Heidelberger Strasse WTO (id:#67421)

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Schwetzingen, Germany 1945-03-30 (10 others)

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Overview:

The spearhead of the 10th Armored Division was advancing south from Mannheim to seize Schwetzingen. The XIII SS Panzer Korps Commander, Gruppenfuehrer Max Simon shifted elements of Volksgrenadier Division 559 and Schwere Panzerjäger Abeilung 653 with orders to establish a line of outposts north of the Neckar River to cover the 198th Infantry Division's withdrawal to the south bank. Leutnant Hans Knippenberg moved his three Jagdtigers to Schwetzingen and arrived at noon, just as the American tank column approached the outskirts of town. Knippenberg was maneuvering Jagdtiger 115 into a firing position just off the road in a field on the north edge of Schwetzingen when the behemoth vehicle sank in mud up to the fenders and became hopelessly mired. Knippenberg and his crew abandoned the Jagdtiger and destroyed it with a panzerfaust. Oberfeldwebel Ferdinand Kinnberger's Jadgtiger 131 was not so lucky.

Defender: German (Volksgrenadier Division 559 and Kompanie 1, Schwere Panzerjäger Abteilung 653)  

Errata (source)