Bear Hunt ETO (id:#61179)

(HOB's All Time Favorites ID: ATF3)

South of Cherkassy, Russia 1943-12-19 (4 others)

Overview:

As the third winter of the war swept over the Eastern Front a pattern was being repeated: intense and murderous weather forced the front lines to be delineated by strings of distant villages, while partisan bands had been ordered to burn every building capable of sheltering their oppressors from the cold. Furthermore, Russian counterattacks had forced the Germans to withdraw from exposed parts of the front...despite Hitler's refusal to yield any ground. In one of those actions members of the 3rd SS were acting as rear guard as it held back the mighty Russian "Bear". As the rear guard withdrew they collected stragglers and vulnerable outpost garrisons which they were to deliver to more prepared defensive positions further to the west. As the SS pushed through the Russian forest they fell upon an outpost of about twenty men which had been slaughtered to the man. As the soldiers attempted to remove the bodies, boobytraps exploded, killing three more men. The SS knew this was Partisan work. The horrors of warfare on the Eastern Front had been transcended by the addition of Partisans into the fighting. Even the minus 45 degree weather couldn't chill the rage of the SS-men as they continued on their mission. As the angry convoy left the outpost they noticed a hastily erected sign at the crossroad. The sign read: "REVENGE".

Defender: German (Wehrmacht Outpost Garrison and 3rd SS "Totenkopf")  

Errata (source)