. By midnight on the 19th, the horseshoe- shaped defense of St. Vith had taken form. No one knew what was happening. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division under the command of Generalmajor Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn patrolled the Schnee Eifel area. St. Vith is built on a low hill surrounded on all sides by slightly higher rises. On top of attacking the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (minus Troop B), a Panzer IV can be easily misidentified as a Tiger I. 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 16th Field Artillery also pitched in, as did a battalion of 155mm howitzers sited around Commanster. 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. Under the chain of the northern sector command, only General Ridgway was unsure of Field Marshal Montgomerys decision to withdraw from the defense. With this contact, all units in the vicinity of St. Vith, including 9th Armored Division forces, passed to the command of Maj. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgways XVIII Airborne Corps. Colonel Alexander D. Reid, commander of the 424th Infantry Regiment, had reason to fear encirclement. Fifth Panzer was to attack from Prum in the north down to Bitburg and Bastogne in the south. 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. 12th Volksgrenadier Division 89; 197; 487; 557; 650; 727. At about midday, the field marshal sent a message to General Hasbrouck: You have accomplished your missiona mission well done. After that mornings enemy assaults, the line of the 27th AIB was reestablished west of Neubruck. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. He was also told that all that stood in their way were two troops of the 87th Recon Squadron, 7th Armoreds 87th, and a few antiaircraft half-tracks. 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. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. At approximately 0100 on December 18, a German force of about 30 men tried to cross the Our at Steinebruck after a brief artillery barrage. Much like the Panzer IV, the StuG III was a mainstay of the German army as well as Germanys most produced armored fighting vehicle of the war with over 9,400 produced. 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. An attack to the east by the 7th Armored Division could then relieve the two surrounded regiments of the 106th. (1944) 111 111. 47. Please click for detailed translation, meaning, pronunciation and example sentences for 18e volksgrenadier division in English Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. 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. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith. 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. Unable to advance, it pulled back to the nearest high ground and dug in. In my opinion, the only definite conclusion that can be made from all this is that some American vehicle engaged something at St. Vith on the night of the 18th. Osprey Publishing, 2002. When a particularly heavy onslaught was launched against 7th Armored, near 9th Armoreds left flank, Company A, 14th Tank Battalion shifted its mediums to fire directly on Breitfield in support of its armored neighbor to the north. Troop D, 89th Recon had positioned its troop headquarters and first platoon to cover the bridge over the Our. It is possible (if unlikely) that this event was completely unrelated to the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story. Next came B Company, 9th Armored Engineers; the 16th Armored Field Artillery; B Company, 482nd Antiaircraft Artillery; and the 14th Tank Battalion. Zaloga, Steven. Ardennes 1944: Hitlers Last Gamble. Division 4. Late on the 20th, patrols of the 82nd Airborne Division, on the other side of the Salm River, established contact with patrols of the 7th Armored Division. 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?. At St. Vith, Lt. Col. William H. Slayden was with Jones when Jones received the call from Middleton concerning 7th Armored Division support. Boylan, Vincent L. Letter to Robert W. Hasbrouck. Collins, Joshua, and Erik Albertson. I am weighing toward a stray Panzer IV or maybe a SP gun like the one you described. 2014. Volksgrenadier-Division. Im going to guess that they just created this all up in their head. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. One German tank was seen going up in flames. Clarke pulled back his left flank to protect Hinderhausen, a key position on the emergency exit route to Commanster and Vielsalm. Sometime later that Monday morning, General Hoge sent his liaison officer to St. Vith to learn the dispositions of CCB, 7th Armored Division. During the assault, B Company suffered about 40 casualties including its commanding officer, Captain Henry D. Wirsig. 22 22. 120th Infantry Regiment (30th Infantry Division) 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion 319th Field Artillery Glider Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment German Units 3d Parachute Division 12th SS Panzer Division 18th Volksgrenadier Division 246th Volsgrenadier Division 884th March Battalion 905th Assault Gun Brigade 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. General Hoge set up his command post in the Belgian village of Faymonville, approximately 12 miles north of the town of St. Vith, unaware of the pivotal role his command was to play in a very different battle. While on its way, the platoon was commandeered by a colonel from the 106th Division. 45 mm. Those factors dictated that at least another 24 hours would be needed before a major assault on St. Vith could begin. EN RU CN DE ES. The Sherman tanks of B Company repulsed the enemy with fire from their 76mm guns. 1945. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571.Volksgrenadier-Division.Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field . Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. 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. Tigers In Combat II. So, rather than spill blood needlessly to take meaningless ground, Hoge called off the attack on Winterspelt. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. The commanders were at the center of the Foret Domaniale du Grand Bois. Captain Ansteys version lacks supporting documentation. Based upon this fairly optimistic view, Ridgway, shortly after midnight, ordered the entire St. Vith force to withdraw from its current positions and form a defensive ring west of St. Vith and east of the Salm River. At about 1700, the enemy attacked along the Schoenberg road from the east; at 1830, they came down the Malmedy road from the north, and at 2000, an attack started from the southeast along the Prum road. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. This break appeared to be only a dream, however, as it seemed every outfit wanted a piece of CCB, 9th Armored to help shore up its positions. A scratch force made up of one platoon of riflemen from Company A, 27th AIB and a platoon from Company B, 9th Engineers were sent to contain the Germans. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. Little offtopic here but another misidentification might be the 1 destroyed 88mm assault gun (Ferdinand). Additionally, the M8s 37 mm M6 gun is more than capable of penetrating the rear hull and rear casemate armor of the StuG III. This is before you take into account that the manufacturing process for German armor allowed for a tolerance in plates which often left plates 2 to 5 mm thicker than ordered. 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. Jones explained to Hoge that his division was being attacked along its entire front and that two of his three regiments, the 422nd and the 423rd, had been partly surrounded in the Schnee Eifel area just east of Schoenberg. By 1245, the original line was restored, and the antitank guns of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were recovered. The entry only states that a Tiger tank was knocked out. Infantry divisions would begin the attack along the entire length of a 50-mile front, forcing a rupture along the Allied line and giving the German panzer divisions freedom of movement in the unoccupied ground beyond the front. When Model released the Fhrer Escort Brigade to General Manteuffel, he thought that he would be able to gain quick access to the St. Vith road network. Lieutenant Colonel Boylan also makes no mention of this event in a 1946 letter he wrote to Major General Robert W. Hasbrouck, the former commanding general of the 7th Armored Division, which details the actions of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron at the Battle of St. Vith. At the close of the first day of battle, General Lucht could look with some satisfaction at the days events, although his 62nd Volksgrenadier Division had yet to break through the American line. 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. Company C, 27th AIB withdrew under heavy artillery and sniper fire but managed to destroy a number of German vehicles. Under cover of automatic weapons fire from a platoon of light tanks, Sergeant Eugene Dorland and two other men from the engineers went into the cold, bullet-splattered water carrying three cases of TNT and placed their charges on the south abutment of the bridge. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division would use these assault guns in small probing attacks on the American lines east of St. Vith that same day. He said that the fight took about ninety minutes and that they used almost all their ammunition. Your email address will not be published. The other, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division, bore the number of an infantry division destroyed on the Eastern Front, which had been reconstituted. How about a Tiger II? 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. On its way to the new position, C Company came under a sudden artillery and rocket barrage in the village of Lommersweiler. The division had lost four companies of armored infantry. Panzer Tracts, 2001. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. The line companies were down to one officer apiece. Elements of the 62nd Volksgrenadier had taken the eastern half of Winterspelt during the night, and at daybreak reinforcements finally drove Colonel Reids 1st Battalion from the village. The unit was converted to an infantry division in 1945, while stationed in Courland. Osprey Publishing, 2003. While making his reconnaissance at Monschau he received an urgent message to call V Corps headquarters. Bergstrm, Christer. En route, the officer was approached by a member of General Clarkes staff who told him that German tanks were approaching St. Vith along the road from the north. Olson states that, on the 18th of December 1944, one of the armored cars opened fire with its 37 mm gun on a German tank at range of 800 yards [732 meters]. I think we can make it now. Possibly such events took place in reality. 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. Roadblocks were set up and manned. Once St. Vith was taken, Model intended to drive the brigade swiftly for the Meuse River or cut behind the opposition on the Elsenborn Ridge that was bottling up the Sixth Panzer Army. 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. Two hits were scored on the enemy tank in the rear, and its crew evacuated. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. The guns from a platoon of Shermans, the antiaircraft company, and a mortar platoon supplied a covering barrage, which broke up the German assault and inflicted heavy casualties. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. The fight ended when he slammed the M8 (he called it a Greyhound) into the rear of Tiger and the gun crew fired three rapid fire rounds into the engine compartment. 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. There is no comparison to Tiger. However, just as the Americans began their pursuit, the Germans noticed them and began traversing their turret to face them. At 0600 Im going to start to move.. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. Its supporting field artillery battalion was at Kalterherberg, two miles south of Monschau, engaged in firing missions for the 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions. 3. Infanterie-Division 193510 [1] 22 22. This means that 50% of shots fired will penetrate this amount of armor. Dragon 1625 1/16th Obersturmfuhrer Totenkopf Division Budapest 1945 R 275.00. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Penguin Books, 2016. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. In the early afternoon of the 22nd, he arrived at General Hasbroucks headquarters in Vielsalm to plan the withdrawal. However, it cannot be safely assumed that the tank killed in this engagement was a Tiger I or a Tiger II. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Lucht anticipated that the Americans would counterattack the next day, but that their reaction would be too late to avoid complete encirclement. The Fifth and Sixth Panzer Armies were to advance abreast, cross the Meuse River, and then drive for the Belgian port city of Antwerp, a major staging and supply center for the Allied armies in western Europe. Volksgrenadier Division 5. Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER II. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. 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. The southernmost battle group of the 18th Volksgrenadier would also undertake a mobile thrust and, finally, the 62nd Volksgrenadier would break loose at Heckhuscheid and drive for the Our River Valley. Osprey Publishing, 2013. The American plan was that once the 2nd Infantry Division reduced the German defenses at the Wahlerscheid crossroads, CCB was to spearhead a drive to the reservoirs north of Gemund and Schleiden. 1947. 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. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Armour Plate Porforation [sic: Perforation] of Tank and Anti Tank Guns. The northern prong of the horseshoe was composed of CCB, 7th Armored Division from Poteau and Vielsalm. Do you have more information about this person? Beevor, Antony. Mastering all the usages of 'poor shape' from sentence examples published by news publications. The closest of the northern German armored thrust routes ran through Recht, about five miles northwest of St. Vith. Volksgrenadier-Division. Johnston, W. Wesley. Attack on Panther PzKw V and Tiger PzKw VI. He also said that they got a new Greyhound. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER 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. The move had scarcely begun when an enemy attack hit the junction between Company B, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. Volksgrenadier-Division. The Germans attacked the center of the 27th AIB. The 27th AIB was ordered to establish a defensive position south, east, west, and southeast of Malempre. Osprey Publishing, 2013. The job of capturing St. Vith went to the Fifth Panzer Armys 66th Corps, commanded by General Walther Lucht. On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. Since the move from Faymonville to Winterspelt involved a greater distance, Hoge decided to get his command on the road immediately. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. The second task force hit another probe by the 1st SS Panzer and pushed it out of Hunningen. They were repulsed by machine-gun fire. Ardennes 1944: Hitlers Last Gamble. 18th Artillery Division 651. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. 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. Zaloga, Steven. 8 Sturmgeschuetz s.Pak to Sturmmoerser. 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. Just kept to the main story. Osprey Publishing, 2003. That night, infantry patrols found German medics removing their wounded. There was a bitter struggle to the south of Grufflingen, and the Germans were again active in the Neubruck area. It is possible that, as part of the attacks on the line held in part by Troop B of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, a lone StuG III was used to probe out the American line, as had been done on the previous day, and was subsequently knocked out by an M8 Greyhound. Those men were a scrappy bunch. Given the unreliability of the American accounts of this supposed event and the lack of any supporting documentation from the Germans, it is safe to say that neither a Tiger I nor a Tiger II was knocked out by an M8 Greyhound on 18th December 1944 in or around the town of St. Vith. German reports are also far from subtlety. This forest was criss-crossed only by trails. The formations started to peel backward in succession from opposite Neubruck to Maldingen. In this version the M8 is replaced by an M5 Stuart from the 17th Tank Battalion of the 7th Armored during the retreat from St. Vith, that somehow miraculously ended up behind a Tiger when they thought they were following a Sherman. However, it cannot be definitively stated that this is another version of the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story due to its ambiguity. Boylan, Vincent L. After Action Report, Month of December, 1944. Our preliminary briefings had told us that there would be no armor in our path. During the afternoon of December 19, Hoge visited Clarkes command post in St. Vith and expressed his frustration with the current chain of command. In blinding snow and on slippery roads the tanks and infantry of CCB, 9th Armored headed for Bauvenn. During the early hours of December 17, the Germans laid heavy mortar and artillery fire on the front-line positions of his regiment. First Edition, Presidio Press, 2002. It was to cross the Meuse on both sides of Liege before advancing on to Antwerp. Situated next to B Company were Company A, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. It is time to withdraw.. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Infanterie-Division Hamburg 19453 . Infanterie-Division . [1] On March 6, 1945, when Botsch was ordered to take command of the LIIIrd Army Corps, the 18. The staff officer wanted to know if 9th Armored could spare some desperately needed help. Before the day ended, renewed fighting broke out along the entire front. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. It consisted of the 136th 138th and 139th Mountain Replacement Regiments and the 112th Artillery 2014 Manteuffel met near Wallerode with Model and Lucht that day. This was no place to conduct a mobile defense with armor-heavy forces. General Hoge moved his command post to Commanster. 1945. A platoon of medium tanks counterattacked, and the enemy retreated. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. In the 27th AIBs move to take the high ground, B Company advanced along the center of the road. Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1918) Periode: Eerste Wereldoorlog (1914-1918) . Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. The reason for this comparative respite was due to the fact that the roads to the German rear were completely jammed. Home News Random Article Install Wikiwand Send a suggestion Uninstall Wikiwand Upgrade to Wikiwand 2.0 Schneider, Wolfgang. js = d.createElement(s); Manteuffels operation in the St. Vith area was already three days behind schedule. Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division drove the American defenders from Winterspelt, all was not going well for the Germans. Rebuilding the blown bridge to get their assault guns across was their first priority. Contents 1 Allied Forces 1.1 12th Army Group 1.1.1 U.S. First Army 1.1.1.1 V Corps 1.1.1.2 VII Corps 1.1.1.3 XVIII Airborne Corps 1.1.2 U.S. Third Army 1.1.2.1 III Corps 1.1.2.2 VIII Corps 1.1.2.3 XII Corps 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. Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier captured Winterspelt, its losses were high and its left regiment had made little headway in the Heckhuschied sector. fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); Thus, the job of rescuing the two trapped infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel passed from the 9th to the 7th Armored Division.
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