As the most legendary tank ace of the German army during World War II, Otto Carius made an indelible impression. He is quick-witted, tactically nimble, and has a will of steel. He is so calm that he will even let his opponent go all the way to the distance of a white-knuckle fight before firing.
From his enlistment in May 1940 to his surrender to the Allies on the eve of Germany's defeat, he destroyed about 170 tanks and more than 130 anti-aircraft guns. The most glorious battle of his life took place in the village of Malinava on July 22, 1944.
In June 1944, forced by the powerful Soviet offensive, the 2nd Company of the German 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion retreated to the vicinity of Tienaberg (now Daugavpils) in southern Latvia to organize defenses. Carlos was acting commander of the company at this time, and the company had only five Tiger I. tanks.
In July 1944, the Soviets launched a summer offensive, and the southern flank of the German Army Group Center was torn open. In order to expand the results of the battle, the Soviet army successively threw powerful armored forces into the weak areas of the German defense, in an attempt to divide the German army into two parts, the north and the south, and seize the excellent port of Riga on the Baltic Sea. Due to its proximity to Riga and the main route of communication in the Daugava River basin, Tinenberg became a battleground for both armies.
On July 22, 1944, Soviet units with powerful heavy tanks routed the German 270th Infantry Division to the northeast of Tinnerberg. Second Lieutenant Carlos, who was defending the city, led the 2nd Company of the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion to meet the battle in the village of Marinava on the northern outskirts of the city.
When Carlos led five Tiger I tanks to the hilly terrain west of the village of Marinava, three Tiger I tanks from the 1st Company of the 502nd Heavy Tank Battalion also came to their aid, so that they had eight tanks. At this time, the remnants of the 270th Infantry Division were retreating in a hurry, and a large number of half-tracks, trucks and motorcycles were crowded on the small roads west of the village, in confusion.
In order to understand the situation, Carlos and his old partner Warrant Officer Kosher drove a VW82 jeep to reconnoitre. On the way, I met an officer of the assault artillery unit of the 270th Division, according to him: about 90~100 tanks of the Soviet army are killing from the east and south, but it is not clear whether the village of Marina Nava is occupied. They were supposed to retreat south to join the divisional headquarters, but now they were afraid they would not be able to get through.
Through reconnaissance, Carlos discovered: the tank vanguard of the Soviet army had already arrived in the village and was resting, and the main forces had not yet arrived. Several Soviet tanks were close together, and the crew chatted or smoked, or studied the map in the car, and some tank crews sneaked into the barn to find food. At this time, Carlos did not know that this vanguard was the elite 1st Guards Heavy Tank Regiment of the Soviet Army. The regiment, armed with the latest Soviet tanks, had just been transferred from Moscow to prepare for the fierce fighting in the Tinnerberg area.
Carlos and Kosher immediately rushed back to the company headquarters and explained to the team the general situation of the enemy tanks in the village. After a brief discussion, Carlos decided to stop the attack by crushing the vanguard before the main enemy force could arrive, and to open the road south of the village of Marina to allow the remnants of the 270th Division to join up with his divisional headquarters.
The specific arrangements were: only Carlos and Kosher brought two "Tiger I." tanks into the village to carry out a surprise attack and seize the junction leading to the south; Another 6 Tiger I tanks were on standby in the hilly terrain for fire support and to contain the offensive of large Soviet forces that might come from the eastern road; Radio contact must be maintained between the two forces.
Carlos's deployment made sense, as the situation in the village was not entirely clear, with all tanks entering the village, and the possibility of chaotic street fighting, as well as the loss of surveillance and control of the road to the east, which could be the main direction of the Soviet attack. In addition, at that time, there was only a narrow dirt path leading to the village, and the sides were even more swamp-like grass ponds, and the use of too many large "Tiger I" tanks would affect each other and reduce the effectiveness of the attack.
If one vehicle gets stuck in the road or breaks down with a bullet, it is likely to block the passage of the entire company and cause a complete loss of combat effectiveness, or in serious cases, the entire army will be wiped out. Therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary losses, Carlos decided to use only 2 "Tiger I." to disrupt the Soviet formation in a fast and surprise way.
After the arrangements were made, two "Tiger I." rushed towards the village at full speed. Carlos's No. 217 tank took the lead, with Koscher's No. 213 behind him, covering the follow-up at a distance of 150 meters. The Soviet tanks in the village still showed no signs of activity, and the Soviets obviously did not expect that the Germans, who had just retreated, would counterattack with open fire and sticks.
It wasn't until Carlos was about to arrive at the entrance of the village that the two Soviet T34/85 tanks on guard noticed the noise of the "Tiger I" and hurriedly turned the turret to aim at No. 217, but did not expect that the "yellow finch was behind" - Kosher's No. 213 tank hit them "paralyzed" on the side of the road with two consecutive shots. These two shellings sounded the clarion call for the "Marinava Assault".
After entering the village, Carlos slowed down and carefully searched for Soviet tanks. Kosher quickly moved in to cover Carlos' left side. Tank 217 had just climbed a gentle slope when a heavy tank with a long barrel and a streamlined turret suddenly burst out of its right front. Kaloston broke out in a cold sweat, this monster had the same size as the German "Tiger II") tank, a Soviet JS-2 heavy tank that had just been put into use on the Eastern Front. In an instant, the five men in Tank 217 immediately began to operate like clockwork machines, quickly aiming and firing. Even the JS-2 could not withstand the power of the 88mm gun.
Carlos, in his post-war memoir "Tiger in the Mud," recalled: "The most terrifying thing was that it had a 122 mm cannon, and it was also one of the few Soviet tanks with muzzle brakes...... However, when we fought it, we found that this tank had a fatal flaw - it was very clumsy, so despite its thick armor and large gun caliber, it was not suitable for close combat with the Tiger.
However, we are also well aware that now that it has been discovered by the enemy, the Soviet tanks may be quietly waiting for their prey to come to the door...... As we marched, we were all in a state of extreme tension, the assault was too risky, but there was no way back, and everyone's hairs stood on end. ”
While they were in a state of panic, green tanks appeared in the distance covered by bushes on the road ahead, but perhaps the Soviets did not notice them, but hurried to the west of the village. Carlos suddenly realized: the Soviet tanks must have gathered on the east side of the village, and the JS-2 that was destroyed by himself just now and the few vehicles in front of him wanted to go around to the west of the village in order to encircle his own troops.
He immediately radioed to Boult and told them to pin down the Soviet tanks with fire that were detouring to the west, and at the same time summoned Kosher to move closer to him and advance side by side, with their guns pointing in the direction of 10 o'clock - the most dangerous direction!
As expected, when they crossed a row of bungalows, their vision suddenly widened, and there were 8 JS-2s in the open space in front of them, and the other 7 had started to move towards the east of the village (it seems that the Soviets were going to encircle them on both flanks). Without waiting for Carlos to give the order, the 217-mm guns on tanks No. 213 and No. 213 opened fire almost simultaneously.
The turrets of Soviet tanks also began to turn, and some tried to drive through farmland into the woods for cover. The bloody battle began. One by one, the shells fired by Soviet tanks exploded next to the two Tiger I. vehicles and splashed earth several meters high. Carlos completely ignored this, his tank engine roared wildly, chasing the enemy. Fireballs erupted from the muzzle of the tank one after another, and he almost hit something. In just a few minutes, 13 JS-2s were "lying" on the streets, and only 2 fled eastward when they saw that the situation was not good......
The barrels of the two "Tiger I." had been overheated and slightly blackened during the rapid firing, and the turret was filled with the smell of rubber burning, which was caused by the heating of the hydraulic system seals during the rapid rotation of the turret. Carlos's tank No. 217 had three broken wheels, but it did not affect the ride. Kosher's tank was unscathed, and he threw a reluctant, sinister smile at Carlos from the conning tower, but his face was very pale - the fierce battle was enough to terrify any veteran.
Carlos did not forget that there was still an enemy to the east, and he immediately radioed to Boulter, where he learned that they were firing at a distance with three JS-2 and two T-34/85s. Therefore, he ordered Kosher to go to the south of the village to stand on guard, and he quickly went around to the east of the village and attacked the Soviet tanks from behind.
Twenty minutes later, under the front and rear fire of Carlos and Poulte's six tanks, all the remaining Soviet tanks were destroyed. At this point, the Germans took full control of the village of Marinanava, destroying a total of 17 Soviet JS-2 heavy tanks and 4 T-34/85s. Among them, Carlos and Kosher destroyed a total of 17 vehicles, and Carlos alone took care of 10 vehicles.
After that, Carlos ordered all the "Tiger I." to concentrate at the intersection of the north of the village and line up to the east to stand guard, while the remaining vehicles and assault guns of the 270th Division quickly passed through the village and retreated to the south. Soon, in the distant dust of the East**, a large force of Soviet troops, tanks, trucks, ammunition trucks, and mechanized infantry drove mightily. Eight 88-mm tank guns adjusted their angles and fired at once, and the road in the distance immediately turned into a sea of fire.
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