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. Thus, the Fifth Panzer Army commander ordered that St. Vith be taken no later than the second day of the offensive. Mastering all the usages of 'poor shape' from sentence examples published by news publications. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. 1945). Ardennes-Alsace Campaign On the morning of the December 20, three tank destroyers were placed in support of Company C, 27th AIB. I am a huge M8 Greyhound fan, having built a model at age 13 and I now own a 1:6 scale one with 4-man crew. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Since 7th Armoreds withdrawal meant that 9th Armoreds left flank would be in danger, the two generals agreed that Hoge would have to readjust part of his line to maintain contact with Clarkes new rearward position. During the assault, B Company suffered about 40 casualties including its commanding officer, Captain Henry D. Wirsig. Three times the grenadiers [German] tried to rush their way through the foxhole line held by the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion (Lt. Col. William H. G. Fuller) and B Troop of the 87th astride the Schnberg road. 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. The Commands main body was led by the 27th AIB with B Company in front, followed by Headquarters and C Company. At approximately 0930 on December 17, B Company was the first 9th Armored Division unit to cross the Our River. Our preliminary briefings had told us that there would be no armor in our path. Ninth Armored sent out billeting parties as it reached its new area. This initial thrust carried the enemy approximately 400 yards into the battalions sector. 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?. 18th Volksgrenadier Division Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The message was that his command was now back with VIII Corps and that he was to go to St. Vith and report to Maj. Gen. Alan W. Jones, commander of the newly arrived 106th Infantry Division. Plastic Models - Page 8 - Esswex Hobbies Johnston, W. Wesley. Osprey Publishing, 2010. The platoon lost four men missing and two wounded in the ensuing engagement. Beevor, Antony. One gun, firing from the house that had been the 14th Tanks command post an hour earlier, disabled two of the Shermans, but the other tanks managed to knock out the four antitank guns plus three German command vehicles. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; Heer - TracesOfWar.com Three of these Tiger IIs belonged to Schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 501 (Heavy SS Tank Battalion 501); Tiger 105 was abandoned in the town of Stavelot, Belgium after getting itself stuck in a building, Tiger 332 was abandoned near Coo, Belgium as a result of mechanical damage, and Tiger 008 was abandoned at a farmhouse near Trois Ponts, Belgium. 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. 223 223. In minutes, a platoon of medium tanks from A Company of the 14th rolled across the bridge at Steinebruck and placed high explosive and heavy machine-gun fire on the enemys position in the woods and along the draw. Boyer, Donald P. St. Vith The 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge 17-23 December 1944 A Narrative After Action Report. The column came upon stragglers from the 424th Infantry retreating in disarray toward St. Vith. He is being outflanked and is retiring west another 2,000 yards refusing both flanks. Between these units, a place was found for the provisional company composed of the 424th Infantry stragglers. 194311 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. Volksgrenadier-Division. History. However, this platoon never completed its mission. The mobile battalion consisted of three platoons of assault guns, a company of engineers, and another of fusiliers. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. I should also note that reconnaissance doctrine was to disengage if at all possible and in no way engage enemy armour beyond scout elements. Zaloga, Steven. Your email address will not be published. 560th Volks Grenadier Division (15-29 Dec. 1944) and 12th VGD (1-28 Jan. 1945). Such was not the case, however, and by the evening of the December 20, the Germans were feeling the growing negative effects of the St. Vith salient. 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. Add to cart. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. Soon after General Hoge left 106th Division headquarters for the drive back to Faymonville, Jones received a call from Middleton informing him that a combat command of Brig. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. There was a bitter struggle to the south of Grufflingen, and the Germans were again active in the Neubruck area. In the 27th AIBs move to take the high ground, B Company advanced along the center of the road. Zaloga, Steven. It can be safely assumed that the armored car that Lieutenant Olson is talking about in his story is an M8 Greyhound due to the fact that the only armored cars that the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron fielded were M8 Greyhounds. Troop D, 89th Recon had positioned its troop headquarters and first platoon to cover the bridge over the Our. Fortunately for Colonel Reid, word came at about 1730 that his 424th Infantry Regiment was to withdraw immediately. Communications with division headquarters in St. Vith were limited to liaison officers running along a road now being shelled by the Germans. 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. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=18th_Volksgrenadier_Division&oldid=1127007404, Military units and formations established in 1944, Military units and formations disestablished in 1945, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 December 2022, at 11:24. They were followed in order by the half-tracks and other vehicles of the 27th AIB, the tank companies, the antiaircraft company, and the engineers. War Department, 1944. The fortified goose egg ran nearly 10 miles in diameter, containing a mass of forest and only one decent road running northwest to southwest. 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. 1946. Volksgrenadier-Division. On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. Sometime later that Monday morning, General Hoge sent his liaison officer to St. Vith to learn the dispositions of CCB, 7th Armored Division. Despite nearly a foot of snow, the ground underneath was still soft, and with the passage of only a few heavy vehicles it was soon churned into a morass of mud. It is a classic David versus Goliath tale straight out of World War II that features American heroism. 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. Still quite a feat for a little Greyhound, though well probably never know conclusively. Soon after its crossing, B Company ran into German infantry dug in along the high ground overlooking the village of Elcherath. 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. As stated above, a 37mm cant penetrate the armor of an Tiger tank. Osprey Publishing, 2013. Amazing discounts for bundles. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. As a result of 7th Armoreds earlier regrouping, Rodt was the junction point between CCA of the 7th Armored under the command of Colonel Rosebaum and General Clarkes CCB. The earliest known mention can be found in the December 18th, 1944 morning report and record of events entry of Troop E, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron which briefly states that an M-8 atchd [attached] to A Tr [Troop A] knocked out one Tiger tank. It was at full strength and supplied with the latest equipment. #WW2 . Osprey Publishing, 2013. By noon, the 27th AIB, with the help of Company A, 14th Tank Battalion, had retaken that first stretch of high ground. At about 0930, the enemy attacked St. Vith from Hunningen to the north, apparently in an effort to envelop Clarkes left flank. 6 Schwere Panzerkampfwagen DW to E-100. 281st Security Division (281. General Hoge received his order to pull CCB, 9th Armored out at 0605 on December 23. The second task force hit another probe by the 1st SS Panzer and pushed it out of Hunningen. Osprey Publishing, 2003. 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. If neither a Tiger I nor a Tiger II was killed on 18th December 1944 in or around the town of St. Vith by an M8 Greyhound, what was? General Lucht hurried to Winterspelt to get the 62nd Volksgrenadier moving to the Our. The entry only states that a Tiger tank was knocked out. The capture of St. Vith was, however, important for three other reasons: to ensure the complete isolation of Allied troops that might be trapped on a nearby ridge called the Schnee Eifel; to cover the German supply lines unraveling behind the armored corps to the north and south; and to feed reinforcements laterally into the main thrusts by using the St. Vith road net. 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. Once the bridge at Steinebruck was seized, the 62nd was to support the 18th Volksgrenadier Divisions drive on St. Vith by blocking the western and southern routes in and out of the town. Infanterie-Division 19398 . The Sherman tanks of B Company repulsed the enemy with fire from their 76mm guns. 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 Within the Kloster, General Hoge found a division headquarters staff in a state of disarray and confusion. General Luchts plan for December 17 was simple. At 0400 hours on 16th December, 1944, men of the German 18th Volksgrenadier Division began to leave their positions and make their way towards the American lines. Mines were laid. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. Attacking the rear of a Tiger when you had no way of knowing if it was supported by one or more others is extremely unlikely. Greyhound vs. Tiger at St. Vith - Tank Encyclopedia The 62nd, like the 18th, included three regiments of two battalions each. If it was on a slope and firing down to the engine bay, then maybe but that would require it to be at such an angle that the M8 would topple and roll down. This moment marked the beginning of the famous Battle of the Bulge, Germanys last major offensive on the Western Front in World War II. First Edition, Presidio Press, 2002. The Americans knew that their only hope in doing any sort of damage to this beast was to get as close as possible to it and shoot its weaker rear armor. Such events might have taken place in reality, true. 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. . Daniel P. Kneeland, Grafton, Ma. Then there is the issue of the entrys ambiguity in regards to the Tiger tank that was knocked out. Gen. Hasbrouck, commander of the 7th Armored Division, sent a message to General Ridgway urging withdrawal, which in part read, P.S. 1940 194111. 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. As the offensive steam came to an end in the Ardennes, the division went on the defensive, and there they would stay. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The move had scarcely begun when an enemy attack hit the junction between Company B, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. At about midday, the field marshal sent a message to General Hasbrouck: You have accomplished your missiona mission well done. By midnight on the 19th, the horseshoe- shaped defense of St. Vith had taken form. Looking at German records The Fhrerbegleit Brigade with one Panzerabteilung of four companies of Pzkw IV and a Sturmgeschutzabteilung with four batteries of StuG III were in reserve assembled in the area around Daun on the 17th and not yet in action only beginning to move up at 1600H on the 18th. At about 2130, General Clarke phoned General Hoge to tell him that the enemy was entering St. Vith from the north and that his forces were withdrawing to form a new line northwest of the city. Anderson, Thomas. 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. The Tiger I was a 57 tonne German heavy tank that has become one of the most famous tanks in history. During the night, the troopers experienced harassing fire from light and medium artillery and could observe enemy infantry and at least four tanks moving along high ground to the south of the river. For this mission, CCB consisted of the 14th Tank Battalion, the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion, the 16th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, and miscellaneous smaller units vital to any major command. The time was approximately 1800 on Saturday, December 16, when Combat Command B of the 9th Armored Division began its move to St. Vith. It was to cross the Meuse on both sides of Liege before advancing on to Antwerp. Ministry of Supply, 1945. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. However, he kept these misgivings to himself. This is an issue because there were two distinct types of German Tiger tanks, both of which took part in the Battle of the Bulge: The Tiger I and the Tiger II. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. The defense of St. Vith was now achieving some kind of order in contrast to the chaos that had reigned during the previous three days. Inside the command post, General Hoge learned that the Germans had launched a heavy assault on Winterspelt against the men of the 424th Infantry. 1947. Company C, 27th AIB withdrew under heavy artillery and sniper fire but managed to destroy a number of German vehicles. Sell, Buy or Rent Panzers in Winter: Hitler's Army and the Battle of 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. Andrews, Frank L. The Defense of St. Vith in the Battle of the Ardennes December, 1944. The situation on Reids left flank was unclear, and the Germans were attacking in considerable force against his right flank. 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. Schneider, Wolfgang. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. Zaloga, Steven. Good Tank, Poor Deployment | T-34-76 and T-34-85 in Yugoslav Partisan Service. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army ( Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The commanders were at the center of the Foret Domaniale du Grand Bois. 18th Volksgrenadier Division - Wikipedia The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. EN RU CN DE ES. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. 223 () - It is certainly possible that the tank destroyed in this engagement was a Panzer IV or a StuG III but in the absence of new evidence coming to light it can only be concluded that either the Greyhound crew knocked out a completely different tank or were otherwise exaggerating some action. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. 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. Hoge departed Faymonville at approximately 1800, arriving at General Joness headquarters in the St. Josephs Kloster about a half hour later. 18e volksgrenadier division English translation: 18th volksgrenadier division (wehrmacht).. 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. Battle of Losheim Gap - Wikipedia During his meeting with Hoge, General Ridgway became convinced that defending this area any further would be futile. Having failed to find a soft spot to the north, the Germans then moved against Hoges 9th Armored command in the south; however, even before this attack got going three German tanks were knocked out and the rest of the probing force withdrew. It consisted of the 136th 138th and 139th Mountain Replacement Regiments and the 112th Artillery The tanks of the 14th Tank Battalion and the half-tracks of the 27th AIB paused to pick up the foot elements of the 424th RCT, 106th Infantry Division. As each unit joined the rear of the column, it took its turn being the rear guard. However, I am not so emotionally attached to my favorite LAV that I cant see the improbabilities. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division completed its southern swing, encircling the two regiments of the 106th Division on the Schnee Eifel. However, Company B, 27th AIB was sent to help ease the situation, covering the cavalrys left flank. Engeman set out with two task forces to meet the enemy. Lucht anticipated that the Americans would counterattack the next day, but that their reaction would be too late to avoid complete encirclement. Stackpole Books, 2015. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. of the Army, 1965. Late in the day, the Germans launched three major attacks, each directed along a main road leading into the town. Tiger. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force | World War II by Day