18th volksgrenadier division

The U.S. 9th Armored Division arrived in the European Theater of Operations in late October 1944 as a reserve for Maj. Gen. 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. Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1918) Period: First World War (1914-1918) Awarded on: . He said that the fight took about ninety minutes and that they used almost all their ammunition. On the road to Winterspelt, General Hoge soon learned that the situation there was worse than General Jones had described. However, this platoon never completed its mission. 12th Volksgrenadier Division 89; 197; 487; 557; 650; 727. In addition, the massive road jam caused by the inability to pass through St. Vith was creating acute shortages of gasoline and ammunition well to the west of St. Vith. Approximately three hours later a German company marched out of Neidingen and along the road leading straight into C Companys position, apparently totally unaware of 9th Armoreds recent change of position. The armored infantrymen kept themselves well hidden until the column was directly in front of them and then opened fire. Mines were laid. Although the Germans were facing stiff resistance all along the American defensive line, they were determined to take St. Vith. 1940 194111. js.src = "//player.ex.co/player/710cf52d-720a-4250-8e95-fc85dcedab01"; I think we can make it now. Situation reports suggested that the Germans were intent on crossing the Our River at Steinebruck. Task Force Jones and the 112th Infantry eventually found their way into 82nd Airborne Division lines during the night of the 24th, but not before the units suffered heavy losses. Stackpole Books, 2015. Eventually retreating through Germany until the end of the war, when it surrendered. It is interesting to note that the U.S 7th Armored Division suffered a moderate 425 Battle Casualties, on page 465 of Hitlers Last Gamble by Trevor N. Dupuy, for December 17-23, 1944 in the Battle of Saint Vith including the 1st day of the Battle of Manhay, out of the 3,397 Battle and Non-Battle Casualties suffered during the Battle by the U.S 112th Infantry Regiment of the U.S 28th Infantry Division, the U.S 424th Infantry Regiment of the U.S 106th Infantry Division, Combat Command B of the U.S 9th Armored Division and ofcourse the U.S 14th Cavalry Group. The 424th Infantry still blocked the road to the Our River and Steinebruck. 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. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. 19454 Out of this grand battle would come a too-good-to-be-true story symbolic of the stiff American resistance put up against the German offensive, that of how an M8 Greyhound armored car destroyed a Tiger I heavy tank. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. 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. 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. The Sherman tanks of B Company repulsed the enemy with fire from their 76mm guns. Both assault groups suffered heavy casualties. By that time the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division should have the bridge at Steinebruck rebuilt, at least two regiments of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division should be forward, and the Fhrer Escort Brigade should be ready to make the principal thrust down the Ambleve highway into St. Vith. 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. Panzer Tracts No. The division's intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robert P. Stout, noted that the division faced two known enemy divisions, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division and the 26th Volksgrenadier Division. School of Tank Technology, April 1944. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. 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. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Rapidly, the M8 advanced to within 25 yards (23 meters) of the Tiger I and quickly pumped three rounds into its rear. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. This story has gained a good deal of attention in recent years, especially on the internet thanks to videos such as The Tank Duel at St. Vith, Belgium by Lance Geiger The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. 1945. The 14th Tank Battalion was on its way to the Steinebruck bridge when Brig. Rejection & Neglect available to buy on Payhip! For example, when G.I. 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 forest was criss-crossed only by trails. General Hoge received his order to pull CCB, 9th Armored out at 0605 on December 23. Volksgrenadier-Division was formed from the partially formed 571.Volksgrenadier-Division in Denmark in September 1944, it also included excess Kriegsmarine personnel and surviving elements from 18. After conferring with Clarke, Ridgway wanted to talk to one more man in whom he had supreme confidenceBrigadier General Hoge. However, after careful analysis, it can be said with certainty that neither a Tiger I nor a Tiger II was killed by an M8 Greyhound from any troop of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron on 18th December 1944 near St. Vith. 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. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. 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. Ministry of Supply, 1945. Elements of D Company, 89th Recon screened the flanks. 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. Penguin Books, 2016. The village of Bauvenn was designated the linkage point for the two combat commands. English translation for " 18e volksgrenadier division 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 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. Shortly thereafter, Hasbrouck called and asked, Bruce, do you think you can get out? Clarke answered, A miracle has happened, General! German Division Nr. However, the monumental traffic jams in the Losheim Gap and at Schoenberg continued to delay both the 18th Volksgrenadier Division and the Fhrer Escort Brigade, and not until after daylight on the 20th would a bridge be ready at Steinebruck for the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division. 1945. With the enemy inside Steinebruck and excellent direct fire by the German artillery, what was left of 2nd Platoon, 89th Recon withdrew along the St. Vith road. 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. The German tank then stopped dead in its tracks and shuddered; there was a muffled explosion, followed by flames which billowed out of the turret and engine ports. The losses in men and equipment for CCB, 9th Armored, as with the rest of the American units defending St. Vith, had been severe. Fortunately for Colonel Reid, word came at about 1730 that his 424th Infantry Regiment was to withdraw immediately. A mobile battalion of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was already moving on Andler to seize the Schoenberg bridge and the road to St. Vith. Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER II. . Tiger. However, it cannot be definitively stated that this is another version of the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story due to its ambiguity. An assault on Thommen forced out the troops holding the town, and efforts to retake it failed. 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. 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. However, once a closer look is taken at this story, cracks begin to appear, and soon enough one begins to wonder whether or not this story really is too good to be true. Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Periode: Eerste Wereldoorlog (1914-1918) Toegekend op: 30 oktober 1917. At St. Vith, Lt. Col. William H. Slayden was with Jones when Jones received the call from Middleton concerning 7th Armored Division support. Field Marshal Montgomery, believing that Ridgways Corps could not attack successfully toward Vielsalm and that the American forces within the goose egg could better be used in support of other forces committed to the northern shoulder defense, decided upon a general withdrawal. Maurice Delaval Papers Collection of the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. At about 0115 on December 17, a platoon from 9th Armoreds D Troop, 89th Recon was detailed to proceed through St. Vith in a southeasterly direction and seize the high ground along Highway N27 south of Steinebruck. Based upon this fairly optimistic view, Ridgway, shortly after midnight, ordered the entire St. Vith force to withdraw from its current positions and form a defensive ring west of St. Vith and east of the Salm River. The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944 An Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. 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. 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. 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. 1947. This version of the story, which is paraphrased in the introduction, will be referred to as the original version of the story. These troops were hit by the Fhrer Escort Brigade and driven from Rogery to Cierreux in some disarray. Heer - TracesOfWar.com 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. Anderson, Thomas. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) - Military Wiki This German World War II article is a stub. 18th Volksgrenadier Division - Wikipedia Osprey Publishing, 2013. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. 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. Tigers In Combat I. This information came from the division's senior headquarters, the VIII Corps, First U.S. Army. 188th Division (Nazi Germany) - Atozwiki.com Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. On December 21, 18. [1] On March 6, 1945, when Botsch was ordered to take command of the LIIIrd Army Corps, the 18. 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. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. 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. Dragon 1629 1/16th Feldwebel 352nd Volksgrenadier Division R 275.00. Excellent deductive research! Manteuffel answered, We estimated that we were up against a division, and perhaps against an entire corps. The 16th Field Artillery also pitched in, as did a battalion of 155mm howitzers sited around Commanster. The next move was up to General Lucht and his corps. One German tank was seen going up in flames. 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. Volksgrenadier Division 5. Roadblocks were set up and manned. The entire division was to follow shortly thereafter. . 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. December, 1944 By Greg Moore gregpanzerblitz.com December, 2008 Battalion I x 5 x 4 x 1 x 2 x 12 293rd Volks- . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Add to cart. Manteuffel had hoped for considerably more on the 19th. 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. On top of attacking the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (minus Troop B), a Panzer IV can be easily misidentified as a Tiger I. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith. 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 Seventh Armored Division in the Battle of St. Vith. 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. Volksgrenadier-Division. 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 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. Andrews, Frank L. The Defense of St. Vith in the Battle of the Ardennes December, 1944. To execute this maneuver, Hoges entire command would have to move all the way up to St. Vith and back down again. Thus, the Fifth Panzer Army commander ordered that St. Vith be taken no later than the second day of the offensive. Therefore, Montgomery ordered Ridgway to attack to the southeast until Vielsalm could be reached, ensuring an escape corridor for those trapped within the defense. By 1245, the original line was restored, and the antitank guns of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were recovered. Instead of the M8 Greyhound firing three shots into the Tigers rear, the M8 Greyhound in Lieutenant Olsons version of events fired two shots. 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. Revised Edition, Arms and Armour Press, 1973. It was at full strength and supplied with the latest equipment. Before departing, however, Hoge gave orders to Lt. Col. Leonard E. Engeman, commander of the 14th Tank Battalion, to get a strong force ready to move out to assist 7th Armored should it become necessary. The column came upon stragglers from the 424th Infantry retreating in disarray toward St. Vith. According to the British, 37 mm M6 guns APC M51 can only penetrate around a maximum of 65mm of rolled homogeneous armor plate (RHA) at 30 degrees under V50 ballistic standards. () - Sturmpanzer.com - Sturmpanzer and WW2 German Army Research Tigers In Combat II. General Lucht hurried to Winterspelt to get the 62nd Volksgrenadier moving to the Our. Sometime later that Monday morning, General Hoge sent his liaison officer to St. Vith to learn the dispositions of CCB, 7th Armored Division. 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. Communications with division headquarters in St. Vith were limited to liaison officers running along a road now being shelled by the Germans. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Name already in use - Github Farther to the west, the 82nd Airborne, trying to keep a corridor open for the St. Vith defenders, was coming under intense pressure from the 2nd SS Panzer Division. 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. 1945) English PDF (18 MB) Jan B-627 Volkssturm (Oct. 1944-Apr. The supply trains led the way north on N27 to St. Vith. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. Zaloga, Steven. 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. By dark, Lt. Col. Engeman and his two task forces were back in their assembly area in the vicinity of Breitfeld. The resulting blast damaged the bridge to such an extent that the Germans would not be able to bring vehicles across for at least 24 hours. The hardest hit, though, were the armored infantrymen of the 27th AIB with nearly 300 battle casualties. Ten tanks, numerous supply vehicles, armored cars, and jeeps were lost to enemy action. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. This leads to a second candidate, the StuG III. 'poor shape' in a sentence. Staff officers were casualties. On this day, CCB of the 9th Armored Division was still in its assembly area in the vicinity of Faymonville. After Action Report, Month of December, 1944. Gen. William Hoges Combat Command B (CCB) of the 9th was attached to V Corps to support the 2nd Infantry Division in its planned attack through the Monschau Forest as part of the U.S. Armys strategy to capture or destroy the Roer River dams. Having first conferred with General Jones, Hoge ordered a withdrawal from the river to begin after nightfall. One, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division, was holding the northern reaches of the Schnee Eifel. I am weighing toward a stray Panzer IV or maybe a SP gun like the one you described. Zaloga, Steven. 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. That evening General Clarke also put his command into Commanster. 110 () - The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. A strong attack has just developed against Clarke again. Add to cart. 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.. Given that the rear hull armor of a Tiger II is 80 mm of RHA angled at 30 degrees, it is essentially impossible for the M8 Greyhounds 37 mm M6 gun to penetrate the rear hull armor of the Tiger II. 560th Volks Grenadier Division (15-29 Dec. 1944) and 12th VGD (1-28 Jan. 1945). Next came B Company, 9th Armored Engineers; the 16th Armored Field Artillery; B Company, 482nd Antiaircraft Artillery; and the 14th Tank Battalion. The Germans attacked the center of the 27th AIB. Osprey Publishing, 2003. About: 18th Volksgrenadier Division - dbpedia.org 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. Since the move from Faymonville to Winterspelt involved a greater distance, Hoge decided to get his command on the road immediately. At daybreak on December 21, the Germans launched their first assault of the day on CCB, 9th Armored. First-time contributor Charles Gutierrez is the son of a 9th Armored Division veteran. I wanted to focus on the M8 vs Tiger story, I already noticed the Ferdinand claim, but decided not to mention it. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) - Alchetron, the free social The platoon lost four men missing and two wounded in the ensuing engagement. Unable to advance, it pulled back to the nearest high ground and dug in. 223 () - The M8 was used mostly as a reconnaissance vehicle for scouting. Volksgrenadier-Division. Two hits were scored on the enemy tank in the rear, and its crew evacuated. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. During the early hours of December 17, the Germans laid heavy mortar and artillery fire on the front-line positions of his regiment. 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 . Osprey Publishing, 2010. Panzertruppen Volume 2 The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Deployment of The German Tank Forces 1943-1945. Lucht anticipated that the Americans would counterattack the next day, but that their reaction would be too late to avoid complete encirclement. events, and resources, The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith. However, this version of Captain Ansteys account has one key difference: it was not a Tiger I that was knocked out, but rather a Tiger II, almost analogous to the fisherman whose fish gets bigger each time he tells the tale of his catch. Bergstrm, Christer. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER II. Possibly such events took place in reality. Clarke pulled back his left flank to protect Hinderhausen, a key position on the emergency exit route to Commanster and Vielsalm. 324 324. Engeman set out with two task forces to meet the enemy. Design, Production & Modifications. Mastering all the usages of 'poor shape' from sentence examples published by news publications.