"During the first weeks of September 1941, near Pnewo (close to the
Dnieper), Hauptmann Jüttner and his Bataillon defended the German front line in order to prevent a Soviet evacuation from Smolensk.
Prisoners from three Soviet divisions were brought in, and a Soviet
cavalry regiment that had pushed through a gap in the line was crushed
through a flanking attack led by Jüttner himself. For his achievements
in this time Jüttner would be decorated with the Knight’s Cross." from his Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross citation, awarded on December 14th, 1941 as Hauptmann.
"In June 1944 Jüttner and his Regiment were in position near Bobruisk. There he held the railroad bridge over the Beresina long enough for
elements of three German Korps to cross. Later, on the 30.06.1944, as
Gruppe Hoffmeister (formed from the remnants of five divisions) was
breaking out of the Bobruisk encirclement, Jüttner and his Regiment once
again formed the rearguard and held the northern edge of Bobruisk for
the whole day.
After splitting up his force into many small Kampfgruppen, he then began
an epic march via Minsk and Baranowitschi to reach friendly lines.
Leading his own small group, which trekked 700 km over the course of 44
days of uninterrupted small battles, on the 18.08.1944 he reached the
existing front line near Augustowo. That night he broke through the
Soviet line with 3 officers and 8 men and finally reached friendly
lines. For his actions during many brave and selflessly conducted engagements, he would be awarded the Oakleaves." from his Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves citation, awarded on October 18th, 1944 as Oberst.
"Oberst Jüttner had a major share in the success of the German winter
offensive in the Ardennes, particularly as a result of his role in our
forces reaching the Salm river in good time. Eventually however the
enemy went over to counterattack mode and once again pushed back the
German troops with their own overwhelming forces. In this time Oberst
Jüttner decided to order his Regiment to hold onto its position west of
Vielsalm, and under his leadership it held its ground for a day in the
face of an overwhelming enemy superiority. The Regiment continued to
fight into the night despite the fact that it had become surrounded in
the afternoon and was being attacked in the rear. Because of this action
it was possible for friendly forces to construct a new defensive line.
In addition to this article it is known that in the Ardennes offensive
Jüttner and his men reached the village of Trois Ponte, south of
Malmedy. This was among the developments that led to two US regiments
becoming encircled in the Schnee Eifel. However the main action referred
to in the article was when Jüttner’s command held a bridge over the
Salm river (near Vielsalm) long enough for the units of his Korps to
retreat across." from his Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords citation, awarded on
April 5th, 1945 as Oberst.
April 5th, 1945 as Oberst.
Another capable enemy elite,
Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment