Yeah but Panthers rear and side armor is very weak, so its completely different story. That eliminates this units Pzkw IV being the Tiger encountered by the Troop B M8 on Dec. 18th . The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. js = d.createElement(s); VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. It was at full strength and supplied with the latest equipment. 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. 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. 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?. 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. The U.S. 9th Armored Division contested the German advance around St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge, and won precious time in the process. Clad in armor between 25 mm and 180 mm thick and armed with deadly 88mm KwK 43 L/71 gun, the Tiger II was one of the deadliest tanks of the Second World War. The Sherman tanks of B Company repulsed the enemy with fire from their 76mm guns. First-time contributor Charles Gutierrez is the son of a 9th Armored Division veteran. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. 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. [1] On March 6, 1945, when Botsch was ordered to take command of the LIIIrd Army Corps, the 18. When B Company pulled back to refuel and rearm, A Company passed through to take up the fight. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER II. The StuG III was a turretless assault gun based on the Panzer III. Therefore, Montgomery ordered Ridgway to attack to the southeast until Vielsalm could be reached, ensuring an escape corridor for those trapped within the defense. 16 Dec 2022 08:28:00 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. 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. Sometime later that Monday morning, General Hoge sent his liaison officer to St. Vith to learn the dispositions of CCB, 7th Armored Division. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. Tigers In Combat I. Company B of the 9th Engineers and D Company of the 89th Recon joined the line to supplement the armored infantry. The Tiger II, also known as the King Tiger, Royal Tiger, Knigstiger, and Tiger Ausf.B, was an enormous, 69.8 tonne German heavy tank. VGD) was a volksgrenadierdivision of the German Army(Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. The colonel ordered the troop east along the road to Schoenberg to delay a German tank and infantry team approaching St. Vith from that direction. Clarke pulled back his left flank to protect Hinderhausen, a key position on the emergency exit route to Commanster and Vielsalm. The heroic defense of St. Vith, though costly in men and materil, disrupted the German timetable extensively. No one knew what was happening. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) - Unionpedia, the concept map How to use 'poor shape' in a sentence? Those factors dictated that at least another 24 hours would be needed before a major assault on St. Vith could begin. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. 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. An attack to the east by the 7th Armored Division could then relieve the two surrounded regiments of the 106th. The entire division was to follow shortly thereafter. The 424th Infantry had its back to the Our River, and if the Germans seized the bridge at Steinebruck and spread along the far bank his regiment would be hard pressed to effectively withdraw. Hunnicutt, R. P. Armored Car A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles. The attacks made east of St. Vith on 18 December were carried by a part of the 294th Infantry [German], whose patrols had been checked by the 168th Engineers [US] the previous day. According to Hugh M. Cole, an American historian and army officer. 8 Sturmgeschuetz s.Pak to Sturmmoerser. The guns of two platoons of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were overrun. With the unexplained disappearance of D Troop from the 89th Reconnaissance Platoon, Company B, 27th AIB became the leading element. Perrin told General Hoge, You can continue this attack on towards this back country, but you must be back on this side of the river by nightfall.. The fall of Rodt effectively split 7th Armoreds CCA from General Clarkes CCB. Situated next to B Company were Company A, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. During his meeting with Hoge, General Ridgway became convinced that defending this area any further would be futile. Join historians and history buffs alike with our Unlimited Digital Access pass to every military history article ever published (over 3,000 articles) in Sovereigns military history magazines. The reason for this comparative respite was due to the fact that the roads to the German rear were completely jammed. Please click for detailed translation, meaning, pronunciation and example sentences for 18e volksgrenadier division in English During the afternoon of December 19, Hoge visited Clarkes command post in St. Vith and expressed his frustration with the current chain of command. 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. By dark, Lt. Col. Engeman and his two task forces were back in their assembly area in the vicinity of Breitfeld. fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); 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. Tigers In Combat II. The area being defended was beginning to take the form of a large horseshoe, its axis running approximately northeast to southeast. 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 . Two hits were scored on the enemy tank in the rear, and its crew evacuated. A platoon of medium tanks counterattacked, and the enemy retreated. 12th Volksgrenadier Division 89; 197; 487; 557; 650; 727. This means that 50% of shots fired will penetrate this amount of armor. 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. By the end of the day, the 27th AIB had withdrawn through Steinebruck without casualties despite enemy shelling of the village. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. The silhouettes of the Panzer IV and the Tiger I are quite similar, especially due to their rectangular shapes and rounded turret (rounded through the later use of a curved armor plate around the otherwise angular turret). Ridgway answered, Bill, we can and we will. The withdrawal plan called for a general pullback west of the Salm River to an assembly area in the zone controlled by the 82nd Airborne Division in the vicinity of Lierneux. The Seventh Armored Division in the Battle of St. Vith. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. The Tiger I was a 57 tonne German heavy tank that has become one of the most famous tanks in history. 6 Schwere Panzerkampfwagen DW to E-100. Penguin Books, 2016. 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 event that Lieutenant Olson recounts does bare a resemblance to the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story, with both events taking place at or near St. Vith on the 18th of December 1944 and involving an American armored car from the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron knocking out a German tank by shooting it in the rear. The job of capturing St. Vith went to the Fifth Panzer Armys 66th Corps, commanded by General Walther Lucht. Its population in 1944 was about 2,000, and its citizens were very much pro-German. 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. 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. 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. 13 relations. 2014. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. Tigers In Combat I. 2014. However, this platoon never completed its mission. 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 . The 424th Infantry still blocked the road to the Our River and Steinebruck. Manteuffel had hoped for considerably more on the 19th. 10 Apr. The line companies were down to one officer apiece. The troops were exhausted and spread out. Osprey Publishing, 2003. Early on the 19th, the Germans made reconnaissance probes. Confusion, darkness, and mud slowed the move, but by morning a medium tank company and a platoon of riflemen had reached the village. Zaloga, Steven. Osprey Publishing, 2010. The move had scarcely begun when an enemy attack hit the junction between Company B, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. Panzer Tracts No. The last of the St. Vith defenders to come out were Task Force Jones and the 112th Infantry Regiment. Farther to the north, in the 7th Armored sector, the pressure exerted by the enemy was also intense. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. Bergstrm, Christer. General Jones and his staff had pulled out of St. Vith on the morning of the 18th for Vielsalm. An M8 Greyhound armored car of Troop B, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron was lying in a concealed position just northeast of the vitally important crossroads town of St. Vith, Belgium. Schneider, Wolfgang. Schneider, Wolfgang. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; The M5 got within a yard of the Tiger and knocked it out with 5 rounds. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. Penguin Books, 2016. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Could a Panther be a possibility? Luftwaffe-Feld-Division. Hoge and Clarke agreed that Hoges entire command should be withdrawn west of the railroad tracks. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. By this time the Germans had essentially closed the trap on the two infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel. Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier captured Winterspelt, its losses were high and its left regiment had made little headway in the Heckhuschied sector. Armament T-70 gun cal. Our preliminary briefings had told us that there would be no armor in our path. 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. No reinforcements were expected. Hoge pointedly asked Ridgway how it could be done. On December 16th at 4:00 a.m., they took the twenty-two foot macadam road following the Our River valley towards Manderfield. Your email address will not be published. Armour Plate Porforation [sic: Perforation] of Tank and Anti Tank Guns. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army ( Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. VGD. And why would it not? Panzer Tracts, 2001. School of Tank Technology, April 1944. American Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Choose a Unit. This was no place to conduct a mobile defense with armor-heavy forces. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Not only does Troop Es version of the story involve a different unit than the original story, it also takes place in a different location, note the following map. Revised Edition, Arms and Armour Press, 1973. 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. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The division retrained as 22.Luftlande-Division (Air Landing Division) for rapid tactical deployment to capture enemy airbases and performed in that role during the . So, rather than spill blood needlessly to take meaningless ground, Hoge called off the attack on Winterspelt. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "aefa00eeca3d30bd3e762fcc54816f6d" );document.getElementById("f87928873f").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The event simply was not that notable. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. 194311 3. Tigers In Combat II. Thus, there are four different versions of this story circulating: Troop Es version with a Tiger I, Troop Es version with a Tiger II, Captain Ansteys version with a Tiger I, and Captain Ansteys version with a Tiger II. Colonel Alexander D. Reid, commander of the 424th Infantry Regiment, had reason to fear encirclement. 1945) English PDF (18 MB) Jan B-627 Volkssturm (Oct. 1944-Apr. Because Ridgway was not in total agreement with the withdrawal and to get a feel for the real situation on the ground, he and Hasbrouck made their way to General Clarke at Commanster. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. War Department, 1944. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. The second task force consisted of B Company of the 811th Tank Destroyers. 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. The fact that there were Panzer IVs attacking the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (minus Troop B) and the similarity in appearance between the Tiger I and Panzer IV would account for both Troop Es account and Troop Ds potential account of this event. Another attack hit the left flank of 7th Armored. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. 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. Overall operational command for the offensive fell to Field Marshal Walther Model. By mid-afternoon, General Hoge ordered his infantry to halt and dig in. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. Besides the previously mentioned absence of any recountings of this event in several notable documents that should have contained it, and most peculiarly, Captain Anstey himself makes no mention of the engagement when he discusses and documents the events of the 18th of December 1944 in a combat interview he gave on the 2nd of January 1945, just over two weeks after the event supposedly took place. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. (1944) 111 111. What Jones did not tell Hoge was that in one of those regiments his own son was serving at regimental headquarters. Heeft u zelf meer informatie over deze persoon? Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion had some trouble disengaging. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. The Pontiac, Michigan, resident also served 10 years in the U.S. Army. Roadblocks were set up and manned. 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. 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. Panzertruppen Volume 2 The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Deployment of The German Tank Forces 1943-1945. The town was also in Fifth Panzer Armys area of advance. Fifth Panzer was to attack from Prum in the north down to Bitburg and Bastogne in the south. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. There was little they could do other than vow to get the attack moving early on the 20th. Then, four German antitank guns covering the Grufflingen-Maldange road were encountered. Troy Middletons VIII Corps. Infanterie-Division 193510 [1] 22 22. Were any of these Tiger Is and or Tiger IIs knocked out on the 18th of December, 1944? On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. The brigade had 9,000 men, Mark IV tanks, assault guns, 104mm and 105mm artillery, 88mm antiaircraft guns, and a number of heavy automatic weapons batteries. While 9th Armored was thus engaged in the Winterspelt area during the morning hours of December 17, Brig. Communications with division headquarters in St. Vith were limited to liaison officers running along a road now being shelled by the Germans. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Its supporting field artillery battalion was at Kalterherberg, two miles south of Monschau, engaged in firing missions for the 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions. 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. In light of these circumstances, General Hasbrouck felt compelled to write to Clarke that unless the withdrawal began soon the opportunity will be gone., During the night of December 22, a cold wind had begun to blow out of the east bringing what weathermen call a Russian high. Although both Clarke and Hoge noted it, they saw little hope that the ground might freeze in time to aid their withdrawal, but after receiving Hasbroucks message Clarke stepped out and tested the ground. js.src = "//player.ex.co/player/710cf52d-720a-4250-8e95-fc85dcedab01"; The 18th Volksgrenadier Division completed its southern swing, encircling the two regiments of the 106th Division on the Schnee Eifel. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. 45 mm. Beevor, Antony. On December 9, 1944, Brig. The supply trains led the way north on N27 to St. Vith. The other, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division, bore the number of an infantry division destroyed on the Eastern Front, which had been reconstituted. Developed in the 1930s, the Panzer IV was one of the mainstay German armored fighting vehicles of the Second World War as well as Germanys most-produced tank of the war, with over 8,500 produced. Between these units, a place was found for the provisional company composed of the 424th Infantry stragglers. Bergstrm, Christer. 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. 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. Troop D, 89th Recon held the sector from Steinebruck to Weppeler while A Company, 27th AIB put up a defensive line anchored on the high ground east of Maspelt. The CCB command post was moved to Neubruck, a small group of farmhouses on Braunlauf Creek about two miles southwest of St. Vith. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. By 1245, the original line was restored, and the antitank guns of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were recovered. The division had lost four companies of armored infantry. 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. 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. 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. Could an M8 Greyhounds 37 mm M6 gun even penetrate the rear hull armor of a Tiger I? Division 3. The men of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps had expected to be on the Meuse by December 19, but on the night of December 20 the Americans still denied them access to St. Vith. General Clarke again called on the 9th Armored for assistance to help stiffen his line, and Hoge responded by sending the 3rd Battalion, 424th Regimental Combat Team. Required fields are marked *. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Dragon 1625 1/16th Obersturmfuhrer Totenkopf Division Budapest 1945 R 275.00. 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. This moment marked the beginning of the famous Battle of the Bulge, Germanys last major offensive on the Western Front in World War II. Manteuffels operation in the St. Vith area was already three days behind schedule. Zaloga, Steven. On 18 January 1945, the final alignment became (XVIII Corps, U. S. First Army, 12th Army Group) -- the alignment in the hierarchy given here. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. In blinding snow and on slippery roads the tanks and infantry of CCB, 9th Armored headed for Bauvenn. 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. 47. Situation reports suggested that the Germans were intent on crossing the Our River at Steinebruck. While making his reconnaissance at Monschau he received an urgent message to call V Corps headquarters. If Hoge told him that the situation was bad, then without a doubt the situation was worse than he thought. Andrews, Frank L. The Defense of St. Vith in the Battle of the Ardennes December, 1944. The distance from Burg Reuland on the southeast to Poteau on the northwest was about 10 miles with only a single secondary road as a line of retreat for thousands of men defending the horseshoe against attack from three directions. 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. Inside the command post, General Hoge learned that the Germans had launched a heavy assault on Winterspelt against the men of the 424th Infantry. Infanterie-Division . This version of the story, which is paraphrased in the introduction, will be referred to as the original version of the story. 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. 2014. As stated above, a 37mm cant penetrate the armor of an Tiger tank. However, he kept these misgivings to himself. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division under the command of Generalmajor Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn patrolled the Schnee Eifel area. 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. 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. Stackpole Books, 2015. Fortunately for Colonel Reid, word came at about 1730 that his 424th Infantry Regiment was to withdraw immediately. Sell, buy or rent Panzers in Winter: Hitler's Army and the Battle of the Bulge (Praeger Security I 9780275971151 0275971155, we buy used or new for best buyback price with FREE shipping and offer great deals for buyers. General Frederich Kittel, the division commander, ordered his mobile battalion up from his 164th Regiment reserve at Pronsfeld and into the attack along the Winterspelt road. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. 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. Add to cart. Both assault groups suffered heavy casualties. Osprey Publishing, 2002. Those men were a scrappy bunch. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. While a single troop of the 14th Cavalry Group continued to resist the German spearheads, the 106th's engineers dug in to block the crucial Schoenberg road 2 miles east of St. Vith, a last ditch defense, hoping .
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