The earliest known mention can be found in the December 18th, 1944 morning report and record of events entry of Troop E, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron which briefly states that an M-8 atchd [attached] to A Tr [Troop A] knocked out one Tiger tank. The leading vehicles of General Hoges command entered St. Vith on Sunday morning just as dawn was breaking and halted close to the 106th Divisions command post at the St. Joseph Kloster. This battalion hit the 424ths Cannon Company at the Weissenhof crossroads. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Panzer Tracts No. Volksgrenadier Division 5. Tigers In Combat II. 18th Flak Division 651 . Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. South of Sixth Panzer Army was General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army, with the Seventh Army on its left. Volksgrenadier-Division. He said that the fight took about ninety minutes and that they used almost all their ammunition. Those factors dictated that at least another 24 hours would be needed before a major assault on St. Vith could begin. Division C E R T I F I C A T E 24 June 1945 I certify that I am S-3 When a particularly heavy onslaught was launched against 7th Armored, near 9th Armoreds left flank, Company A, 14th Tank Battalion shifted its mediums to fire directly on Breitfield in support of its armored neighbor to the north. VGD. The staff officer wanted to know if 9th Armored could spare some desperately needed help. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. Roadblocks were set up and manned. I mention it for the sake of completeness as I suspect that the whole thing is a myth. The division had lost four companies of armored infantry. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "aefa00eeca3d30bd3e762fcc54816f6d" );document.getElementById("f87928873f").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 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. Manteuffel answered, We estimated that we were up against a division, and perhaps against an entire corps. December, 1944 By Greg Moore gregpanzerblitz.com December, 2008 Battalion I x 5 x 4 x 1 x 2 x 12 293rd Volks- . The 18th Volksgrenadier Division(18. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. Bergstrm, Christer. In the early afternoon of the 22nd, he arrived at General Hasbroucks headquarters in Vielsalm to plan the withdrawal. Johnston, W. Wesley. The Germans were now on the high ground north of Eigelscheid overlooking the road to Winterspelt. This means that 50% of shots fired will penetrate this amount of armor. Another attack hit the left flank of 7th Armored. Close. Volksgrenadier-Division. 3. js = d.createElement(s); Volksgrenadier-Division. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. 22 22. 'poor shape' in a sentence. Schneider, Wolfgang. 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. At least 900 soldiers who had stood in front of the town were either dead or captured. 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. 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. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. Orders for CCB, 9th Armored to move to a new defensive position were issued at 1600. Ridgways plan was premised on the assumption that that the American forces in this goose egg-shaped defense could be supplied by air; however, whoever drew up the plan was thinking in terms of supply requirements for the lighter airborne divisions, not for fuel-hungry and shell-reliant armored forces. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. The town was also in Fifth Panzer Armys area of advance. South of St. Vith, even as Lt. Col. Engemans task forces were responding to the 7th Armoreds cry for help, Germans of the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division were trying to get across the Our River at Steinebruck and hit St. Vith from that direction. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. Fortunately for Colonel Reid, word came at about 1730 that his 424th Infantry Regiment was to withdraw immediately. 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. Hoge and Ridgway had been on the West Point football team together when Ridgway had been the teams manager. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. Company B was stationed east of Galhausen and maintained contact with the nearest elements of the 7th Armored Division on 9th Armoreds left flank. 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. Attack on Panther PzKw V and Tiger PzKw VI. In the 27th AIBs move to take the high ground, B Company advanced along the center of the road. The Germans attacked the center of the 27th AIB. Staff Sergeant Frank Mykalo knocked out a German machine-gun position, enabling the men in the lead half-tracks to dismount and deploy along the side of the road. 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. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. On 18 January 1945, the final alignment became (XVIII Corps, U. S. First Army, 12th Army Group) -- the alignment in the hierarchy given here. . 194311 One German tank was seen going up in flames. Hoge departed Faymonville at approximately 1800, arriving at General Joness headquarters in the St. Josephs Kloster about a half hour later. Within the Kloster, General Hoge found a division headquarters staff in a state of disarray and confusion. 2014. 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. Gen. Robert Hasbroucks 7th Armored Division would be arriving at St. Vith at 0700 on the 17th. Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. Six paved or macadam roads converged at St. Vith, but none of these was considered by the Germans to be a major military trunk line. Under cover of automatic weapons fire from a platoon of light tanks, Sergeant Eugene Dorland and two other men from the engineers went into the cold, bullet-splattered water carrying three cases of TNT and placed their charges on the south abutment of the bridge. Please click for detailed translation, meaning, pronunciation and example sentences for 18e volksgrenadier division in English Rejection & Neglect available to buy on Payhip! This one, however, most likely did not. Panzertruppen Volume 2 The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Deployment of The German Tank Forces 1943-1945. Josef Theissen, the fifteen-year-old who had seen the Germans arrive on Sunday, December 17, watched the soldiers every move with the fascination for things military . 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. While walking to avoid the traffic congestion, Manteuffel encountered his superior, Field Harshal Model. 223 223. The Commands main body was led by the 27th AIB with B Company in front, followed by Headquarters and C Company. Aside from the cold and mud, there was also the enemy to contend with. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Having first conferred with General Jones, Hoge ordered a withdrawal from the river to begin after nightfall. Dragon 1625 1/16th Obersturmfuhrer Totenkopf Division Budapest 1945 R 275.00. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division under the command of Generalmajor Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn patrolled the Schnee Eifel area. 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. Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division drove the American defenders from Winterspelt, all was not going well for the Germans. These troops were hit by the Fhrer Escort Brigade and driven from Rogery to Cierreux in some disarray. Design, Production & Modifications. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. 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 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. 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. The closest of the northern German armored thrust routes ran through Recht, about five miles northwest of St. Vith. 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. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. They were repulsed by machine-gun fire. With all of these contradictions, ambiguity, and lack of supporting documentation and evidence surrounding Troop Es entry in mind, it is safe to conclude that this is not the most reliable account of what really happened on the 18th of December, 1944 at St. Vith. The 7th Armored had taken a beating in defending St. Vith. Infanterie-Division . VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. Lever het aan! Infanterie-Division 193510 [1] 22 22. Osprey Publishing, 2003. While making his reconnaissance at Monschau he received an urgent message to call V Corps headquarters. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. (1944) 111 111. Gen. Hasbrouck, commander of the 7th Armored Division, sent a message to General Ridgway urging withdrawal, which in part read, P.S. Ten tanks, numerous supply vehicles, armored cars, and jeeps were lost to enemy action. Volksgrenadier-Division. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. War Department Field Manual FM 2-20 Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop Mechanized. The Seventh Armored Division in the Battle of St. Vith. The 16th Field Artillery also pitched in, as did a battalion of 155mm howitzers sited around Commanster. 1945. How about a Tiger II? After listening to the information provided by General Clarkes staff officer, General Hoge decided to go to St. Vith himself to assess the situation. The formations started to peel backward in succession from opposite Neubruck to Maldingen. German 18th Volksgrenadier Div. 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. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. 18th Artillery Division 651. However, there is one major issue with this explanation, Panzer IVs were not attacking Troop B. Tigers In Combat I. On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. The unit was converted to an infantry division in 1945, while stationed in Courland. 1940. 13 relations. of the Army, 1965. By 1300 on the 21st, the entire line was ablaze with German artillery, rockets, tanks, and infantry. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. js.className = n; VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. The time was approximately 1800 on Saturday, December 16, when Combat Command B of the 9th Armored Division began its move to St. Vith. Elements of D Company, 89th Recon screened the flanks. For faster navigation, this Iframe is preloading the Wikiwand page for 18th Volksgrenadier Division. Beevor, Antony. Rebuilding the blown bridge to get their assault guns across was their first priority. After learning of the attack by the Fhrer Escort Brigade, Brig. That night, infantry patrols found German medics removing their wounded. One would think that Lieutenant Colonel Boylan, or at the very least Troop A, would make some sort of mention of this fairly notable engagement. 1945. 301 sentences with 'poor shape'. Possibly such events took place in reality. War Department, 1944. 18th Panzer Division (later 18th Artillery Division) 19th Panzer Division (previously 19th Infantry Division) 20th Panzer Division 21st Panzer Division (previously 5th Light Division) 22nd Panzer Division 23rd Panzer Division 24th Panzer Division (previously 1st Cavalry Division) 25th Panzer Division It would be unable to turn its full strength on St. Vith until the American surrender in that area. On December 21, 18. Little offtopic here but another misidentification might be the 1 destroyed 88mm assault gun (Ferdinand). Confusion, darkness, and mud slowed the move, but by morning a medium tank company and a platoon of riflemen had reached the village. Close. Volksgrenadier-Division 5 [ ] Not only does this change Captain Ansteys version of the story, but this also confirms the possibility that Troop Es entry could have been talking about a Tiger II. 45 mm. 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. He was also told that all that stood in their way were two troops of the 87th Recon Squadron, 7th Armoreds 87th, and a few antiaircraft half-tracks. Armour Plate Porforation [sic: Perforation] of Tank and Anti Tank Guns. On December 16th at 4:00 a.m., they took the twenty-two foot macadam road following the Our River valley towards Manderfield. 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. CCBs new position blocked the main Winterspelt-St. Vith highway and the valley of the Braunlauf Creek, a second natural corridor leading to St. Vith. Because the Our had ceased to be a barrier anywhere else, General Hoge felt that there was little to gain in continuing to overextend his command to hold the low ground along the river. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was to attack along the two roads from Schoenberg, with the Fhrer Escort Brigade assaulting from the north. However, he kept these misgivings to himself. 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. The next move was up to General Lucht and his corps. 2014. This is an issue because there were two distinct types of German Tiger tanks, both of which took part in the Battle of the Bulge: The Tiger I and the Tiger II. If Hoge told him that the situation was bad, then without a doubt the situation was worse than he thought. 324 324. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. Griffin, Marcus S. After Action Report, Month of December 1944. What he claimed was that the fight wasnt as easy as it is presented here. Fortunately, a tank destroyer from Vielsalm turned up and hit the leading two German panzers, which drove the rest for cover. Chamberlain, Peter, et al. Personally I have not believed this event at all. (function (d, s, n) { The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. Its supporting field artillery battalion was at Kalterherberg, two miles south of Monschau, engaged in firing missions for the 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions. Panzer Tracts, 2001. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. He also said that they got a new Greyhound. Jones had been counting on this when he sent Hoges 9th Armored Command to Winterspelt rather than Schoenberg. Thus, the Fifth Panzer Army commander ordered that St. Vith be taken no later than the second day of the offensive. War Department Technical Manual TM 9-1904 Ammunition Inspection Guide. Attacking the rear of a Tiger when you had no way of knowing if it was supported by one or more others is extremely unlikely. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER II. As the offensive steam came to an end in the Ardennes, the division went on the defensive, and there they would stay.

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