Tanner's War - Part 1
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Tanner's War - Part 1
Ansgar25 Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:50 am
"When the war begun, I was a sqad leader in the German Bundeswehr. The company was one of the integral "Jäger"-companies in the "Panzergrenadier"-battalions. The plan was to support the Marder-equipped units in special situations, espacially in urban combat, or fighting in wooded areas.
Prior to the war, we had been re-equipped to the newest standards. With the exception of the machine gunner, we all got a brand new G11. We were dressed in flashy "flecktarn" uniforms, even our pouches were of "flecktarn" design. Every man in our battalion was issued a FLAK-jacket, the newer Aramid-helmet, that actually looked very much like the American "K-pot", and brand new NBC protective stuff.
My squad rode in a German M113, that was intended to mount a MG3 and the MILAN on the commanders hatch. We were 9 persons:
1. Squad leader,
2. Driver,
3. Machine gunner,
4. Assistant MGunner,
5. MILAN gunner,
6. Assistant MILAN Gunner,
7. Designated rifle marksman (Who had an additional G3 with sniper scope.),
8. AT soldier (With an additional "leichte Panzerfaust", a German AT weapon, that works in a similar way as the Soviet RPG.),
9. Rifleman (He was the trooper, that was intended to use the CAWS shotgun or help one of the others carrying additional ammo or equipment.)
As squad leader, I received some additional items: A flare pistol, a 9mm pistol for self defence, the 40mm grenade launcher (We called it the "Granat-Pistole".), a lensatic compass, a short distance radio and a pair of binoculars.
When we reached the Polish-Soviet border, my squad consisted of 5 soldiers, including myself. Only one other guy had been in my unit from the beginning of the war on. The rest had been picked up from other units or had been turned in as replacements.
The support situation got worse over the course of the war: Our flashy uniforms had been worn out and we were forced, to replace our initial clothes with something, that had less holes in them. Some of us had lost parts of the equipment. My Aramid-helmet had been hit by shrappnel and a grenade fragment had punshed a hole in my helmet. Fortunately, that prevented the fragment from punshing a hole to my head!. I just had nasty headaches for some days and a slight cut to my forehead. I got a plaster from the medics and went on. I picked up one of the older Bundeswehr steel helmets.
Our whole battalion looked like a band of marauders, wearing a mix of new "flecktarn" and old "steingrau-oliv" Bundeswehr fatigues, some Polish jackets or trousers, LCEs from various armed forces, and some additional civilian items. Ammo for the G11 did not arrive in sufficient numbers at the front - the majority of our battalion therefore had switched to AK-variants. I used a Polish "TANTAL". My 40mm "Granatpistole" got lost, when our M113 had been hit by a grenade from a Soviet T-72, my radio had cought some fragments, when my helmet had got that hole, the flare pistol was just lost somewhere in the middle of Poland. I had picked up a Soviet chest-webbing for my AK magazines, and was wearing olive Bundeswehr trousers and a "flecktarn" jacket, that had been mended with patches from all kinds of cammie clothing. And, believe me, I was still recognizable as a German soldier at first glance. Some others really looked like rag-tag bandits. Friend-foe recognition was a nightmare."
Prior to the war, we had been re-equipped to the newest standards. With the exception of the machine gunner, we all got a brand new G11. We were dressed in flashy "flecktarn" uniforms, even our pouches were of "flecktarn" design. Every man in our battalion was issued a FLAK-jacket, the newer Aramid-helmet, that actually looked very much like the American "K-pot", and brand new NBC protective stuff.
My squad rode in a German M113, that was intended to mount a MG3 and the MILAN on the commanders hatch. We were 9 persons:
1. Squad leader,
2. Driver,
3. Machine gunner,
4. Assistant MGunner,
5. MILAN gunner,
6. Assistant MILAN Gunner,
7. Designated rifle marksman (Who had an additional G3 with sniper scope.),
8. AT soldier (With an additional "leichte Panzerfaust", a German AT weapon, that works in a similar way as the Soviet RPG.),
9. Rifleman (He was the trooper, that was intended to use the CAWS shotgun or help one of the others carrying additional ammo or equipment.)
As squad leader, I received some additional items: A flare pistol, a 9mm pistol for self defence, the 40mm grenade launcher (We called it the "Granat-Pistole".), a lensatic compass, a short distance radio and a pair of binoculars.
When we reached the Polish-Soviet border, my squad consisted of 5 soldiers, including myself. Only one other guy had been in my unit from the beginning of the war on. The rest had been picked up from other units or had been turned in as replacements.
The support situation got worse over the course of the war: Our flashy uniforms had been worn out and we were forced, to replace our initial clothes with something, that had less holes in them. Some of us had lost parts of the equipment. My Aramid-helmet had been hit by shrappnel and a grenade fragment had punshed a hole in my helmet. Fortunately, that prevented the fragment from punshing a hole to my head!. I just had nasty headaches for some days and a slight cut to my forehead. I got a plaster from the medics and went on. I picked up one of the older Bundeswehr steel helmets.
Our whole battalion looked like a band of marauders, wearing a mix of new "flecktarn" and old "steingrau-oliv" Bundeswehr fatigues, some Polish jackets or trousers, LCEs from various armed forces, and some additional civilian items. Ammo for the G11 did not arrive in sufficient numbers at the front - the majority of our battalion therefore had switched to AK-variants. I used a Polish "TANTAL". My 40mm "Granatpistole" got lost, when our M113 had been hit by a grenade from a Soviet T-72, my radio had cought some fragments, when my helmet had got that hole, the flare pistol was just lost somewhere in the middle of Poland. I had picked up a Soviet chest-webbing for my AK magazines, and was wearing olive Bundeswehr trousers and a "flecktarn" jacket, that had been mended with patches from all kinds of cammie clothing. And, believe me, I was still recognizable as a German soldier at first glance. Some others really looked like rag-tag bandits. Friend-foe recognition was a nightmare."
Last edited by Ansgar25 on Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:51 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Typo)
Ansgar25- Posts : 49
Join date : 2012-05-16
Pencil Sketch
Ansgar25 Wed Jun 27, 2012 2:29 pm
I tried to sketch Tanner using a pencil. It may not be the best sketch, but you get the idea. Here we can see Tanner with his "flecktarn" trousers, U.S. uniform, his homemade chest webbing and his G3/SG1, prior to a patrol in may 2000.
I photographed the sketch, because the scans looked real bad.
I photographed the sketch, because the scans looked real bad.
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- Tanner sketch.JPG You don't have permission to download attachments.(181 Kb) Downloaded 2 times
Ansgar25- Posts : 49
Join date : 2012-05-16
Tanner's War - Part 2
Ansgar25 Mon Sep 10, 2012 6:47 am
After the withdrawal from the Russian-Polish frontier, our battaillon was down to something like 200 men. Most of the APCs had to be abandoned. We fought as rearguard. And we picked up stragglers and scattered soldiers. At one time our company had the following transportation vehicles: a tractor with an agricultural trailor, 3 taxi-cabs, and a completely worn out Polish truck with a MG3 on a pintle mount. But we stopped some Soviet posse and made it back to friendly forces.
After several weeks of heavy fighting, our unit did not exist anymore. In small groups the survivors followed the withdrawing German units. I was part of one of those small groups. My old company CO, a grounded Canadian pilot, and a handfull of German Jägers (including myself) tried to survive, allways hunted by the Soviets following close behind. In the summer of '97, we encountered a patrol of the 28th Panzergrenadier Division. They were glad to find some friendly soldiers and so I was "transferred" to the "28. Pz.Gren.Div." - although I doubt, that there will be any kind of evidence for that. We just got a shake-hands, a warm meal, and an order to join this or that unit. Once again, I was a squad leader in the infantry. For the first time in 6 month we got the chance to re-equip ourselves: I took up my G3 sniper rifle, and some not so worn-out German uniform pieces.
The 28th was used as a delaying and rear guard force, a task we were accustomed to. Some of our "adventures" were really wild. One of the guys said, if sometimes in the future someone would make a TV show or a movie about our experiences during the war, it should be named "Band of brothers".
In the end, we made it almost back to Germany. We reached the German-Polish Border in the January of '98.
Then something strange happened. We had been forgotten. We kind of amalgated with the local militia of a nearby Polish village. We tried to get a messanger to our unit, but we had no success. One of the massengers came back to us, after he had spent some days searching our Btl HQ – the guys were gone. So we stayed, where we were. Some of us even fraternized with the Poles. Those had Polish girlfriends and what had remained of ”military Organisation and discipline“ went down the hill. We fought back small WarPac scouting groups and marauders from all kinds of units.
Some day in the summer of 98 a small recce force of the 5th Inf. Div. reached our small village. The few of us, that still thought of themselves as German (or NATO) soldiers saw the chance and we joined them. At that time the 5th was understrength and the Americans were glad, that about 15 German soldiers and local guides were willing to join them. That's how I came under command of the American Forces.
After several weeks of heavy fighting, our unit did not exist anymore. In small groups the survivors followed the withdrawing German units. I was part of one of those small groups. My old company CO, a grounded Canadian pilot, and a handfull of German Jägers (including myself) tried to survive, allways hunted by the Soviets following close behind. In the summer of '97, we encountered a patrol of the 28th Panzergrenadier Division. They were glad to find some friendly soldiers and so I was "transferred" to the "28. Pz.Gren.Div." - although I doubt, that there will be any kind of evidence for that. We just got a shake-hands, a warm meal, and an order to join this or that unit. Once again, I was a squad leader in the infantry. For the first time in 6 month we got the chance to re-equip ourselves: I took up my G3 sniper rifle, and some not so worn-out German uniform pieces.
The 28th was used as a delaying and rear guard force, a task we were accustomed to. Some of our "adventures" were really wild. One of the guys said, if sometimes in the future someone would make a TV show or a movie about our experiences during the war, it should be named "Band of brothers".
In the end, we made it almost back to Germany. We reached the German-Polish Border in the January of '98.
Then something strange happened. We had been forgotten. We kind of amalgated with the local militia of a nearby Polish village. We tried to get a messanger to our unit, but we had no success. One of the massengers came back to us, after he had spent some days searching our Btl HQ – the guys were gone. So we stayed, where we were. Some of us even fraternized with the Poles. Those had Polish girlfriends and what had remained of ”military Organisation and discipline“ went down the hill. We fought back small WarPac scouting groups and marauders from all kinds of units.
Some day in the summer of 98 a small recce force of the 5th Inf. Div. reached our small village. The few of us, that still thought of themselves as German (or NATO) soldiers saw the chance and we joined them. At that time the 5th was understrength and the Americans were glad, that about 15 German soldiers and local guides were willing to join them. That's how I came under command of the American Forces.
Ansgar25- Posts : 49
Join date : 2012-05-16
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