                     Fire Brigade, 16 August 1944
        The collapse of Army Group Center in the Unkraine threw the
Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front into chaos.  OKW had to rebuild the
shattered line quickly before the Soviets could exploit fully the German
weakness.  As a response, the German command sent the 3rd Panzer Division
via rail at Kielce, Poland.  The first units of the 3rd Panzer were hastily
organized into a battleground so that they could restore the situation.  Here,
the 6th Panzer Regiment's 5th and 6th Panzer companies of the 3rd Panzer Div
are grouped with the 1 Panzer Grenadier Company of the 1st Battalion, 3rd
Panzer Grenadier Regiment.  Also, 1st Battery of the 75th Artillery Regiment
rounds out the Kampfgruppe.  The objective is to take two bridging sites near
a small Polish town on the Kielce-Opatow Road.  This lesson proves that
the German Army could still achieve local successes when reserves were
concentrated. -2Lt. Trey Marshall, USA, FA (tamarsha@ionet.net)
