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Jagdpanthers at Kommerscheidt.

 

By Erwin Kresmann, Schwere Jagdpanzer Abteilung 519th,

 Awarded the Knights Cross for his actions in the Eifel region.

Reported and translated from German by Ron van Rijt

 

These tank hunters shown above were called jagdpanthers by the Germans and although they may look like tanks, their purpose was to destroy tanks.

 

    The battle started for us at the very moment our Company got out off the train at the railroad station of Wuerzelen, just north of Aachen. The artillery was already pouring in !!! There was such confusion. Our companies were being sent to the frontline as quickly as they stepped off the train. We received a couple of maps, and the order to get going !!!  We didn't know anything about the enemy situation, about our supplies, about where to find our commanders or about the situation on our left and right. We didn't know anything. We were supposed to get all this information later.

    We had been fighting in and around Wuerzelen, Aachen, Stolberg and several other places in that vicinity. You can say that they used us as a sort of "fire-brigade" for all the hot spots. Aachen was defended by General Graf von Schwerin's 116 Panzer Division during that time with Guderian, the son of my old commander General Guderian, as the head of the Division.

    After one of these battles, we suddenly received an order to go to the town of Nideggen. Since there was no more room for us on the trains, we had to drive. Once we arrived at Nideggen, we attempted to find out where we were heading. We heard that "something was going on" on the heights of the Huertgen Forest. Since It was almost winter, the weather already was making it difficult for us to keep our heavy tanks on the steep roads that lead into the Huertgen Forest. We had the heavy Jagdpanther tank destroyer at this time.

 

    But we managed and we reached the heights where we took a position on a forward slope. What can I say about it. This was not the place for our tank hunters. This was not tank country. The American supremacy in the air and the huge amount of artillery they had available made keeping alive difficult for us. We were used to artillery and to mortar-fire coming in, but what came down on us at the Huertgen Forest was something we only experienced during the huge Russian counter attacks. But amazingly, we did quite well anyway, perhaps it was because we  had such good commanders. Compared with the other Infantry outfits, I can say that our group was a pretty successful unit.

 

     Many of our troops, from top officers to enlisted men, were from East-Prussia and had been together as a unit since the unit had been established at Kottbuss. Our 2nd Company came from Potsdam and the area around Berlin. Their units were already well meshed teams. I pondered on what kind of Company I would get.  I was familiar and accustomed to my 2nd Company, schwere Panzerjaeger Abteilung 519. I had been with them as we fought in the Russian Crimea.

 

    Well, our Company ended up a mixed group from all around Germany, but when I look back at it now I must say that I was very glad to have this group of men. But OK, back to our actions at Schmidt and Kommerscheidt. It was early November when we took position at the edge of the forest outside Schmidt, and as I said, this was not what we were used to. We fought heavy battles in Russia but usually we didn't have to worry about enemy planes. It surely was different in the Huertgen Forest.

 

    Not to complain about the artillery, but it truly was devastating the amount that landed on the troops. Both the Germans and Americans had great artillery-observers. These were difficult times for us and we fought as hard as we could, but one day, at a meeting of the commanders I just couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer. All the orders were to attack and attack. I just couldn't understand these orders. We were being asked to stand up and present yourself as a target almost guaranteeing that you were going to get yourself killed.

 

    After this meeting, I think that Walter Model was also there, I went back to my Company and there they told me the bad news that 6 of our tanks were stuck fast in the mud !!! I ordered my men to try to get them out but this news really got me down. And then my commander came, I knew him since 1936, he ordered me to get those tanks back in operation as quickly as possible. One half hour later he told me that I would be the one to lead the attack on Kommerscheidt.

 

    So I went to work with my men and thought about the best way how to handle this. I drew some numbers on specific spots on our maps and told my men that we would keep in touch by radio and direct our attack into town by using these numbers. Before we attacked I ordered my men to drive into the village with blazing guns and to shoot at anything that moved. But after we drove only 300 yards, we saw mines lying exposed on the road.

 

    I've heard that some people said that our tank-spearhead tried to drive around these mines but that's nonsense, of course. When mines are placed open on a road you simply take them away, and that's what we did. Then we drove through and formed our tank-spearhead a second time to attack Kommerscheidt with blazing guns.

 

    We quickly spotted a Sherman tank. Our 88mm gun commenced firing and the tank was soon knocked out. . After proceeding a little further, one of our accompanying tanks asked about our position. It was then that I suddenly realized that my map of the town had disappeared. Just then another Sherman appeared so I ordered my men to shoot. Nothing !!! The gun didn't work, what could we do ? I ordered the other tanks to slow down and cover me, but to keep on firing like crazy.

 

    And than I found out that my map, which was in a thin plastic sheet, had slipped under the barrel when the gun recoiled during our last shot. When gun sprang forward again, the plastic sheet blocked the electrical contact of the firing mechanism. Even the emergency-firing system failed so our main weapon was useless !!! Our 88 was gone !!!

    Now what ? How long would it take to get the gun working again ? The tremendous force holding the gun in place made it impossible to get plastic map away from where it was stuck. Maybe by pushing the gun against a firm object, the plastic sheet could be pulled loose. Well, to make a long story short, a few farmhouses in Kommerscheidt came tumbling down. I simply drove straight through a few buildings, but even that didn't work. And then I found what I was looking for in the middle of a field.  It was a giant tree !!! If this wouldn't work, nothing would work but it finally did although it took awhile. We pushed and we pushed and the tree kept bending to the ground. And just when we thought that even this attempt was in vain, I finally managed to pry the plastic sheet loose.

 

    So we put the gear in reverse again to back away from the tree. Our vehicle lunged back quickly and then the rear end slid into a large manure-pit !!! The guys came flying out of the tank in an instant. it was a stinky business !!! I can tell you,  it really was a complete disaster !!!

 

    Well, after we got out of that, we elevated our gun and made a test-shot to see if the gun would work again; - it sure did. So we took part in the battle again and we managed to push the last American tanks and soldiers out of Kommerscheidt. All together we knocked out 8 American tanks in that battle.

 

    After that we were standing in the town wondering what to do next. But there was not much time to think about that because the next order was coming in already, we had to rush to another hot spot.

 

 

Editors Note: The purpose of making this story available for English readers is to add to the knowledge of the course of this great battle and, as with the other Huertgen Forest stories, not to glorify the combatants. On the other hand, those on both sides should be entitled to admiration for their great courage and devotion to duty.   Sincerely,  Ernest A. Herr

 

Some additional information about this vehicle:

The Jagdpanther was one of Germany’s best tank hunters, its purpose was clear: find and destroy enemy tanks. The German masterpiece first saw action at the Battle of Normandy where its success insured that more would be built. But much fewer were produced than needed because of Allied bomber raids on production centers.

Hitler considered this vehicle as an excellent solution to many of his production problems. He saw the advantage of producing assault guns and tank destroyers, which at this juncture in the defense strategy he valued more highly than the related tank. He expressed the view that the Jagdpanther would eventually prove to be superior in many cases to the Tiger II (equipped with the same gun) and pointed to the lower manufacturing costs, the lower weight, the reduced susceptibility to shell damage and the greater mobility of the vehicle with the same engine thanks to its lower weight.