Pomeranian Fury ETO (id:#67121)

(HASL 13 - Slaughter at Ponyri ID: SaP02)   [next]   [previous]

Ponyri Station, Russia 1943-07-07 (43 others)

Overview:

After taking the railway embankment north of Ponyri, XXXXI Panzerkorps under General der Panzertruppen Josef Harpe found the going for the train station a little tougher. Somewhat under strength at the start of CITADEL, the Pomeranian-recruited Infanterie-Division 292 was nicknamed the "Tomato Division" due to the red circle featured on its division patch. Division commander Generalleutnant Wolfgang von Kluge (younger brother of Generalfeldmarschall Günther) directed Oberst Georg Zierhold's Grenadier-Regiment 508 to attack out of the Kastenwald and into the northern part of Ponyri Station following a heavy artillery barrage. Assaulting with furious determination as the sun rose on the steppe, the "Tomato Division" made its first of several attempts to take the town. With the assault guns of Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 244 and a few tanks of Panzer-Division 18 in support, von Kluge felt confident that German supply trains would soon be unloading at Ponyri Station.

Defender: Russian (1019th and 1023rd Rifle Regiments, 307th Rifle Division and 1442nd Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment Artillery Brigade)  

Errata (source)