Greatest Tank Battles - Hockwald

[Petard]

Just finished watching an episode of Greatest Tank Battles that featured the struggle for the Hockwald gap at the end of WW II
It was certainly interesting to see a series pay attention to this particular Canadian Battle when so many of their stories virtually ignore Canadian involvement.
http://www.history.ca/video/default.aspx

This battle took place in Feb 1945, and saw the Canadains try to breakthrough to the Rhine and the German industrial heartland.  The battle took place just inside the German border as an early spring began to break making the terrain extremely diffcult to cross even for tanks, never mind while under fire. The Germans put up a ferocious defence, and yet the Canadians prevail, but at a terrible cost.

They try to cover quite a bit in just an hour, so there is going to be a lot left out, but in the broad overview they give of the battle they do get across the difficulty of the situation. Especially interesting, as always, is the testimony of the veterans that took part in the battle. All of the Canadian ones seem incredibly humble, despite the enormity of what they accomplished.

I know the show has to keep focused on the armour's role in this battle, but if I have criticism of the way they explain the battle its that they made it seem like the tankers were devoid of infantry support most of the time, and this certainly wasn't true. After all this is where Major Fred Tilston won his VC.
They do cover the importance of artillery and close air support, and I don't think they needed to dwell on the infantry role during the battle, that certainly would've taken away from the point of view of the program, but it is missleading the way it is shown; it could lead a viewer to think the Canadian Infantry were almost absent entirely.

The show made use of some footage and stills I hadn't seen before, as well as more recent footage of how the battle ground looks today, and they poignantly get across just how diffcult and costly the battle was
Still I appreciated that the show gives a good sense of the bravery of the Canadian crewman in facing vastly superior armoured Vehicles, like the Panther and Tiger, the tactics they used to defeat them, as well as the most horrendous environmental conditions imagineable.
Might be flawed but definitely worth watching

 

[newfin]

I watched and liked it as well.  It's funny you say there was infantry involved.  I thought , from the show, that it was strictly a tank and artillery battle.

 

[Petard]

Your comments newfin emphasizes my point, but to be fair the show is supposed to be about the use of arrmoured forces, they just could have put it in better context, as they have in other shows.

To give you an idea of just how involved the Candain infantry were, often fighting German Paratroopers, here's a reasonable summary of the first few days of the battle, as given in the Maple Leaf

http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/Commun/ml-fe/article-eng.asp?id=2355

February 26, 1945
by Charmion Chaplin-Thomas


Under pelting rain that makes soup of the already waterlogged terrain, the 4th Armoured Division (Major-General Chris Vokes) moves into position for the opening of Operation BLOCKBUSTER, the push by II Corps (Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds) through the Hochwald to Xanten. MGen Vokes has organized his division in two groups: Tiger, tanks supported by infantry; and Lion, infantry supported by tanks. Tiger Group executes the first phase of the operation, taking the ridge overlooking the road that connects Calcar, near the Rhine, with the crossroads town of Udem. The going is terrible, and the tanks bog down repeatedly.

Lieutenant-Colonel Rowan Coleman of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, part of the 10th Infantry Brigade, thinks the whole enterprise is much too complicated. After campaigning through North Africa and Italy, he knows how to attack a determined enemy in a good defensive position: put up a terrific artillery program to knock out his guns and armour, and then send in your assault under its protection. It worked at Vimy Ridge and it would work here, but it is not in the plans for BLOCKBUSTER. Despite LCol Coleman’s misgivings, the first day of the battle goes well. The next phase is the push across the valley between the Calcar Ridge and the Hochwald, to be led by Lion Group under Brigadier J.C. Jefferson of the 10th Infantry Brigade.

On February 27, while the Lincs rest on Calcar Ridge, the Lion Group advance begins. The lead element consists of the Algonquin Regiment and the South Alberta Regiment, who spend hours struggling to form up on the Calcar-Udem road, which is in use by all three divisions in Op BLOCKBUSTER. The Algonquin and South Alberta officers untangle traffic jams and push vehicles into the ditch, and Lion Group finally clears Udem at about 4:30 a.m., leaving four platoons stuck in the mud. It heads east toward the gap that separates the Hochwald, to the north, from the Tuschen Wald and the Balberger Wald to the south. By mid-morning, despite the mud and the German artillery, the lead tanks are in the western fringe of the forest, almost on top of the defensive system the Germans call the Schlieffen Position. Suddenly, an 88-mm “tank trap” battery opens up, claiming nine Lion Group tanks and 12 Kangaroos. With 2nd Division stalled in the Hochwald, 3rd Division fighting in Udem, and 11th (British) Division not yet on its objectives to the southeast, Lion Group is stuck, and so is the attack through the Hochwald Gap.

The Lincoln and Welland’s part in the battle is to come up with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada to take and hold the western end of the gap, the Argylls in the Hochwald and, when they have secured their objective, the Lincs in the Tuschen Wald. At 2 a.m. on February 28 the Argylls move into the gap, where they promptly run into murderous opposition and are cut off. LCol Coleman waits through the rest of the night and all morning under steady, heavy fire, refusing to talk to higher command and hoping for good news from the Argylls. Finally his radio operator says, “Sir, I just have to tell you this …Super Colossal Sunray wants to talk to you.” LGen Simonds’ voice is unmistakeable, and LCol Coleman is grimly amused that the corps commander is breaking security to talk to him. “Rowan, you must do something to relieve the pressure down there.”

The Lincoln and Welland Regiment attack begins at noon on February 28, with B Company and C Company in the lead. They do not get far; the German shellfire is so dense it darkens the sky, and the infantry soldiers go to ground, stunned by the ferocity of the assault. The Lincs hold their position at the opening of the Hochwald Gap until the morning of March 1, when they are relived by the South Saskatchewan Regiment, and when the roll is called at their rest position near Udem they find they have lost 85 casualties in three days.v

 

[daftandbarmy]

I saw it as well. Very good.

My dad was involved in that battle as a gunner. He said that's where our Generals killed alot of Canadians with their less than brilliant 'send them in again' frontal assault tactics. At that stage in the war they should have known better.

Still, a testament to the bravery and skill of our troops at the regimental level.

 

[Journeyman]

I don't think they needed to dwell on the infantry role during the battle.....

And here I thought the whole rationale for battle was the role of infantry...you know, the ones who seize and hold ground -- everything else is merely support.  :stirpot:

;D

 

[Old Sweat]

I was on the ground a few years ago as a DS with a 2 British Brigade battlefield tour. The operation was ill conceived and poorly conducted by the GOC 4 Canadian Armoured Division, but without reference to my notes I won't say more than that the ground in truly amazing.

There is a tale that is a bit more than a legend, but undocumented, that 4 Armoured Brigade's advance was held up because 11 British Armoured Division used the route given to the Canadians and clogged it. Apparently the DAQMG (think G1/G4) of 4 Armd Div drove over to the British HQ to protest and was laughed at by his counterpart. He then proceeded to beat the snot out of the British lieutenant colonel.

 

[Petard]

And here I thought the whole rationale for battle was the role of infantry...you know, the ones who seize and hold ground -- everything else is merely support.  :stirpot:

;D

Nope, yer gonna have to change yer bait! ;D

 

[havenot]

i agree that the Canadians did put up a good fight but to say that they had inferior armour and all but they had massive superiority in numbers and complete air supremacy. as a result of the cold war the soviets didn't get recognition they deserve. if they hadn't be so willing to trade off casualties for time. if they hadn't waddled down the German army the way they did and allow the allies time to get the Americans geared up for the task at hand, things would have turned out different. the allies were in no danger of losing the war, the three of them are too strong for any one nation. the Russians Thur attrition severely damaged the German army to the point of of no return. by the time the Canadians were involved in tank battles with the germans, most of the best tank crews had long been taken out and allied air power didn't allow the assembly of panzer units, never mind fight a war.

 

[GK .Dundas]

i agree that the Canadians did put up a good fight but to say that they had inferior armour and all but they had massive superiority in numbers and complete air supremacy. as a result of the cold war the soviets didn't get recognition they deserve. if they hadn't be so willing to trade off casualties for time. if they hadn't waddled down the German army the way they did and allow the allies time to get the Americans geared up for the task at hand, things would have turned out different. the allies were in no danger of losing the war, the three of them are too strong for any one nation. the Russians Thur attrition severely damaged the German army to the point of of no return. by the time the Canadians were involved in tank battles with the germans, most of the best tank crews had long been taken out and allied air power didn't allow the assembly of panzer units, never mind fight a war.

And this has exactly what to do with the battle in question?