Essel Military Cemetery

Essel military cemetery

The cemetery stands in a pine forest 2km northeast of the village of Essel. The forest itself was the scene of heavy fighting during the battle in which those buried here died. The cemetery is reached by a path about 70m from the L190 road. It contains the burials of 114 soldiers killed between 10 and 12 April 1945 in the fighting to defend two bridges across the river Aller, a railway bridge to the north of the forest and a road bridge to the south. 111 of the soldiers buried here died in the fighting around Essel and 3 in the area of Lindwedel, about 10km southeast of the cemetery. The soldiers who fell in this area were originally interred near the village of Essel before being moved to the newly created forest cemetery in 1947. The 3 soldiers from Lindwedel were relocated here in 1964.

The soldiers buried here came from the 2. Marine-Infanterie-Division (Wehrmacht): mainly the Marine-Füsilier-Bataillon 2 and Panzer-Grenadier Ausbildungs- und Ersatzbataillons 12. The Division had only been deployed on April 2 as part of „Armee Student" (renamed „Armee Blummentritt" on April 10) and sent to defend the Aller river. The unit was poorly prepared for combat, with the naval troops receiving only a few weeks basic land warfare training and with almost no combat experience. They were also mostly teenagers. Of the 87 soldiers buried in the cemetery whose dates of birth are known, 4 were aged 16, 22 aged 17, 12 aged 18, 7 aged 19 and 10 aged 20-21. Nevertheless the troops were highly motivated and well disciplined, and well equipped with modern weapons. Although the units artillery had not yet arrived, three Tiger tanks were available for support.

The battalion commander, Korvettenkapitän Josef Gördes, deployed his forces in Essel village and on the right bank of the Aller in order to secure both ends of the bridges. However the attack of the 11th Armoured Division did not come from the West as expected but instead came from the south and quickly forced the Germans out of Essel and over the river. At 40 meters wide, fast flowing and in semi-flood the river Aller was a substantial obstacle, compounded by the Germans blowing both bridges. On the 11th1st Commando Brigade crossed over the ruins of the rail bridge to the north and was able to gain a foothold on the east bank and push south through the pine forest, but heavy German counterattacks slowed progress. It was only with the construction of a Baileybridge and a ferry at the road bridge was the 11th Armoured Division able to cross in force on the 12th. Gördes was killed standing in the middle of the intersection ‘Alexanderplatz’ (where the K149 meets the L190), viewed by some as evidence of his lack or training, but claimed by some on the German side as an intentional act when it was clear the battle was lost. In the battle 79 British soldiers had been killed and 10 Comet tanks destroyed.

The main monument of the cemetery is a standing boulder with the navy coat of arms and the inscription ‘11-12.4.1945’ located at the rear of the cemetery on the southern side. A few meters in front of this, between two trees, is a flat stone with a carved anchor and the inscription „Den Toten im Osten" (The Dead in the East). The Essel graves are marked by red sandstone crosses in three rows of 19, most crosses shared by two individuals. Gördes, the battalion commander, is buried in Grave 37. The names of the deceased, their date of birth and their date of death are included on the crosses. 21 of the graves are marked as Unknown. The 3 soldiers from Lindwedel are buried together on marked by a single stone cross in the south-east corner of the cemetery. The information board at the cemetery contains the additional details of rank and unit for each burial, if known.

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Source

• Text: Andrew William Pegler
• Photos: Andrew William Pegler