A Surprise At Sunrise

On the 30th of June, 1942, Grossdeutschland Infantry Division informed XXXXVIII Panzer Corps that it had established a bridgehead across the Olym river. The forward forces included elements of I (Grenadier) Infantry Reg’t, the Reconnaissance Bn and the Panzer Bn. …

1942-07-01

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On the 30th of June, 1942, Grossdeutschland Infantry Division informed XXXXVIII Panzer Corps that it had established a bridgehead across the Olym river. The forward forces included elements of I (Grenadier) Infantry Reg’t, the Reconnaissance Bn and the Panzer Bn. On the morning of 1 July, infantrymen began breakfast in their holes and hollows in front of the railway embankment while the tankers took on fuel and ammunition behind it. Two anti-tank guns had been set up in strategic locations to guard against enemy armor patrols. The smoldering wrecks of T-34s from yesterday’s battle dotted the landscape. All was quiet. As II Coy battled the Soviet armor incursion, more of Panzer Bn GD made ready then drove forward. Spotting additional enemy tanks approaching from 1500 meters, it was now a duel. I Coy – Pz IVs to II Coy’s Pz IIIs – moved out to the left and started picking off the enemy tanks one by one. Orders then were received for the German tanks to face right and pursue any fleeing tanks. By 06:30 the battle was over. Few Soviet tanks had escaped, with ten T-34s and two light tanks destroyed. It was Panzer Bn GD’s first serious engagement. The wounded were carted off in halftracks and the salvageable panzers towed to the rear. Led by an armored patrol from 1st squadron of the Recon Bn, the formation began its planned advance towards Jassenki.

Staryj Oskol–Kastornje–Jelez Railway, Olym River area, Russia

The Battle of Voronezh, or First Battle of Voronezh, was a battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, fought in and around the strategically important city of Voronezh on the Don river, 450 km (280 mi) south of Moscow, from 28 June-24 July 1942, as opening move of the German summer offensive in 1942.

Wikipedia: Battle of Voronezh (1942)

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