Weird WWII: Enemy Elite Friday: Christian Bachmann (Germany)

"On the 01.01.1945 the division launched an attack along the Danube river east of Komarom. Kampfgruppe Kühn, consisting of the reinforced SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt. 5 ‘Totenkopf’, constituted the right advancing group of the division. At 19:30 it moved out of its assembly area Northeast of Naszaly and began an attack against enemy forces that were dug-in amongst the high ground south and Southeast of Dunaalmas. At the same time the division’s left advancing group, Kampfgruppe Kleffner, conducted an advance along the Danube river towards Dunaalmas itself. Among the units subordinated to Kampfgruppe Kühn was the II./SS-Pz.Gren.Rgt. 5 ‘Totenkopf’, commanded by SS-Hauptsturmführer Bachmann. The entire battalion had to wade through the 1 meter deep Tatai-Foloy river under heavy enemy defensive fire and in temperatures of -15 degrees. However after this they managed to break through the heavily-manned enemy position East of Füzitö-psz in bitter close combat. After penetrating into the foremost enemy position, a further two enemy positions on the slopes of the hills to the Southeast of Dunaalmas were taken with cries of Hurra. In this attack SS-Hauptsturmführer Bachmann showed the highest personal bravery while leading his battalion from the front during both the crossing of the Tatai-Foloy river and the storming of the hostile positions. Despite the exhausted state of his men, as well as significant friendly losses, SS-Hauptsturmführer Bachmann was able to storm a pair of hills (both named Hill 282) located to the North and South of Adam-mjr. The bitter enemy resistance was overcome and the hills taken under friendly control. In the meantime the division’s left advance group (Kampfgruppe Kleffner) had been halted by the strong enemy defenses on the Western edge of Dunaalmas and a strong enemy tank/anti-tank gun blocking position. A combination of hostile armor, anti-tank guns and a destroyed bridge in the western part of Dunaalmas held up our friendly armored thrust for several hours and necessitated the employment of additional grenadier company to help breach the barrier. Those friendly infantry that were already engaged in the Western part of Dunaalmas for this purpose were unable to make any headway against the strong enemy resistance. Kampfgruppe Kleffner was thus pinned down before Dunaalmas. In this situation SS-Hauptsturmführer learned of the state of the left neighbor through a patrol that had been sent to make contact. Thus, after the capture of the two Hills 282, he made the independent decision to thrust North and strike into the rear of the enemy positions in the Western part of Dunaalmas. By doing so he intended to set the stage for the left neighbor to finally achieve a penetration. After hastily reorganizing his battalion, SS-Hauptsturmführer Bachmann took a company and thrust northwards towards the Dunaalmas church. Despite bitter resistance he managed to break through the enemy positions located at the southern edge of Dunaalmas and atop the hills to the South of the city. By doing so he not only eased up the situation for the only slowly advancing infantry of Kampfgruppe Kleffner, he also laid the groundwork for the Kampfgruppe’s subordinated armored group to once again resume its armored thrust. The importance of SS-Hauptsturmführer Bachmann’s independently executed thrust with a company into the rear and flank of the enemy forces in the Western part of Dunaalmas cannot be overstated. It proved to be the key that unlocked the defense of the enemy’s cornerstone along the Danube river, a feat which in turn enabled the division to move along with its operations. SS-Hauptsturmführer Bachmann and his battalion simultaneously captured large quantities of weapons and equipment while also inflicting bloody losses on the enemy in close combat. SS-Hauptsturmführer Bachmann has been a highly regarded company and battalion commander throughout all the operations of the division. He has already been considered for the award of the Knight’s Cross to the Iron Cross on several occasions due to his extraordinary personal bravery, absolute steadfastness and exemplary decisiveness." from his Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross citation, awarded on February 28th, 1945 as SS-Hauptsturmführer with the 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf".

Another deadly enemy,

Brian