Panzers on the Vistula

Retreat and Rout in East Prussia 1945

Hans Schäufler, Tony Le Tissier

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781526734310
• eBook ISBN: 9781526734327
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

This WWII memoir of a Nazi officer is one of the most revealing firsthand accounts of the German retreat on the Eastern Front.

A second lieutenant of the 4th Panzer division, Hans Schäufler commanded a Jagdpanther tank destroyer in rearguard actions against the Red Army in East Prussia in 1945. Then, as an infantryman, he took part in the doomed defense of Danzig before escaping across the Baltic in a small boat. His personal story offers a rare glimpse into the chaos and suffering endured by tens thousands of soldiers and civilians during the collapse of the Third Reich in the east.
Along with vivid descriptions of the appalling conditions in Danzig and the fear and panic that gripped the city, Schäufler's account provides valuable insight into the German army's tactics as they fell back before the Soviet advance. While acute shortages of men, equipment, ammunition and fuel crippled the defense, the soldiers went on fighting for a lost cause in the face of certain defeat.<

Chapter 1

From Kurland to Danzig

The great Soviet Christmas Offensive, later dubbed the 3rd Kurland Battle, broke out in Latvia on 9 January 1945, I was then Second-Lieutenant and Regimental Signals Officer of Panzer Regiment 35, when an Army order was received that our 4th Panzer Division was to withdraw from the front near Dzukste and assemble in the Frauenburg area ‘to refresh and prepare for action’, as an order from Corps put it.

Because of the critical fuel situation, a risky move by rail was ordered even for this relatively short journey. Consequently, special anti-aircraft protection had to be established at the loading station of Biksti, which was close to the front, and as Soviet air superiority was so overwhelming. Nevertheless, it all went quickly and without incident, and early on the morning of 10 January the first train reached Frauenburg. When the Divisional move was complete on 16 January, orders were given to prepare to move again.

On 17 January a brief order came from Army Group Nord: ‘The 4th Panzer Division will entrain immediately at Frauenburg station for embarkation at Libau. The 4th Panzer Division will leave behind all vehicles and heavy weapons when it leaves Army Group Nord.’

We were all delighted to turn our backs on the Kurland pocket, but this haste made us suspicious. Graudenz in West Prussia was given as our destination. According to the Wehrmacht Report, the Red Army had started its anticipated main offensive on Germany at the Vistula and Narev rivers on 12 January. The situation was unpleasant and made one apprehensive.

While we made our way to the new battleground with mixed feelings, an instinctive review of the fighting in Kurland was pressing.

On 10 August 1944 we had been released from the central section of the front east of Warsaw and hastily transported to Latvia, where we were tasked with re-establishing the disrupted land connection to Estonia and Army Group Nord, south of Riga, which had been cut off.

Heavy offensive fighting near Autz and Doblen ensued, until finally on 6 September the connection with Army Group Nord was achieved east of Tukkum and withdrawal to Latvia became possible. But then on 8 October, the Red Army’s 1st Baltic Front broke through to the Baltic near Memel and severed the land connection a second time. This resulted in the formation of the ‘Kurland bridgehead’, which could only be reached and supplied by sea.

Three Soviet armies had thrust into Lithuania with a view to rolling up the German units cut off in Kurland from the south. The goal of the Soviet offensive was Libau, the traffic junction on the Baltic with its important ice-free harbour, the main supply base for the German troops in Kurland.

By 16 October Army Group Nord had drawn up detailed plans for the German troops to break through to East Prussia and preparations had begun. On 24 October the first German units attacked south, broke through the Russian positions and overran their belts of anti-tank guns. But this undertaking, which had begun so successfully, had to be broken off when the first big defensive battle started in Kurland on 27 October. The Soviet Army began a several hours long barrage with 2,000 artillery pieces firing on the German positions along the whole 200km front line between Tukkum and Libau.

For four whole weeks the earth of Latvia shook under the blows of this violent battle. Smoke and flames enshrouded the bulwarks along the Baltic, but the Soviet plan shattered with heavy losses and the brave resistance of the German troops.

On 3 November the Wehrmacht High Command reported: ‘The attempted Soviet breakthrough in the area east of Libau was thwarted by the exemplary staunchness of our troops, resulting in the destruction of 62 tanks. In all the enemy lost 1,144 tanks in the Kurland area during the month of October.’

The Soviets gave up first. A depressing silence lay over a land torn up by shells and bombs, slowly sinking in the rain and mud. Losses on both sides had been heavy. Our own troops were exhausted by the fighting.

And then on 25 November the Soviet divisions attacked the German lines again with an inconceivable amount of equipment, this time between Preekuln and the Venta River. Defensive fighting continued until 7 December, but the Soviets were unable to break through here either. This went down in military history as the 2nd Battle of Kurland.

In mid-December the land was covered in frost. The mud and morass that had brought the 2nd Battle of Kurland to a standstill froze hard overnight. Not only the rutted tracks but the meadows and fields became passable to tanks. Then came clear winter skies and the Soviet fighters and bombers brought the trenches and troops’ accommodation under constant attack with bombs and cannon fire, the supply harbours of Libau and Windau being their main targets.

On 21 December the Soviet artillery put down a hurricane of fire on the 35km front either side of Frauenburg with 170,000 shells of all calibres. It seemed as if everyone would die under the Red Army’s assault on our lines at 0900 hours with a first wave of twenty infantry divisions. ‘Only those that were there can understand what the soldiers’ went through’, wrote General von Saukken in the history of the 4th Panzer Division.

The splitting apart of Army Group Nord was yet again the Soviet’s main objective, wishing to break through on either side of the Frauenburg–Libau road.

The 3rd Battle of Kurland ended on 4 January with no palpable success for the Red Army, but the German troops had had to pay a high price in blood – and that in the defence of several square kilometres of a foreign country while the Western Allies conquered city after city in their homeland. Deep depression was widespread.

Thus, it came almost as a relief, an easing of tension, when we boarded the transport in Libau to return home to fight the last battle on German soil.

The first elements of the 4th Panzer Division and tank crews of Panzer Regiment 35 embarked on the troopship Preussen. Our regimental commander, Colonel Christern, with a small staff and signals unit, went ahead in a fast naval vessel to make a reconnaissance of the Gruppe Training Area near Graudenz and to report on how many and what heavy weapons and tanks had been set aside for us. We remained in constant radio contact with him, even while on the troop transport.

Right at the beginning of the embarkation we were spotted by Soviet reconnaissance aircraft, which gave us a bad feeling, but fortunately heavy, hanging clouds filled the heavens so that our anti-aircraft guns only had to engage occasionally, and the few bombs that were dropped fell into the sea on either side of the ship.

Escorting naval craft immediately gathered around us and we entered the wintry Baltic Sea with a strong escort. Light waves caused the Preussen to roll and the first tank men became seasick, but this was not over the railings, for all such structures had been removed. Only a few strong steel cables crossed the upper deck to be held on to should anyone slip while moving about, but there was little inclination to do so. Most of the men were jolly glad to be able to stretch out fully in the warm fug below decks. There was a terrible stink of oil and other things in the completely overcrowded cabins and gangways.

Minesweepers went ahead checking the channel, stopping from time to time. Other escorting vessels circled nervously around us, gave submarine alerts, dropped depth charges and ordered zig-zag courses. When lifejackets were issued there were only sufficient for a third of the men, and when it came to the allocation of lifeboats the situation was even worse. There were certainly three times as many people on board as the regulations allowed.

The route was very carefully managed so that the largest escort was concentrated at night as we passed the Soviet-occupied coastal strip by Memel. For us tank men, this uncustomary means of transportation on the stormy, mined and Soviet submarine-infested Baltic was definitely not to our taste. It was a good night when the ship’s anti-aircraft guns did not have to fire so often. Occasionally they disturbed us while firing at high-flying bombers, which then quickly turned away as the shells exploded close under their wings.

At last we arrived in the bay of Danzig on the morning of 21 January. Our patience was once more subjected to a hard test as we had to wait for a long time before we could disembark.

‘What one has long to wait for, will be good in the end!’ For a short time it was very good indeed. We were accommodated in the luxurious seaside resort of Zopput in the plush rooms of what I believe was called the Savoy Hotel. It was already an eternity since we had last slept on a mattress and covered ourselves with a feather duvet. We were able to do this here and forget the war for several days, feeling like holidaymakers, strolling on the swept sands, going to the cinema and enjoying the comforts of life with the motto: ‘Enjoy the war, comrades, peace will be frightful!’

The news filtered through from the front, the tidings whispered from mouth to mouth, and the official announcements of the Wehrmacht bulletins painted a gloomy picture.

Chapter 2

The Situation on the Vistula in Mid-January 1945

With the arrival of the frost, 200 battle-strong Soviet divisions began the long prepared for main offensive along the 600km of the Eastern Front on 12 January. They pushed back the seventy battered German divisions opposing them, overrunning some, and breaking in at decisive points on a wide front.

The gigantic, potent Soviet Union was in a position to engage its massed forces, its whole armed might on this front and to concentrate on vital points as it liked.

In contrast, the German armed forces in the East could only defend themselves with one arm tied behind their backs, as the other arm had to try and hold off the impetuous Western Allies. Apart from that, there were still German divisions in Norway and the Balkans and, in a complete misjudgement of the situation, Hitler had sent strong armoured units to Hungary.

An immense industrial potential worked undisturbed and flat out producing armaments for the overwhelming enemy, while the German centres of production were bombed to smithereens and the traffic and supply routes lay within range of enemy aircraft. Germany’s raw material situation was catastrophic. The appeal for ‘total war’ and the catchword ‘five to twelve’ were hanging around one’s neck. The cries of Goebbels’ propaganda for ultimate victory and the rumours of wonder weapons were barefaced lies. Many thought that the time had long gone past ‘five to twelve’.

It was therefore not surprising if the confidence of the commanders in the political leadership, that of the fighting front in the Wehrmacht High Command and its totally false analysis of events, was deeply shattered. The only thing to be done was to save the innocent victims of this senseless war from the vengeance of the Red Army stirred up by Soviet demagogues.

On 12 January the 1st Byelorussian Front attacked from its Vistula bridgeheads south of Warsaw towards Hohensalza-Gnesen-Posen, the Soviets in the first assault ripping apart the German defences along a width of 150km after a mighty artillery preparation.

On 13 January the 3rd Byelorussian Front opened up with 350 heavy batteries and Stalin-Organs on the northern section of the front and attacked East Prussia between the Masurian Lakes and the Kurischen Haff lagoon with 7 armies comprising 54 rifle divisions, 2 tank corps and 9 independent armoured units.

Next day, Sunday, 14 January, the central northern sector was attacked by the 2nd Byelorussian Front from the Narev-Bug triangle towards the mouth of the Vistula River. This involved another 6 armies with 54 rifle divisions, 6 tank corps, 1 cavalry corps and 9 independent armoured units. The German troops defended themselves desperately but were unable to withstand the pressure for long.

The fine winter weather enabled the enemy to exploit their overwhelming air superiority to the full. Bomber and fighter formations of both Soviet and American manufacture operated devastatingly against the disintegrating German front as well as the withdrawal and supply routes. Soviet ammunition expenditure was enormous.

Whatever withstood the Red Army’s first assault was crushed by artillery fire and probing armour. This brought deep disquiet and uncertainty on the German front, causing it to collapse decisively. The German divisions fell apart and the emergency units formed from scattered elements and supply units were unable to close the gaps. Despite all their courage and self-sacrifice, they were unable to stem the vigorously attacking enemy.

The front disintegrated into individual points of resistance. All of these tried to re-establish a continuous line of defence, but failed, being prevented by Soviet tanks carrying infantry penetrating deep into the hinterland.

The vast superiority in numbers of the Red Army, its enormous firepower and unimpeded mobility over the frozen ground, the strength of its battle groups and, above all, the lack of our own reserves, brought feelings of helplessness and a deep depression among the German troops. In some places the retreat became a wild flight.

The civilian population behind the crumbling front had been left in uncertainty by the officials and offices of the Nazi Party on the orders of their Gauleiters, so had no idea of the great danger threatening them and still felt themselves secure behind the mined ‘East Wall’. Thus when at about 1700 hours on 23 January a Soviet tank unit burst unexpectedly into the city of Elbing, it came as a staggering blow to the Party offices and officials. Soon afterwards the Soviets had strong forces standing on the Frisches Haff lagoon, thus severing the last land connection with East Prussia.

Chapter 3

Collecting Our Armour

For us tank men enjoying a false peace in Zoppot, it came like a blow to the head when a radio message arrived from our regimental commander: ‘Soviet tanks penetrating the Gruppe Training Area. Heavy weapons, armoured personnel carriers and tanks available in limited numbers. Get the crews moving immediately!’

The general situation appeared threatening. The Soviets had already reached Tolkemit on the Frisches Haff and were near Marienburg, 50km southeast of Danzig. The cities of Graudenz, Thorn and Danzig had been declared fortresses. No, we didn’t want to be rounded up in Zoppot by the military police and forced into an unfamiliar infantry role with an emergency unit, so to Gruppe!

The men of Armoured Reconnaissance Battalion 4 and Armoured Signals Battalion 79 were the first to race off to the south on 23 January, as they had brought their vehicles with them from Kurland. They were followed by the men of Panzergrenadier Regiments 12 and 13 and the sappers of Armoured Engineer Battalion 79. Between them went the men of our Panzer Regiment 35, Panzer Artillery Regiment 103, Tank-Hunting Battalion 49 and Army Flak Battalion 290.

On low-loaders, towing vehicles and trucks, both organised and stolen, we drove off south without delay through mud and snow, by day and by night, without rest and without stopping, keeping the Vistula to our left, past the almost endless column of refugees pressing north along all the roads and tracks.

The news of the massacre at Nemmersdorf on 20 October 1944 had been widespread. There the Soviet troops had mercilessly and cruelly murdered all the inhabitants remaining in the village. The people on the roads believed that there had been many Nemmersdorfs in East Prussia but that was the only known bloodbath because it had been retaken by the German armed forces, and because the circumstances enabled an international commission to witness the Red Army outrage.

We saw German people in flight for the first time. Our hearts bled for them. Convoys of children led by brave young women, nuns and Red Cross sisters; horse-drawn wagons with the sick and aged, women, women, women, wounded and even more wounded, distress!

And they all silently begged us with reproachful glances to keep the Soviets from...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• List of Plates
• Maps
• Chapter 1 From Kurland to Danzig
• Chapter 2 The Situation on the Vistula in Mid-January 1945
• Chapter 3 Collecting Our Armour
• Chapter 4 Gaining Time
• Chapter 5 From Tuchel to Preussisch Stargard
• Chapter 6 The Race to Danzig
• Chapter 7 From Oliva to Heubude, 13–30 March
• Chapter 8 In the Danzig Meadows
• Chapter 9 The Küspert Group
• Chapter 10 Waiting at the Mouth of the Vistula
• Chapter 11 That was Hell
• Chapter 12 The End on the Vistula
• Chapter 13 Flight Over the Baltic
• Chapter 14 After Zero Hour
• Chapter 15 Ceasefire at Hela
• Chapter 16 The March into Soviet Captivity
• Chapter 17 Internment in Sweden
• Chapter 18 The Stars Also Shine Over Griasovez
• Timeline
• Plate Section