Niemirow AAR Sgt. Borosov & Little Sasha

[heinrich55]

Niemirow June 26, 1941
81st Mechanized Division
53rd and 19th Tank Regiments
36th Infantry in support

The morning is clear and warm. The roar of the engine from Little Sasha is comforting, along with the familiar vibration through the hull. Sgt. Andreyev Borosov is watching closely as they begin their approach to the small town of Niemirow. He is still stunned by the course of events.

The unthinkable has happened. Four days ago they were told that their fascist allies suddenly betrayed them, pouring over the Bug River and invading. He remembered meeting Germans on the dividing line after Poland was divided up. He was told not to trust them, but they seemed to be decent sorts. The Political Officer Major Storok had been right on that account – not much else but on that account, yes.

His T-34 is on the second wave, coming in as reinforcements. He can see the spires of the churches in town. The main road beckons with innocence, but he suspects a trap or ambush. He is cautious like that. If he could hear over the roar of 35 armored beasts closing on the town, he would know that birds are no longer singing, that the town is ominously silent. It is an omen.

The Major has given them their orders. A brutal thrust up the center while the lighter tanks swing wide on the right flank. There is no subtlety here. The invaders must be stopped and driven from the town. In view of the strained political climate, senior officers are loath to use initiative. So many of them in the past few years have been visited by NKVD units, then escorted away never to be seen again. No one dares ask what happened – the worst is assumed.

[heinrich55]

Lt. Turov and Lt. Larinov lead out with their infantry units. Sgt. Borosov watches in silence as the men reluctantly move forward. They have nothing but the cloth on their bodies to protect them. He involuntarily pats the hull of Little Sasha – it is a good feeling, the strength of steel.

Moments later, Capt. Denska waves the BT-7 medium tanks forward. There is a higher pitched roar as drivers drop from neutral to first gear and lurch their machines forward. It is an impressive sight.

[heinrich55]

Denska and Pavski have been detailed the most direct route into town. Sgt. Morska and Sgt. Selka will hook wide to the right and sweep in on the left flank of the enemy. Lt. Malinov will bring the heavies, the T-34s in slowly, screening the lighter tanks. Sgt. Korov has the really big monsters, the T-28s. They will hang back with the T-34s.

“Andre,” calls the loader, Vannya Set ‘yanev. He is a giant of a man, a former factory worker from Smolensk. “Any sign of our Hero of the Soviet Union?” His blue eyes glitter with amusement.

Andre makes a grimace, leans into the tank and yells “None, not a glimpse. Does that surprise you?”

Vannya’s roar of laughter drowns out Little Sasha’s engine for a moment.

[oldspec4]

Always like to read AARs...Thanks for posting this.

[heinrich55]

Andre knows the story. Vannya and the Political Officer Storok have been at odds for a long time now. Vannya is playing with fire, but he has been lucky so far.

Storok is hated by all, except perhaps his aide Groty. The aide knows how to work the system and clings to Storok like a loyal sycophant.

Vannya adopted a stray dog that he found starving near camp. He fed and cared for the starving animal as he would a child. Storok made disparaging comments about the waste of food on the animal and Vannya’s unseemly lack of military behavior. Vannya ignored this, but should have heeded the warnings.

The dog was eating one day and Storok kicked at him. The dog snarled at Storok, who promptly drew his sidearm and shot the dog on the spot. He announced loudly that he would do the same to any soldier who failed to show proper respect. His toady Groty quickly disposed of the animal by throwing the carcass into the latrine.

Andre took Vannya aside and spent a lot of time calming him down. Vannya took the manner of execution hard as well as the disposal of his loyal animal. Andre thought things were over, but had underestimated Vannya.

About a month later Storok was reading inside his tent when he smelled something burning. He put down his book and stepped from his tent, seeing a bag on fire in front of his tent door flap. Instinctively he stomped on the burning bag to step the fire out and the bag splattered open. Excrement splashed onto his polished boots – the oldest trick in the book.

The camp was immediately writhing in suppressed laughter while Storok, face red in a paroxysm of rage and embarrassment, screamed he would execute the culprit, stamping his soiled boots on the ground while Groty crawled around them smearing the excrement in his frantic attempts to clean off the boots.
Andre smiled at the thought of it all. Storok was still hunting Vannya, although he had no proof, as yet.

“Vannya, you’ve been lucky so far. You’d be mindful to fear Storok more than the Germans,” he calls down to his gunner. This just evokes more laughter.
There is the sign, a flag from Malinov in the lead T-34.

“Move out slowly Petya,” Andre calls to his driver. In answer to his order, Little Sasha lurches gently forward. They are advancing.

Andre watches as the lighter BT-7 tanks accelerate away. How can anything stand against such might? he asks himself. Then he hears the crack of a gun. “Alert,” he yells down the hatch, “Anti-tank gun somewhere.” All levity ceases and eyes strain for a target.

[heinrich55]

Andre sees the smoke on the far right. With no radio there he cannot be sure what happened, but with a sinking feeling he is sure at least one of their tanks is burning.

More rapid flashes ahead signal the enemy gun is firing. A loud clang announces death to his right. He sees Drago’s tank torn open from the front. The crew bails out fast, pulling their wounded with them.

“Sergeant, ahead, 2 points right, near that large tree,” shouts Stephan Kalak, their machine gunner. His keen eyesight has picked up the enemy position. Andre sees Lt. Malinov gesture in the same direction and then he ducks into his tank to fire their gun. Andre drops just as quickly, and lines up his gun for the area indicated. Petrov has already stopped the tank. He hears the roar of artillery now, like a freight train roaring in for the kill. There is a great explosion to the left of his tank. He has no idea that Tarnov’s tank has taken a hit from enemy artillery and lies silent, a tomb for its crew.

With his gun lined up in the area indicated, Andre punches the trigger and the gun roars, the barrel slamming backwards in recoil. The interior is flooded with spent gases from the primer. Vannya is already slamming another HE shell into the open breech. Didn’t even get the order out, Andre smiles to himself.

[heinrich55]

There are now no fewer than 10 tankers trying for the elusive kill on the hidden AT gun.

Andre strains to see the enemy position, as dirt and smoke smothers the area. He is aware that enemy artillery is still landing nearby. Yet another T-34 has gone silent from the enemy shells.

[heinrich55]

As Lt. Turov’s men grimly advance through the supposed safety of the trees, death comes screaming in from an unseen opponent. The shell just misses a squad of soldiers and tears the heart out of Sgt. Korov’s massive T-28.

A tremendous explosion blows the sergeant’s lifeless body from the turret as the machine is sundered by the ignition of interior ammunition.

[heinrich55]

Andre keeps firing at the suspected gun position. He is sure they are hitting it. There is no good news though. No one has seen any evidence that they’ve killed the gun.

Vannya has not slowed his pace, continually slamming home shell after shell. The deck of the tank is now littered with empty shell casings.

Suddenly Petya shouts out and gestures in horror. There is a huge gout of smoke to their left, in the area where several of the other T-34s were hurrying. He looks back at Andre, face white with horror.

“Keep your head….all eyes to the task” shouts Andre, shocking the driver out of his panic. Petya immediately spins to watch out the vision port, embarrassed at his lack of concentration.

[heinrich55]

Andre heard the explosion. He cannot know that Denisev has blundered into a minefield. There are no survivors but the end came quickly. It is not much of a consolation to the dead but of some value to the living.

Andre again watches as a new round of explosions rain down upon the suspected AT gun position. All eyes strain to see if they have finally finished the enemy gunners off. It seems incredible that anything could have survived through that hail of steel splinters.

Petya calls out a muzzle flash through the smoke, not knowing he has seen the shell of death for another BT-7. More explosions plow up the earth and Kalak shouts that he thinks he sees the gun, silent at last.

[heinrich55]

Several shells rend steel and flesh at the same time. The accursed AT gun is finished.

Andre sees the round of smiles creasing faces blackened with powder and angrily snaps them back to reality.

“That’s not the last of them. Eyes to the task!” he roars.

[rickier65]

this is great heinrich. Thanks!
Rick

[heinrich55]

Not too far to the left of Little Sasha, there is a deadly duel in progress. Detya is commanding his gun with cold efficiency, attempting to crack an AT gun.
“Come on boys,” he growls, “This bastard is probably the one that burned Korov.”

Detya knew Korov well – they’d served for many years together. Detya envied Korov when Korov was awarded a massive T-28 to command. When Detya ended up with a T-34 half a year later, it was Korov who slapped Detya on the back and confessed his jealousy.

Now Korov was dead, but their places could just as easily have been reversed. Detya lines up his gun sight and another round tears from the barrel, smoke and flames erupting in vengeance.

[heinrich55]

More to come, lads. Thanks for the encouragement.

[heinrich55]

In a dramatic series of photos, part of the duel is captured.

Detya’s gun fires in anger, and moments later enemy 150mm artillery rains down on his tank, rocking the vehicle. Still, strong Soviet steel keeps the crew uninjured.

[heinrich55]

Artillery rains down nearby. Other broken tanks are behind Detya.

[heinrich55]

The enemy gunner is just as cool in combat. His next shell impacts on the front of Detya’s tank, shearing up from the slope of the front armor and goring the steel turret ring. The round tears into the tank interior, fragments ripping into the tank commander himself.

It is all too quick for Detya to cry out. He is unconscious and bleeding, smoke filling the tank interior. Ivan Norov, the driver, is spattered with his commander’s blood. He starts to yell, thinking it is he who is bleeding. The machine gunner shakes Ivan and wordlessly points behind him.

Since their tank suffered a complete engine failure minutes prior to all this, Ivan has had nothing to do. Now he is galvanized into action.
He jumps to take the commander position, ordering Chekov to abandon the machine gun and tend to the commander. Loader Pavlov has not missed a beat and has already loaded the gun with more high explosive.

It has not escaped Ivan’s notice that they must keep firing to save their lives.

Chekov reports that Sgt. Detya is bleeding badly. Do what you can, he orders grimly.

It takes a few moments for Ivan to gain control of the situation. Detya is silent, blood now spattering the machine gunner as he tries to staunch the bleeding. The loader shouts that they are sitting ducks, no engine, no commander, just waiting to be blown to bloody Hell. He is told to shut up and load. This he does, silent and angry but now less afraid of the Germans and more afraid of the look from Ivan.

[heinrich55]

Ivan lines up for the shot and hits the trigger. The round blasts from their gun, and the familiar sights and sounds seem to calm the crew. They are still fighting back; no further shells have hit them and they take this as a good sign.

Moments later another shell is ready to leap from their wounded tank.

Ivan cannot really see his target but orders his crew to keep up the fight. They cannot escape as artillery keeps them in their steel box, so the only thing they can do is fire round after round.

[heinrich55]

Lt. Turov has been urging his men forward now. So far they have eluded any casualties, which he imagines is either amazing luck or extreme incompetence on the part of the enemy. They are hugging the woods on the left flank, and have been witness to the tankers being blown up and burned alive but so far they have been overlooked.

He watches as they approach the first group of buildings. Silently he urges them on to possible shelter which is so tantalizingly close. It might be possible, he tells himself.

Screams of the dying and wounded rip him back to reality as Barinov’s squad is torn up by enemy machine gun fire. Dammit, too good to be true he tells himself.

“Forward!!” he screams to his other squads, trying to distract them.

[heinrich55]

Sgt. Morska and Sgt. Selka try to cover the area of an AT gun with their shells on the right flank, while urging a flanking movement. As they can’t always flag their orders and shoot accurately at the same time, things are confusing at best. They are slowly losing their light tanks one by one, and feel powerless to stop the bleeding.

Lt Pavski forces his BT-7m tanks deep into the woods to the right of the stone cross monument, seeking out hidden AT guns. The infantry takes heart from this and tries to keep pace with their steel-clad comrades.

The battle rages through the trees as tankers and AT gunners play a desperate and deadly game.