The town was also in Fifth Panzer Armys area of advance. Adding to the slowdown of operations against St. Vith, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was still using two of its three regiments and all but one of its artillery battalions against the two trapped 106th Infantry Division regiments on the Schnee Eifel. Not to mention that the M8s 37 mm M6 gun is more than capable of penetrating the rear hull armor of the Panzer IV, which was only 20 mm thick angled at 10 degrees. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. By midnight on the 19th, the horseshoe- shaped defense of St. Vith had taken form. . Given that the American accounts do not give a consistent account of what happened that day at St. Vith, the other side of this story must also be investigated. Tiger. So its quite possible! The corps consisted of two infantry divisions. Therefore, Montgomery ordered Ridgway to attack to the southeast until Vielsalm could be reached, ensuring an escape corridor for those trapped within the defense. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. The only known witness to the supposed event, Captain Walter Henry Anstey, died on 26th October 2003 at the age of 90, taking the truth of the events that day to his grave. However, once a closer look is taken at this story, cracks begin to appear, and soon enough one begins to wonder whether or not this story really is too good to be true. By 1300 on the 21st, the entire line was ablaze with German artillery, rockets, tanks, and infantry. Division 4. Before departing, however, Hoge gave orders to Lt. Col. Leonard E. Engeman, commander of the 14th Tank Battalion, to get a strong force ready to move out to assist 7th Armored should it become necessary. Model informed Manteuffel that he would be given the Fhrer Escort Brigade, which was nearly equal in strength to an American light armored division, for the upcoming assault on St. Vith. That cold snap that hit us has frozen the roads. The two task forces held onto their respective positions on N23 and N27, deflecting all German armored attempts to penetrate St. Vith, until they were relieved late in the afternoon by CCB, 7th Armored Division. Bergstrm, Christer. By that time the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division should have the bridge at Steinebruck rebuilt, at least two regiments of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division should be forward, and the Fhrer Escort Brigade should be ready to make the principal thrust down the Ambleve highway into St. Vith. This left General Clarke with only one full company of armored infantrymen. At 0130 the 27th AIB was hit hard and the sector held by Company B, 9th Engineers was deeply penetrated, causing the armored infantry to fall back under the protective guns of Company A, 14th Tank Battalion. During the rest of the day and on into the evening of December 17, CCB, 7th Armored moved into St. Vith and began a buildup that resembled a large horseshoe on the high ground to the east of the village. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. The division's intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robert P. Stout, noted that the division faced two known enemy divisions, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division and the 26th Volksgrenadier Division. Moreover, it was expected that General Luchts two infantry divisions would be forwarded to the Salm River sector as right-wing cover for two panzer corps. Possibly such events took place in reality. VGD. Schneider, Wolfgang. Osprey Publishing, 2010. About: 18th Volksgrenadier Division - dbpedia.org Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 22 22. Still quite a feat for a little Greyhound, though well probably never know conclusively. Johnston, W. Wesley. At 0100 the 23rd, D Troop, 89th Recon lost an armored car and a jeep to antitank guns. The division had lost four companies of armored infantry. There was little they could do other than vow to get the attack moving early on the 20th. The last Tiger II belonged to Schwere Panzer Abteilung 506 (Heavy Tank Battalion 506) and was lost to enemy fire on the Lentzweiler road in Luxemburg. A second attempt on the bridge, made by about 40 men four hours later, was also thrown back by machine-gun fire. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. Confusion, darkness, and mud slowed the move, but by morning a medium tank company and a platoon of riflemen had reached the village. Counter to the plan laid out earlier by General Jones, Hoge had decided to launch his attack on Winterspelt with the entire 14th Tank Battalion as the lead element rather than with the more vulnerable infantry of the 27th AIB. Its supporting field artillery battalion was at Kalterherberg, two miles south of Monschau, engaged in firing missions for the 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions. South of Sixth Panzer Army was General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army, with the Seventh Army on its left. Johnston, W. Wesley. M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91. At about midday, the field marshal sent a message to General Hasbrouck: You have accomplished your missiona mission well done. While walking to avoid the traffic congestion, Manteuffel encountered his superior, Field Harshal Model. Inform us! I think we can make it now. After the Tiger I had passed, the armored car then slipped out of its concealed position and began accelerating towards the tank in an attempt to close the gap between the two. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. The division fought in the Ardennes, inflicting on the 106th US Infantry Division the worst defeat suffered by U.S. forces in the ETO, when over 8,000 US soldiers surrendered to the volksgrenadiers. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. According to the British, 37 mm M6 guns APC M51 can only penetrate around a maximum of 65mm of rolled homogeneous armor plate (RHA) at 30 degrees under V50 ballistic standards. Penguin Books, 2016. One, the Sixth Panzer Army, was commanded by SS Obergruppenfhrer (brigadier general) Josef Sepp Dietrich, and the other, the Fifth Panzer Army, was commanded by General Hasso von Manteuffel. German Division Nr. 18th Volksgrenadier Division - Wikiwand Both task forces reached St. Vith shortly before noon on the 18th to find not one, but two German attacks moving against the town. Design, Production & Modifications. Although the 7th Armored Division was finally arriving, General Jones had been led to believe that the whole division would arrive in St. Vith starting at 0700. In the 27th AIBs move to take the high ground, B Company advanced along the center of the road. Gen. Hasbrouck, commander of the 7th Armored Division, sent a message to General Ridgway urging withdrawal, which in part read, P.S. The German armored and infantry attacks were preceded by the shelling of the American positions with at least 657 light, medium, and heavy guns and howitzers and 340 multiple rocket launchers. The lumbering heavy tank continued moving towards the American line before turning north towards the town of Hunningen, Belgium, passing the armored car. Andrews, Frank L. The Defense of St. Vith in the Battle of the Ardennes December, 1944. Hoge departed Faymonville at approximately 1800, arriving at General Joness headquarters in the St. Josephs Kloster about a half hour later. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division completed its southern swing, encircling the two regiments of the 106th Division on the Schnee Eifel. However, it cannot be definitively stated that this is another version of the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story due to its ambiguity. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. The StuG III was a turretless assault gun based on the Panzer III. Company C, 27th AIB withdrew under heavy artillery and sniper fire but managed to destroy a number of German vehicles. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army ( Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. So many soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division converged on Wallerode for the final push against St. Vith that the villagers themselves threatened to be squeezed out. Heer - TracesOfWar.com It was around 1200 hours and all was quiet when suddenly a German heavy tank was spotted slowly approaching the American line, a Tiger I. Before the day ended, renewed fighting broke out along the entire front. #WW2 . Inside the command post, General Hoge learned that the Germans had launched a heavy assault on Winterspelt against the men of the 424th Infantry. After listening to the information provided by General Clarkes staff officer, General Hoge decided to go to St. Vith himself to assess the situation. By 1245, the original line was restored, and the antitank guns of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were recovered. Boylan, Vincent L. Letter to Robert W. Hasbrouck. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division.The division, which was under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. Communications with division headquarters in St. Vith were limited to liaison officers running along a road now being shelled by the Germans. There is no comparison to Tiger. Infanterie-Division Hamburg 19453 . 18e volksgrenadier division English translation: 18th volksgrenadier division (wehrmacht).. 18th Volksgrenadier Division | Detailed Pedia It was a clear disappointment to Jones when Clarke told him that he, his operations officer, his aide, and his driver were the only representatives of the 7th Armored Division to have reached St. Vith at that time. It was to cross the Meuse on both sides of Liege before advancing on to Antwerp. However, by noon on December 18 it was quite apparent to Hoge that the Germans infiltrating across the river were converging on the bridge in such numbers that it had to be blown. The mobile battalion consisted of three platoons of assault guns, a company of engineers, and another of fusiliers. Clerks were running everywhere and junior staff officers were arguing among themselves; upstairs, however, Hoge found General Jones remarkably composed. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. Infanterie-Division . It is a classic David versus Goliath tale straight out of World War II that features American heroism. English PDF (33 MB) Jan B-700 As each unit joined the rear of the column, it took its turn being the rear guard. Volksgrenadier-Division. The greatest danger existed in the 424ths position because the regiments flank lay vulnerable to attacks by the 116th Panzer Division to the south. However, Company B, 27th AIB was sent to help ease the situation, covering the cavalrys left flank. 194311 Ardennes 1944: Hitlers Last Gamble. How about a Tiger II? Since General Hoge was supposed to be under Joness command and did not understand the overall situation around St. Vith, he decided to find out exactly what was going on. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. The sector now defended by CCB, 9th Armored extended across five miles of rugged terrain that was primarily held by the three infantry companies making up the 27th AIB. During the afternoon of December 19, Hoge visited Clarkes command post in St. Vith and expressed his frustration with the current chain of command. Out of the 1,467 tanks the Germans brought with them to the Battle of the Bulge on the 16th of December, 1944, 52 of them were Tiger IIs and 14 of them were Tiger Is. The same story is retold in A Colonel in the Armored Divisions A Memoir, 19411945 by William S. Triplet, and like a game of telephone it gets even more distorted. To cover this dangerous gap in the line C Company, 27th AIB was ordered to the Our between Troop D, 89th Recon and Company A, 27th AIB. On December 21, 18. Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion had some trouble disengaging. The U.S. 9th Armored Division arrived in the European Theater of Operations in late October 1944 as a reserve for Maj. Gen. Companies A and B held a line from Grufflingen to Hohenbusch with Company A, 14th Tank Battalion to their north. 194311 According to British penetration diagrams from 1944, the 37 mm M6 gun firing its standard round, the 37 mm APC M51, could, under ideal conditions, penetrate the 80 mm thick rear hull armor angled at 9 degrees when firing at an angle of 0 degrees, albeit just barely. Orders for CCB, 9th Armored to move to a new defensive position were issued at 1600. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Staff officers were casualties. 18th Volksgrenadier Division - Wikiwand At about 0930, the enemy attacked St. Vith from Hunningen to the north, apparently in an effort to envelop Clarkes left flank. By this time the Germans had essentially closed the trap on the two infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel. The area being defended was beginning to take the form of a large horseshoe, its axis running approximately northeast to southeast. Farther to the west, the 82nd Airborne, trying to keep a corridor open for the St. Vith defenders, was coming under intense pressure from the 2nd SS Panzer Division. That is correct, however, that was off the topic of this story. Despite the loss of St. Vith, General Ridgway believed that the American armored and infantry forces defending St. Vith since December 16 could still hold. Panzertruppen Volume 2 The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Deployment of The German Tank Forces 1943-1945. Early on the 19th, the Germans made reconnaissance probes. With the enemy inside Steinebruck and excellent direct fire by the German artillery, what was left of 2nd Platoon, 89th Recon withdrew along the St. Vith road. EN. The similarity in appearance between the Panzer IV and Tiger I is often cited as a reason to why there are so many claims made by soldiers during World War II of battling Tiger Is, despite Tiger Is being a fairly rare encounter. A strong attack has just developed against Clarke again. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. South of St. Vith, even as Lt. Col. Engemans task forces were responding to the 7th Armoreds cry for help, Germans of the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division were trying to get across the Our River at Steinebruck and hit St. Vith from that direction. 223 223. 18th Panzer Division (later 18th Artillery Division) 19th Panzer Division (previously 19th Infantry Division) 20th Panzer Division 21st Panzer Division (previously 5th Light Division) 22nd Panzer Division 23rd Panzer Division 24th Panzer Division (previously 1st Cavalry Division) 25th Panzer Division What a fantastic real-life story or is it? One task force was made up of A and B Companies of the 14th Tank Battalion, B Company of the 482nd Antiaircraft Artillery, and another platoon of the 14th. After 1200 hours on 17th December 1944, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was reinforced by a mobile battalion. 1940 194111. United States 106th Infantry Division on the 16th and 17th of December 1944 (the first two days of the battle of the Ardennes were as follows: 1. Both B and C Companies pulled back to the vicinity of Neidingen, near the battalion command post, while the 14th Tank Battalion established a perimeter defense around its assembly area near Breitfeld about halfway between the Our and St. Vith. On the morning of the December 20, three tank destroyers were placed in support of Company C, 27th AIB. The foot elements of the 27th AIB were then to move out with Company B, 482nd Antiaircraft Artillery and some light tanks from Company D, 14th Tank Battalion following behind Company B, 27th AIB. The event simply was not that notable. That night, infantry patrols found German medics removing their wounded. EnWik > 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) Initially, General Jones wanted Hoge to move his command into the Losheim Gap at Maderfeld and arrive there at dawn on December 17 to counterattack and erase the enemy penetrations that were threatening 106th Division positions on the Schnee Eifel. Fortunately, a tank destroyer from Vielsalm turned up and hit the leading two German panzers, which drove the rest for cover. 301 Sentences With "poor shape" | Random Sentence Generator The 14th Tank Battalion was on its way to the Steinebruck bridge when Brig. It was a new and inexperienced division made up of Luftwaffe personnel, former Kriegsmariners out of a Although the American forces in the St. Vith area came under command of General Ridgways XVIII Airborne Corps, the Airborne Corps itself was under the command of Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, overall commander of the northern sector of the Bulge. By noon, the 27th AIB, with the help of Company A, 14th Tank Battalion, had retaken that first stretch of high ground. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. The surviving Volksgrenadiers fled in disarray. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. Luftwaffe-Feld-Division. An attack to the east by the 7th Armored Division could then relieve the two surrounded regiments of the 106th. Im going to guess that they just created this all up in their head. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. The fall of Rodt effectively split 7th Armoreds CCA from General Clarkes CCB. On its way to the new position, C Company came under a sudden artillery and rocket barrage in the village of Lommersweiler. The closest primary German armored thrust route to the south ran through Burg Reuland, also about five miles from St. Vith. Were any of these Tiger Is and or Tiger IIs knocked out on the 18th of December, 1944? Add to cart. Farther to the north, in the 7th Armored sector, the pressure exerted by the enemy was also intense. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. Wikizero - 281st Security Division (Wehrmacht) German 18th Volksgrenadier Div. Sell, Buy or Rent Panzers in Winter: Hitler's Army and the Battle of Although both men agreed that a withdrawal at this stage was the wiser decision, Hoge was skeptical that, given the weather and ground conditions, the defenders would be able to get out. Gen. Robert Hasbroucks 7th Armored Division would be arriving at St. Vith at 0700 on the 17th. 2014 At least 900 soldiers who had stood in front of the town were either dead or captured. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The division fought in the Ardennes, inflicting on the 106th US Infantry Division the worst defeat suffered by U.S. forces in the ETO, when over 8,000 US soldiers surrendered to the volksgrenadiers. Heeft u zelf meer informatie over deze persoon? While no Tiger Is were lost on the 18th of December, 1944, four Tiger IIs were lost that day. As stated above, a 37mm cant penetrate the armor of an Tiger tank. Although it was beaten off, the attacking Germans were identified as new to the area, soldiers of the 9th SS Panzer Division, a cause for considerable concern at this point in the battle. The entire division was to follow shortly thereafter. The troops were exhausted and spread out. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Anderson, Thomas. During the early hours of December 17, the Germans laid heavy mortar and artillery fire on the front-line positions of his regiment. Given that the rear hull armor of a Tiger II is 80 mm of RHA angled at 30 degrees, it is essentially impossible for the M8 Greyhounds 37 mm M6 gun to penetrate the rear hull armor of the Tiger II. Overall operational command for the offensive fell to Field Marshal Walther Model. The Sixth Panzer Army, with the 15th Army on its right, was to launch the main attack between Monschau in the north and Prum in the south. There are no German records or histories which indicate that, on 18th December 1944, a Tiger I or a Tiger II was knocked out in or around St. Vith. What he claimed was that the fight wasnt as easy as it is presented here. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. With all of these contradictions, ambiguity, and lack of supporting documentation and evidence surrounding Troop Es entry in mind, it is safe to conclude that this is not the most reliable account of what really happened on the 18th of December, 1944 at St. Vith. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The supply trains led the way north on N27 to St. Vith. Out of this grand battle would come a too-good-to-be-true story symbolic of the stiff American resistance put up against the German offensive, that of how an M8 Greyhound armored car destroyed a Tiger I heavy tank. This moment marked the beginning of the famous Battle of the Bulge, Germany's last major offensive on the Western Front in World War II. which, in principle, is comparable to the 37 mm American gun. The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith Schneider, Wolfgang. Tough Stand of the Golden Lions - Warfare History Network Just kept to the main story. At 0600 Im going to start to move.. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) - Unionpedia, the concept map Once in St. Vith, Jones explained that only the leading elements of the 7th Armored Division had arrived thus far and that St. Viths northern approach was under attack. However, the monumental traffic jams in the Losheim Gap and at Schoenberg continued to delay both the 18th Volksgrenadier Division and the Fhrer Escort Brigade, and not until after daylight on the 20th would a bridge be ready at Steinebruck for the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division. Fortunately for Colonel Reid, word came at about 1730 that his 424th Infantry Regiment was to withdraw immediately. 110 () - General Hoge received his order to pull CCB, 9th Armored out at 0605 on December 23. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-603 352d Volks Grenadier Division (19 Freb.-21 Mar. A mobile battalion of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was already moving on Andler to seize the Schoenberg bridge and the road to St. Vith. 1945) English PDF (18 MB) Jan B-627 Volkssturm (Oct. 1944-Apr. Eventually retreating through Germany until the end of the war, when it surrendered. Personally I have not believed this event at all. There are two likely candidates, the first being a Panzer IV. The Seventh Armored Division in the Battle of St. Vith. The bridge at Steinebruck was intentionally left intact by General Hoge on the outside chance that some of the American troops trapped in the vicinity of the Schnee Eifel might be able to maneuver their way there. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. Tiger. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. There was a bitter struggle to the south of Grufflingen, and the Germans were again active in the Neubruck area. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. After putting down a heavy concentration of artillery fire, the Germans moved their infantry across the river east of the position held by the 2nd platoon of D Troop, 89th Recon. American Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Choose a Unit. However, there is one major issue with this explanation, Panzer IVs were not attacking Troop B. This version is also attributed to Captain Anstey and is nearly the exact same as his original version of the story as well as being plagued by the exact same issues. Slayden, knowing that the nearest units of the 7th Armored Division were at least 60 miles away in the Netherlands, had serious doubts that a whole combat command could reach St. Vith on the 17th, much less by 0700 hours. Schneider, Wolfgang. One task force encountered reconnaissance probes on N27 conducted by units of the 1st SS Panzer Division approximately 1,000 yards north of St. Vith. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. During ceremonies observing the 20th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, General Clarke was able to talk to General Manteuffel and discuss German operations against St. Vith. Two of its tanks were mired in mud that had not frozen and had to be retrieved by a tank dozer. The resulting blast damaged the bridge to such an extent that the Germans would not be able to bring vehicles across for at least 24 hours. Clarke asked, Why in the world when I had only 2,500 men available to my command on December 17, did you not just execute a powerful frontal assault and overrun me?. Osprey Publishing, 2003. Maurice Delaval Papers Collection of the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA. History. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. Battle of Losheim Gap - Wikipedia General Jones wanted Hoge to use the infantry of his 27th AIB to seize the series of hills near Winterspelt while the 14th Tank Battalion was to remain west of the Our River for use as the situation developed. The next notable version of this tale comes from a 1966 book by the US Army Armor School titled The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944: A Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. The unit attacking Troop B, the 294th Volksgrenadier Regiment, had StuG IIIs and had been using StuG IIIs the previous day in small probing attacks east of St. Vith where Troop B would end up being positioned. Do you have more information about this person? Its possible that the M8 took out an late production Panzer IV, but even that is unlikely due to the danger of more troops coming from behind with Panzerfausts or even a 20 millimeter.
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