When Americans Reached Amiens We Were Truly Shocked (Ep.6)

(Memoirs of a German King Tiger Panzer Commander, Part 6 ) Watch our video” When Americans Reached Amiens We Were Truly Shocked (Ep.6)” and Dive deep into the epic saga of World War Two with ‘WW2 Tales,’ where we explore the journey of a legendary panzer commander. Experience the raw intensity of Operation Barbarossa, the grueling confrontations in Normandy, and the strategic standoffs in Hungary through the lens of a master of armored warfare. Follow the evolution from the front lines in a Pz.Mk.III to commanding the fearsome Tiger and King Tiger tanks, the zenith of heavy armor in the conflict. With only four hundred eighty nine King Tigers ever built, their preservation was paramount, leading to extraordinary recovery missions under fire. This series brings to life the strategies, trials, and human spirit within the mechanized heart of the war. Discover the intricate details of tank operations, the challenges of battlefield tactics, and the undying resilience of soldiers fighting on the front lines.
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The shells nearest us exploded with a great roar. The fire radiated enormous heat. It was difficult to see if the flames were coming from the engine compartment of the panzer or from the surface. Meanwhile the fighter-bombers had withdrawn, having done their worst.

I stood with the fire-extinguisher in the turret fighting every flame which licked at me. In the panzer, soon we could hardly tolerate being half-drowned by the foam any longer, the 8.8cm ammunition in the two burning wagons was exploding all around – it must have made quite a fireworks display.

What I feared most was that the great heat would cause the panzer’s petrol tanks to explode, taking us up with it. Furthermore we had eighty 8.8cm rounds inside a fully fuelled panzer. Therefore five of us sat in the panzer, three of us wounded, without being able to protect

Ourselves against the fire or heat. It was a frightening situation, for something worse was bound to happen, and we couldn’t abandon the vehicle while the wagons were still burning and the exploding ammunition whizzed around our ears. During our transport from Germany I had watched as a company of Panthers performed an emergency

Unloading during a low-level air attack. All panzers turned 90° on the platform wagon and then drove directly from the wagon onto the ground, where they dispersed widely. Later in passing I saw the tracks in a field of wheat and made a note to myself. The Panther company suffered no losses.

I recalled this procedure and it seemed to me the only possibility now. Turn 90° on the Ssymswagen and descend. This was a double stretch of track, therefore it was possible. I gave the driver the order. I had forgotten, however, that the extra-broad tracks of our panzer stowed alongside the

Vehicle prevented a 90° turn. The engine came to life, the panzer turned slowly, then stopped mid-turn with the track overhanging. Suddenly the panzer inclined to the left and before we realized what was happening it fell off and lay on its turret near the rails. Being inside as the tank slowly overturned was ghastly.

The panzer was still burning while around us the ammunition in the open wagons continued to explode. After about an hour of unbearable waiting the wagons finally burnt out. I got free through the loader’s hatch, then the men of my transport who had sought cover

In the panzers or in the field came running up and the fire in my panzer was finally extinguished. As was established later, both petrol tanks had been holed by enemy fire and the panzer would probably have blown up if it had not overturned.

Because it had done so, the fuel from the tanks had eventually run out freely and did little damage while burning. We retrieved our wounded. After searching the whole area we found six severely wounded, five walking wounded and near the locomotive the dead body of Unteroffizier Wehrheim.

All the ammunition and spares wagons were burnt out, the rails were torn up and so the last railway line into Paris still functioning had been disrupted. We brought the wounded to a nearby railway worker’s house. I borrowed a bicycle and went along the railway line with a local to the nearest station at

Esternay in order to telephone the German rail authorities and request that a military hospital be informed. I did not succeed in the latter but when I got back to the wrecked train the French Red Cross was in attendance with an ambulance and German doctor.

The French had watched the attack from Esternay and had set out at once with their ambulance. Shortly before the air attack began a German ambulance train had passed us on the neighbouring tracks heading for Germany. On seeing the attack the train had stopped and came back.

Therefore my wounded were in good hands straight away though Oberfeldwebel Bormann died during the journey. I couldn’t leave my transport without a commander and so merely had my wounds dressed andaccepted a tetanus shot. I sent a dispatch rider with my report to the remainder of the company at Mailly and

Another to Paris where I expected Hauptmann Scherf would be at the Hotel Commodore. I was not aware of it at the time but Hauptmann Fromme was also there after gathering the wheeled vehicles of the Abteilung together at Pontoise as they came back from the Falaise Pocket and the Seine.

After a few hours a Reichsbahn railway-construction train with an 80-tonne crane arrived but did not start work until the surrounding area had been searched for unexploded bombs and shells. After the body of Unteroffizier Wehrheim had been buried on the edge of the woods, a locomotive

Came and took the remnants of my transport to the nearest small station to be disembarked. We stayed there for four days because the line ahead of it and behind was under continual air attack. The time I spent there was not pleasant because of the heat, we had no food, I heard nothing

From Company and my wounds caused me a lot of discomfort. It surprised me greatly that I did not hear from Company. Both dispatch riders had returned without a reply. Therefore I could only wait until the transport was able to continue.

On the fourth day a Hauptmann arrived from the HQ of the General of Panzer Troops West, who had been at Mailly. He was accompanied by Leutnant Rambow who now relieved me. The Hauptmann brought me to his HQ in Paris where I was interrogated closely respecting

The events of 12 August and had to submit a full written report. I did not feel uncomfortable about any action I had taken, however, and ultimately the matter was forgotten. After the process ended, it was late evening. The General’s command post was at St Cloud.

When I was stationed in Paris after the war, I often passed this building, which always reminded me of my interrogation. At my request I was taken to Hotel Commodore on Boulevard Haussman, where I met Hauptmann Scherf.

We sat talking for hours in the hotel bar but if I asked what steps he had taken regarding my transport I cannot remember the answers. Next morning I went to the assembly hall for the wounded at the École Militaire on the Champs de Mars.

As it was getting decidedly unpleasant in Paris at that time and the military hospitals there were beingevacuated, I was taken to the military hospital for the SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler at Meaux where I received the best of treatment. After two days this hospital was also pulled back and I came to Château-Thierry, really

Primitive and the town a miserable place. Next day I took the first opportunity available to go to Rheims. Here the hospital was that kind of huge operation in which I would not have dreamed of being interned, and I landed up in the wounded-assembly area.

I skilfully avoided being put on the transport for the Reich, which was the last place I wished to go, and reported back instead to PzBrig X responsible for re-equipping the company at Mailly. Here I was given a very friendly welcome.

I was told where to find a hotel room, I got a new uniform, my pay, money for my food and ration coupons. Now I was in the right place and received my walking-wounded discharge at the wounded-assembly point though I had to report back there for a check-up every other day.

At first those days I spent in Rheims were pleasant. I ate in a restaurant and took coffee in a coffee-house complete with dance-orchestra where for the first time I heard American jazz. I remember well the ‘Tiger Rag’.

In the Reich this kind of music had been prohibited for years and so I had never heard it before: I found that it struck a chord with me. Whenever I hear ‘In the Mood’ or the ‘Tiger Rag’ nowadays, it reminds me of my time in Rheims.

By chance I came across a number of Abteilung men who had all lost contact with their companies through their stay in military hospital. I myself had no idea where the Abteilung was to be found either and so found them quarters

In Rheims and gave them orders to report to me at noon every day at the hotel. Paris had already been lost to us by this time. At Rheims I met Oberschirrmeister (Senior Motor Pool NCO) Haslbeck who had come from

The company at Mailly and told me that it still had two driveable Tigers which had to be got out before the Americans arrived. Also, my Panzer 311 lay beside the railway embankment with a burnt-out engine. Haslbeck had not had contact with the company for several days but I felt that I really

Had to make the effort to re-establish contact, so I left my people at Rheims and went with Haslbeck in his Volkswagen to Mailly. The situation regarding the two panzers at Mailly was very unfavourable. One could manage a few hundred metres under its own power, the otherneeded to be towed.

Next morning I had both of them brought to the loading ramp and changed their tracks for the train journey. This was very difficult because half of the narrower tracks required were missing from the Ssymswagen. After much puzzling it over, my clever people found a solution even here.

I went to the Transport Kommandantur at Châlons, requested wagons and a departure number, and arranged at Épernay station for a locomotive to be available for my train at the hour indicated. It could only be a few more days before the Allies arrived, and none of the foregoing

Was as easy as has been described, because it had to be argued out with both the Wehrmacht and Reichsbahn departments. They were all afraid of giving out any orders which were not routine. Some bureaucrats showed complete indifference. This was all about two Tigers.

I still had several long journeys to make and since I needed to be independent, the most important thing was to obtain wheels from somewhere. On the drive through Châlons I made a stop at the motor pool and after much talk I managed to convince the Etappe jackass of the importance of my mission.

The last available motor car belonged to the Châlons gendarmerie. I got a requisition docket for this vehicle and finally took possession of the black Citroën. In this vehicle over the next few days I covered over a thousand kilometres, including the stretch between Rheims and Mailly three times.

The Tigers were loaded and as everything seemed to be going smoothly, I returned to my Tiger 311 near Sézanne. The panzer had been got back on its tracks and my next problem was to have it towed out of the danger area, for the 18-tonne tractors needed for the purpose were probably the rarest

Vehicles in the German Wehrmacht. I wanted at least three of them to tow my Tiger. First I went back to Mailly. The transport with my Tigers had already left the station. The enemy armoured spearhead had already been sighted at Arcis-sur-Aube, about 15km away. They could arrive at Mailly at any moment.

After I had helped to clear out the soldiers’ hostel I went back to Rheims. It was my last night there; the next day I set out on the hunt for the tractors. I tried my luck at PzBrig X and all the workshop units of the Luftwaffe without success – none

Was to be found anywhere. Slowly my hopes of getting the panzers out began to evaporate. The vehicle returned at midday andreported having seen no sign of the advancing enemy. Therefore I sent the Volkswagen to Sézanne to get the rest of the crew to safety: they

Were there to destroy the panzer once the enemy turned up. In the Épernay area, however, the Volkswagen was held up for two hours by fighter-bomber attacks and when they finally arrived at Sézanne they ran into the American spearhead. I was told all this the next day when I returned to Rheims.

(The workshop supervisor and driver, who had remained behind in the panzer, were taken prisoner by the Americans but arrived home safe and well a couple of years later. Meanwhile I had discovered a panzer recovery platoon in the area around Laon, but my journey

There bore no fruit, for all their tractors were out on jobs although I did at least discover the location of the HQ of the General Commanding Panzer Troops West. A Führer-HQ had been set up near Laon-Soissons consisting of three large compounds with all the usual trimmings.

The HQ was now housed in the so-called Führer-compound after having been forced to flee from Paris. They were unable to help, but referred me to the so-called ‘Göring Compound’, where I ran into my former PzRgt 35 regimental commander, General Eberbach. He was taken prisoner a few days later with his staff.

The C-in-C West told me that a panzer recovery platoon was in the woods at Compiègne. Therefore I drove there through the night. The description ‘the woods at Compiègne’ was fairly imprecise and more by luck than anything else I found the unit.

Finally I had run to earth the long-sought three tractors and would have set off with them straight away for my Panzer 311 via Château-Thierry andSézanne had they had any fuel. Where could this be conjured from? After two hours of searching I contacted some Corps Staff or other who granted me 1,000

Litres from a compound in Compiègne. The tractors tanked up before daybreak but taking to the road with these three towing machines by day would have been pure suicide. The slow and cumbersome vehicles would have been certain victims of the fighter-bombers, and so there was nothing for it but to wait for nightfall.

By chance I met an Abteilung vehicle and learned that the Abteilung was operational with its remaining panzers near Beauvais. I gave the driver a report for the commanding officer advising him of my impending return to the Abteilung, then went back to the HQ of the General of Panzer Troops West at Laon.

From a glance at the map I saw that since the position of my panzer was now behind enemy lines my objective was frustrated and so I released the tractors and took the most direct route back to Rheims. These drives were very tiring for we rarely had a night’s rest, the distances to be

Covered were getting longer and we always had to keep a lookout for enemy aircraft. On several occasions we were very lucky and got our car under cover just in time. Back at Rheims the whole city was in the throes of great excitement – the enemy was at the gates.

Oberschirrmeister Haslbeck was waiting for me. He told me about the efforts involving my 311 and also that through the negligence of the driver his Volkswagen had been stolen. Also that the train transport with the two panzers and crews had arrived at Rheims and

Had been re-routed onwards immediately by the Reichsbahn because of the proximity of the enemy. He had also put aboard the train all the personnel of the Abteilung I had gathered together in Rheims. So at least those two Tigers were safe.

Now I had to go to Charleville, where I arrived that evening with Haslbeck. Whereas in Rheims chaotic, undisciplined disorder had reigned, and ugly scenes had been played out, at Charleville all was still calm. At the station command post they knew nothing of my train transport.

The friendly station commander took us both into his home and I finally had a wonderful sleep. The command post was set up in the station house in which the Kaiser had stayed during the First World War. Next morning I saw mytransport train in a goods yard near Charleville.

I took charge of it and, after making many telephone calls to arrange a locomotive for the later stage of the journey, set off for Liège where there was a large panzer workshop. Meanwhile panic had also broken out in Charleville, rumours were rife and everybody was simply fleeing aimlessly.

The soldiers’ hostel had been abandoned in great haste by the Red Cross nurses: infantrymen plundered it, the field gendarmes were powerless. I brandished my pistol to prevent some sly foxes making off with the cigarette stocks and arranged for a fairly reasonable distribution.

Haslbeck had meanwhile found a garage containing three cars in pristine condition abandoned by the field kommandantur. Quickly and skilfully these were changed – tactical insignia etc. painted over – while I forged some documents (I felt justified in doing this) proving our right to the vehicles.

Providing the rightful owners did not recognize them, there was practically nothing to stop us. I made a gift of my rather tired Citroën to an infantryman returning from military hospital to help him in his search for his unit. All thirteen men not needed for the panzer transport now piled into my three cars.

Fuel was still a problem but we solved that at Bethel railway station where we found a rail tanker wagon. Despite every imaginable objection we got our petrol. Because the road via Laon was already in enemy hands we had to retrace our steps to Charleville and from there head for Beauvais via Hirson–St Quentin–Ham–Montdidier.

The journey was very tiring because at night column after column was flooding back eastwards along this road. We reached our destination; the Abteilung had put up clear road signs and thus I reported back to my commanding officer with three vehicles and thirteen men.

The Abteilung command post had been established in a château in the middle of a small wood. My surprise reappearance from military hospital and the recovery from Mailly of the two panzers, already written off by Abteilung, gave rise to great joy and raised our spirits.

Benjamin (the Ordnance Officer) put me in the picture regarding the situation. The Abteilung, hard pressed in fighting east of the Orne, had been surrounded in the great Falaise Pocket. Although it had managed to fight its way out almost at once, it must have experienced a

Great drama in doing so,followed by crossing the Seine under constant enemy air attack. North of the Seine, only the freshly delivered panzers of 3 Company were available to oppose the American bridgehead at Mantes, and here they had suffered heavily. The enemy’s material superiority and air supremacy were simply too great.

Only one of the Abteilung’s panzers was still operational, that of Leutnant Rambow. The situation around the command post was uncertain and higher command had no clear view as a result of the rapidly changing situation. Therefore we had ourselves sent out scouting parties from our reconnaissance platoon.

I learned that Hauptmann Scherf would very soon be sent on the Abteilung command course and that I would be taking over 3 Company as company leader. We were still in good spirits when the information came that the Americans were nearby.

We left the château in a long column of cars, led by the open car of the commanding officer. A bottle of cognac was passed from car to car. Then my vehicle went on strike and I fell behind the column.

Because I had no map and did not know the area, Leutnant Brodhagen’s car stayed behind with me. The commanding officer wanted to go to the Tross. Since night was now falling and we could not begin anything in our condition, we pushed the car into cover and slept until daybreak.

We awoke to find the roads remarkably empty, only the odd lone vehicle. We were told that the Americans had reached Amiens, which was where we were headed, therefore our rear services would probably have pulled out long before. Our purpose now was to skirt around the enemy, by-pass Amiens and cross the Somme.

We were led to believe that all bridges over the Somme had been blown up during the night and so assumed that our Abteilung would already have crossed. We got the car going again but the unlikelihood of reaching the Somme before the Americans got there worried us.

Approaching a small village, we heard MG fire close at hand. Standing on the bonnet I could see American tanks moving in from the other end of the village. We turned around and fled at full speed. Using country lanes and tracks across fields we reached the Somme and by a stroke of luck

Found a small bridge still intact. At Péronne we met up again with German troops but could find no trace of the Abteilung. We pressed on through Arras and Lens to Lille, pursuing unsuccessful enquiries at every kommandantur along the way for news ofour Abteilung.

The many military cemeteries, some German, reminded us of the heavy fighting which had raged in this region during the First World War. Finally in Lille we spotted an Abteilung signpost, made contact and reported to the command post in the nearby village of Seclin.

The previous evening the commanding officer had ordered a complete withdrawal, in the process saving the Tross from capture by the Americans at Amiens. At Seclin I also found 3 Company. It had lost the last of its panzers at Amiens although the bulk of the company Tigers had

Been lost to enemy action at Vexin (Mantes), or for lack of the possibility of repair. At Seclin I stayed two days in fine private quarters with bath. High Command had provisionally ordered the Abteilung to Liège but it had no fuel, this being something which each company had to organize for itself.

While the other companies went from one fuel compound to another and found nothing, I discovered the whereabouts of a petrol dump, drove there and with much cunning and deception got a chit for 5m3. I had gained experience in how to deal with such departments and the word ‘Tiger’

Still had its allure, even here. Thus not only 3 Company but the whole Abteilung was able to move out. In normal times, of course, my methods would have been impossible, but amidst all this hopeless confusion and the total collapse of the Front it was every man for himself.

Over the next three nights the Abteilung travelled about 300km to the northwest. The companies made a motley impression. Having no panzers but most of the crews it was a problem to transport these men. Almost every panzer crew found a parked car somewhere and got it going, and so the company

Had more than fourteen additional vehicles. Scherf had a fantastic American Packard, a sports car able to achieve a speed in excess of 100kmph, phenomenal for the time. To see it and then be invited to drive such a vehicle was a real joy. Our course took us through Tournay–Leuze– Waterloo–Leuven.

A company Muli (a fully tracked lorry) was set on fire in a low-level fighter attack: one man was killed. After parking in a wood near Tienen I was given a special assignment by the commanding officer. The Abteilung was to proceed to Sennelager camp near Paderborn to rest and reorganize.

I had to fetch the written orders from an outpost of the General, Panzer Troops West at Liège. In order that the Abteilung should have theircontents as soon as possible after receipt, I was assigned a radio car.

The Liège outpost did not have the documents, and so I had to continue to the HQ of the General, Panzer Troops West. This was located in a small wood in the Ardennes which I reached after a long drive.

Here I was informed by the 1a General Staff Officer that I would have to call at the HQ of Generalfeldmarschall Model at Spa near Liège for the document. Model himself was in Namur, and so that was my next port of call.

The town was not a very inviting-looking place with hardly any German troops but many suspicious figures lurking in the shadows. Of course, Model was not in Namur, but I could find him at a conference with SS-Obergruppenführer Sepp Dietrich at Gembloux.

I simply had to get these written orders: Model had already left Dietrich’s HQ and there was nothing more I could do except return to Spa. I got there at 2300hrs and towards 0200hrs our movement order was in my hands. I passed it on to Abteilung by radio and completed my assignment.

I arrived back in Liège in the early morning. One could sense everywhere the eleventh-hour mood: apparently the enemy was not far off. In the street I met Major Skultetus, whom I knew from Fallingbostel. In conversation he remarked casually that there was a fuel train in the goods yard at Liège.

I saw my chance, excused myself as quickly as possible and drove to the station. There the train stood with about 500m3 of fuel. A junior lieutenant was responsible for sharing it out. I requested one wagon for my Abteilung and because the word ‘Tiger’ worked its magic again my request was fulfilled.

By radio I informed Abteilung, which had got to Maastricht, and asked for the entire fuel detachment to get here in order to take it over. At that distance they needed four hours to arrive. During that time I would have to protect my fuel.

From all sides vehicles now appeared like moths to the flame to bag some. At first I did a patrol around the wagon, believing that my mere presence would keep all undesired visitors away. Not so. Scarcely had I put a few steps between myself and the wagon than it was opened at the rear

And the first barrel started walking. I spotted it in time and from now on sat on my barrels, pistol in hand, and only left my perch when Leutnant Koppe arrived with the fuel detachment. The journey backthrough Liège was anything but pleasant, the first shoot-outs had begun,

Always a sign that the Americans would soon be arriving. Towards evening I reported back to the Abteilung. The company was in the small town of Meersen where I was given a very nice room by a pro-German family. During the two days we spent here, this little Dutch place seemed like a small paradise.

In Maastricht a German provisions warehouse was being thrown open in order to prevent the contents falling into enemy hands. With Leutnants Rambow and Wagner, who had meanwhile been transferred to 3 Company, I happened to be passing just at that moment.

I got my driver to fetch an empty lorry from our company and we packed it full with tinned food of all kinds, chocolate, wine, liqueurs, cigarettes: we towed out case upon case of foodstuffs for our field kitchen. For whom had all this been originally intended?

We Frontschweine would never have got to see it. In the weeks following we in the company gorged ourselves. Peas with carrots or asparagus were now to be found on the menu more often. A change from dried vegetables and dried potatoes!

Later at Paderborn every man going on leave received a packet to take home. On 5 September 1944 we left Meersen. We knew the road from here perfectly and the individual company vehicles were sent out at five-minute intervals because of the danger of air attack.

I took a German family with me in my car since they had no other way to get back to the Reich. After a few incidents with enemy aircraft, that afternoon we crossed the German border. It was a strange feeling to be back in Germany under these circumstances, and not wonderful.

Our destination was Düren, and 3 Company was lodged in the village of Elsen. It was an odd coincidence that my old 1 Company/PzRgt 35 had also stopped here before the beginning of the French campaign. Thus I soon renewed contacts, for the inhabitants of the village remembered us well.

The company was given the best of everything, the villagers competing to outdo each other. Next day our vehicles were loaded at Düren station, and on the afternoon of 7 September I travelled with the commanding officer, Hauptmann Scherf, Hauptman Wiegand, Stabsarzt Dr Schramm

And Benjamin in one of two saloon cars for the drive to Sennelager camp at Paderborn. The Abteilung HQ settled in at Schloss Neuhaus near Paderborn, and 3 Company was given outstanding private quarters at Hövelhof. Exercises were held for an hour every morning and soon the company was a picture of tight

Discipline even in appearance. Then most men went on leave, the married men first and also Hauptmann Scherf, commander of 3 Company. There now began a very busy period for me. A new KStN (War Strength Instruction) for the Tiger Abteilung had been issued by Oberkommando

Des Heeres (OKH – Supreme High Command), compelling us to reorganize in such a manner as to require fewer men. This would be known today as a time-and-motion study. The repair group had suffered heavy losses in France which now had to be made good.

I often went to the Panzer Reserve Abteilung at Paderborn to select the people I wanted in my company. This was mostly achieved by bribing the adjutant of the Reserve Abteilung. I also rid the company of ‘undesirables’. The chemistry between myself and the ‘Spiess’ was not good.

He had built up a clique with the field kitchen staff and others for extra rations. I did not want to work with this man. With the help of the commanding officer I transferred him out to 1 Company where the equivalent post had fallen vacant.

I appointed my Oberfeldwebel Müller as his replacement, where he proved of invaluable service to myself and the company. In this way I rebuilt the company into something close to the design I had for it. I never regretted the reshuffle although it did strain my relationship with Scherf somewhat

Since he considered my treatment ofhis protégé to be unfair. There were other difficulties. For his transfer, Scherf wanted to take with him his entire panzer crew. This was not normal practice but I agreed to it. When he started picking and choosing other good men for himself I had to refuse, which

Did not go down well. The commanding officer gave me an assignment near Strasbourg where a few things had to be sorted out with a higher echelon in the Vosges. I visited home for thirty-six hours, driving my French motor car.

It was wonderful to see my parents, who were very concerned that the Front had moved so close to the Rhine: even Rastatt was now being attacked by enemy aircraft more frequently. Their favourite target was the railway station with the railway bridge over the Murg, not too far from our house.

We discussed the 20 July assassination attempt which in my father’s opinion had been the chance to end the war: nobody would sign a peace treaty with Hitler. This had been clear to me for quite some time. I received good news of my sister Aja from Sweden and my brother Wuller in Dresden.

My other sister Elisabeth had been at the Spetzgard boarding school on Lake Constance for some time. As soon as the situation in Rastatt got more critical, my parents wanted to evacuate to Rotenfels at the von Blanquet property. One was less exposed there.

They went eventually in December 1944.When we continued to Strasbourg we were surprised in broad daylight by an air-raid alarm and spent over an hour in the cellar of a brewery before going on. On the return journey I went home for a few hours where a longer air raid prevented me leaving on time.

The journey after that was a strain on the nerves for the tyres of my car were in such poor condition that I had a puncture ten times. Since we had no spare tyre my poor driver, Obergefreiter Glasl, had to patch them up.

The journey having taken fourteen hours, I arrived back at Company at Hövelhof very late. Scherf returned from leave and at the end of September a company parade was held to mark his departure, and the transfer of the company to me. A company march-past concluded the transfer ceremony.

Now I was also officially company commander after having held the position de facto for weeks. The Army Personnel Office had originally wanted to transfer in a Hauptmann but Fromme had declined, insisting on my appointment. Atthat time it was an absolute exception for a Tiger company to be commanded by a junior lieutenant.

Meanwhile our King Tigers had arrived and the usual work on them took up all our time. One weekend we had to show off the amphibious qualities of the panzers in the River Senne for the film boys from the Propaganda Company. Eight weeks later the pictures were released on the Wochenschau newsreel.

We would have preferred an off-duty Sunday instead. Then finally something surprising came – orders to move out. Wondering where our next battlefield would be therefore came to an end. The loading went off well and many tears flowed as our transport train steamed out of Paderborn station.

The transport ran without incident via Halberstadt– Halle–Eger–Pilsen– Prague–Brünn–Pressburg, and in the early morning of 14 October 1944 we reached our destination, Budapest. Immediately after arriving at Budapest East station I had my VW unloaded and set off to make contact with the Abteilung.

I got lost driving through Budapest but finally met up with the unloading officer, Leutnant Bayer, who had been sent out to find me. My company was to camp at Taksony, a small village south of the city. I convinced myself that the unloading was bound to have gone smoothly, gave my orders

And then drove my Packard, which had become my command car along with the VW, to Taksony together with an advance party. On the way I made the acquaintance of the Honved (Hungarian military) who stopped me on account of an air-raid warning.

When I tried to move off they even aimed their rifles at me, but I convinced them in the nicest possible way that a German officer was not to be intimidated by such shenanigans, and then they let me through.

In Hungary at that time there was as good as no German military presence, only a few divisions having been pushed up to the front line. Budapest was still behind the lines. I noticed along the streets everywhere that anti-tank guns and Flak had been installed

With the guns pointing in the direction where the enemy was presumed, and in Taksony there were also road blocks. This puzzled me, but by the following day we understood what was being played out here. I reported to the local mayor, who was in conference with Hungarian officers, and I

Cannot say that I received a warm welcome. Having foreign troops billeted on your village is never good news. Apart from that, however, the local people took us in with great cordiality and treated us royally. The old Austro-Hungarian veterans of the Great War wore their German decorations with pride

And spoke of the old brotherhood in arms which we were now renewing. I drove back to the railway station, where the unloading of the company had been achieved in record time. The panzers were now standing camouflaged in an alley and were due to move out at 1300hrs.

Two-thirds of the men were absent, having been invited for lunch by the enthusiastic inhabitants of Budapest, but none returned late. We were mobbed by Hungarian men and women who wanted to know everything possible from us. Here I was also made aware of the possibility that a putsch was in the offing.

For the first time I heard the name Szálasi, who was leader of the right-wing Hungarian Arrow Cross party. We wanted to show German discipline: as if on the parade ground I had the men fall in before their panzers, climb aboard at a hand signal and then we pulled out in perfect order

Through Budapest to Taksony. On the way the citizens threw apples, cigarettes and chocolate on the hulls of our panzers. From all corners came encouraging shouts from many beaming faces. Our quarters at Taksony were good. The Abteilung command post was in the next village and that evening I reported to the

Commanding officer that all the men were present and the company operational. My men sat up until late in the night with the villagers in the bars. At 0200hrs on 15 October I was brought instructions by dispatch rider to report to the Abteilung command post.

Here I received orders thus: ‘At daybreak transfer the company and all elements to Budakeszi.’ It was suspected that the Hungarian government, and also the Hungarian military, might be about to stage a putsch. The few German troops available were to proceed to the left bank of the Danube in order to

Keep a close watch on the situation. Budakeszi, a minor suburb on the Danube, had been chosen for the purpose. We were warned to be prepared for possible counter-measures against us by the Hungarian military, but nothing actually happened. In the afternoon the situation became clearer.

Admiral Horthy, the Hungarian vice-regent, had sent the Soviets a request for an immediate armistice. Hungarian radio had broadcast a speech by Horthy in which he made his decision publicly known. The attitude amongst the Hungarian troops towards us deteriorated fast and even took on a hostile character.

It was now inadvisable to show ourselves in the city, because the Honved had put up barricades everywhere. The population, on the other hand, appeared to be rather downcast. We were often stopped and told that we should not allow this disgrace to be perpetrated.

It seemed to me that the honour of the people had been deeply wounded. The Abteilung went to combat-readiness. Meanwhile previously prepared measures and action by the Hungarian right-wing opposition came into play. The Arrow Cross, who saw the radio proclamation as the signal for their long-awaited ‘seizure

Of power’, occupied the radio stations and broadcast a counter-order. As a result, Arrow Cross organizations and numerous Honved and gendarmerie units came over to the German side. In the city there was shooting at various places. King Tigers occupied all the Danube bridges and prevented any traffic passing between Buda and Pest.

My 3 Company was now stationed as Alarm Company in a park right on the edge of the city. All Hungarian units not declaring for the German side were disarmed. Everywhere small squads accompanied Tigers for this purpose and almost everywhere encountered no resistance.

I went personally with Hauptmann von Eichel-Streiber with two Tigers to the Hungarian Military Academy and required all the officers and men there to surrender their weapons. As I stood in the office of the academy’s commanding officer, an aged white-haired colonel, he immediately offered me his sabre with a salute.

Also with a salute I returned the sabre – I had read of a similar scene in a book somewhere and I had found it very impressive. Afterwards I sat in his apartment and took tea with him and his family. He felt deeply the shame of Horthy’s offer of an armistice to the Soviets.

The military action planned for the evening, for which a Waffen-SS unit and elements of our Abteilung were standing by, was called off in the early hours of 16 October. At 0535hrs Horthy bowed to the pressure of theGerman countermeasures and ordered his guards to offer no resistance. At 0555hrs he left Castle Hill.

One battalion of the life guards in the citadel park did not receive his order so that an incident occurred in which four German soldiers were killed. The military action therefore began at 0600hrs and Castle Hill was occupied. This involved 2 Company of our Abteilung.

I had detached a half-platoon of my company at the war memorial below the castle as a reserve while the bulk of the company protected the bridges over the Danube with their Tigers. There was only some sporadic shooting in the city so that German troops could be withdrawn in ready response-groups.

The Hungarian military and armed Arrow Cross units now took over the national security service, and therefore our assignment in Budapest was concluded. As an immediate consequence of the appeal for an armistice, on the orders of General Verres, Commander-in-Chief Second Hungarian Army, 2 Hungarian Armoured Division had abandoned

Its positions in an especially important sector of the front and pulled back to the river Theiss. The retreat was made without regard for the troops still holding the line in the adjoining sectors of the front. Therefore on 19 October it was decided to launch an attack from the Theiss bridgehead

At Szolnok with the objective of breaking through the enemy front on the eastern bank of the Theiss and pushing eastwards deep into the flank of the Soviet tank force at Debrecen. For this purpose PzAbt 503 was attached to 24 PzDiv, and on the evening of 17 October

We received the order to move to Szolnok on the Theiss. To economize on fuel the panzers were sent by rail, the wheeled units by road. 1 Company was loaded first, 3 Company next. Because not enough Ssymswagen were available, the companies went piecemeal, waiting for empty trains to return.

On the evening of 18 October two transports of my company arrived at Szolnok but my third platoon had still not arrived when operational orders were received for the following morning. We were to form the spearhead for the 24 PzDiv attack. 1 Company was present and correct, but I had only ten panzers.

Our orders were to advance at first light following a brief artillery preparation, break through the enemy positions and then turn aside to the town of Mezötúr to the south-east and capture it. Immediately after that we were to advance north-east via Túrkeve to take the high ground at Kisújszállás.

Next to nothing was known about the enemy positions, not even that a Romanian division would be facing us. I had received the order to attack when it was dark: now the work began. Maps had to be found and pasted together, conferences with panzer commanders set up,

In between I had to see the commanding officer at the Abteilung command post– I didn’t know whether I was coming or going. When I arrived with the company at the readiness position in the small Theiss bridgehead south-east of Szolnok, I had the feeling that we were only half prepared and that nothing would

Go to plan. Yet everything went off perfectly. Yes, I could rely on my people. The attack was scheduled for 0500hrs, spearheaded by 1 Company. The hours preceding an attack were always nerve-racking. It was still dark. I assembled the crews and went over the coming operation with them again – every man had

To know what would be expected of us. The field kitchen brought us hot coffee, the panzer engines were warmed up, the radio was plugged in and the connections checked; the hour arrived and the commanding officer gave the order to move out using the codeword of the day.

For frequently used orders and expressions we had codewords changed daily for security reasons. Hardly had I relayed the order to my company than the Tiger engines howled and 1 Company crossed the German front line, followed a few minutes later by 3 Company.

The attack which now unfolded was a major exception, for mostly an attack never went as expected. Shortly after we had crossed the main German front line the first Romanians came towards us. We succeeded in crossing a dam at right-angles across our direction of advance and which

From the map had been our biggest worry. We reached the next village quickly, the Romanians attempting to flee in vain. We waved them aside from behind since we had no time to bother ourselves taking prisoners. There was a barrier of anti-tank guns which we crushed and with that, as we discovered,

We had gone through all the defences to their entire depth. Weskirted two minefields on the route of our advance and kept on going ever deeper into enemy territory. Enemy rear-echelon units were surprised, whole columns of traffic were swept off the roads, nothing could detain our forward thrust.

We had appeared in this area totally unexpectedly, like phantoms. At first my 3 Company had little to do. We kept back a suitable distance from 1 Company ahead of us and matched their speed. Towards 1000hrs, after having advanced 20km, while crossing a railway line we noticed the

Dark smoke of a train approaching us in the distance. Wouldn’t they have been told about us? The train was coming up fast. Two of my Tigers veered off either side of the railway embankment and placed themselves in firing positions. One round: the locomotive received a direct hit and went up in flames.

The train came to a stop. Now we were treated to the unbelievable sight of hundreds of Romanian soldiers pouring out of the cattle trucks and racing towards the cover of a small wood: horses running around aimlessly, some at full gallop. We had come across the transport of a Romanian division.

We shot their wagons loaded with vehicles and equipment into flames, but had no time to stay, for our orders were to support 1 Company, which had now gone further ahead. Late that afternoon we reached the town of Mezötúr, the first intermediate objective of our battle group.

This put an end to our progress for a while since we had to refuel. The Abteilung formed a hedgehog in an open field, that is to say, formed a circle, guns facing outwards for a 360° defence. At the centre were placed the wheeled vehicles of the Tross from which we refuelled and took

On ammunition. Mezötúr itself was cleared by troops of 24 PzDiv. It was quite a large town and fighting erupted at several locations; during the night Russian units which had apparently been unloaded on an open stretch beyond the town also joined in.

The command of 24 PzDiv was aware that the Soviets had moved strong forces from Debrecen to confront us. From now on, therefore, we had to expect to run up against the Russians, and we prepared accordingly. The night in the hedgehog was fairly uncomfortable.

In the evening whilst refuelling we were set upon by Russian ground-attack aircraft which failed to inflict any damage worth mentioning. During the night a Russianreconnaissance party got through to the commanding officer’s panzer but was driven off with sub-machine guns and grenades. This was a warning for us to be on the alert.

Towards 0200hrs I received orders to spearhead the advance with my company in the new direction at daybreak. Our primary objective was the small town of Túrkeve, from there continuing to Kisujszallas. This was some 50km further on again.

Shortly after setting out we came under fire, so close had the Russians come up during the night. The situation was difficult because the road here ran over a dam and on either side was impassable swamp. I would not be able to deploy my company and therefore only the leading panzers would be

Able to fire. I made out six anti-tank guns left and right of the road and we traded fire with these for about ten minutes until they were annihilated. The Russians fought doggedly, had the advantage of camouflage in well-chosen positions and

Fired accurately, while we on the other hand were being served up on a plate. For that reason we received many hits from all calibres, but none up to penetrating the frontal armour of a King Tiger. I radioed a situation report to Abteilung and we pressed on into better terrain enabling

The company to spread out either side of the road. After a few kilometres we came to the next barrier of anti-tank guns. One after another we made out each gun, advised it to all and wiped it out while receiving a hail of fire ourselves.

Some of the panzers were rendered immobile by hits to the tracks or gun, etc., but we pressed forward. It was a grim feeling to be sitting in a panzer, see a muzzle flash ahead and then wait for the hit, for it did not always turn out well.

We could receive a hit so powerful that it stunned us all. If you saw the anti-tank gun in the act of firing, it could be engaged. If not, which was often the case, because you cannot be looking in all directions at

Once, you would have to wait until they let you have a second one, hoping to spot the muzzle flash. Meanwhile you had to keep an eye out for the other panzers, ready to leap to their assistance if required. Superiority over the enemy lay in recognizing and responding to a situation quickly.

This was the priority for all panzer commanders. Besides that, I had to monitor the activity of the entire company and issue tactically correct orders at the right time. In my command panzer I had one radio transmitter and two receivers. During an attack messages were received incessantly.

This panzer had recognized the position of an anti-tank gun, that one was out of action, a third had had to stop at a natural obstacle, the next was immobile after a hit and had to change radio frequency, the commanding officer had just sent some new order or other.

If I had had my way I would have thrown the earphones into a corner, for apart from hearing what was going on, above all one had to observe and then make decisions. We had now come to a Russian infantry position in a field manned by anti-tank close-combat troops.

They would jump aboard our panzers with satchel charges and other fun devices. This was very unpleasant for there was little one could do to ward them off except step on the gas. The many natural obstacles also caused problems: obstructions such as broad trenches, hedgerows,

Woodlands, etc. were ideal for defending troops but tended to impose long delays on the attacker. In the distance we recognized Túrkeve. I wanted to pass it on the left and then attack from the far end. That was not so easy, since the Russians had created a really masterly defensive position

With anti-tank gun emplacements everywhere around the edges of the town. Here we had a very tough nut to crack. More and more of my company’s panzers were falling by the wayside. My own panzer received a hit directly below the gun from a Russian gun I had failed to spot in time.

The frontal armour withstood the shell but I could no longer fire. With this panzer now damaged I had only two others still fully battleworthy. The three of us covered the last few kilometres to the north-eastern end of the village and

Found we could enter there, for the Russians had meanwhile pulled out with their guns. Here we took a breather for a few hours. Our advance had lasted five hours and the company had put thirty-six enemy guns out of action.

We had really had to fight hard for every kilometre: the Russians fought us more bitterly than I had ever experienced before. My company had some men wounded but no dead and no panzers written off. During those few hours some of the damaged panzers were got going again by our repairs

Group and rejoined me so that I had six vehicles in the company. I congratulated Feldwebel Grossmann, whose repair team wasalways well up with the leaders of the attack and worked wonders. I remained in my own panzer although the gun was still out of action.

The divisional commanding officer arrived and his praise did us good. We discussed how we should continue the advance and drank a cognac. This steadied our nerves. Towards midday we got under way again, 3 Company in the lead. Our next objective was the town of Kisújszállás.

It was now important to capitalize rapidly on our success and not allow the enemy time to establish effective defences. Apparently the King Tigers had had a substantial demoralizing effect and softened them up a bit. Thus in the afternoon we made good speed in a textbook spearhead formation as taught at panzer school.

After 15km we turned off the highway and literally crept up to the town. Towards 1700hrs we reached the Kisújszállás–Dévaványa road 2km east of Kisújszállás and stopped all traffic moving along it. From there it was easy to survey the Kisújszállás–Debrecen highway.

We saw an unbroken stream of Soviet tanks, lorries and above all anti-tank guns driving into the town. In a short time we counted fifty guns. Against this material superiority it would be impossible to take the town at a stroke or hold it.

We formed a hedgehog and supplies came up during the night without much interference. Reconnaissance reported enemy armour reinforcements to the north-east.