Gen. Hasbrouck, commander of the 7th Armored Division, sent a message to General Ridgway urging withdrawal, which in part read, P.S. The hardest hit, though, were the armored infantrymen of the 27th AIB with nearly 300 battle casualties. [1] On March 6, 1945, when Botsch was ordered to take command of the LIIIrd Army Corps, the 18. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. 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. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. List of German divisions in World War II (wikipdia) / List of Foreign The lumbering heavy tank continued moving towards the American line before turning north towards the town of Hunningen, Belgium, passing the armored car. The unit was converted to an infantry division in 1945, while stationed in Courland. Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion had some trouble disengaging. events, and resources, The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith. Panzer Tracts, 2001. Bork, Max Hermann (Generalleutnant) - TracesOfWar.com Since speed was the key to success of the German plan, two panzer armies would spearhead the offensive. 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. Tigers In Combat II. Possibly such events took place in reality. The 294th Volksgrenadier Regiment was a unit of the larger 18th Volksgrenadier Division. The provisional company of 424th stragglers disappeared during the night. By the end of the day, the 27th AIB had withdrawn through Steinebruck without casualties despite enemy shelling of the village. of the Army, 1965. 223 223. American Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Choose a Unit. 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. Osprey Publishing, 2003. Add to cart. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. 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. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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. VGD. 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. 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. Ridgway answered, Bill, we can and we will. The withdrawal plan called for a general pullback west of the Salm River to an assembly area in the zone controlled by the 82nd Airborne Division in the vicinity of Lierneux. The northern prong of the horseshoe was composed of CCB, 7th Armored Division from Poteau and Vielsalm. A mobile battalion of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was already moving on Andler to seize the Schoenberg bridge and the road to St. Vith. 16 Dec 2022 08:28:00 At daybreak on December 21, the Germans launched their first assault of the day on CCB, 9th Armored. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; 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.. English translation for " 18e volksgrenadier division VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. German Division Nr. 223 () - Wikiwand While 9th Armored was thus engaged in the Winterspelt area during the morning hours of December 17, Brig. 1945). The silhouettes of the Panzer IV and the Tiger I are quite similar, especially due to their rectangular shapes and rounded turret (rounded through the later use of a curved armor plate around the otherwise angular turret). 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. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was to attack along the two roads from Schoenberg, with the Fhrer Escort Brigade assaulting from the north. Jentz, Thomas. 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 commanders were at the center of the Foret Domaniale du Grand Bois. 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. Given that the American accounts do not give a consistent account of what happened that day at St. Vith, the other side of this story must also be investigated. The mud had made the roads and open areas impassable for armored vehicles. The greatest danger existed in the 424ths position because the regiments flank lay vulnerable to attacks by the 116th Panzer Division to the south. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. The two task forces held onto their respective positions on N23 and N27, deflecting all German armored attempts to penetrate St. Vith, until they were relieved late in the afternoon by CCB, 7th Armored Division. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. The Tiger I was a 57 tonne German heavy tank that has become one of the most famous tanks in history. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division(18th VGD) was a volksgrenadierdivision of the German Army(Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. 18th Flak Division 651 . Volksgrenadier-Division. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. The area being defended was beginning to take the form of a large horseshoe, its axis running approximately northeast to southeast. The guns from a platoon of Shermans, the antiaircraft company, and a mortar platoon supplied a covering barrage, which broke up the German assault and inflicted heavy casualties. 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. An attack to the east by the 7th Armored Division could then relieve the two surrounded regiments of the 106th. Dragon 1625 1/16th Obersturmfuhrer Totenkopf Division Budapest 1945 R 275.00. 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. Ridgway knew Hoge to be calm, courageous, and imperturbable. Volksgrenadier-Division. However, it cannot be safely assumed that the tank killed in this engagement was a Tiger I or a Tiger II. 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. 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. 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. At 0130 the 27th AIB was hit hard and the sector held by Company B, 9th Engineers was deeply penetrated, causing the armored infantry to fall back under the protective guns of Company A, 14th Tank Battalion. This moment marked the beginning of the famous Battle of the Bulge, Germanys last major offensive on the Western Front in World War II. 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. Pegov in March 1944 on a light tank T-70 destroyed two German Panthers aboard. 1940 194111. 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. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. No reinforcements were expected. Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. During the afternoon of December 19, Hoge visited Clarkes command post in St. Vith and expressed his frustration with the current chain of command. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division completed its southern swing, encircling the two regiments of the 106th Division on the Schnee Eifel. Each attack was preceded by an intense artillery barrage lasting from 15 to 35 minutes. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. 47. The fight lasted for more than three hours before the Germans withdrew, leaving one burning tank and approximately 150 dead. 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. Such was not the case, however, and by the evening of the December 20, the Germans were feeling the growing negative effects of the St. Vith salient. Name already in use - Github 1946. 18th Volksgrenadier Division - Wikiwand 2014 Attack on Panther PzKw V and Tiger PzKw VI. 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. Yeah but Panthers rear and side armor is very weak, so its completely different story. js.src = "//player.ex.co/player/710cf52d-720a-4250-8e95-fc85dcedab01"; Manteuffel had hoped for considerably more on the 19th. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Those factors dictated that at least another 24 hours would be needed before a major assault on St. Vith could begin. A mobile battalion of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was already moving on Andler to seize the Schoenberg bridge and the road to St. Vith. An assault on Thommen forced out the troops holding the town, and efforts to retake it failed. 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. 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. Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Period: First World War (1914-1918) Awarded on: October 30th, 1917. The village of Bauvenn was designated the linkage point for the two combat commands. WWII German Military Units (1) - WWII History Center Fortunately, a tank destroyer from Vielsalm turned up and hit the leading two German panzers, which drove the rest for cover. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. St. Vith is built on a low hill surrounded on all sides by slightly higher rises. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. Should 7th Armored lose St. Vith, 9th Armored would be unable to withdraw on its own axis. Just kept to the main story. At least 900 soldiers who had stood in front of the town were either dead or captured. He is being outflanked and is retiring west another 2,000 yards refusing both flanks. Schneider, Wolfgang. Zaloga, Steven. Eventually retreating through Germany until the end of the war, when it surrendered. 22nd Air Landing Division (wehrmacht) - Encyclopedia Information By this time the Germans had essentially closed the trap on the two infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel. The U.S. 9th Armored Division arrived in the European Theater of Operations in late October 1944 as a reserve for Maj. Gen. Shortly thereafter, Hasbrouck called and asked, Bruce, do you think you can get out? Clarke answered, A miracle has happened, General! 1945. The American armor of the 7th and 9th Armored Divisions plus supporting units were being pressed into an area in which motorized forcestanks, half-tracks, self-propelled artillery, tank destroyersoperated with great difficulty. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. One task force encountered reconnaissance probes on N27 conducted by units of the 1st SS Panzer Division approximately 1,000 yards north of St. Vith. Were any of these Tiger Is and or Tiger IIs knocked out on the 18th of December, 1944? Troop D, 89th Recon had positioned its troop headquarters and first platoon to cover the bridge over the Our. The reason for this comparative respite was due to the fact that the roads to the German rear were completely jammed. Zaloga, Steven. None of these Tiger IIs were lost at St. Vith and from photographic evidence at least three are recorded to have no burn damage and/or holes in the rear. 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. Osprey Publishing, 2010. I wanted to focus on the M8 vs Tiger story, I already noticed the Ferdinand claim, but decided not to mention it. The closest of the northern German armored thrust routes ran through Recht, about five miles northwest of St. Vith. That night, infantry patrols found German medics removing their wounded. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. Volksgrenadier Division 2. 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. Zaloga, Steven. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=18th_Volksgrenadier_Division&oldid=1127007404, Military units and formations established in 1944, Military units and formations disestablished in 1945, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 December 2022, at 11:24. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. I am a huge M8 Greyhound fan, having built a model at age 13 and I now own a 1:6 scale one with 4-man crew. By mid-afternoon, General Hoge ordered his infantry to halt and dig in. 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. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. Clarke, Bruce. Tiger. 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. The 16th Field Artillery also pitched in, as did a battalion of 155mm howitzers sited around Commanster. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. It is possible (if unlikely) that this event was completely unrelated to the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story. On his way to St. Vith, General Hoge stopped in Faymonville to alert his command to be prepared to move immediately. He could not believe it. Jones had been counting on this when he sent Hoges 9th Armored Command to Winterspelt rather than Schoenberg. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. Could an M8 Greyhounds 37 mm M6 gun even penetrate the rear hull armor of a Tiger I? December 20 was a day of disappointment for the Germans around St. Vith. Infanterie-Division . Thus, the Fifth Panzer Army commander ordered that St. Vith be taken no later than the second day of the offensive. 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. At 0100 the 23rd, D Troop, 89th Recon lost an armored car and a jeep to antitank guns. 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 . Beevor, Antony. The move would also have to be done under the cover of darkness in severe wintry conditions. 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. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. The next version of this story can be found in a 1947 book by Major Donald P. Boyer of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion titled St. Vith, The 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge, 17-23 December 1944: A Narrative After Action Report. Collins, Joshua, and Erik Albertson. Panzer Tracts No. 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. Those men were a scrappy bunch. 188 was raised in late 1939. Perhaps the most unlikely performer of the entire battle was the 18th Volksgrenadier Division. 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. Another attack hit the left flank of 7th Armored. Still quite a feat for a little Greyhound, though well probably never know conclusively. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith. By 1245, the original line was restored, and the antitank guns of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were recovered. This battalion hit the 424ths Cannon Company at the Weissenhof crossroads. It appeared now that the fate of his two northern regiments was sealed. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. Rejection & Neglect available to buy on Payhip! This forest was criss-crossed only by trails. The fall of Rodt effectively split 7th Armoreds CCA from General Clarkes CCB. 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. Bork, Max Hermann (Generalleutnant) - TracesOfWar.nl On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Sometime later that Monday morning, General Hoge sent his liaison officer to St. Vith to learn the dispositions of CCB, 7th Armored Division. 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. With the unexplained disappearance of D Troop from the 89th Reconnaissance Platoon, Company B, 27th AIB became the leading element. The 7th Armored had taken a beating in defending St. Vith. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. The last of the St. Vith defenders to come out were Task Force Jones and the 112th Infantry Regiment. During the assault, B Company suffered about 40 casualties including its commanding officer, Captain Henry D. Wirsig. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. Dragon 1629 1/16th Feldwebel 352nd Volksgrenadier Division R 275.00. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. 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. By noon, the 27th AIB, with the help of Company A, 14th Tank Battalion, had retaken that first stretch of high ground. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. The guns of two platoons of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were overrun. War Department, 1944. The town was also in Fifth Panzer Armys area of advance. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force | World War II by Day Personally I have not believed this event at all. Osprey Publishing, 2013. 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 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, 2003. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. 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. 18e volksgrenadier division English translation: 18th volksgrenadier division (wehrmacht).. The mobile battalion consisted of three platoons of assault guns, a company of engineers, and another of fusiliers. On December 21, 18. 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. At about noon that day, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Divisions 190th Regiment had broken through north of the 424th Infantrys Cannon Company. Hoge and Clarke agreed that Hoges entire command should be withdrawn west of the railroad tracks. 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. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. 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. Please click for detailed translation, meaning, pronunciation and example sentences for 18e volksgrenadier division in English There was a bitter struggle to the south of Grufflingen, and the Germans were again active in the Neubruck area. 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. However, there is one major issue with this explanation, Panzer IVs were not attacking Troop B. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. To cover this dangerous gap in the line C Company, 27th AIB was ordered to the Our between Troop D, 89th Recon and Company A, 27th AIB. 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. Unteroffizier Helmus of the 26th Volksgrenadier Division painted the situation when the advance began. Eventually retreating through Germany until the end of the war, when it surrendered. General Luchts 66th Corps was shifted from General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army to the Sixth Panzer. Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Periode: Eerste Wereldoorlog (1914-1918) Toegekend op: 30 oktober 1917. Infanterie-Division 193510 [1] 22 22. The 62nd, like the 18th, included three regiments of two battalions each. 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. How about a Tiger II? However, I am not so emotionally attached to my favorite LAV that I cant see the improbabilities. This version of the story, which is paraphrased in the introduction, will be referred to as the original version of the story. 301 Sentences With "poor shape" | Random Sentence Generator 223 () - January 1945 World War II Combat Interviews of the 7th Armored Division The column came upon stragglers from the 424th Infantry retreating in disarray toward St. Vith.