Where the Iron Crosses Grow

Thus, Manstein was forced to conduct a frontal attack at Perekop. He knew that in order to break a fortified line, particularly in a place where any form of maneuver or surprise was impossible, it would be imperative to add every combat multiplier possible to give the assault a reasonable chance for success. His only armor support came from the assault guns from Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 190.³ Since Barbarossa had envisioned maneuver warfare, not positional battles or sieges, the 11. Armee had limited artillery and engineer assets, so Manstein would have to rob from Peter to pay Paul. He decided to accept the risk with XXX Armeekorps, involved in the pursuit to Melitopol, and transfer as much of its combat resources as possible to Hansen. Manstein provided Hansen with four additional heavy-artillery battalions (schwere Artillerie-Abteilung 737 with three Czech-made 14.9cm howitzers; schwere Artillerie-Abteilung 641 with four Czech-made 30.5cm mortars; I./AR 814 with two Czech-made 24cm howitzers, four 10cm s.K 18, and three 15cm s.FH 18; and the Romanian 54th Heavy Artillery Battalion with 12 Skoda 15cm howitzers), plus a Nebelwerfer battery. He stripped XXX Armeekorps of its corps-level artillery, transferring II./AR54 and IV./AR207 to Hansen. When added to his two divisional artillery regiments, Hansen’s artillery park totaled about 152 pieces. When Manstein first took command, LIV Armeekorps was short of artillery ammunition, but by September 23 Hansen had received enough medium-caliber ammunition to mount a attack. However, the heavy-artillery ammunition was very limited, with only 100 rounds of 24cm and 133 of 30.5cm for each assault division.⁴ Hansen also received 2,575 replacements just five days before the attack at Perekop, bringing his two infantry divisions back up to strength. The offensive was set for September 24, and Manstein kept part of the LSSAH Division in reserve to exploit the expected breakthrough.

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Generalleutnant Johannes Zuckertort, who was a so-called Mischling (halfbreed) of Jewish descent, had to receive a German blood certificate signed personally by Adolf Hitler in order to remain in the Wehrmacht. His younger brother Karl, also a general, had commanded Panzer-Regiment 5 prior to the war but had been expelled from the Wehrmacht in July 1941 (probably for anti-regime attitudes). Thus, Johannes had a strong incentive to toe the Nazi line if he wanted to remain in the Wehrmacht. Now he was responsible for planning the artillery support for Hansen’s assault on the Perekop position. Zuckertort directed that HArko 110 (Army-level Artillery Command) would control the light artillery, while HArko 20 would direct the heavy artillery. The artillery preparation commenced at 0500hrs on September 24, with the divisional artillery firing over 2,500 rounds at the Soviet positions. Fliegerkorps IV was able to provide only limited air support to Hansen, but bombers from KG 27 and KG 51 bombed Soviet defenses around Perekop. The Soviet VVS and VVS-ChF were still quite active over the Crimea and neither side had air superiority.

At Y-Hour (0730hrs), assault groups from the 46. and 73. Infanterie-Divisionen moved up to attack Danilin’s outer defensive line. Generalmajor Kurt Himer’s 46. Infanterie-Division was a Welle 1 (1st wave) formation, consisting primarily of pre-war regulars, but Generalleutnant Bruno Bieler’s 73. Infanterie-Division was a Welle 2 formation, made up primarily of reservists. Each division attacked with four or five battalions, supported by pioneers, 2cm flak guns, Panzerjägers and a battery of StuG III assault guns. Oberstleutnant Otto Hitzfeld, commander of Infanterie-Regiment 213 led the 73. Infanterie-Division’s main effort against the Chervonyi Chaban State Farm strongpoint, held by Captain E. K. Ivashin’s 2nd Battalion/361st Rifle Regiment. The Soviet troops were well dug in behind a thick obstacle belt and were supported by plentiful artillery. The engineers from Pionier-Bataillon 173 supporting Hitzfeld’s infantry went first, creating a breach in the Soviet obstacle belt under fire, but suffering heavy losses in the process. Finally, a breach was secured and, under cover of smoke grenades, two battalions from Hitzfeld’s regiment closed in on the Soviet strongpoint. Intense close combat ensued, and flamethrowers and concentrated charges were used to eliminate Soviet bunkers. Ivashin’s battalion was gradually destroyed piece by piece, and the farm strongpoint was overrun after Ju-88s from KG 51 bombed it.⁵ However, Hitzfeld had lost four company commanders, and overall the 73. Infanterie-Division suffered 770 casualties on the first day of the offensive. In the eastern sector the 46. Infanterie-Division had a slightly easier time, but still suffered 329 casualties and made only modest progress. At the cost of over 1,100 casualties, Hansen had defeated Kuznetsov’s covering forces but had not yet reached the main line of resistance.