"I Commanded 2,000 Men Into Stalin's Death Trap" | German Officer's Account 1941

Описание: BATTLE OF THE BORDER FORTS - Operation Barbarossa June 1941 - German Perspective

On June 22, 1941, three million German and Axis soldiers launched Operation Barbarossa, the largest invasion in military history. This is the firsthand account of the assault on the Stalin Line fortifications from the perspective of Oberst Erhard Raus, commander of Kampfgruppe Raus, 6th Panzer Division, Army Group North.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Stalin Line was a series of concrete bunkers and fortifications built along the Soviet western frontier in the late 1930s. When the USSR occupied the Baltic states in 1940, many positions were stripped of equipment as defenses moved westward. However, numerous fortifications remained operational when Germany invaded.

THE OPERATION
June 22-29, 1941 - Army Group North's 4th Panzer Group drove through Lithuania and Latvia toward Leningrad. The 6th Panzer Division, split into two battle groups under Oberst Raus and Oberst von Seckendorff, spearheaded the advance. Raus's kampfgruppe consisted of the 11th Panzer Regiment, motorized infantry, artillery, engineers, and anti-tank units.

KEY ENGAGEMENTS
Border fortification assaults using combined arms tactics
Tank battles against Soviet 3rd and 12th Mechanized Corps
First encounters with KV-1 heavy tanks (only vulnerable to 88mm flak guns)
Dubissa River crossing under fire
Major assault crossing of the Daugava River with Stuka support
Breaking through the Stalin Line defensive positions

TACTICAL DETAILS
The account focuses on military operations: fortification reduction techniques, river crossing procedures, tank engagements at 800-1200m ranges, artillery coordination, engineer operations, and combined arms warfare. German forces used 37mm and 50mm anti-tank guns, magnetic mines, demolition charges, and 88mm flak guns against Soviet armor.

CASUALTIES
Kampfgruppe Raus: 173 LKIA, 312 wounded, 21 missing (June 22-29)
48 tanks lost or damaged from initial strength of 235
Soviet losses: 67 tanks destroyed, 23 anti-tank guns, 12 fortified positions eliminated, 347 prisoners

HISTORICAL SOURCES
Primary: Erhard Raus post-war memoirs "Panzer Operations: The Eastern Front Memoir of General Raus, 1941-1945" written for U.S. Army Intelligence
Secondary: David Glantz "Barbarossa Derailed: The Battle for Smolensk" - detailed analysis of Army Group North operations
Unit documentation: 6th Panzer Division records, 45th Infantry Division reports

EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE
This presentation is for historical education, examining tactical operations, military decision-making, and the human cost of warfare. It presents events from primary source perspective without glorification.

Historical war content - Educational purposes - Primary source analysis - WW2 Eastern Front

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'Decoherence' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au