The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. 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. It was a new and inexperienced division made up of Luftwaffe personnel, former Kriegsmariners out of a 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. On December 21, 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 . The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Since speed was the key to success of the German plan, two panzer armies would spearhead the offensive. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. During the afternoon of December 19, Hoge visited Clarkes command post in St. Vith and expressed his frustration with the current chain of command. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. CCBs new position blocked the main Winterspelt-St. Vith highway and the valley of the Braunlauf Creek, a second natural corridor leading to St. Vith. Company A of the 27th AIB had been assigned to the 99th Infantry Division and was in the process of being retrieved when the march to St. Vith began. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. I think we can make it now. German reports are also far from subtlety. 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 northern prong of the horseshoe was composed of CCB, 7th Armored Division from Poteau and Vielsalm. 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. Luftlande-Division 19416 19421944 19453 22 22. Volksgrenadier-Division. The closest of the northern German armored thrust routes ran through Recht, about five miles northwest of St. Vith. The second task force hit another probe by the 1st SS Panzer and pushed it out of Hunningen. Therefore, Montgomery ordered Ridgway to attack to the southeast until Vielsalm could be reached, ensuring an escape corridor for those trapped within the defense. I should also note that reconnaissance doctrine was to disengage if at all possible and in no way engage enemy armour beyond scout elements. An appropriate start for the investigation of this action is to identify contemporary American accounts. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. All in all, the only things that the American claims concerning the famed M8 Greyhound versus Tiger engagement can agree on are that on the 18th of December 1944 an M8 Greyhound from some unit of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron killed some sort of German tank in or around the town of St. Vith. Both assault groups suffered heavy casualties. A two-day rest was planned for everyone. 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. Ninth Armored sent out billeting parties as it reached its new area. Ardennes 1944: Hitlers Last Gamble. That cold snap that hit us has frozen the roads. 301 sentences with 'poor shape'. His troops remained in place, and the pullout to the west side of the Our River began at dusk. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. Which specific Tiger II this was is unknown. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. 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 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. Those factors dictated that at least another 24 hours would be needed before a major assault on St. Vith could begin. American Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Choose a Unit. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. Company B was stationed east of Galhausen and maintained contact with the nearest elements of the 7th Armored Division on 9th Armoreds left flank. 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. The 62nd, like the 18th, included three regiments of two battalions each. German 18th Volksgrenadier Div. The Tiger I was a 57 tonne German heavy tank that has become one of the most famous tanks in history. Under the chain of the northern sector command, only General Ridgway was unsure of Field Marshal Montgomerys decision to withdraw from the defense. The rounded portion of the horseshoe was composed of Colonel Dwight Rosebaums CCA, 7th Armored between Poteau and Rodt and General Clarkes CCB, 7th Armored in the very center protecting St. Vith. 1/18th Scale Cars; 1/24th Scale Assembly Kits; 1/24th Scale Cars; 1/43rd Scale Cars; . The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. 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. 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. 1945. Troop D, 89th Recon had positioned its troop headquarters and first platoon to cover the bridge over the Our. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. While walking to avoid the traffic congestion, Manteuffel encountered his superior, Field Harshal Model. Shortly thereafter, Hasbrouck called and asked, Bruce, do you think you can get out? Clarke answered, A miracle has happened, General! Infanterie-Division Hamburg 19453 . Since the move from Faymonville to Winterspelt involved a greater distance, Hoge decided to get his command on the road immediately. I am weighing toward a stray Panzer IV or maybe a SP gun like the one you described. Im going to guess that they just created this all up in their head. Hoge pointedly asked Ridgway how it could be done. For example, when G.I. Beevor, Antony. 18th Artillery Division 651. 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. 10 Apr. Staff Sergeant Frank Mykalo knocked out a German machine-gun position, enabling the men in the lead half-tracks to dismount and deploy along the side of the road. One German tank was seen going up in flames. The division had lost four companies of armored infantry. }(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. But if four versions was not enough, there is potentially another version of this tale contained in a combat interview given by Lieutenant Arthur A. Olson of Troop D, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron on the 8th of January, 1945. The original story, if there even was one, was told and retold and distorted until everyone and their brother claimed to know the guys that did it. It was a race between the Germans who were desperately trying to bring their 88 mm gun to bear and the Americans who were trying to get as close as possible to the Tiger Is rear. 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. That is correct, however, that was off the topic of this story. The greatest danger existed in the 424ths position because the regiments flank lay vulnerable to attacks by the 116th Panzer Division to the south. Griffin, Marcus S. After Action Report, Month of December 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. Hoge managed to stop the stragglers, and soon a provisional company of men from the 424th was formed to reinforce the 27th AIB on its march toward the Our. Furthermore, late-war Panzer IVs equipped with Schrzen additional armor would look bigger, even closer to the size of a Tiger and this is before consideration is made on the stress of war, camouflaging materials applied to vehicles, the weather, and level of knowledge of the crews. 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. Josef Theissen, the fifteen-year-old who had seen the Germans arrive on Sunday, December 17, watched the soldiers every move with the fascination for things military . 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. 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. Colonel Alexander D. Reid, commander of the 424th Infantry Regiment, had reason to fear encirclement. Elements of D Company, 89th Recon screened the flanks. That eliminates this units Pzkw IV being the Tiger encountered by the Troop B M8 on Dec. 18th . Excellent deductive research! By 1300 on the 21st, the entire line was ablaze with German artillery, rockets, tanks, and infantry. Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. 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, he kept these misgivings to himself. Volksgrenadier-Division. These troops were hit by the Fhrer Escort Brigade and driven from Rogery to Cierreux in some disarray. 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. EN. In addition, elements of the 116th Panzer Division and the 560th Volksgrenadier Division were moving against the weakly held southern flank of St. Vith defended by remnants of the 424th Infantry Regiment of the 106th Infantry Division and the 112th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division. It is stated as being reported to Major Boyer by one Captain Walter Henry Anstey of Company A of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, who is said to have been a witness to the event. Add to cart. They were repulsed by machine-gun fire. So its quite possible! 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. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. Zaloga, Steven. The StuG III explanation also accounts for why Troop B makes no mention of it in their morning report and record of events entry for 18th December 1944 and why Lieutenant Colonel Boylan makes no mention of it his 1946 letter or in the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons After Action Report for the month of December 1944. 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. Infanterie-Division 193510 [1] 22 22. Companies A and B held a line from Grufflingen to Hohenbusch with Company A, 14th Tank Battalion to their north. Infanterie-Division 19398 . Overall operational command for the offensive fell to Field Marshal Walther Model. Also no Ferdinand/Elefant recorded to have seen combat on Western Front. Generals Manteuffel and Lucht had planned an all-out attack to take St. Vith starting at daylight with a three- pronged envelopment by the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division against 9th Armored positions in the south. 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 the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. This information came from the division's senior headquarters, the VIII Corps, First U.S. Army. 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. Zaloga, Steven. So, rather than spill blood needlessly to take meaningless ground, Hoge called off the attack on Winterspelt. Chamberlain, Peter, et al. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. The new sector assigned to CCB was on the fringe of territory the Sixth Panzer Army had mapped out for its further maneuvers. 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. Johnston, W. Wesley. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. The column came upon stragglers from the 424th Infantry retreating in disarray toward St. Vith. Two hits were scored on the enemy tank in the rear, and its crew evacuated. 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. First Edition, Presidio Press, 2002. 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. Division C E R T I F I C A T E 24 June 1945 I certify that I am S-3 Furthermore, the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons After Action Report (AAR) for the month of December 1944, written by Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Laurence Boylan, the commanding officer of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron at the time, makes no mention of this event either. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. In blinding snow and on slippery roads the tanks and infantry of CCB, 9th Armored headed for Bauvenn. 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. German Division Nr. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division(18. 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 Sherman tanks of B Company repulsed the enemy with fire from their 76mm guns. Moreover, it was expected that General Luchts two infantry divisions would be forwarded to the Salm River sector as right-wing cover for two panzer corps. 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. Schneider, Wolfgang. Gen. Bruce C. Clarke, commander of CCB, 7th Armored Division, arrived at General Joness command post in St. Vith at approximately 1030. VGD. Lever het aan! 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. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. 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. All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. The closest primary German armored thrust route to the south ran through Burg Reuland, also about five miles from St. Vith. I have come to believe is that this type of fight happened more than once. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. At daybreak on December 21, the Germans launched their first assault of the day on CCB, 9th Armored. Dragon 1629 1/16th Feldwebel 352nd Volksgrenadier Division R 275.00. 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. 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.. Although the bridge over the Our was blown, the German presence kept growing. First Edition, Presidio Press, 2002. Infanterie-Division . Rapidly, the M8 advanced to within 25 yards (23 meters) of the Tiger I and quickly pumped three rounds into its rear. of the Army, 1965. Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. The last of the St. Vith defenders to come out were Task Force Jones and the 112th Infantry Regiment. Six paved or macadam roads converged at St. Vith, but none of these was considered by the Germans to be a major military trunk line. 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. To execute this maneuver, Hoges entire command would have to move all the way up to St. Vith and back down again. Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion had some trouble disengaging. VGD. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-603 352d Volks Grenadier Division (19 Freb.-21 Mar. 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. English PDF (33 MB) Jan B-700 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. 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. Penguin Books, 2016. 1947. Osprey Publishing, 2003. 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. 223 223. The town was also in Fifth Panzer Armys area of advance. 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. The line companies were down to one officer apiece. The ultimate objective was to open an escape route for the soldiers of the 424th. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. 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. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. It is possible (if unlikely) that this event was completely unrelated to the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story. This article already explains ballistics and mentions that while Panther was vulnerable to lower-caliber AT guns, the Tigers were almost immune to them. Ministry of Supply, 1945. On 18 January 1945, the final alignment became (XVIII Corps, U. S. First Army, 12th Army Group) -- the alignment in the hierarchy given here. General Jones wanted Hoge to use the infantry of his 27th AIB to seize the series of hills near Winterspelt while the 14th Tank Battalion was to remain west of the Our River for use as the situation developed. The 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. The Germans were now on the high ground north of Eigelscheid overlooking the road to Winterspelt. 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. How about a Tiger II? 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]. The German armored and infantry attacks were preceded by the shelling of the American positions with at least 657 light, medium, and heavy guns and howitzers and 340 multiple rocket launchers. Before the day ended, renewed fighting broke out along the entire front. However, it cannot be safely assumed that the tank killed in this engagement was a Tiger I or a Tiger II. 1940 194111. 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 .
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