Battle of Struth
During the Battle of Struth on April 7, 1945, the heaviest fighting in World War II took place on Thuringian soil.
Troop units involved
On the German side came an infantry regiment under Colonel Worgitzki, an infantry regiment under von Hirschfeld, the Pioneer Brigade 688, parts of the Paratrooper Regiment 15, the Panzerjäger Lehrabteilung 130, tanks from the Eisenach armored troop school, a "light flak" section and an artillery battery with four 10.5s -cm guns used. According to the American front report by Colonel Flynn of April 8th, these troops were estimated at 1,000 enemy troops and 30 enemy tanks.
On the US side, the 6th US Armored Division and the 65th Infantry Division (headquarters at Treffurt ) formed the left flank of the 3rd US Army under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, which was advancing as part of the 12th American Army Group .
Course of the battle
The German troop units were supposed to carry out a flank attack against the 3rd US Army, which was advancing towards Central Germany, and were concentrated in the Küllstedt staging area. The central associations of the US divisions had advanced in a pincer attack via Heyerode and Eigenrieden to Mühlhausen , which was occupied on April 5, 1945 without a fight.
The Panzerjäger training department 130 took position in the west of Küllstedt. In preparation for the fighting, the railway viaduct near Büttstedt was blown up on April 6th . The tanks gathered at the Küllstedter sports field. The village of Struth had been occupied by the US infantry (3rd Battalion of the 261st US Infantry Regiment) since April 5 and a vehicle park had been created in the west of the village.
The attack on Struth took place on April 7th at 2:30 a.m. In the north it developed into a dogged house-to-house war. In the west, German tanks shot at the US battalion's fleet of vehicles. The German attack led by the engineer battalion 688 also got stuck on the eastern edge of Struth. American tank destroyers were used there. These also destroyed a German assault gun that had advanced to the center of the village. The German attack was brought to a complete stop by using grenade launchers and firing from an artillery battery that had taken a position in self-peace. A German flank attack was repulsed by the Americans in Dörna with high losses for the Wehrmacht soldiers. The German tanks, assault guns and Colonel Worgitzki's entourage were destroyed by fire from 9 a.m. on April 7th by a squadron of American P51 “Mustang” fighters . Likewise, four anti-aircraft guns positioned on the Rain near Struth. With the occupation of Dingelstadt from Mühlhausen, the German units threatened to be cut off from retreat.
The house-to-house fighting in Struth raged until the afternoon and was decided by American relief troops. The houses that had been won were set on fire: “... so now, when the battle was over, for many families property and property were finally destroyed by fire and fire. House after house in the contested area, retaken from the Americans, goes up in flames. The residents were prevented from extinguishing and were forced to flee in order to save their bare lives ”.
Consequences of the battle
- On the chase against the German units, the Americans penetrated far into eastern Eichsfeld on the same day. The unification of troop units of the 3rd and 1st US Army finally took place on April 9, 1945 in Heiligenstadt .
- 253 German and 50 American soldiers as well as numerous civilians were killed during the fighting.
- 630 German soldiers were taken prisoner.
- 65 houses, 77 stables, 88 barns, the kindergarten and the cigar factory were destroyed and another 10 houses damaged.
- The church tower was destroyed by three German tank shells.
- The ringing of the free-floating bells was later interpreted by the Struthers as partisan activity, but can be traced back to the shelling during the fighting. In addition, the exact location of the US command post is said to have been revealed. The Struther citizens were then threatened with shooting. Baron von Fries and the Struther pastor Lerch prevented this. However, Albert Ruhland, who was imprisoned as “sub-mayor”, was shot.
literature
- Eduard Fritze (1998): Struth on April 7, 1945 - the last days of the war in Eichsfeld, 54 p., Witzenhausen
- Rolf Aulepp: The capture of Mühlhausen in Thuringia by the American troops on April 4, 1945 (eyewitness, personal notes of the author) . In: Mühlhausen museums (ed.): Mühlhäuser contributions . Special issue 9. Mühlhausen 1993, p. 90-95 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Eduard Fritze: The last days of the war in Eichsfeld . Rockstuhl Verlag, Bad Langensalza, 2002. ISBN 3-936030-06-5 . Pp. 68-69