VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. With the unexplained disappearance of D Troop from the 89th Reconnaissance Platoon, Company B, 27th AIB became the leading element. The 14th Tank Battalion was on its way to the Steinebruck bridge when Brig. 2014. Ten tanks, numerous supply vehicles, armored cars, and jeeps were lost to enemy action. 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. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. However, there is one major issue with this explanation, Panzer IVs were not attacking Troop B. 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. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. This moment marked the beginning of the famous Battle of the Bulge, Germanys last major offensive on the Western Front in World War II. Additionally, the M8s 37 mm M6 gun is more than capable of penetrating the rear hull and rear casemate armor of the StuG III. 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 Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. 1/18th Scale Cars; 1/24th Scale Assembly Kits; 1/24th Scale Cars; 1/43rd Scale Cars; . CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. The commanders were at the center of the Foret Domaniale du Grand Bois. The circuitous march up one road and down another led to a new line just a few hundred yards to the west of the old one and was miraculously carried out while under attack without the loss of any men or equipment. German 18th Volksgrenadier Div. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Now with a new armored combat command due to arrive at 0700 hours the next day, and with the rest of the division to follow, Jones believed he would soon have the potential to deal with both the Schnee Eifel and Winterspelt emergencies. Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. 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. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Hoge and Clarke agreed that Hoges entire command should be withdrawn west of the railroad tracks. 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. Although the Germans were facing stiff resistance all along the American defensive line, they were determined to take St. Vith. Personally I have not believed this event at all. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Roadblocks were set up and manned. Stackpole Books, 2015. On top of attacking the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (minus Troop B), a Panzer IV can be easily misidentified as a Tiger I. Hoge immediately got on the phone and ordered Engeman to move out. Osprey Publishing, 2002. After 1200 hours on 17th December 1944, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was reinforced by a mobile battalion. Unable to advance, it pulled back to the nearest high ground and dug in. VGD. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. 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. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. 1945. The failure to capture St. Vith was preventing the linkup of the Fifth and the Sixth Panzer Armies. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. . Clerks were running everywhere and junior staff officers were arguing among themselves; upstairs, however, Hoge found General Jones remarkably composed. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. Protected by armor between 25 mm to 145 mm thick and armed with a fearsome 88mm KwK 36 L/56 main gun, the Tiger I was arguably the most feared tank of World War II by Allied soldiers. The 62nd, like the 18th, included three regiments of two battalions each. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. 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. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. Jentz, Thomas. Its population in 1944 was about 2,000, and its citizens were very much pro-German. First Edition, Presidio Press, 2002. Resistance by service company personnel in Rodt was fierce with every possible mandrivers, cooks, radio operatorsemployed in the defense; however, after nine hours of battle against the much superior German force, Rodt fell. }(document, 'script', 'exco-player')); The M8 Greyhound was a small, 7.9 tonne American armored car with 6.4 mm to 25.4 mm of armor, only enough to protect against rifle caliber bullets, and armed with a 37 mm M6 main gun, a peashooter at this point in the war. Volksgrenadier Division 2. Luftlande-Division 19416 19421944 19453 22 22. Revised Edition, Arms and Armour Press, 1973. EN RU CN DE ES. 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. Bergstrm, Christer. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. A second attempt on the bridge, made by about 40 men four hours later, was also thrown back by machine-gun fire. 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. Plastic Models - Page 8 - Esswex Hobbies The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. While on its way, the platoon was commandeered by a colonel from the 106th Division. Close. 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. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. A Company moved south under the protection of the high river bank, while C Company deployed along the left side of the road as the enveloping company. Rebuilding the blown bridge to get their assault guns across was their first priority. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. 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 new sector assigned to CCB was on the fringe of territory the Sixth Panzer Army had mapped out for its further maneuvers. On top of the contradictions and ambiguity of Troop Es entry, there is also the curious fact that Troop A does not make any mention of this event in its morning report and record of events entry for the 18th of December, 1944. The supply trains led the way north on N27 to St. Vith. Attack on Panther PzKw V and Tiger PzKw VI. 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. The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944 An Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. 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. Tigers In Combat I. August 18th, 1989 Kalb, Herbert Kalbhenn, Heinrich * February 3rd, 1915 more Kaldeway, x Kalesse, Gerhard (Grenadier-Regiment 689) * July 15th, 1918 October 23rd, 2011 Kaletsch, Georg * October 16th, 1914 March 6th, 1944 Kaletsch, Wilhelm Kalinowski, Josef (Panzergrenadier-Regiment "GD") * January 23rd, 1916 April 5th, 1944 Grave: UNK The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. It is time to withdraw.. Manteuffel answered, We estimated that we were up against a division, and perhaps against an entire corps. On the morning of the December 20, three tank destroyers were placed in support of Company C, 27th AIB. 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. 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. Dragon 1625 1/16th Obersturmfuhrer Totenkopf Division Budapest 1945 R 275.00. An assault on Thommen forced out the troops holding the town, and efforts to retake it failed. 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. Manteuffels operation in the St. Vith area was already three days behind schedule. According to Hugh M. Cole, an American historian and army officer. Thus, the job of rescuing the two trapped infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel passed from the 9th to the 7th Armored Division. The ground was frozen solid. Inside the command post, General Hoge learned that the Germans had launched a heavy assault on Winterspelt against the men of the 424th Infantry. 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. 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. During the afternoon of December 19, Hoge visited Clarkes command post in St. Vith and expressed his frustration with the current chain of command. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. School of Tank Technology, April 1944. Should 7th Armored lose St. Vith, 9th Armored would be unable to withdraw on its own axis. 18th Artillery Division 651. Home News Random Article Install Wikiwand Send a suggestion Uninstall Wikiwand Upgrade to Wikiwand 2.0 War Department, 1944. 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. 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. 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. Jentz, Thomas. The line companies were down to one officer apiece. We made several probing attacks, and every time we went into your position, we encountered armor. While 9th Armored was thus engaged in the Winterspelt area during the morning hours of December 17, Brig. Fire from the 16th Field Artillery broke up other enemy formations trying to assemble on the high ground to the south. Late in the day, the Germans launched three major attacks, each directed along a main road leading into the town. The village of Bauvenn was designated the linkage point for the two combat commands. Tiger. 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. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. Fifth Panzer was to attack from Prum in the north down to Bitburg and Bastogne in the south. Then there is the issue of the entrys ambiguity in regards to the Tiger tank that was knocked out. Pegov in March 1944 on a light tank T-70 destroyed two German Panthers aboard. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. To this end, General Hoge was in the town of Monschau to check on the possibility of getting his command across in that area. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. 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 division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. During his meeting with Hoge, General Ridgway became convinced that defending this area any further would be futile. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. 2014. The corps consisted of two infantry divisions. 111 () - Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. At approximately 0930 on December 17, B Company was the first 9th Armored Division unit to cross the Our River. Created as 22.Infanterie-Division in 1935, one regiment participated in the 1939 Invasion of Poland; the rest of the division stayed in garrison on the Siegfried Line in case of a French attack in defense of Poland. This battalion hit the 424ths Cannon Company at the Weissenhof crossroads. The event simply was not that notable. Aside from the cold and mud, there was also the enemy to contend with. Furthermore, General Clarke had no idea when his command would arrive. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. They were sometimes misidentified as Tiger HIs. He could not believe it. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. Division C E R T I F I C A T E 24 June 1945 I certify that I am S-3 The guns of two platoons of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were overrun. The American armor of the 7th and 9th Armored Divisions plus supporting units were being pressed into an area in which motorized forcestanks, half-tracks, self-propelled artillery, tank destroyersoperated with great difficulty. On the road to Winterspelt, General Hoge soon learned that the situation there was worse than General Jones had described. 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. Its supporting field artillery battalion was at Kalterherberg, two miles south of Monschau, engaged in firing missions for the 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions. It is possible (if unlikely) that this event was completely unrelated to the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story. Battle of Losheim Gap - Wikipedia Since St. Vith should have been taken on December 16 or the 17th at the latest, he decided to leave his command post at Waxweiler and spend the night with the 18th Volksgrenadier Division at Schoenberg. A mobile battalion of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was already moving on Andler to seize the Schoenberg bridge and the road to St. Vith. Greyhound vs. Tiger at St. Vith - Tank Encyclopedia Heer - TracesOfWar.com Engeman set out with two task forces to meet the enemy. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. None of these Tiger IIs were lost at St. Vith and from photographic evidence at least three are recorded to have no burn damage and/or holes in the rear. 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. Thus, the Fifth Panzer Army commander ordered that St. Vith be taken no later than the second day of the offensive. The M5 got within a yard of the Tiger and knocked it out with 5 rounds. 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. 560th Volks Grenadier Division (15-29 Dec. 1944) and 12th VGD (1-28 Jan. 1945). While making his reconnaissance at Monschau he received an urgent message to call V Corps headquarters. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force | World War II by Day Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. By dark, just as General Hoges command was getting underway from Faymonville, Kittels mobile battalion and infantry from the 190th Regiment were closing in on Winterspelt. 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. Yeah but Panthers rear and side armor is very weak, so its completely different story. Moreover, at least a regiment from the 1st SS Panzer Division was in sporadic conflict with the American defenders in the Recht-Poteau area and, in the south, elements of the 560th Volksgrenadier Division, part of General Walter Kruegers 58th Panzer Corps, were also identified as pushing against American forces in the St. Vith salient. He also said that they got a new Greyhound. Zaloga, Steven. 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. General Jones and his staff had pulled out of St. Vith on the morning of the 18th for Vielsalm. On December 21, 18. Double-talking his identification over the radio with allusions to West Point football days, Ridgway gave Hoge a location at which to meet him. 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. Fortunately, a tank destroyer from Vielsalm turned up and hit the leading two German panzers, which drove the rest for cover. Add to cart. 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. 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. By midnight on the 19th, the horseshoe- shaped defense of St. Vith had taken form. Gen. Hasbrouck, commander of the 7th Armored Division, sent a message to General Ridgway urging withdrawal, which in part read, P.S. Farther to the north, in the 7th Armored sector, the pressure exerted by the enemy was also intense. Which specific Tiger II this was is unknown. The story begins on the 18th of December 1944, two days after the start of the German offensive. 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. I mention it for the sake of completeness as I suspect that the whole thing is a myth. Another attack hit the left flank of 7th Armored. 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. Hoge has just reported an attack. Two regiments of the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division attacked 9th Armored positions early that morning, their goal to gain the Salm River at Salmchateau. Volksgrenadier-Division. Bork, Max Hermann (Generalleutnant) - TracesOfWar.nl The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. At approximately 0530 on December 16, eight German armored divisions and 13 infantry divisions launched their all-out attack on five divisions of the U.S. First Army. The troop was to hold until relieved by the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion (AIB) and then reconnoiter farther down the road toward 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. Hunnicutt, R. P. Armored Car A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles. 1945. Shortly thereafter, Hasbrouck called and asked, Bruce, do you think you can get out? Clarke answered, A miracle has happened, General! 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 . 18th Volksgrenadier Division - Wikiwand Zaloga, Steven. First-time contributor Charles Gutierrez is the son of a 9th Armored Division veteran. Zaloga, Steven. Two hits were scored on the enemy tank in the rear, and its crew evacuated. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Under the chain of the northern sector command, only General Ridgway was unsure of Field Marshal Montgomerys decision to withdraw from the defense. Ridgways 82nd Airborne was building a fairly firm line west of the St. Vith defenders that should prevent the Germans from cutting off the salient from the rear. The losses in men and equipment for CCB, 9th Armored, as with the rest of the American units defending St. Vith, had been severe. Next came B Company, 9th Armored Engineers; the 16th Armored Field Artillery; B Company, 482nd Antiaircraft Artillery; and the 14th Tank Battalion. 324 324. He is being outflanked and is retiring west another 2,000 yards refusing both flanks. 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. 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. 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. Therefore, he decided to use the 9th Armored at Winterspelt, since capture of that area by the Germans would open to the enemy a direct route to St. Vith, a route even shorter than that leading from the Schnee Eifel. Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division drove the American defenders from Winterspelt, all was not going well for the Germans. 223 () - Wikiwand For example, when G.I. Similar events have happened more than once, though on the Eastern Front. Excellent deductive research! The job of capturing St. Vith went to the Fifth Panzer Armys 66th Corps, commanded by General Walther Lucht. 1940 194111. This left General Clarke with only one full company of armored infantrymen. M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91. Orders for CCB, 9th Armored to move to a new defensive position were issued at 1600. 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. Schneider, Wolfgang. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. On his way to St. Vith, General Hoge stopped in Faymonville to alert his command to be prepared to move immediately.
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