it, killing all Allies around it. This was the blow that broke
the Americans back, and they fled to the east without looking back. This
allowed the 25th Panzergrenadier Division to link up with the surviving
members of the 1st SS and retake all of the mornings objectives. With this
completed, orders came down instructing us to return to our position and
wait for more orders. All soldaten involved were overjoyed with our
success and celebrated the whole way back.

After a short break, OKW instructed us to help push American and British
Fallschirmäger away from the main German command bunker and out into the
open. As we moved out, our lead motorrad struck a mine wounding
Obergrenadier Lisowski and Unteroffizer Bajc. A small rest was ordered
while their motorrad was repaired. Once the bike was back in working
order, we moved off towards the sound of battle again. We raced into the
roaring fire fight and at once began to drop mortar rounds into the woods.
A small section that was sent out to probe for the enemy HKL was met with
disaster. The remaining members holed up around a destroyed building and
created a strongpoint. From here the enemy was bombed with both mortar and
rifle grenade rounds. As they tried to work their way forward, we started
to receive shells from an Allied mortar, thankfully their aim was horrible
and all of their rounds missed. Slowly though, our numbers were reduced
and the wounded evacuated. Finally all that was left was Ivan. With
steady persistence, Ivan took out an American Lieutenant and four other
American soldiers before withdrawing. It was a crowning moment to a good
day.

Lunch was taken in, and once the wounded were tended to and bellies were
full, we were ordered to again drive to the main German command bunker. A
route along an anti-tank ditch was chosen and we were to go at full speed.
As we gained momentum, we were ambushed from all sides by over 40 Allies.
With the dead and wounded still on the vehicles we sped to the bunker where
we sat, exhausted from the days events. The final orders came in, and the
surviving members were told to hold the northern edge of the bunker
complex.

The underbrush was thick, giving us plenty of cover from advancing Allies.
For some time we waited, until we felt confident that the SS unit that was
with us could master the situation and we pulled out. No sooner had we
pulled out then gunfire was heard where the SS was. It seemed as though
the Allies had been repulsed, as it died down as fast as it had begun. A
small patrol was sent out to see what was up and take out any enemy
encountered. It circled the whole anti-tank ditch all the way back to the
bunker, and along the way 2 more Americans were taken out of action. With
that complete, our day had come to an end and we were ordered back to our
camp for supper and de-briefing.

A great day indeed for the German Army as all objectives were held, and
casualties were kept to a minimum. This space is not sufficient to cover
all events of the day, and this should only be regarded of a brief synopsis
of the events that took place over the weekend. I look forward to talking
to you all soon!

Grüss Gott,

Obergrenadier Jürgen Langemann