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. Roadblocks were set up and manned. 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 . of the Army, 1965. Company B of the 9th Engineers and D Company of the 89th Recon joined the line to supplement the armored infantry. 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. Home News Random Article Install Wikiwand Send a suggestion Uninstall Wikiwand Upgrade to Wikiwand 2.0 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. VGD. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) - Unionpedia, the concept map When B Company pulled back to refuel and rearm, A Company passed through to take up the fight. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Add to cart. 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. There are two likely candidates, the first being a Panzer IV. By 2300 enemy patrols tested 27th AIBs new position and a night attack was thrown back with the help of D Troop, 89th Recon. By this time the Germans had essentially closed the trap on the two infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel. He also hoped the 3rd Armored Division soon might attack to remove all threat of encirclement. VGD. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. General Hoge moved his command post to Commanster. This information came from the division's senior headquarters, the VIII Corps, First U.S. Army. The formations started to peel backward in succession from opposite Neubruck to Maldingen. 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. Its possible that the M8 took out an late production Panzer IV, but even that is unlikely due to the danger of more troops coming from behind with Panzerfausts or even a 20 millimeter. Captain Ansteys version lacks supporting documentation. Just kept to the main story. 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. 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. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. The Tiger I was a 57 tonne German heavy tank that has become one of the most famous tanks in history. M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91. Panzer Tracts No. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was to attack along the two roads from Schoenberg, with the Fhrer Escort Brigade assaulting from the north. The 18. Manteuffel met near Wallerode with Model and Lucht that day. 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. Within the Kloster, General Hoge found a division headquarters staff in a state of disarray and confusion. His troops remained in place, and the pullout to the west side of the Our River began at dusk. 13th Flak Division 651 . Luftlande-Division 19416 19421944 19453 22 22. Chamberlain, Peter, et al. These German tanks would later be specified to be Panzer IVs or Mark IVs. Clarke pulled back his left flank to protect Hinderhausen, a key position on the emergency exit route to Commanster and Vielsalm. Between these units, a place was found for the provisional company composed of the 424th Infantry stragglers. The move would also have to be done under the cover of darkness in severe wintry conditions. Hoge and Ridgway had been on the West Point football team together when Ridgway had been the teams manager. 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. The ultimate objective was to open an escape route for the soldiers of the 424th. Revised Edition, Arms and Armour Press, 1973. The troops were exhausted and spread out. 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. 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. I think we can make it now. Given the unreliability of the American accounts of this supposed event and the lack of any supporting documentation from the Germans, it is safe to say that neither a Tiger I nor a Tiger II was knocked out by an M8 Greyhound on 18th December 1944 in or around the town of St. Vith. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. Attack on Panther PzKw V and Tiger PzKw VI. The job of capturing St. Vith went to the Fifth Panzer Armys 66th Corps, commanded by General Walther Lucht. 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. 1945. EN. 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. On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. On December 16th at 4:00 a.m., they took the twenty-two foot macadam road following the Our River valley towards Manderfield. Perhaps the most unlikely performer of the entire battle was the 18th Volksgrenadier Division. Infanterie-Division 19398 . 18e volksgrenadier division English translation: 18th volksgrenadier division (wehrmacht).. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. 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 closest primary German armored thrust route to the south ran through Burg Reuland, also about five miles from St. Vith. 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. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; Luftwaffe-Feld-Division. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. 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. As stated above, a 37mm cant penetrate the armor of an Tiger tank. Add to cart. 324 324. The M5 got within a yard of the Tiger and knocked it out with 5 rounds. 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. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith. The most startling difference however is the range at which this engagement occurred, with Lieutenant Olsons version having the engagement take place at 800 yards (732 meters), compared to the original storys 25 yards (23 meters)! Manteuffels operation in the St. Vith area was already three days behind schedule. Bergstrm, Christer. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Tiger. 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. Your email address will not be published. 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. This battalion hit the 424ths Cannon Company at the Weissenhof crossroads. CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. 6 Schwere Panzerkampfwagen DW to E-100. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. One Day at Stavelot, a Tale of Two Archives The Tiger II vs US Tank Destroyers in the Ardennes. Both task forces reached St. Vith shortly before noon on the 18th to find not one, but two German attacks moving against the town. The armored infantrymen kept themselves well hidden until the column was directly in front of them and then opened fire. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. They were sometimes misidentified as Tiger HIs. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. Division C E R T I F I C A T E 24 June 1945 I certify that I am S-3 Volksgrenadier-Division. 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. So many soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division converged on Wallerode for the final push against St. Vith that the villagers themselves threatened to be squeezed out. According to Hugh M. Cole, an American historian and army officer. On December 9, 1944, Brig. The platoon lost four men missing and two wounded in the ensuing engagement. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. For example, when G.I. He also said that they got a new Greyhound. Griffin, Marcus S. After Action Report, Month of December 1944. Late in the day, the Germans launched three major attacks, each directed along a main road leading into the town. Gen. Robert Hasbroucks 7th Armored Division would be arriving at St. Vith at 0700 on the 17th. 1964. Which specific Tiger II this was is unknown. 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. 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. M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91. . The reason for this comparative respite was due to the fact that the roads to the German rear were completely jammed. As far as Im aware no Ferdinands (all upgraded to Elefants at the stage of Ardennes Offensive) were used in the Ardennes and better yet all Elefants were in Eastern Front with the 614.sPzJgK (formerly 2./653.sPzJgAbt) after August 1944. German reports are also far from subtlety. In my opinion, the only definite conclusion that can be made from all this is that some American vehicle engaged something at St. Vith on the night of the 18th. Schneider, Wolfgang. Troy Middletons VIII Corps. Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division drove the American defenders from Winterspelt, all was not going well for the Germans. The line companies were down to one officer apiece. Then, four German antitank guns covering the Grufflingen-Maldange road were encountered. Chamberlain, Peter, et al. The only known witness to the supposed event, Captain Walter Henry Anstey, died on 26th October 2003 at the age of 90, taking the truth of the events that day to his grave. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division under the command of Generalmajor Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn patrolled the Schnee Eifel area. The corps consisted of two infantry divisions. 45 mm. 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. 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. Rebuilding the blown bridge to get their assault guns across was their first priority. Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER II. 3. 223 223. 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. 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. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. 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
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