CMBB Scenario Series “Bäke Battles: “Der Mensch” In The East”

Bäke Prelude At Pokhlebin

On the 3rd December 1942 the combined arms spearhead of Lt. General Meshkin's IV Cavalry Corps makes violent

contact with advance elements from Raus's 6th Panzer Division at the small village of Pokhlebin.

Latter that day the newly arrived 11th Panzer Regiment hastily assembles at Kotelnikovo for a counter attack. Leading

the spearhead of that counter attack is Major Franz Bäke's II. Abteilung. The battle that Raus termed "The Cannae of

Pokhlebin" is about to begin...

Number 1 in a CMBB combat history - “Bäke Battles: ‘Der Mensch’ In The East” designed by Charlie Meconis and

George McEwan.

Historical Background

The following account gives a detailed summary of the action.

3 December 1942. The trapped German 6

th

Army

lies in Stalingrad, forbidden by Hitler to break out.

But Hitler has belatedly agreed to a rescue

attempt—Operation Winter Storm, directed by

General von Manstein. Armeegruppe Hoth’s XLVIIth

Panzer Corps is to spearhead the attack from

Kotelnikovo, 80 kilometers southwest of the

Stalingrad pocket in the bleak Kalmyk Steppe.

Rushing all the way from France aboard 75 trains,

General Erhard Raus’s completely re-fitted and

superbly trained 6

th

Panzer Division is arriving. His

panzer grenadiers have already occupied a series of strongpoints north of Kotelnikovo, supported

by artillery in place there. But his full strength 11th Panzer Regiment is only now assembling in

random order, and already there are reports of Soviet cavalry probes

around the village of Pokhlebin. The Reds have reacted quickly to the

relief force’s arrival.

Among the first panzer commanders ready for action is a middle-aged

dentist, Major Dr. Frank Bäke. Old enough to be a father to his men,

“Der Mensch” is already loved and respected by the panzertruppen of

the II. Battalion. He is ordered forward toward Pokhlebin. The opening

round of Winter Storm is about to begin. A Panzer legend is about to

be born.

6

th

Panzer Assembles

The 6

th

Panzer Division’s journey to the Eastern Front was not without interest. Soviet partisans

tended to focus their attacks on tank carrying trains. This resulted in many of 6

th

Panzer’s

armoured units, which had originally been placed at the head of the division’s movement, ending

up at the rear of the combat elements on arrival. With the result that when 11

th

Panzer Regiment

was ordered into action (at 1030Hrs on the 3

rd

December 1942) straight after off the trains it’s

constituent companies were assigned to the only Abteilung Stab company (Bäke’s) to have

arrived, on the basis of ‘first come, first served’. Thus 1, 2, 5 and 8

th

companies were assigned to

II. Battalion under the command of Major Dr Franz Bäke, whilst I Abteilung and the 6

th

and 7

th

companies were still traveling on the trains at this point.

CMBB Scenario Series “Bäke Battles: “Der Mensch” In The East”

Soviet attack on Pokhlebin

Whilst the armoured elements of 6

th

Panzer were

unloading and assembling, the Soviets attacked

the village of Pokhlebin as part of a larger scale

attack to seize the key rail transport point of

Kotelnikovo with elements from the 81st Cavalry

Division, part of 4

th

Cavalry Corps. The spearhead

of this attack force consisted of dismounted

cavalry from the 216th Cavalry Regiment

preceded by tanks from the 85th Tank Brigade.

Despite staunch resistance from the 3rd

Kompanie, I Battalion, Pz.Gren Regt 114 under

the command of Oberleutnant. Graf. Plettenberg

and the 75mm PAK of Leutnant Misch’s 3rd Zug 2./Panzerjager Battalion 41, Pokhlebin was

overrun. All the PAK were destroyed in this action, with some of the gunners manning their guns

to the very last moment, the last gun knocking out a T34 in the village itself at point blank range.

However the Soviet victory was not without loss - six black plumes of smoke signaled the total

tank losses for the attacking Soviet armour. The survivors from the German garrison pulled back

south to link up with friendly forces. Their comrade’s sacrifice was not in vain however. The two

hour battle allowed time for German reinforcements to be brought up and to launch a counter

attack, which further pinned the attacking Soviet forces in the defile around Pokhlebin.

In the process of this counter attack panzers from 11

th

Panzer Regiment’s 1

st

and 5

th

companies

made contact with Soviet tanks south of Pokhlebin. The Soviets let the German tanks come on

before opening fire, setting one panzer on fire killing one crewman and wounding another. In the

ensuing firefight a Soviet T34 was hit and knocked out. Darkness ended the fight.

Bäke Attacks!

That night 11

th

Panzer Regiment was still attempting to assemble its arriving panzer companies.

At 0245Hrs on the 4

th

December the regimental adjutant was ordered to the Division 1a.

Reconnaissance had reported noise from tanks in Pokhlebin. It was assumed that the Soviets

were building up their forces in order to resume their attack on Kotelnikovo the next day. On the

basis of this intelligence the Regiment was ordered to attack as early as possible.

Poor reconnaissance by Panzergrenadier Regiment 114 hindered 11

th

Panzer Regiment’s

preparations for the forthcoming attack. Panzergrenadier Regiment 114’s recce reports contained

no mention of enemy tanks, only infantry units seen moving into the defile near Pokhlebin. On this

basis Oberst von Hünersdorff, the Regimental commander decided to immediately attack

Pokhlebin from the west and Northwest.

Orders for the attack were issued to the battalion commanders at 0830Hrs. At 0945 Hrs all

panzer units were in their assembly area and the order to attack was issued – Bäke’s II Abteilung

would attack from the west with it’s main effort to the left through Point 76.6, whilst I Abteilung

(which had now arrived) commanded by Major Löwe would attack Pokhlebin from the north west,

with it’s main effort to the left through the Komlowaja defile 2km north of Pokhlebin. The SPW

battalion from Panzer Grenadier Regiment 114 would follow between the Panzer-Abteilungen in

the event that the Soviets attempted to pull out to the north, in which case it would move forward

to cut the road from Pokhlebin to Wessely.1

st

company from 11

th

Panzer Regiment and 1

st

Company from Panzerjager Abteilung 41 would hold the right wing and prevent the enemy from

pulling out to the south.

CMBB Scenario Series “Bäke Battles: “Der Mensch” In The East”

Bäke’s II Abteilung gained ground slowly. At 1045Hrs they

crossed over the ridgeline at the heights south west of

Pokhlebin. In doing so they had encountered heavy fire

from well-camouflaged and dug-in enemy tanks and PAK.

Especially heavy fire was returned by the

panzers from 2

nd

and 8

th

companies, who

had taken up positions closer to the

village.

Soon, three Panzer IVs from 8

th

company

had been hit. The panzers exploded.

In addition several panzer IIIs from the 2

nd

Company

were burning because fuel canisters attached to their

rear decks had caught fire. The company commander of

the 2

nd

had to leave his burning tank for this reason, but

was severely wounded whilst outside his tank. This loss

of the company commander at such a crucial time

severely hampered the combat value of 2

nd

company.

The 5

th

company went into action to engage the Soviet

PAK and infantry.

Meanwhile because of difficulties navigating in the rolling steppe the I Abteilung, which was

supposed to attack Pokhlebin from Point 94.4 started out too far north, and whilst engaged in

fighting with Soviet units which were attempting to pull back to the north was pulled even further

north. Von Hünersdorff contacted I Abteilung by radio ordering them to turn towards Pokhlebin,

and then drove across the battlefield to bring them about and back on line to attack Pokhlebin

from the north. This timely attack helped to relieve the pressure on Bäke’s hard-pressed II

Abteilung and their attack started to gain ground.

At about 1205Hrs Bäke received a radio message from Horst Scheibert’s 6

th

Company, part of I

Abteilung that they were 800m north of the village of Pokhlebin. Scheibert’s company broke into

the village as he recounts – “The village before me, about a kilometer away, showed only little

resistance. I decided to make the break-in, carried somewhat also by the ambition to get there

first with my company. For I was able to recognize, through our supporting air attacks, that the II.

Abteilung had itself now more closely approached the village. Fighting almost only against

enemy infantry, I penetrated into the village. The artillery fire broke off, and soon there was only

the crackling from the fires of the cottages. I was very proud to have created everything without

loss.” {Translation by Charlie Meconis from “Nach Stalingrad—48 Kilometer!” by Horst Scheibert}

The Cannae of Pokhlebin

By this stage in the action the Soviet forces trapped in the defile around Pokhlebin were in dire

straits - trapped in the defile around Pokhlebin and surrounded by German panzers and SPW.

Some Soviet troops mounted on camels (!) attempted to break out, successfully between a gap

CMBB Scenario Series “Bäke Battles: “Der Mensch” In The East”

that had opened up between the two Panzer-Abteilungen. Most of the 85

th

Tank Brigade also

managed to breakout and avoid capture or destruction at the hands of the 6

th

Panzer Division.

When the battle ended at nightfall all that remained was to mop up the last Soviet stragglers. The

Soviet commanders in this battle did not perform well. On the defense in Pokhlebin, expect the

CM AI to do better!

The actual butcher’s bill for both sides was:

Soviet losses:

Large number of ATRs, machine guns and 800 horses and camels.

10 tanks KO’d

14 guns captured

2000 prisoners.

German losses (II Abteilung)

8

th

Kompanie: lost 4 PzIV

2

nd

Kompane: lost 3 panzers (PzIII?)

5

th

Kompanie: one damaged panzer.

Stabs Kompanie lost a Medic SPW

8 Dead and 24 wounded.

About the Soviet Units.

4th Cavalry Corps was from Turkmenistan (hence the camels) and had been relegated to light

border duty until it played a minor role in Operation Uranus in the south when it easily blew

through some panicked Rumanians that had already been broken by arty and tanks. So these

Soviet soldiers had scant combat experience against 3rd rate troops when they had the

misfortune to run into the 6th Panzer. Some of them fought hard, but many of them broke and

were captured.

The 85th tank brigade first saw combat in June 42 near Voronezh and later was nearly destroyed

in July (See Der Panzer Graf’s Ost Front CM series) near Kalach in July. It was re-fitted and

joined the 51st Army in late November for the later stages of Uranus and then was shifted to help

stop Winter Storm, wherein it was nearly destroyed again and was sent into reserve in late

December.

Sources:

“Panzer Operations: The Eastern Front Memoirs of General Raus, 1941-1945” Compiled and

translated by Steven H. Newton

“Nach Stalingrad—48 Kilometer!” by Horst Scheibert, including map sketches

“Die 6. Panzer-Division 1937-1945” by Horst Scheibert

“Brennpunkte“ by Wolfgang Paul

“Red Sabers: Soviet Cavalry Corps, Divisions, and Brigades 1941 to 1945” Vol. V. of the Soviet

Order of Battle World War II by Charles C. Sharp

“Panzer Truppen, Vol 2” edited by Thomas L. Jentz

“The Battle for Stalingrad: Operation Winter Storm” compiled by Hans J.Wijers

Map is based on descriptions and images from Google Earth and 1:100 000 scale maps from

Horst Scheibert’s books.

Any comments and feedback are most welcome. You can email us at

georgemc@blowtorchscenarios.com

You can find more of our scenarios at our website www.blowtorchscenarios.com