fighting cost it two Panther tanks destroyed (and several other tanks damaged, though repairable), 25 dead and 77 wounded; it claimed to have destroyed 23 Soviet tanks and assault guns and 24 anti-tank guns, and killed or taken prisoner over 400 enemy soldiers. Schörner acknowledged its efforts the following day in a personal message. 6
At the same time that Bagramian’s troops were struggling to make headway near Priekule, Yeremenko attacked the German ‘bridgehead’ from the east. 215th Infantry Division had only recently taken up positions defending the German line to the south-west of Dobele, and early on 27 October, spotted Soviet troops of 42nd Army assembling in their trenches. Artillery fire was immediately called down upon the Soviet preparation areas, at the same moment that Yeremenko began his own preparatory bombardment. Confused fighting raged all day, and during the afternoon, 215th Infantry Division’s battalions began a fighting withdrawal to their secondary positions near Lake Lielauce. Here, with support from reserves – a battalion of assault guns and a battalion from 121st Infantry Division – the Soviet attack was first halted, then turned back. Towards dusk, as a single company of infantry, the last reserves of 215th Infantry Division, moved forward, they encountered a strong Soviet column moving in the opposite direction, and led by their energetic commander, Leutnant Werner Mozer, the Germans overwhelmed the Soviet troops in close-quarter fighting. The action earned Mozer the Knight’s Cross, and brought the day’s fighting in the sector to an end. 7
The withdrawal of 215th Infantry Division towards Lake Lielauce also saw the first appearance of another new development on the Courland front. A military judge advocate was sent to the rear area by Schörner, accompanied by detachments of military police. Any soldiers found retreating without specific orders were marched before the judge advocate and faced charges of cowardice unless they were able to justify themselves. This practice became widespread under Schörner’s command, first in Courland and later when he moved to Army Group Centre, and resulted in the execution of dozens of men, many of whom had done nothing wrong; in some cases, they were acting on verbal instructions, but this was not an acceptable excuse to the judge advocate. The rigidity of this attitude contrasts strongly with the German doctrine of operational orders being given in a fluid and flexible manner, often without resort to written instructions. The measure was intended to prevent panic and defeatism amongst the front-line troops, and its impact is hard to determine. Whilst the almost arbitrary execution of soldiers was repugnant to front-line troops, most appear to have regarded Schörner’s hard-line attitude with approval; after all, they were still in the front line themselves, and had little sympathy for those who showed less resolve than themselves. Similarly, Schörner’s insistence that rear area units be ruthlessly ‘combed out’ to release personnel for front-line service was a measure widely supported by combat soldiers.
On 28 October, Bagramian’s forces attacked again, once more after a heavy artillery bombardment. The main effort fell on the German lines to the immediate east of Priekule, with heavy fighting raging all day in the woody and swampy terrain. 4th Panzer Division was involved in almost continuous combat until late afternoon; under pressure from four guards rifle divisions and at least two tank brigades, it was driven back in places, but barely a mile. The price paid by both the attackers and defenders was a heavy one. For his energetic leadership, Betzel was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross.
The following day, it was the turn of the Germans to mount an attack. 4th Panzer Division assembled a group consisting of its Panther battalion, a battalion of panzergrenadiers, and a battalion of combat engineers, supported by a
At the same time that Bagramian’s troops were struggling to make headway near Priekule, Yeremenko attacked the German ‘bridgehead’ from the east. 215th Infantry Division had only recently taken up positions defending the German line to the south-west of Dobele, and early on 27 October, spotted Soviet troops of 42nd Army assembling in their trenches. Artillery fire was immediately called down upon the Soviet preparation areas, at the same moment that Yeremenko began his own preparatory bombardment. Confused fighting raged all day, and during the afternoon, 215th Infantry Division’s battalions began a fighting withdrawal to their secondary positions near Lake Lielauce. Here, with support from reserves – a battalion of assault guns and a battalion from 121st Infantry Division – the Soviet attack was first halted, then turned back. Towards dusk, as a single company of infantry, the last reserves of 215th Infantry Division, moved forward, they encountered a strong Soviet column moving in the opposite direction, and led by their energetic commander, Leutnant Werner Mozer, the Germans overwhelmed the Soviet troops in close-quarter fighting. The action earned Mozer the Knight’s Cross, and brought the day’s fighting in the sector to an end. 7
The withdrawal of 215th Infantry Division towards Lake Lielauce also saw the first appearance of another new development on the Courland front. A military judge advocate was sent to the rear area by Schörner, accompanied by detachments of military police. Any soldiers found retreating without specific orders were marched before the judge advocate and faced charges of cowardice unless they were able to justify themselves. This practice became widespread under Schörner’s command, first in Courland and later when he moved to Army Group Centre, and resulted in the execution of dozens of men, many of whom had done nothing wrong; in some cases, they were acting on verbal instructions, but this was not an acceptable excuse to the judge advocate. The rigidity of this attitude contrasts strongly with the German doctrine of operational orders being given in a fluid and flexible manner, often without resort to written instructions. The measure was intended to prevent panic and defeatism amongst the front-line troops, and its impact is hard to determine. Whilst the almost arbitrary execution of soldiers was repugnant to front-line troops, most appear to have regarded Schörner’s hard-line attitude with approval; after all, they were still in the front line themselves, and had little sympathy for those who showed less resolve than themselves. Similarly, Schörner’s insistence that rear area units be ruthlessly ‘combed out’ to release personnel for front-line service was a measure widely supported by combat soldiers.
On 28 October, Bagramian’s forces attacked again, once more after a heavy artillery bombardment. The main effort fell on the German lines to the immediate east of Priekule, with heavy fighting raging all day in the woody and swampy terrain. 4th Panzer Division was involved in almost continuous combat until late afternoon; under pressure from four guards rifle divisions and at least two tank brigades, it was driven back in places, but barely a mile. The price paid by both the attackers and defenders was a heavy one. For his energetic leadership, Betzel was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross.
The following day, it was the turn of the Germans to mount an attack. 4th Panzer Division assembled a group consisting of its Panther battalion, a battalion of panzergrenadiers, and a battalion of combat engineers, supported by a
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