22 22. However, Company B, 27th AIB was sent to help ease the situation, covering the cavalrys left flank. Which specific Tiger II this was is unknown. So its quite possible! Add to cart. Besides the previously mentioned absence of any recountings of this event in several notable documents that should have contained it, and most peculiarly, Captain Anstey himself makes no mention of the engagement when he discusses and documents the events of the 18th of December 1944 in a combat interview he gave on the 2nd of January 1945, just over two weeks after the event supposedly took place. Outnumbered and in danger of encirclement, the cannoneers and their rifle support from C Company made a platoon-by-platoon withdrawal toward Winterspelt. A platoon of medium tanks counterattacked, and the enemy retreated. Gen. Bruce C. Clarke, commander of CCB, 7th Armored Division, arrived at General Joness command post in St. Vith at approximately 1030. Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. For faster navigation, this Iframe is preloading the Wikiwand page for 18th Volksgrenadier Division. 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. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. Osprey Publishing, 2002. 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. Tigers In Combat II. They were repulsed by machine-gun fire. The staff officer wanted to know if 9th Armored could spare some desperately needed help. 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 division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. By 1245, the original line was restored, and the antitank guns of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were recovered. To execute this maneuver, Hoges entire command would have to move all the way up to St. Vith and back down again. 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. Dragon 1625 1/16th Obersturmfuhrer Totenkopf Division Budapest 1945 R 275.00. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. Late on December 17, General Manteuffel was concerned with the lack of progress in his attack beyond the Schnee Eifel toward St. Vith. 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. 2014. All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. The 18. The new sector assigned to CCB was on the fringe of territory the Sixth Panzer Army had mapped out for its further maneuvers. The unit was converted to an infantry division in 1945, while stationed in Courland. The M8 was used mostly as a reconnaissance vehicle for scouting. 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. 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. Armament T-70 gun cal. During the early hours of December 17, the Germans laid heavy mortar and artillery fire on the front-line positions of his regiment. Infanterie-Division . At about 0930, the enemy attacked St. Vith from Hunningen to the north, apparently in an effort to envelop Clarkes left flank. 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. 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. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. 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. The stubborn defenders of St. Vith played a major role in defeating the final German offensive of World War II in Western Europe. Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. 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. Both American units were able to drive forward, and the Shermans knocked out six German armored vehicles. 'poor shape' in a sentence. The commanders were at the center of the Foret Domaniale du Grand Bois. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. After Clarke and Hoge settled upon a mutually supportive command structure, Clarke noted that Hoges command was, for the most part, forward of a railroad track built on a high embankment. Initially, General Jones wanted Hoge to move his command into the Losheim Gap at Maderfeld and arrive there at dawn on December 17 to counterattack and erase the enemy penetrations that were threatening 106th Division positions on the Schnee Eifel. Home News Random Article Install Wikiwand Send a suggestion Uninstall Wikiwand Upgrade to Wikiwand 2.0 By this time the Germans had essentially closed the trap on the two infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel. 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. These troops were hit by the Fhrer Escort Brigade and driven from Rogery to Cierreux in some disarray. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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. That cold snap that hit us has frozen the roads. 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. Situation reports suggested that the Germans were intent on crossing the Our River at Steinebruck. 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 entry only states that a Tiger tank was knocked out. 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. At approximately 0100 on December 18, a German force of about 30 men tried to cross the Our at Steinebruck after a brief artillery barrage. Company B of the 9th Engineers and D Company of the 89th Recon joined the line to supplement the armored infantry. The line companies were down to one officer apiece. Those factors dictated that at least another 24 hours would be needed before a major assault on St. Vith could begin. How about a Tiger II? Design, Production & Modifications. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. 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. There is no comparison to Tiger. After that mornings enemy assaults, the line of the 27th AIB was reestablished west of Neubruck. 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. 1941622 . If Hoge told him that the situation was bad, then without a doubt the situation was worse than he thought. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. Add to cart. The next move was up to General Lucht and his corps. The area being defended was beginning to take the form of a large horseshoe, its axis running approximately northeast to southeast. War Department, 1944. 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. The situation on Reids left flank was unclear, and the Germans were attacking in considerable force against his right flank. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. At 0100 the 23rd, D Troop, 89th Recon lost an armored car and a jeep to antitank guns. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. Volksgrenadier-Division 5 [ ] Heeft u zelf meer informatie over deze persoon? Having first conferred with General Jones, Hoge ordered a withdrawal from the river to begin after nightfall. Since 7th Armoreds withdrawal meant that 9th Armoreds left flank would be in danger, the two generals agreed that Hoge would have to readjust part of his line to maintain contact with Clarkes new rearward position. The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944 An Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. The closest primary German armored thrust route to the south ran through Burg Reuland, also about five miles from St. Vith. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. 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. CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. This version of the story, which is paraphrased in the introduction, will be referred to as the original version of the story. The Germans attacked the center of the 27th AIB. General Luchts 66th Corps was shifted from General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army to the Sixth Panzer. Captain Ansteys version lacks supporting documentation. Manteuffel answered, We estimated that we were up against a division, and perhaps against an entire corps. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division under the command of Generalmajor Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn patrolled the Schnee Eifel area. Jones had been counting on this when he sent Hoges 9th Armored Command to Winterspelt rather than Schoenberg. 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. Infanterie-Division 19398 . Panzer Tracts No. 13th Flak Division 651 . Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. The 294th Volksgrenadier Regiment was a unit of the larger 18th Volksgrenadier Division. Due to the lack of detail in Troop Es entry, it is impossible to tell which Tiger tank is the one being referred to in the account. 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. Since speed was the key to success of the German plan, two panzer armies would spearhead the offensive. 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. An appropriate start for the investigation of this action is to identify contemporary American accounts. Two hits were scored on the enemy tank in the rear, and its crew evacuated. 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. The greatest danger existed in the 424ths position because the regiments flank lay vulnerable to attacks by the 116th Panzer Division to the south. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. However, he kept these misgivings to himself. Its mission was to break through to the south of the 18th Volksgrenadier in the Grosslangenfeld-Heckhuschied sector, advance northwest on a broad front, and seize the Our River crossing at Steinebruck, five miles southeast of St. Vith. Schneider, Wolfgang. On 18 January 1945, the final alignment became (XVIII Corps, U. S. First Army, 12th Army Group) -- the alignment in the hierarchy given here. 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. I am weighing toward a stray Panzer IV or maybe a SP gun like the one you described. 1945. Troy Middletons VIII Corps. The ultimate objective was to open an escape route for the soldiers of the 424th. 1945. The German plan for the attack through the Ardennes, an offensive that would forever be known as the Battle of the Bulge, was to be accomplished in the conventional manner. The similarity in appearance between the Panzer IV and Tiger I is often cited as a reason to why there are so many claims made by soldiers during World War II of battling Tiger Is, despite Tiger Is being a fairly rare encounter. Clerks were running everywhere and junior staff officers were arguing among themselves; upstairs, however, Hoge found General Jones remarkably composed. 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. Jentz, Thomas. 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. 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. Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1918) Period: First World War (1914-1918) Awarded on: . Amazing discounts for bundles. 45 mm. It was at full strength and supplied with the latest equipment. On this day, CCB of the 9th Armored Division was still in its assembly area in the vicinity of Faymonville. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. By midnight on the 19th, the horseshoe- shaped defense of St. Vith had taken form. Jones explained to Hoge that his division was being attacked along its entire front and that two of his three regiments, the 422nd and the 423rd, had been partly surrounded in the Schnee Eifel area just east of Schoenberg. 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. To this end, General Hoge was in the town of Monschau to check on the possibility of getting his command across in that area. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. 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. In the early afternoon of the 22nd, he arrived at General Hasbroucks headquarters in Vielsalm to plan the withdrawal. Perhaps the most unlikely performer of the entire battle was the 18th Volksgrenadier Division. The division had lost four companies of armored infantry. 194311 On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. 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. 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. After 1200 hours on 17th December 1944, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was reinforced by a mobile battalion. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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. 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 Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. It consisted of the 136th 138th and 139th Mountain Replacement Regiments and the 112th Artillery 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. General Hoge set up his command post in the Belgian village of Faymonville, approximately 12 miles north of the town of St. Vith, unaware of the pivotal role his command was to play in a very different battle. 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. On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. 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. Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Period: First World War (1914-1918) Awarded on: October 30th, 1917. He said that the fight took about ninety minutes and that they used almost all their ammunition. They were sometimes misidentified as Tiger HIs. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Yes in theory. Just kept to the main story. While no Tiger Is were lost on the 18th of December, 1944, four Tiger IIs were lost that day. 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. At the close of the first day of battle, General Lucht could look with some satisfaction at the days events, although his 62nd Volksgrenadier Division had yet to break through the American line. Zaloga, Steven. 223 223. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division.The division, which was under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. 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. War Department, 1944. 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. Under the chain of the northern sector command, only General Ridgway was unsure of Field Marshal Montgomerys decision to withdraw from the defense. 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. Collins, Joshua, and Erik Albertson. Do you have more information about this person? Close. 188 was raised in late 1939. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571.Volksgrenadier-Division.Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field . The sector now defended by CCB, 9th Armored extended across five miles of rugged terrain that was primarily held by the three infantry companies making up the 27th AIB. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. An attack to the east by the 7th Armored Division could then relieve the two surrounded regiments of the 106th. 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. Unteroffizier Helmus of the 26th Volksgrenadier Division painted the situation when the advance began. This article already explains ballistics and mentions that while Panther was vulnerable to lower-caliber AT guns, the Tigers were almost immune to them. Clarke pulled back his left flank to protect Hinderhausen, a key position on the emergency exit route to Commanster and Vielsalm. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-603 352d Volks Grenadier Division (19 Freb.-21 Mar.
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