What he claimed was that the fight wasnt as easy as it is presented here. Company B was stationed east of Galhausen and maintained contact with the nearest elements of the 7th Armored Division on 9th Armoreds left flank. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. As the offensive steam came to an end in the Ardennes, the division went on the defensive, and there they would stay. As the offensive steam came to an end in the Ardennes, the division went on the defensive, and there they would stay. #WW2 . Schiffer Publishing, 2000. However, there is one major issue with this explanation, Panzer IVs were not attacking Troop B. So its quite possible! fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); 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 captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. However, he kept these misgivings to himself. The two commanders agreed that even without the mud to contend with the withdrawal would have to be delayed simply because of heavy enemy pressure. 16 Dec 2022 08:28:00 Not long after Rodt fell to the Fhrer Escort Brigade, an attack came against the 7th Armored from the direction of Recht. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. Orders for CCB, 9th Armored to move to a new defensive position were issued at 1600. This moment marked the beginning of the famous Battle of the Bulge, Germanys last major offensive on the Western Front in World War II. 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. A platoon of tank destroyers had vanished. 560th Volks Grenadier Division (15-29 Dec. 1944) and 12th VGD (1-28 Jan. 1945). 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. Stackpole Books, 2015. Possibly such events took place in reality. Airfix J6017 Volkswagen Camper Van (Quick Build) R 405.00. 1945. 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. Should 7th Armored lose St. Vith, 9th Armored would be unable to withdraw on its own axis. However, by noon on December 18 it was quite apparent to Hoge that the Germans infiltrating across the river were converging on the bridge in such numbers that it had to be blown. Armour Plate Porforation [sic: Perforation] of Tank and Anti Tank Guns. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division ( 18. It was to cross the Meuse on both sides of Liege before advancing on to Antwerp. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. At 0200 on December 22, the Fhrer Escort Brigade launched its attack against the town of Rodt, a small village west of St. Vith. 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. Two of its tanks were mired in mud that had not frozen and had to be retrieved by a tank dozer. The 9th Armored Divisions position at the Our was no longer tenable. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Sicherungs-Division) was a rear-security division in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. 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. 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. The stubborn defenders of St. Vith played a major role in defeating the final German offensive of World War II in Western Europe. Volksgrenadier-Division. 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. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. 45 mm. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. events, and resources, The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith. 1945) English PDF (18 MB) Jan B-627 Volkssturm (Oct. 1944-Apr. Revised Edition, Arms and Armour Press, 1973. 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. The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. The village of St. Vith lay approximately 12 miles behind the front lines on December 16, 1944, the day the offensive code-named Operation Watch on the Rhine began. That night, infantry patrols found German medics removing their wounded. On December 9, 1944, Brig. Three of these Tiger IIs belonged to Schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 501 (Heavy SS Tank Battalion 501); Tiger 105 was abandoned in the town of Stavelot, Belgium after getting itself stuck in a building, Tiger 332 was abandoned near Coo, Belgium as a result of mechanical damage, and Tiger 008 was abandoned at a farmhouse near Trois Ponts, Belgium. The failure to capture St. Vith was preventing the linkup of the Fifth and the Sixth Panzer Armies. Fortunately, a tank destroyer from Vielsalm turned up and hit the leading two German panzers, which drove the rest for cover. Bergstrm, Christer. 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. Ridgway knew Hoge to be calm, courageous, and imperturbable. Gen. Hasbrouck, commander of the 7th Armored Division, sent a message to General Ridgway urging withdrawal, which in part read, P.S. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. He said that the fight took about ninety minutes and that they used almost all their ammunition. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Companies A and B held a line from Grufflingen to Hohenbusch with Company A, 14th Tank Battalion to their north. M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. 1941622 . Although it was beaten off, the attacking Germans were identified as new to the area, soldiers of the 9th SS Panzer Division, a cause for considerable concern at this point in the battle. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. The Commands main body was led by the 27th AIB with B Company in front, followed by Headquarters and C Company. Under the chain of the northern sector command, only General Ridgway was unsure of Field Marshal Montgomerys decision to withdraw from the defense. Although the bridge over the Our was blown, the German presence kept growing. Osprey Publishing, 2013. Volksgrenadier Division 2. Soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division infiltrated the American lines at the villages of Roth, Weckerath, Kobscheid, and Auw before the artillery barrage began. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. They were sometimes misidentified as Tiger HIs. Do you have more information about this person? By mid-afternoon, General Hoge ordered his infantry to halt and dig in. js.src = "//player.ex.co/player/710cf52d-720a-4250-8e95-fc85dcedab01"; 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. The closest primary German armored thrust route to the south ran through Burg Reuland, also about five miles from St. Vith. 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. At about noon that day, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Divisions 190th Regiment had broken through north of the 424th Infantrys Cannon Company. However, just as the Americans began their pursuit, the Germans noticed them and began traversing their turret to face them. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. General Lucht hurried to Winterspelt to get the 62nd Volksgrenadier moving to the Our. On December 21, 18. Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Periode: Eerste Wereldoorlog (1914-1918) Toegekend op: 30 oktober 1917. Hoge departed Faymonville at approximately 1800, arriving at General Joness headquarters in the St. Josephs Kloster about a half hour later. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. Although both men agreed that a withdrawal at this stage was the wiser decision, Hoge was skeptical that, given the weather and ground conditions, the defenders would be able to get out. There are a few notable issues raised by this morning report and record of events entry, the most obvious one being that the M8 Greyhound is reported as being from Troop A of the 87th, not Troop B of the 87th, as it is in the contemporary story. Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. Together they broke up the attack. The StuG III was a turretless assault gun based on the Panzer III. Tiger. Clarke pulled back his left flank to protect Hinderhausen, a key position on the emergency exit route to Commanster and Vielsalm. This left General Clarke with only one full company of armored infantrymen. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. The fortified goose egg ran nearly 10 miles in diameter, containing a mass of forest and only one decent road running northwest to southwest. Additionally, the M8s 37 mm M6 gun is more than capable of penetrating the rear hull and rear casemate armor of the StuG III. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. Osprey Publishing, 2010. Tigers In Combat II. Panzer Tracts No. 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. Division 4. Ninth Armored and its attachments traveled southwest on N26 to the junction with N33 west of Beho, then turned north on N33 to Salmchateau, and finally west on N183 through Lierneux to Malempre-Jevigne, southeast of Manhay. How to use 'poor shape' in a sentence? English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-513 German General Staff Officers, Casualties. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was to attack along the two roads from Schoenberg, with the Fhrer Escort Brigade assaulting from the north. This is puzzling, to say the least. 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. Personally I have not believed this event at all. Your email address will not be published. Captain Ansteys version lacks supporting documentation. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. The ground was frozen solid. Gen. Herbert T. Perrin, assistant commander of the 106th Infantry Division, drove up carrying a message from General Jones. After Action Report, Month of December, 1944. 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. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. On his way to St. Vith, General Hoge stopped in Faymonville to alert his command to be prepared to move immediately. 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. Communications with division headquarters in St. Vith were limited to liaison officers running along a road now being shelled by the Germans. Please click for detailed translation, meaning, pronunciation and example sentences for 18e volksgrenadier division in English On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. The Sherman tanks of B Company repulsed the enemy with fire from their 76mm guns. Ministry of Supply, 1945. 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 Fifth and Sixth Panzer Armies were to advance abreast, cross the Meuse River, and then drive for the Belgian port city of Antwerp, a major staging and supply center for the Allied armies in western Europe. By this time the Germans had essentially closed the trap on the two infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Osprey Publishing, 2003. 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. 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 Pontiac, Michigan, resident also served 10 years in the U.S. Army. This battalion hit the 424ths Cannon Company at the Weissenhof crossroads. On December 21, 18. 188 was raised in late 1939. No reinforcements were expected. The second task force hit another probe by the 1st SS Panzer and pushed it out of Hunningen. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. The next move was up to General Lucht and his corps. The supply trains led the way north on N27 to St. Vith. Perhaps the most unlikely performer of the entire battle was the 18th Volksgrenadier Division. Rebuilding the blown bridge to get their assault guns across was their first priority. During the 27th AIBs assault, a call went out for the 14th Tank Battalion to join the action. As stated above, a 37mm cant penetrate the armor of an Tiger tank. 3. That is correct, however, that was off the topic of this story. Tigers In Combat I. In the 27th AIBs move to take the high ground, B Company advanced along the center of the road. Clarke, Bruce. The Seventh Armored Division in the Battle of St. Vith. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Then there is the issue of the entrys ambiguity in regards to the Tiger tank that was knocked out. 18e volksgrenadier division English translation: 18th volksgrenadier division (wehrmacht).. The 16th Field Artillery also pitched in, as did a battalion of 155mm howitzers sited around Commanster. Volksgrenadier-Division. This initial thrust carried the enemy approximately 400 yards into the battalions sector. 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. Anderson, Thomas. Similar events have happened more than once, though on the Eastern Front. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. Dragon 1625 1/16th Obersturmfuhrer Totenkopf Division Budapest 1945 R 275.00. At about 1330, three German self-propelled guns and 19 or 20 horse-drawn artillery pieces went into position on the high ground 800 yards to the southeast of Steinebruck. 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.. 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?. Panzertruppen Volume 2 The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Deployment of The German Tank Forces 1943-1945. 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. General Luchts plan for December 17 was simple. General Hoge received his order to pull CCB, 9th Armored out at 0605 on December 23. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Its population in 1944 was about 2,000, and its citizens were very much pro-German. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division completed its southern swing, encircling the two regiments of the 106th Division on the Schnee Eifel. 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. Stackpole Books, 2015. Panzer Tracts No. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. 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. By dark, Lt. Col. Engeman and his two task forces were back in their assembly area in the vicinity of Breitfeld. 13 relations. Unable to advance, it pulled back to the nearest high ground and dug in. 1946. 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. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. It was at full strength and supplied with the latest equipment. Hoge and Clarke agreed that Hoges entire command should be withdrawn west of the railroad tracks. The unit was converted to an infantry division in 1945, while stationed in Courland. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith. 18th Artillery Division 651. 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. At about 0930, the enemy attacked St. Vith from Hunningen to the north, apparently in an effort to envelop Clarkes left flank. On 18 January 1945, the final alignment became (XVIII Corps, U. S. First Army, 12th Army Group) -- the alignment in the hierarchy given here. Another attack hit the left flank of 7th Armored. 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. 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. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. War Department, 1944. 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 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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. If Hoge told him that the situation was bad, then without a doubt the situation was worse than he thought. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. 47. Both B and C Companies pulled back to the vicinity of Neidingen, near the battalion command post, while the 14th Tank Battalion established a perimeter defense around its assembly area near Breitfeld about halfway between the Our and St. Vith. The other, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division, bore the number of an infantry division destroyed on the Eastern Front, which had been reconstituted. Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER II. 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.. 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. 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. A second attempt on the bridge, made by about 40 men four hours later, was also thrown back by machine-gun fire. The armored infantrymen kept themselves well hidden until the column was directly in front of them and then opened fire. A platoon of medium tanks counterattacked, and the enemy retreated. Double-talking his identification over the radio with allusions to West Point football days, Ridgway gave Hoge a location at which to meet him. Both task forces reached St. Vith shortly before noon on the 18th to find not one, but two German attacks moving against the town. According to two combat interviews given by men of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons After Action Report for the month of December 1944, and Lieutenant Colonel Boylans 1946 letter, on 18th December 1944, the Germans attacked the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (minus Troop B) with infantry and tanks. 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. The same story is retold in A Colonel in the Armored Divisions A Memoir, 19411945 by William S. Triplet, and like a game of telephone it gets even more distorted. Your email address will not be published. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army ( Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. One Day at Stavelot, a Tale of Two Archives The Tiger II vs US Tank Destroyers in the Ardennes. 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. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. Although the Germans were quick to build up beyond the Our River after the American withdrawal, they made no immediate moves against the new American line. The Seventh Armored Division in the Battle of St. Vith. There was little they could do other than vow to get the attack moving early on the 20th.
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