3rd Panzer Division. Diary Of A German Tanker. The Loss Of Tank Troops On The Eastern Front.

3rd Panzer Division. Diary Of A German Tanker. The Loss Of Tank Troops On The Eastern Front.

Hello my dear friends, today we are going  to read a remarkable diary of a German   tank crewman. He served as a feldwebel of  the 3rd Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht,   which was involved in the invasion of the Soviet  Union. He wrote his entries in a very careful and  

Meticulous manner. Through this, we will not only  discover his opinion about the fierce battles in   the Soviet Union and the hardships of the retreat  from Moscow, but also have a closer look at the   life of a German tank crewman. He wrote down  details that I haven’t read in other diaries,  

And it’s very fascinating. Indeed, you begin to  realize the seriousness of the situation of German   troops fighting in the Soviet Union. The enormous  losses of soldiers and equipment, impassable   roads, overextended and overloaded supply lines  for the armies, the partisan operations and the  

Unbelievable cold – all of this was crushing  the invincible army that had conquered Europe.   The fact that the author of the diary, awarded  the Iron Cross 1st class, had to drive a tractor   instead of a tank, due to the lack of new tanks  in the German army – indicates many things…. 

Well, now let’s begin… June 20.  The vehicles are being prepared. At  4:00 p.m. we arrive at the 9th company.   At 5:00 p.m. we set off to the place of  concentration. The arrival at 23:30 p.m. June 21.  The state of affairs is being  announced. I wrote a letter home.

June 22. At 2:30 a.m.,   it’s wake-up call. The Führer’s proclamation  was recited. At 3:15 a.m. there is an artillery   softening-up. Not long after the march we  lose the target. We cross the Bug River. We   take the battle formation to the south of  Stradetch. We are engaged in a battle for  

The village. There is a march with infantry  through the swamps, through Faustinovo to   Loscenica and near the road Brest-Mokryany. In  the evening there is a returning march to Brest. June 23.  The march is on the Brest-Kobrin road.  Lieutenant Geyer gets a direct hit from  

A tank gun near the town of Kobrin, and  non-commissioned officer Rerner is killed.   In the town radio engineer Willitseck was  killed (he came from the headquarters),   Gefreiter Ruding was executed. We stayed overnight  on the road to the east of Bereza-Kartuzka. June 24. 

I joined the company again. There was the first  attack by Russian bombers. The Russians resist   stubbornly. We spent the night on the road south  of Baranovichi. Hirshman’s vehicle was exploded. June 25.  We passed 4 kilometers. There was an attack  of the Soviet attack planes. I wrote a letter.

June 26. We marched to Slutsk;   the town is burning terribly. On the road in  front of Slutsk we caught fire of attack planes.   The air battles are going on between fighters and  bombers. We take guard to the northwest of Slutsk,  

There are searching the Russians in the  kolkhoz, now we have plenty of eggs,   butter and sour cream. At 8:00 a.m.  we moved over the old Russian border. June 27. We recalled those   who were killed… Non-Commissioned Officer  Naumani was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class.  

So was Grossman. We’ll march at about 7:00 p.m.  The march will be about 60 kilometers. It’s a   night march. The Russians attempt to take Slutsk  and cut off the movement of our supply wagons. June 28. I wrote a letter. At 12:00 a.m. there is a  

Heavy bombardment by Russian air force. The bombs  fall near us. Gefreiter Hungerbach gets a piece of   shrapnel in his finger. At 3:30 p.m., there’s a  second bombardment. In the 9th Company a vehicle   is destroyed by a direct hit. At about 0:00 p.m.  we have to leave the road, because the bridge to  

The west of Bobruisk is blown up. An automobile is  hitched to each of the tanks. About 1 km south of   the road begins the forest. The road was without  any incidents. Later the rain starts to fall and  

We must often help other vehicles. At about 3.00  a.m. we reach the highway again with 2 automobiles   on the trailer. We stop about 5 km to the west of  Bobruisk in the forest. There is a preparation for  

The battle. In the daytime there are many air  fights. The first reports came over the radio. June 30. At 9:00 a.m. we move out of the   forest to the road. The Russians are bombarding  the bridges near Bobruisk. In evening we left the  

Highway and settled down quite comfortably for a  night’s rest. In the daytime an active air battle   is going on. As far as we could see, our fighters  shot down 23 of the enemy’s bombers. Our air   force occupied the airfield, which previously had  been a regular target for enemy planes. At night,  

There were air raids, also. An engineer  platoon got a direct bomb hit near us. July 1, 1941. At 3:30 a.m. we went   through Bobruisk to the area of concentration –  this is 5 km to the east of Bobruisk. At 11:30  

A.m. we were assembled on the highway. After 5  km we stopped because of the destroyed bridge.   We build a ferry and the enemy immediately  destroys it. We turn our tanks off the road   to attack. The length of the road is 1600  meters. I can see well the shooting of our  

Tanks. The first enemy tank is hit directly at the  bridge, the bridge is on fire. All of a sudden,   a gun carriage appears on the bridge. There is  a hit close to us, we are being bombarded by  

Heavy artillery. We move to another position;  I see two tanks of the 9th Company hit. One of   them is on fire. I want to approach to help our  crews, but suddenly an anti-tank gun fires from   the highway. I see two enemy anti-tank guns.  They both become the target of the shelling.  

As they are suppressed, we carry off three  wounded men. Unexpectedly, a shell detonates   two meters from the raspberry bushes … A heavy rain begins to fall. Further on our   riflemen make their way to the village situated  opposite. We take up a guard. During the night we  

Move back 3 kilometers away. It rains continuously  until morning. We are soaked to the skin. July 3. Lieutenant   Griman is awarded the Iron Cross 1st class. At  12:30 p.m. it’s march out. The Russian artillery   obstructs the advance. We go down the highway, our  fighter planes shoot down the Russian bombers. The  

Detachment is assigned to cross the creek to the  north of Rogachev. Just as we leave the highway,   the enemy bombers appear and bomb us. The bombs  are dropped among us. At the last moment we  

Manage to hide in a vehicle. Manteg has no time to  close the hatch and the whole “blessing” breaks in   there. Miraculously we, except for a small piece  of shrapnel in our right hand, survive unharmed.  It is crazy stormy all around, like in a  big thunderstorm. As everything clears out,  

I see two damaged Type 2 tanks. Besides that,  an infantry soldier is killed and there are   two wounded. We move on. Without any incident,  we cross the creek. After making a series of   bends back and forth, we come out of the  woods and see a village in front of us,  

At a distance of about 100 meters. We recognize  the Russian soldiers to the left and right of   the village in the woods. Unexpectedly,  an anti-tank gun fires from the left,   immediately followed by another one. I fire on  them at once. We see the field fortifications. A  

Fierce firefight begins. Suddenly an anti-tank gun  fires straight from the front. With three shots it   is destroyed by a headquarters tank, and we break  into the village. We capture 5 anti-tank guns,   2 heavy machine guns, 1 mortar and 1 tractor.  We stay as a guard in the village for the night.

July 4. At 11:00 a.m.   we leave on patrol to the Dnieper. The crossing  must be reconnoitered. We drive through Madora   to Kisteni. The Russians are in the village,  we return and guard the eastern outskirts of  

Madora. Then we are summoned to Vischin, there  we stop for a while. In the bend of the Dnieper,   we spot the fortifications. Then we move  on to Shabrin. The artillery and dive   bombers open an annihilating fire on the enemy  artillery. We stay in Shebrin for the night. July 5. We are supposed  

To cross the river with our detachment.  The situation is unfavorable. The Russians   are fortified on the other side of the river. We  are camped in the woods to the north of Shabrin. July 6. I got a letter and a parcel. For breakfast we  

Have some bean coffee and eat a pastry. At about  noon we go on guard to the east of Madora. After   lunch we go on reconnaissance to the bend of the  Dnieper. The Russians have changed their positions  

To trick us. We move back to our positions.  There are air raids in the evening and at night. July 8. We return to the   company. About 9:00 a.m. we drive to Madora. We  come under heavy artillery fire on the highway.  

In the woods south of Madora we mean to stop,  but we get detected and again we are attacked   by heavy artillery fire. All day long the  Russians fire harassingly. At about 12:30   p.m. I and Hirschman go on a reconnaissance to  the creek. We abandon our vehicles on the way  

And in a group of five men make our way  through the woods. It’s unbearably hot,   after an hour and a half we make it to the edge of  the forest. We can see the Russian fortifications  

And positions. At about 3 p.m. we return, weary as  dogs. Until 9 p.m. we stay in the forest, then we   move back three kilometers. At night the Russians  shell the whole forest by artillery barrage.  Our detachment and the 394th sapper regiment  are here near the Dnieper in guard, and the  

4th Panzer Division and another detachment  attempt to overwhelm the Russians ahead of us.  According to reports, there are 17 or 18  divisions against us. The enemy has gathered   an enormous amount of artillery. Therefore, it is  hopeless to cross at this point without extensive  

Preparations. On a daily basis, before  we are replaced by an infantry division,   we show up at the river to fool the enemy  about the presence of our large forces here.   The Russians make heavy counterattacks  on the 4th Panzer Division’s section. July 9. At about 10.00 we leave the  

Forest and go to the Kisteni area. Our platoon is  sent immediately on reconnaissance to Kisteni and   Vischin. At the same time we are supposed to pull  back the headquarters tank, as it has run into a  

Mine in Kisteni. When we drive into the village  we are at once bombarded by artillery fire. So we   turn around, and at about 2:00 p.m. we head back. Right about the time I’m writing this diary our   guard is opening fire. Two of the 12  suspicious civilians are detained and  

We identify them as partisans. They are  interrogated, and afterwards, as they   have dug their own grave, they are executed. The detachment retreats to the old position.   Our platoon is supposed to stay behind to bombard  Kisteni. We deploy and take up positions. Not long  

Before the set time I myself go to reconnaissance  the road and lose the direction in the woods.   When I leave the forest after half an hour  of wandering, from a distance of about 1 km   I hear vehicles starting up. I run towards the  direction of the sound. When I reach a meadow,  

I see in the dusk that tanks take up positions and  shoot. I get to the vehicle and after a firefight   we move back to our resting spot. After a while  there is heavy firing on us, so we can barely   show our faces from under the vehicles. At night we sleep under the vehicles.  

The artillery and thousands of  mosquitoes sing while we sleep. July 10. We move to new positions;   about noon we get news that Feldwebel  Taikhman and his vehicle ran into a mine   at Kisteni. The whole crew is dead. In the  evening we move off to Shabrin and there,  

Along with the infantry, take up a guard.  The Russian artillery is pretty quiet. July 11. At about 3 a.m.   we are replaced by the 1st Cavalry Division.  At 6.00 a.m. we leave Shabrin and move with   a detachment to the west of Bobruisk, then in  the same direction to the north-east. On the  

Way I received a letter. We stop for the night  in a forest about 50 km away from Bobruisk. July 12. The detachment   moves out at 7.00 a.m. We stay here for a  whole day, as we are changing running wheels. July 13. At 12.00 a.m. we move out. I write a letter.  

We follow the Company and stop for a rest in 3  km to the east of the Dnieper near Stary Bykhov. July 14.  In the morning we met the first wagon.  We refuel and drive on. After some time,  

We have to replace running wheels and track links.  At noon we have to rescue the surrounded division   commander. On the road I meet Holland-Kuntz.  In the evening we meet our company again.   There are about two Russian divisions in the  encirclement, which are systematically being  

Annihilated. In the evening we arrive at  Gorovtsy and stay there for the night. At 3 p.m. we leave and engage in  battle 3 kilometers from Chusa.  In the woods, the Russians are  fortified. Several guns and   anti-tank guns were destroyed.  Our artillery set fire to the  

Villages. At nightfall we along with the  infantry approached the village closely. July 16. At 3.30 a.m. the attack is launched.   Our artillery began the preparation. When we enter  the village, it’s quiet at first, and then the   shooting starts from all sides. When our vehicle  approaches the bridge itself, it blows up. From  

The village on the opposite side, anti-tank guns  and artillery also start firing, the village burns   like a candle. There are two grenades that hit  close to my vehicle, damaging the tank’s track. We   move off into one of the side streets to replace  the links of the tank track. We then change  

Position after position as we are found everywhere  by artillery. We are out of ammunition. Things   go on like this until noon. Then we pull back  and get ammunition and fuel. At noon I and the   riflemen cross the stream and move forward to the  next river, where we find a functioning bridge.  

The Russians appear to be hastily withdrawing. The separate parts of the division pursue them,   while we remain on the spot in guard.  A refreshing bath rewards us for the   last fight. We stay for the night. The  commander is awarded the Knight’s Cross. July 17. At 9:30 a.m. we leave. After  

Approximately 50 kilometers we reach the town of  Krichev. The Russians detected our movement and   opened heavy artillery fire on us. We turned north  to Lobkovichi, so just before dark after a short   battle the enemy retreats. The small bridge is not  damaged. We advance with the 2nd Cyclists Company  

To the northern outskirts of the village and take  up a combat outpost. The rain begins to fall. July 18. At about 3 a.m. we   are awakened quite rudely by terrible firing. The  Russians have crept up in the darkness 100 meters  

To our positions. They open a murderous fire  from machine guns, and anti-tank guns. We rush   off our feet to the combat crew. A shell hits the  bridge and sets it on fire. The riflemen run off  

In all directions. We move to draw the fire and  immediately get a grenade in front of the tank.   We move forward a little more and open fire.  It is still dark and we can barely see a thing  

Around us. The other tanks move forward as well.  The Russians again immediately spot us and set   fire to the house close to where we are. We move  forward, the anti-tank guns cease firing. We push   forward about three kilometers more and bring with  us many captives, a whole battalion. The counting  

Of the trophies results as follows: 6 anti-tank  guns, 11 guns, 3 mortars and a bunch of machine   guns. This is the penalty for a disrespectful  wake-up call. The infantrymen suffered a loss of 4   killed. The captives are later used to repair our  guns and vehicles. At night we stay on the spot.

July 19. We move 6 kilometers forward to Sergeevka.   Right at the moment when we are about to slaughter  two chickens, our platoon should move out to   capture the parachutists. However, we fail to do  anything out of this mission and return to rest. July 20. We’re woken up at 4:00 a.m.  

We leave to rescue two tanks stuck in Sokolyanka.  There are many Russians in the woods just behind   Wabichevskaya, but they are unable to put their  heavy weapons into action because they have no   time to do so. Outside Sokolyanka I see the two  tanks, the others don’t notice them and pass on. 

I use the radio to summon them to come over  and we pull Lieutenant Lübk out of the ditch.   When we all get together Lieutenant Schistophel  gets the chain. While we are standing like this   in an open area, the Russian artillery from  a distance of 1200 meters opens fire on us,  

We turn the turret and hit them directly  from the second shot. Otto Lehmann goes   there and eliminates the remnants of the resisting  enemy. Then we head back to Sergeevka for a rest. July 21. We rest, repair tanks and equipment. July 27. It is still a rest,  

And there is a volleyball and soccer tournament  among the company. At 13.30 p.m. our afternoon   rest is disrespectfully interrupted by fire:  the Russian attack planes strike with bombs   and airborne weapons, several houses catch fire,  the wind carries the fire to other houses. The  

Whole village catches fire almost instantly.  We quickly pack our belongings and move to the   nearest forest. On one of the tankers, the  driver is killed and his assistant wounded. July 29.  We have a rest. At noon I with the  company raid the enemy-occupied area.  

The Russians are not visible at all. At  nightfall we return to our place of rest. July 30.  We have a rest day. During the day we  change several tank track rollers. From   midday until the next morning, the units  move continuously through Sergeevka. August 1, 1941. At 3.00 a.m. we  

Move out. At 4.00 a.m. the offensive on  Vakhichevka begins. Along with us the 4th   Panzer Division on the right and the 7th Army  Corps on the left advance. We break through   to Mikulichi without any real contact with  the enemy. On the road we run into fleeing  

Enemy columns several times. We capture  an automobile with women. By evening the   division’s units crossed the Oster River on  undamaged bridges. During the attack our dive   bombers destroy enemy artillery positions. At  noon 9 bombers drop leaflets on our convoy. August 2. At Mikulichi we cross the Oster and move  

Forward to the highway, along which the 4th Panzer  Division has already marched 15 km. The Russian   cavalry chases the combat units of the 4th Panzer  Division and attempts to cut off the highway, but   they are pushed back and partly captured by us. We  drive to Kovalevka and stay there for the night.

August 3. At 5 p.m. we move out and pull   back along the highway 15 km to our place of rest.  The Russians try to shell the highway repeatedly. August 6.  We are in Dubovitsa. At 10.00 a.m. we leave for  a rest in Markovka. In the evening we have some  

Beer. Since 9 p.m. and until morning we  are in constant readiness for the march,   however, we are told that we are  supposed to rest for about 8 days. August 7. We rest,   and carry out a technical inspection. At 7  p.m. we leave and have a rest in Paporotka.  

At night we hear that the Russians try to break  through at Inovskaia. They make a great noise.   August 8. We are sent   to Yanovskaya before noon to replace the 2nd  detachment. Hirschmann and Lehmann are again  

Reassigned to the 9th Company, which launches an  attack. At 4 p.m. Hirschman returns and brings in   killed Gefreiter Kirsch. He is buried near the  highway. In the evening Feldwebel Busch from   the 9th Company comes back carrying Lieutenant  Christophil, who is badly wounded in the abdomen.

August 9. We move out at 5:00 a.m. and take up a starting   position 2 kilometers to the east of Yanovskaya.  We advance alongside the infantry, the objective   is Krichev. At 11:00 a.m. the offensive begins.  Our artillery prepares it with annihilating fire.  

Everything that can shoot is being fired. Our  company is attached to the infantry. We move   forward with the infantry. In front of us the  Russian cavalry shows up on the field. We try to   fire, but our machine gun fails. They are under  fire with the other tanks. I turn right into a  

Swampy ditch and as we are about to drive onto the  bridge – there are two explosions. The whole tank   is filled full of heavy smoke. At first it crosses  my mind that it’s a direct hit. I jump out of the  

Vehicle and fall almost straight into the mine.  Now it’s clear that we blew up on the spot. It   was at 11.45 a.m. We rush immediately to the radio  operator’s hatch and try to pull out Georgsbach,  

Who is apparently badly shell-shocked. Ranteg and  I cut open his boots and then we see that he has   nothing but bruises and hemorrhages on both legs.  Our physician puts a bandage on it and we pull him  

Off. Our company and infantrymen enter the village  and we stay behind on the outpost guard. We search   for mines and find about 40 of them, all of which  we destroy. With no success we try to repair our   tank, then we are dragged away by two tractors. On Sunday morning we arrive in Krichev.

August 10.  We are in the repair shop. Ruth from  9th Company arrives and reports that   on Saturday during the attack Feldwebel Gross,  Non-Commissioned Officers Kohler and Kleiner   and Lieutenant Wittenberg were all killed.  Lieutenant Geyer survived with slight wounds. August 11. We remove our engine in the repair shop.

August 13. We are in the   repair shop. Our engine is removed and we find out  that it has to be replaced. We are on guard duty. August 15. We’re in the repair shop. I   have to hand over my vehicle and by commanding  officer’s order I am appointed to command an  

Infantry detachment. At 5 p.m. I leave the repair  shop and reach the company as darkness falls.   In half an hour we move out. On the road we rest  between 2:00 a.m. and dawn, then we move further  

To the south. The purpose of our march is not  clear. At noon vehicle No. 1231 breaks down, and   I return to the repair shop for spare parts. On  the way my engine fails and I must move on in tow. August 17. 

At 6:00 a.m. we drive on and  reach the repair shop at noon. August 20. We are in the repair shop. At noon I and Freygang   go to Minsk for the chains. We go through Cherikov  – Chausy to Mogilev, where we spend the night. August 21. 

At 6.00 a.m. we leave Mogilev, drive  through Orsha and arrive in Minsk at   4.00 p.m. The same evening, we get our spare  parts. The city is almost totally destroyed. August 22. At 8:00 a.m.   we set out. At dusk we arrive in Chausy.  We take 5 soldiers with us from Mogilev. 

August 23. At 6:00 a.m. we set off. At 3   p.m. we arrive at the repair shop. The tank was  sent to the 2nd platoon in Unecha this morning. August 24-27. All these days we spend in the repair shop. August 28. 

We are in the repair shop; the vehicles  are being prepared for the road. August 29. At 5.00 a.m. we set off. We go through   Roslavl to Yarshchitsa. At the supply station  in Roslavl we get food for our men for 6 days.

August 30. At 6.00 a.m. we move out. We take the workers on   the tank armor to Mglina, in the evening we arrive  at the repair shop in Unecha. We are informed   that Oberleutnant Dereter, who was commander  of the 7th company is seriously wounded, and  

Oberfeldwebel Gess and non-commissioned officer  Wiklohen, Senior Gefreiter Nick, are also wounded. August 31.  The breakdowns detected along the way  are being repaired in the repair shop. September 1, 1941. At 4.30 a.m. we leave.   We drive from Unecha to Novgorod-Seversky. On the  way there are active attacks by Russian bombers.

September 2. We are in the   repair shop in Novgorod-Seversky.  Non-commissioned officer Vik-Klohen   has died. In the afternoon we arrive at  the unit. Feldwebel Müller takes my tank. September 2. We are in Voronezh.   It rains almost all day. In the evening we are  visited again by Russian pilots. It’s fleas!

September 4. At 5.00 a.m. we   set out for Bolshaya Goncharovka, from there  I return to the convoy to Shonstensky in the   afternoon. Along the way the Russian pilots  bomb the highway. Two bombs fall close to us. September 5. At 9.00 a.m.  

I leave the wagon. The detachment rests and I  meet the company between Krolevets and Mutino.   We guard the district of Boshek, there’s no  crossing. We are positioned in the village.   The infantry crosses the Seim at night. The  whole night the village is under extremely  

Heavy artillery fire and we can barely get  out of the ditch and at 12 p.m. we retreat.   The tank of the commander is a bit shattered  by a direct hit, but remains combat-ready. The   new position we have to abandon soon as well,  since our own artillery draws enemy fire on us.

September 6. We are getting ready in the field   with our six vehicles, in the straw. The enemy’s  artillery fire still continues. At lunchtime we   drive back to Krolevets. After resting for an  hour, we move to the main street and on towards  

Konotop. At night we stay in the village of  Altyno, we are bombarded by Russian pilots.   Oberfeldwebel Bleik gets a direct hit at night  coming from a Russian 51-ton tank. His tank is   burned. Oberfeldwebel Kleich is seriously wounded  and Non-Commissioned Officer Grossman is lightly  

Wounded. Non-Commissioned Officer Schultz and  Senior Gefreiter Schultz are killed on the spot. September 7. At 3:30 a.m. we move out. We stopped   in Meln. A new bridge is to be built across the  Seim. All day long our dive bombers have been  

Attacking artillery positions on the opposite  bank. At noon I drive back to Ksendzovka and   arrange a funeral for the dead fighters with the  same surname Schultz. At night we stay at Meln. September 8. At 8.00 a.m. – we set off  

Across the river to the place of concentration.  The whole combat group assembles behind a grove.   The Russian artillery soon detects us and gets  us under heavy fire. There are several dead   near us. At 10.30 a.m. our dive bombers show  up – this is the signal to start. There is a  

Terrible fire. The Russians have gathered a lot of  artillery and anti-aircraft guns. Our detachment   destroys 14 anti-aircraft guns and 8 anti-tank  guns. In the evening we halt in the woods near   the railroad bridge to the north of Konotop. Tank No. 1223 is hit by two shells in the hull.

September 9. At 8:30 a.m. we move   to Verenka. Our dive bombers attack the Russian  positions and the artillery north of Konotop.   The enemy aviation is very active as well. At  6 p.m. we pull out and head south past Konotop,   across the east-west road to Sosnovka.  There we will stay for the night.

September 10. At 6.00 a.m. we set off. At first, we move to   the south, then turn to the south-east. The target  is Romny. The town was taken by our vanguard   detachment within a day. Konotop was also occupied  by the 10th Motorized Division. Both of these  

Towns are the key depots for the Russian army. At lunchtime the rain begins to fall and the roads   are soon becoming almost impassable obstacles. The  whole supply wagon is stuck. The automobiles are   stuck in the mud – the remaining ones are finished  by Russian attack planes, which keep close behind  

Us. It is getting dark and we spend the night  on the road, moving forward from time to time. September 15.  We’re in the town of Romny. We established  communication with Kleist’s group in Lokhvitsa. September 16. At 10.00 a.m.  

We leave Romny. By lunchtime we arrive at  the 1st wagon in Lokhvitsa. We move forward   at once and arrive at Chervonny, where  we meet the company. In the evening we   sit near a barrel of beer. Feldwebel  is wounded. I received some letters. September 17. At 8.00 a.m. the  

Combat unit moves on, and I return to Lokhvitsa  to the repair shop. We spend a night in the wagon. September 18. We stay at the wagon until   lunchtime. At 4 p.m. we move to the combat unit.  Before nightfall we reach Chernukha and there we  

Stay for the night. At daybreak the Russians  attempt to break through, but their attack is   repeled by our fire. The regiment makes a detour  around the nearest area, destroys the Russian   columns and by evening returns to Chernukha. In  the afternoon our commander gets shot in his side. September 20. 

The detachment marches further on  Lokhvitsa. I return to the repair shop. September 21. In the afternoon   the combat unit arrives in Lokhvitsa. The  commander of the unit is wounded on his head. September 22. At noon I and my  

Squad set out to get new tanks. In the evening we  reach Romny, spend the night there in our “hotel”. September 23. In the morning   a liaison officer shows up and informs us that  we must report back to the company. We take the  

Division’s marching route onward and reach  the company 10 kilometers from the Seim by   evening. In the evening we have a celebration  and say goodbye to our anti-aircraft gunners. September 24. At 6.00 a.m.   we drive to Gomel. When darkness falls, we  reach Chernigov and spend the night there. September 25. There is a good  

Highway from Chernigov to Gomel. About  2 p.m. we arrive in Gomel. There is no   word yet about our tanks and others. We  settle down in a 7-story communal house. September 26. At 11.00 a.m. we arrive at the  

Station and, to our great pleasure, we find there  two echelons with new tanks. By lunchtime other   shipments arrive. The vehicles are being unloaded  and immediately distributed. In the evening we   leave Gomel and drive to get the ammo. The crews  are left behind and we return to the apartment.

September 27. At 5.00 a.m. we   head for the fuel depot and at 8.00 a.m. we take  the highway. We arrive in the evening in Repki,   about 20 kilometers north of Chernigov, and  there we settle down at the quarters. On the  

Roads from Chernigov to Gomel the whole  group of Kleist was moving to the north. September 29. At 5.30 a.m. we set off and,   in the afternoon, we arrive in Krolevets. The  detachment for some time before our arrival had   taken a new starting position. There has been  considerable change in the regiment. The first  

Detachment is subordinated to Kleiman’s group,  while the 2nd detachment is assigned to the   4th Panzer Division, the attacking division.  Our detachment with its two companies forms   the entire regiment and must be used as a  flank guard. The 9th company is disbanded. September 30. We are in the town  

Of Krolevets. The weather is bad, we are  in the house all day and write letters,   the rest of the time we spend hunting for bugs. October 3, 1941.  At 10.00 a.m. we drive from Krolevets  to Glukhov. When darkness falls,  

We pull over in Sevsk. The Führer gives a speech  on the radio. We guard the way out of Sevsk. October 4. Approximately at   noon we encounter a company that follows the 4th  Panzer Division towards Orel. We turn from the  

Route of the 4th Panzer Division in Dmitrovsk  to the left and halt in the village of Druzhka. October 5. We are in the village of Druzhka.   The Russian aviation is very active, but also our  fighter planes gain respect by several victories.  

During the night the Russians reward us with  several bombs. In the evening Feldwebel Müller,   non-commissioned officer Frest, Verteg, Bruckner,  Geminge and I have some fun near the vodka barrel. October 6. At 9:00 a.m.   we leave Druzhna. We drive to Dmitrovsk, turn  again to the route of the 4th Panzer Division  

And drive towards Orel. It is very cold today, it  rains at times. The road is very bad, there are   stuck automobiles on the left and right roadsides.  Despite the darkness we move on, it is snowing for   the first time at night. It is getting colder  and more stuck automobiles are surrounding us.  

At 3.30 a.m. we make a stop in Kromy at the 3rd  Sapper Regiment. Here I meet Lieutenant Eskart,   he invites me to sleep in his quarters.  Long time passes before I finally warm up. October 8. We’re in the  

City of Orel. We examine two Russian tanks to  the north of Orel, each one weighing 51 tons! October 9.  We are still in the city of Orel. I drive to  the station in order to find something for   the company there in trains standing  around with uncountable good stuff.

October 10. The 4th Panzer Division is   stuck in heavy fighting near Mtsensk. It has been  snowing almost all day, at night the thermometer   shows a temperature of – 3 °C. At night I’m on  watch guarding our troops from the partisans. October 11. The activities of the partisans become conspicuous  

And two Russians are hanged by the commandant’s  office. I am again on anti-partisan patrol. October 18. Rutkowski and I go on patrol along   the streets of Orel wearing civilian clothes,  but we don’t find anything worthy of attention. October 13. We’re in the town of Bolkhov. It is rumored that  

The Russians have broken through the encirclement  at Bryansk and move on Bolkhov. Hence the attack,   which was intended to support the 4th Panzer  Division to the north of Mtsensk, is postponed. October 16.  We go alone to the city of Orel  and by evening return to Bolkhov. October 18. At 6:30 a.m. we  

Leave. On the route of the division march we pass  the village of Dezhkino. The road is appallingly   muddy. The village is almost deserted.  We are lucky that the ground is frozen,   as otherwise the road would be impassable  for cyclists. There are no decent houses in  

The village and everything is incredibly dirty. We  head to Bolkhov at around noon to get our vehicles   repaired, on the way back we lose our right track  twice. As darkness falls we arrive at Bolkhov. October 19. As day comes on, the murderous  

Firing begins. When we ask in the division about  the situation – they say we have to leave the   village immediately. The Russians are attacking.  We pack our belongings and go to the city of Orel. October 23. The combat group is assembled for  

An offensive to the north of Mtsensk. All day long  at the airfield dive bombers prepare for battle. October 24. At 3 p.m. I set   off and before nightfall I reach a village  10 kilometers away from Mtsensk. In darkness  

We search in the crowded village for quarters  and after a long search we find a very bad one. October 25.  Our tank starts to break down again and we  have to go back to Orel to the repair shop. November 1, 1941. At 12.00 a.m. we move out.  

We lose both of our chain tracks in the mud  about 12 kilometers away from Mtsensk. While   pulling out by a heavy vehicle the left driving  wheel breaks off. And we stay until evening,   then we are dragged to Mtsensk  and there we spend the night. November 2. We pull the vehicle  

To our first wagon. I take the train to the  city of Orel in the evening. I leave at 7.30   p.m. The train moves at almost a pedestrian’s  speed and at 2:30 a.m. it stops 10 km. away  

From Orel. At 3.30 a.m. we set off into the city  on foot. At 5.30 a.m. I arrive at the quarters. November 5.  At 6.00 a.m. I take a train from Orel to  Mtsensk. At 10.00 a.m. I arrived. At 12.30  

P.m. I leave by automobile towards Tula. On  account of bad roads, we move forward slowly,   and spend the night in a village, 10 kilometers  away from the village of Cherni. On our way we   pass abandoned Russian positions. Everywhere the  Russians have put aerial bombs instead of mines.

November 6. We drive to the first convoy;   about 20 kilometers from the village the running  wheel breaks. I drive the non-commissioned officer   Richter’s vehicle further and I reach the company  which is located 12 kilometers away from Tula at  

About noon. We are quartered in a hospital. There  the regiment is being re-formed and only three   companies with the second convoy remain in line.  All the others withdraw back to the city of Orel. November 7.  All day the Russian artillery fires to  make the bridge on the highway unusable. November 8. 

We leave at 9.00 a.m. and we get a running  wheel for the small vehicle on the way. In   Cherni we obtain a permit to drive on the  highway to Orel. Approximately 12 km beyond   Cherni our vehicle rolls over. All of us are  unharmed. I get on another vehicle, which,  

Though, also gets stuck. I go on foot to the  nearest village and spend the night there. November 9. A passing vehicle   takes me to Mtsensk, and thence I take  a train to Orel. I arrived at 3 p.m. November 30. At 8:30 a.m. I  

Left Orel. I have to take the 2nd tractor in  the combat group. It’s very cold and windy,   the road is frozen. Before nightfall we reach  a place about 25 kilometers north of Plavsk. December 1, 1941.  At 8.00 a.m. we continue our way and at  noon we find a detachment in the village  

Of Obolenka. The big tractor has just  pulled away and I have to stay behind. December 2.  Our detachment attempts to break through on the  Tula-Moscow Road to cut off the enemy’s troops   and material moving to Tula and to block  the detour of enemy troops to the north. December 3. 

One company of our detachment reached  the Tula-Moscow Road in the evening. December 4. Our units are pulled   back to the defensive position behind. The frost  reaches – 34°. Every day several kilometers are   surrendered. All the villages are being burned  to prevent the Russians from consolidating. We  

Retreat about 15 kilometers and take up quarters  in Bolkhovka. This position has to be held until   the infantry on the march occupies winter  positions. This should last about 10 days.  December 12. There is a very strong wind and thaw outside  

In the village of Bolkhovka. The Russians push on  so hard that we have to pull back far again next   day. The villages are burning in a semicircle  around us. At night the frost begins again. December 13. At 9.30 a.m. we  

Set off. The road is very icy, so that  the tanks slide on the road. It starts   snowing later and it is very cold. At  about 3 p.m. we reach the village of   Milenino. The buildings are very poor.  All of a sudden, a thaw and rain begin.

December 14. A big vehicle arrives at our place in the evening. December 15.  There was a blizzard during the night and now  there is a frost which feels distinctly hard.   I sit on the armor of a tank and at about 9:00  a.m. we leave to drag the tanks across the Uts  

River. At lunchtime we return for the disabled  tank. After considerable effort we get it moved   by two vehicles. In darkness we drive along  with the last infantry guard. At the height   in front of the Uts we have to abandon the  tank and blow it up, regretfully. We halt  

In the village of Goryachkino. The position  on the Uts River must be held for some time. December 16. I take over instead of   the diseased Oberfeldwebel Kaiser the auxiliary  unit at headquarters. At 3 p.m. we set off and   drive all night to Nikolskoye, which is 2.5  kilometers north of Cherni. The road near  

The town of Plavsk is very badly jammed.  It is quite painful frost and a blizzard. December 17. At 5.00 a.m. we arrive at Nikolskoe.   We find quarters and sleep until lunchtime. After  nightfall a Russian plane appears and shoots from  

Its machine-gun like mad at the vehicles which  are moving along the road with the lights on. December 19.  At 6.00 a.m. we drive through Chern and Mtsensk  towards Orel. At the halfway we turn to the   east to take up the guard position about 30  kilometers to the east. When darkness falls,  

The driving becomes very difficult. We pull our  vehicle up twice by ourselves, as the road is   very slippery. Therefore, we only at 1:00 a.m.,  weary as dogs, leave for the village of Sybino. December 22. I drive from  

Sybino to Orel. On the way we frequently get  stuck in the snow. It’s an enormous blizzard! December 24.  It’s Christmas Eve. At the Christmas tree we  sing songs and think of our families back home. December 25. In the morning we leave for Orel, about 4 p.m. we  

Return back from there. On the way we are caught  in a blizzard and in the darkness with lights we   hardly overcome 10 km. Two kilometers away from  Sybino the big vehicle gets stuck in a ditch and  

The small one breaks down in the field. I have to  go on foot to the village and drive from there the   second big car for towing, but unfortunately,  we are forced to leave the big car in the   ditch. At 10:00 p.m. we get back, completely  frozen. It was the first Christmas evening.

December 27.  Before lunch we set off south. The weather  is getting bad, because of the passing and   oncoming columns we are moving forward very  slowly. When our vehicle begins to resist,   we halt at the village of Kresty at  the house of a German-speaking family. December 28. In the morning we, notwithstanding all measures,  

Fail to bring our tank to life and have to follow  in tow. At midday we arrive at Mokretsy, where   our detachment should be positioned. However,  it has already moved further in the morning.   We settle down. At night a Russian plane bombards  the vehicles that pass along the road with lights.

December 29. At 7.00 a.m. we   set off and by midday we reach a place 10  km east of Maloarkhangelsk. The detachment   and tanks are pulled 30 km to the east to  push back the Russians, who have broken   through the defense of the SS divisions. The  Russian brigade headquarters is captured.

December 30. In the daytime several Russian   airplanes fly over and drop a few fragmentation  bombs on us. It is very cold – about – 28 °C. December 31.  In the daytime several Russian planes  drop fragmentation bombs again. January 1, 1942. There is nothing  

New for us. Our combat unit is facing Russian  tanks ahead. There are four of our tanks hit. January 7. Our division is withdrawn   from the battle and should be put into action  east of Kursk. The tanks by railroad are going  

To Kursk. The cyclists’ units move in marching  formation. At night a blizzard began and the   vehicles have to be dragged out by tractors.  With darkness we reach the road Orel-Kursk. January 8.  The day is very good. At about  3 p.m. we arrive in Kursk,  

And spend the night there. We have a very clean  quarter. The Russians celebrate their Christmas. January 9.  This morning we go further east towards  the village of Tim, advancing forward   but very slowly. In 3 kilometers from  the objective, we stop at nightfall. January 10. At about 4.30 a.m.  

I drive after two automobiles stuck on the road.  About an hour later the Russians break through at   the place where they were and kill several men  of the crews of the vehicles that were stuck. January 11. 

At about noon we go to the combat unit, which  has the mission of cutting off the Russian   withdrawal from the encirclement they have  formed. We spend the night at Baryshnikovo. January 12. In the morning we drive on and reach  

The company in the neighborhood of the village  of Polevaya. Our quarters are pretty decent. January 13.  The Russians attack by fire of tanks  and artillery destroying 8 of our tanks. January 14.  At noon I go to Kursk. There I meet old comrades  from Detachment No. 33 and spend a nice evening.

January 15. I stay in Kursk.   This evening we go to the city theater,  where we watch Cabaret. It was very good. January 16. I return to the village of Polevaya. January 17. Our combat group hit 2 T-34s.  January 18. At noon we go  

To Kursk to get spare parts. The following  day in the evening we return to our village. January 21. I remain lying in bed,   as I have a bad cold. With darkness  falling, a Russian plane drops a bomb   20 meters away, as someone has lit a  fire outside. The bomb causes no harm.

January 22. At 7.00 a.m. the company leaves the village and   returns to Kursk. We settle down in the southwest  part of the city. It is very cold in our quarters. January 29. It is rumored   that we should again engage in battle northeast  of Kursk. We would like to stay here willingly,  

As Kursk is rather a large town and  it’s cleaner here than elsewhere. January 25. The company leaves   at 7.00 a.m. in the direction of the village  of Shchigry where, people say, the Russians   have broken through. Since I have no automobile,  I stay and wait for the arrival of an automobile.

From January 25 to February  4, I have been in Kursk.  We empty all the automobiles that were  left in Kursk. We find a nice and clean   quarters in the center of Kursk. I  get a notification from the company  

That I have to arrive in the village of  Ohachevka. I take a train on February 4,   1942, as it is impossible to go by automobile  because of the snowstorm. Due to the weather,   the railroad traffic is very irregular. The train  should depart at 3:00 p.m., but only at 9:00 p.m.  

The steam locomotive attempts to depart. It  drags us 2 km with long stoppages, but then   returns to the station again at 12.00 p.m. It’s terribly cold and windy outside. When   the train still isn’t moving at 11.00 a.m.  the next day, I return back to the quarters. February 7, 1942. At 8:00 p.m. the  

Train is scheduled to depart. We get in  with our luggage in a very crowded car,   where it is impossible to sleep or  even sit. In addition, it is very cold. February 8. Finally, at 1.00 p.m. we are just departing.  

Despite my fur coat, I am freezing. It was a  terrible trip. At about 5.00 a.m. we arrive in   the village of Ohochovka, I search for the place  where we are staying at night. It is very dirty. February 9.  We prepare an 8-ton tractor for the road.  The day passes in repairing the vehicles.

February 10. At 9.00 a.m. our   company sets off in the direction of Kursk. I  drive the vehicle with an automobile mounted   on a trailer. The column moves forward, but  very slowly. At 1 a.m. we arrive in Kursk.  February 16. At noon we go to the cinema  

And watch the movie “Easy Girl.” When we return  to the quarters at 8:30 p.m., we are told that   I must report to the commander immediately. When  I arrive, he awards me the Iron Cross 1st Class. February 20. In the evening we go to the theater.

February 21. In the evening we go to the theater again. February 22. At 9.00 a.m. I go to Oboyan,   which is 70 kilometers south of Kursk –  there is an abandoned vehicle of the company,   which I have to deliver. The weather is  good and it is enjoyable considering the  

Sunday walk. On the way back  we “obtain” a few chickens. February 23 to March 19, 1942. I have been in the city of Kursk.   The reserve soldiers for the regiment have  arrived, and our company is supposed to train   them. The company leaves for Kharkov.  The whole division must be assembled  

In Kharkov for formation. I stay longer  until all the vehicles are put in order… A separate sheet of the same  diary contains the address:  “Lydia Mikhaylovna, city of Kursk,  Gostinaya street, house No. 24”.  Another sheet contains a list of 18 numbers  of some kind. As it can be understood from the  

Comparison with the numbers mentioned in the text,  these are the numbers of 18 tanks, which formed   the detachment, as part of which the author of the  diary went on a campaign against the Soviet Union.  The text shows that by the end of  September of 1941 the Panzer Regiment,  

To which the detachment was attached, had been  disbanded, and the detachment had lost 16 of   its 17 tanks, among which 5 were totally  destroyed and two needed serious repairs.  After getting new tanks in the city of Gomel  and reorganization, the author of the diary  

Notes that “our detachment with its two  companies forms the whole regiment, i.e.   the regiment actually has only 18 tanks in line. According to the information of the diary author,   in the battles of Tula and Kursk, out of  these 18 tanks, 9 tanks were destroyed,  

And 4 were hit and require serious repairs.  Therefore, it turns out that the tank detachment,   to which the author of the diary belonged,  in fact once again ceased to exist.  The Germans failed to ” bring it back to life”  with new tanks, because the vehicles that had  

Been transported to form a division in Kharkov  had to be moved to the front on the Donets River. The fate of the German tank crewman  was sad. He died in the battles near   the Northern Donets River in late March 1942. His diary turned out to be a valuable source  

Of various information, I hope you found  it very useful as I did. And that is all   for today. Thank you for watching this video  until the end, goodbye everyone, see you soon!

Today we are going to read a remarkable diary of a German tank crewman. He served as a feldwebel of the 3rd Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht, which was involved in the invasion of the Soviet Union. He wrote his entries in a very careful and meticulous manner. Through this, we will not only discover his opinion about the fierce battles in the Soviet Union and the hardships of the retreat from Moscow, but also have a closer look at the life of a German tank crewman. He wrote down details that I haven’t read in other diaries, and it’s very fascinating. Indeed, you begin to realize the seriousness of the situation of German troops fighting in the Soviet Union. The enormous losses of soldiers and equipment, impassable roads, overextended and overloaded supply lines for the armies, the partisan operations and the unbelievable cold – all of this was crushing the invincible army that had conquered Europe. The fact that the author of the diary, awarded the Iron Cross 1st class, had to drive a tractor instead of a tank, due to the lack of new tanks in the German army – indicates many things….

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