This right here is going to be an award winner.
In fact, I feel that the choice of cam, and the studious execution could put it close to a Chris Wauchop
I dont know if you are familiar with a CW build Mr Soeren, but you certainly have demonstrated the patience, the risk taking, and the acceptance of detail & advice that Im sure Mr Wauchop went through along his way to model excellence.
The Jagdpanther is such a rare beast, with so few made, and the enigmatic presence of the machines where they popped up normally made an impact.
There was a quite significant but futile and brief encounter involving one Hauptsturmführer Karl Nicolussi-Leck ..............
Here is one of my favorite revisions of the actions:
"On April 11, while elements of the US 84th Infantry Division continued their advance eastward following the capture of Hannover, a German column was marching on side roads towards them, if neither side changed direction they were destined to meet in and around Langlingen. The German column was that of the SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking” led by Hauptsturmführer Nicolussi-Leck, which had regrouped in Lehrte and was planning to march North and then Northeast towards Wittingen and ultimately Wittenberge on the Elbe river. The Kampfgruppe consisted of 9 Schützenpanzerwagen, 6 Jagdpanther and one Bergepanzer at this time. Contact with the enemy was not to be avoided; but sought.
Just outside of Lehrte there was a short firefight with 4 Sherman tanks, 2 were knocked out by the Jagdpanther of Untersturmführer Karl Jauss. In Abbensen the Kampfgruppe met up with tanks from the Lehrabteilung, but they did not want to join the group. Continuing on to Langlingen via Uetze they captured 2 American fuel trucks and captured approximately 50 men, Nicolussi-Leck let them go that evening.
The Kampfgruppe made it to the forest East of Sandlingen on the morning of April 12 with all its armoured vehicles and over 100 men, including a growing number of stragglers. Immediate reconnaissance showed that the bridges across the Mühlengraben and the Aller near Langlingen were destroyed. A heavily armed Schützenpanzerwagen (equipped with a 20mm gun and commanded by an Obersturmführer) was dispatched to Wienhausen to determine if the bridges there were intact and to hold them until the Kampfgruppe arrived.
The Schützenpanzerwagen’s crew was primarily made up of Heeres troops included a few officers and NCOs, all told, 12 men.
At noon the Obersturmführer reached Wienhausen and discovered that the bridges were intact and already equipped with explosive charges. The Schützenpanzerwagen (SPW) took up position on the northern bank of the Aller River, under the bridge; on the outskirts of Oppershausen. The bridge was not big enough to completely conceal the vehicle, which was to have consequences. The crew took up their positions around the bridge at 14:00.
At the same time the US 333 Regiment arrived in Wienhausen, enroute from Bockelskamp. The American column was not visible from Oppershausen, but the noise would not have gone unnoticed.
The scout cars at the head of the column slowly drove through the deserted streets of Wienhausen. When they reached the fork in the road leading to Oppershausen they stopped and observed that the bridges were intact and then noticed the rear of the Schützenpanzerwagen protruding from under the bridge. They immediately opened fire and the SPW was hit.
The SPW crew thought that their own tanks were shooting them at, they were not expecting any American troops this far to the East. Feldwebel Ehrbeck jumped on a bicycle and wildly waving a white cloth, rode towards Wienhausen. By now Capt. Bradford’s 9th Company had gone into position at the outskirts of Wienhausen. The Feldwebel having closed the distance to the Americans to 150 meters realised his mistake and jumped off the bicycle and tried to escape on foot. He was “cut down by a rifleman”. The rest of the German SPW crew took up the firefight with Capt. Bradford’s company from across the Aller River.
As this engagement was unfolding an artillery battalion arrived in Wienhausen and took up firing positions to assist Capt. Bradford if needed.
Capt. Bradford still hoped to take the bridge intact and ordered his heavy machine guns to pin down the Obersturmführer and his men so that he could get a few men close enough to disarm the charges and take the bridge. But as the GIs approached the Obersturmführer gave the order to blow the bridge, despite his orders to hold it for the rest of the SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking”.
Capt. Bradford continued his attack on Oppershausen and the SPW crew. The men under the Obersturmführer fought off the American attacks for nine hours. They were opposed not only by the 9th Company but also the 11th and the artillery battalion. Oppershausen was virtually destroyed and at least six of the Germans were killed in the fierce fighting. The fate of the remaining five, including the Obersturmführer is not known. Some may have perished in the burning houses others may have escaped or been taken captive.
In the meantime, the 1st Battalion of the 333 US Regiment passed through Wienhausen bound for Offensen, the Aller bridge at Schwachhausen and ultimately Nordburg.
Now the bridges to the Northeast and Southeast of the SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking” were either destroyed or in the hands of the Americans.
On the morning of April 13 the SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking” found itself deep behind enemy lines. With the US 333rd Regiment to the north and US 334th Regiment to the south, they were outnumbered on either side 20:1. Their plan was to hold out until the first wave of US troops had cleared the area and then attempt to cross either of the intact Aller crossings. But it was also a Friday.
The 3rd Battalion of the 334th Regiment had spent the night in Langlingen, where the bridge over the Aller was destroyed. At daybreak they started driving along the train tracks in a westerly direction in search of a suitable crossing. After 3km they came upon the destroyed bridge across the Mühlengraben. They immediately set their engineers to the task of repairing the bridge and sent out patrols to establish a protective perimeter. The patrols quickly ran into the SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking” in the forest and after a short exchange of gunfire the entire battalion set out to comb through the forested area. Nicolussi-Leck avoided being drawn into a fight where his tanks could not be brought to bear. Besides they were outnumbered 5:1 and there were several other US battalions near by. Nicolussi-Leck and his men broke out of the forest, heading Northwest across the railway tracks and towards the wooded area on the outskirts of Wienhausen. They reached it shortly before 11:00.
Meanwhile the US artillery battalion was moving out of Wienhausen to take up new firing positions further East. Their path crossed that of the SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking”. Nicolussi-Leck had his Jagdpanthers open fire at 1,000 meters, setting 5 trucks alight with the first volley. The artillery battalion immediately turned around and took up positions in Wienhausen again.
The SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking” bypassed Wienhausen to the south and headed straight for Bockelskamp. From there they fired on a US supply column and destroyed another 4 vehicles. Nonetheless the end seemed in sight.
The 3rd Battalion of the 333rd Regiment and the 3rd Battalion 334th Regiment formed a semicircle around the SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking” from the south and the to the north was the Aller River. While the artillery battalion kept a steady barrage of shells raining down on the SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking”, Nicolussi-Leck and his men searched the town for anyone who could point them to a ford in the river. A young woman told them she knew of a place not far up the river and the Kampfgruppe headed out.
The Jagdpanthers had no problems crossing the river; the last two each towed a Schützenpanzerwagen behind them. But then the artillery fire set in again and it was pretty accurate. The remaining Schützenpanzerwagen made a dash for it but all ended up getting hopelessly mired in the riverbed. One soldier was killed and 10 wounded.
The SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking” regrouped and spent the night in the wooded area East of Ostersloh.
On the morning of April 14 Nicolussi-Leck ordered his troops to continue their march East in hopes of still linking up with their own lines. Following the loss of so much of their equipment he ordered his men to avoid further engagements with the enemy. He did not know that the US 84th Infantry Division, whose sector he was operating in, had already reached the Elbe River.
The SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking” cautiously moved from one wooded area to the next, making frequent stops to observe their surroundings for the telltale signs of enemy troops. They skirted Oppershausen to the north, something that was only made possible by the fact the 3rd Battalion, 333rd Regiment had not yet realised that the SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking” had already vacated Bockelskamp.
Nicolussi-Leck and his men were headed towards a swampy area but the Schützenpanzerwagen that were scouting the way for the Kampfgruppe managed to find the only available crossing point for many kilometers, allowing them to continue their march towards the Elbe. Upon reaching the wooded area of the Halzhorn, 3 km south of Hohne, they could hear plenty of motorised traffic to the South from Müden (the armoured elements of the 102nd US infantry Division) and straight ahead to the East was the impassable bog of the Hahnenmoor. The only roads that angled to the east would surely lead the Kampfgruppe to another encounter with the Americans, so Nicolussi-Leck decided to continue through the forest and to attempt to sneak through the open area between Hohne and Ummern to the North.
Major-General Bolling had moved his headquarters from Hannover to Hohne the day before and he was not alone in Hohne, the US 771st Tank Battalion was being held in reserve in there. Given that the town was secured to the north by the Wiehe River and to the south was largely bog and woods, the 20 Shermans of the 771st Battalion secured the area by guarding the only access points, which were primarily facing South, from where no attack could be expected. And yet, suddenly the sounds of tank tracks could be heard coming from the edge of the bog.
Nicolussi-Leck had sent his 2 remaining Schützenpanzerwagen along with 3 Jagdpanthers to recon in force while the other 3 Jagdpanthers covered their advance. The Shermans waited until their opponents were only 1,000 meters away before opening fire. Both Schützenpanzerwagen and one Jagdpanther were immediately hit and caught fire. One Jagdpanther managed to break through while the rest of the German tanks opened fire on the Shermans. Even the burning Jagdpanther of Untersturmführer Schüßler, their fourth victim, continued to return fire for a short while.
Using their 8.8cm guns and 8cm thick frontal armour to their fullest advantage the remaining 3 Jagdpanthers kept up a steady barrage of shells on the 771st Battalion until they had all but suppressed the determined American defence. An attempt by Untersturmführer Jauß to recover the Jagdpanther of Untersturmführer Schüßler failed and resulted in the loss of the Bergepanzer as well.
Now with a final victory in his grasp, his tanks surrounded by the wounded infantrymen, Nicolussi-Leck ordered a withdrawal into the bog of the Hahnenmoor. The remaining Sherman tanks breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the Jagdpanthers head South.
One Jagdpanther was lost a short distance into the bog to transmission failure. But the men of the SS-Kampfgruppe “Wiking” had not yet given up. After handing off their wounded to a local shepherd, they formed a raiding party to scare up needed fuel for their Jagdpanthers. During the night they captured 2 American trucks and a Jeep. After driving a short distance into the bog they let their captives go. When the raiding party reached the rest of the Kampfgruppe they checked the contents of the trucks. To their great disappointment, the trucks were carrying flower and sugar, not the fuel they so desperately needed.
Nicolussi-Leck and the last men of his Kampfgruppe, now down to about 30 strong, knew that they would not make it back to their own lines.
Epilogue
Nicolussi-Leck made his final command decision on the morning of April 16. He turned to Obersturmführer Olin and said: “We have flower and need bread. I will look for a baker.” Olin knew what Nicolussi-Leck meant to do and shook his hand one last time.
Nicolussi-Leck and his adjutant walked back the way they had come and surrendered to the Americans in Hohne.
Command now fell to Obersturmführer Olin who ordered the 2 captured trucks driven onto the nearby rail tracks and set alight. The remaining 2 Jagdpanthers were driven a short distance into the bog where they would sink from their own weight, the remaining ammunition, only 10 rounds were left, was buried elsewhere.
4 men carrying machine pistols and Panzerfausts occupied the only remaining vehicle, the captured Jeep. Their plan was to try and reach southern Germany. Their adventurous journey was ultimately successful.
The rest of the men made their way on foot.
The Jagdpanther that had broken through at Hohne 2 days earlier was knocked out between the towns of Süderwittingen and Ohrdorf, 5 kilometers South of Wittingen. Four of its crew perished on April 16 and the remaining crewmember, Georg Perchtold, ultimately met his fate on the 20
- primed in Camo Black Brown, misted over with Panzer Aces track primer and finished with one of my Grey mixes. Then washed with Mig Brown wash and finally sealed with Vallejo Premium semi gloss.