Attack on Dötlingen, Germany - April 14/16 1945

Discussion in 'NW Europe' started by Chris C, Nov 9, 2022.

  1. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    Here is how the 51st Div history describes this action:

    "On the 14th the 5/7th Gordons of 153 Brigade took over the town of Wildeshausen from a battalion of the 3rd British Division, and in attempting to fill craters on the road out of the town, came under heavy shelling from self-propelled guns. The Gordons, however, completed the job and also took the village of Dotlingen, where they had sporting targets presented to them by the garrison attempting to escape on push-bikes."​

    A bit casual, isn't it? But this is what I find in 61st Anti-Tank Regiment's history that's relevant. It seems to paint a different story.

    14 April – 242 Bty under command 153 Bde relieve their opposites in area WILDESHAUSEN 4778... Fire Plan for 193 Bty shoot in support of 153 Bde’s attack NORTH of WILDESHAUSEN prepared

    15 April – 193 Bty less 2 SP occupy gun positions to prepare for fire Plan.
    0800 Fire Plan commences and each gun (6) fires one round per min : 180.
    0830 Fire plan completed according to plan. ...
    0940 Fire support called for from 193 Bty – another 10 rds per gun.
    1000 10 rpg fired
    1130 Guns of 193 Bty released from further tasks
    1200 242 Bty under command of 153 Bde have one troop in support of each Bn. Enemy fighting hard to break up one attack but the advance continues.
    2000 One 17 pr towed gun of F tp (242 Bty) receives direct hit from 88mm. No casualties to personnel. Gun destroyed.

    16 April – 153 Bde attack continues with all three troops of 242 Bty in support and deployed. For advance in DOTLINGEN two troops of 193 Bty in support 153 Bde... DOTLINGEN occupied and two troops (SP) 193 Bty deployed in that area ... Enemy fanatical on this front, mostly blackshirts.
    I've also got an Archer crew member citation (of course I would) which mentions the 5th Black Watch. It also references an enemy self-propelled gun.

    I'm wondering if anyone else has documents/books which might shed more light on this. The German defence sounds much more vigorous than the divisional history lets on - and the fighting took more than a day? Plus, from the note at 1200 15 April, the whole brigade was involved, not just one battalion.

    I also don't know whether any field artillery were involved or not.

    Oh, I note that this German war diary posted by dbf... War Diary: 2nd Battalion Irish Guards, Jan - Dec 1945

    Says that the village wasn't occupied until 18 April!? Something is off somewhere...
     
  2. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    What a coincidence: I lived in Wildeshausen for almost 40 years and wrote around Anno 2000 a chronicle about the end of the war.
    At that time, the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division engaged in some pretty fierce fighting there, including the propagandistically hyped "Tank Battle for Wildeshausen".
    I'll have a look in my archives (Box in the attic) and copy the relevant passages for you.
     
    Chris C likes this.
  3. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    Thank you!!
     
  4. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    alberk you don't have any 153 Brigade war diaries for this period, do you?
     
  5. alberk

    alberk Well-Known Member

    I don't have anything on that aspect, I am afraid.
     
  6. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

  7. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    Adam Brown on twitter provided me with this excerpt from "So Few Got Through" by Martin Lindsay, about 1st Gordons:

    SFGT1.jpg
    SFGT2.jpg
     
  8. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    Thanks to someone on twitter - the account in "The Spirit of Angus", the history of 5th Black Watch in WW2:

    SpiritOfAngus1.jpg

    SpiritOfAngus2.jpg
     
  9. Chris C

    Chris C Canadian

    Someone else on twitter noted the shrapnel off a tank which hit someone. That might have been a tank of the 22nd Dragoons.

    "22nd Dragoons came to be regarded as normal armour by the Highland Division who used them in their attack on Bottlingen [sic] (16th April) and had five tanks damaged and one written off on mines." - The Story of 79th Armoured Division
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2022

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