18th volksgrenadier division

On his way to St. Vith, General Hoge stopped in Faymonville to alert his command to be prepared to move immediately. 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. The M8 was used mostly as a reconnaissance vehicle for scouting. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. 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. 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. 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. As stated above, a 37mm cant penetrate the armor of an Tiger tank. Volksgrenadier-Division was formed from the partially formed 571.Volksgrenadier-Division in Denmark in September 1944, it also included excess Kriegsmarine personnel and surviving elements from 18. 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). War Department Technical Manual TM 9-1904 Ammunition Inspection Guide. Osprey Publishing, 2002. The other, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division, bore the number of an infantry division destroyed on the Eastern Front, which had been reconstituted. 1940 194111. His troops remained in place, and the pullout to the west side of the Our River began at dusk. First Edition, Presidio Press, 2002. 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. He also hoped the 3rd Armored Division soon might attack to remove all threat of encirclement. Troy Middletons VIII Corps. Company C, 27th AIB withdrew under heavy artillery and sniper fire but managed to destroy a number of German vehicles. Outnumbered and in danger of encirclement, the cannoneers and their rifle support from C Company made a platoon-by-platoon withdrawal toward Winterspelt. The time was approximately 1800 on Saturday, December 16, when Combat Command B of the 9th Armored Division began its move to St. Vith. Tigers In Combat II. However, this version of Captain Ansteys account has one key difference: it was not a Tiger I that was knocked out, but rather a Tiger II, almost analogous to the fisherman whose fish gets bigger each time he tells the tale of his catch. Troop D, 89th Recon and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion formed a line from Grufflingen to Thommen, and Companies B and C of the 14th Tank Battalion took up positions between Thommen and Maldange. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. Then, four German antitank guns covering the Grufflingen-Maldange road were encountered. The 9th Armored Divisions position at the Our was no longer tenable. At 0200 on December 22, the Fhrer Escort Brigade launched its attack against the town of Rodt, a small village west of St. Vith. Anderson, Thomas. Such events might have taken place in reality, true. Volksgrenadier-Division. Panzer Tracts No. The 62nd, like the 18th, included three regiments of two battalions each. 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. I am weighing toward a stray Panzer IV or maybe a SP gun like the one you described. Not long after Rodt fell to the Fhrer Escort Brigade, an attack came against the 7th Armored from the direction of Recht. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army ( Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. 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. Situated next to B Company were Company A, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. 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. Communications with division headquarters in St. Vith were limited to liaison officers running along a road now being shelled by the Germans. It saw action in France before taking part in the fighting in the Ardennes where it suffered heavy losses, it continued fighting on the western front until the end . Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. How about a Tiger II? 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. A two-day rest was planned for everyone. The village of Bauvenn was designated the linkage point for the two combat commands. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. Fire from the 16th Field Artillery broke up other enemy formations trying to assemble on the high ground to the south. Osprey Publishing, 2010. The second task force hit another probe by the 1st SS Panzer and pushed it out of Hunningen. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. Engeman set out with two task forces to meet the enemy. The failure to capture St. Vith was preventing the linkup of the Fifth and the Sixth Panzer Armies. Both assault groups suffered heavy casualties. 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. Soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division infiltrated the American lines at the villages of Roth, Weckerath, Kobscheid, and Auw before the artillery barrage began. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Yeah but Panthers rear and side armor is very weak, so its completely different story. I think we can make it now. 2014. At St. Vith, Lt. Col. William H. Slayden was with Jones when Jones received the call from Middleton concerning 7th Armored Division support. The northern prong of the horseshoe was composed of CCB, 7th Armored Division from Poteau and Vielsalm. Instead of the M8 Greyhound firing three shots into the Tigers rear, the M8 Greyhound in Lieutenant Olsons version of events fired two shots. 19454 Your email address will not be published. 1947. 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. 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. 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. It consisted of the 136th 138th and 139th Mountain Replacement Regiments and the 112th Artillery 8 Sturmgeschuetz s.Pak to Sturmmoerser. 1945). Counter to the plan laid out earlier by General Jones, Hoge had decided to launch his attack on Winterspelt with the entire 14th Tank Battalion as the lead element rather than with the more vulnerable infantry of the 27th AIB. However, after careful analysis, it can be said with certainty that neither a Tiger I nor a Tiger II was killed by an M8 Greyhound from any troop of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron on 18th December 1944 near St. Vith. Captain Ansteys version lacks supporting documentation. Hoge could not see much sense in making an attack, taking ground, and then turning right around and coming back, especially if the attack was successful. 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. The fortified goose egg ran nearly 10 miles in diameter, containing a mass of forest and only one decent road running northwest to southwest. Amazing discounts for bundles. 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. 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. Revised Edition, Arms and Armour Press, 1973. CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. On 18 January 1945, the final alignment became (XVIII Corps, U. S. First Army, 12th Army Group) -- the alignment in the hierarchy given here. Stackpole Books, 2015. Between these units, a place was found for the provisional company composed of the 424th Infantry stragglers. Schneider, Wolfgang. 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. The Germans attacked the center of the 27th AIB. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. General Jones and his staff had pulled out of St. Vith on the morning of the 18th for Vielsalm. Rapidly, the M8 advanced to within 25 yards (23 meters) of the Tiger I and quickly pumped three rounds into its rear. 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. 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. Volksgrenadier-Division. The staff officer wanted to know if 9th Armored could spare some desperately needed help. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. One German tank was seen going up in flames. The lumbering heavy tank continued moving towards the American line before turning north towards the town of Hunningen, Belgium, passing the armored car. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. That evening General Clarke also put his command into Commanster. Could an M8 Greyhounds 37 mm M6 gun even penetrate the rear hull armor of a Tiger I? . 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. And why would it not? Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. After the Tiger I had passed, the armored car then slipped out of its concealed position and began accelerating towards the tank in an attempt to close the gap between the two. What Jones did not tell Hoge was that in one of those regiments his own son was serving at regimental headquarters. Back in the 1970s I worked with a man who told this story, he claimed he was the driver. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. 1945. Volksgrenadier-Division 5 [ ] Zaloga, Steven. There is no comparison to Tiger. Hoge departed Faymonville at approximately 1800, arriving at General Joness headquarters in the St. Josephs Kloster about a half hour later. All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. 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 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. Add to cart. I wanted to focus on the M8 vs Tiger story, I already noticed the Ferdinand claim, but decided not to mention it. While walking to avoid the traffic congestion, Manteuffel encountered his superior, Field Harshal Model. Rejection & Neglect available to buy on Payhip! At 0400 hours on 16th December, 1944, men of the German 18th Volksgrenadier Division began to leave their positions and make their way towards the American lines. By mid-afternoon, General Hoge ordered his infantry to halt and dig in. Its population in 1944 was about 2,000, and its citizens were very much pro-German. Ardennes 1944: Hitlers Last Gamble. 1945) English PDF (18 MB) Jan B-627 Volkssturm (Oct. 1944-Apr. Johnston, W. Wesley. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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. School of Tank Technology, April 1944. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. 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. 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. This one, however, most likely did not. The armored infantrymen kept themselves well hidden until the column was directly in front of them and then opened fire. By this time the Germans had essentially closed the trap on the two infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel. This is puzzling, to say the least. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. 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. However, it cannot be safely assumed that the tank killed in this engagement was a Tiger I or a Tiger II. Inform us! The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion had some trouble disengaging. The line companies were down to one officer apiece. 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. Chamberlain, Peter, et al. Beevor, Antony. Infanterie-Division . The town was also in Fifth Panzer Armys area of advance. Mines were laid. Moreover, it was expected that General Luchts two infantry divisions would be forwarded to the Salm River sector as right-wing cover for two panzer corps. 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. Next came B Company, 9th Armored Engineers; the 16th Armored Field Artillery; B Company, 482nd Antiaircraft Artillery; and the 14th Tank Battalion. Volksgrenadier-Division. English PDF (33 MB) Jan B-700 At 0400 hours on 16th December, 1944, men of the German 18th Volksgrenadier Division began to leave their positions and make their way towards the American lines. Bergstrm, Christer. American Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Choose a Unit. First Edition, Presidio Press, 2002. 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. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The hardest hit, though, were the armored infantrymen of the 27th AIB with nearly 300 battle casualties. 223 223. 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 . General Lucht hurried to Winterspelt to get the 62nd Volksgrenadier moving to the Our. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. 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 . I should also note that reconnaissance doctrine was to disengage if at all possible and in no way engage enemy armour beyond scout elements. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. Close. 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. Sell, buy or rent Panzers in Winter: Hitler's Army and the Battle of the Bulge (Praeger Security I 9780275971151 0275971155, we buy used or new for best buyback price with FREE shipping and offer great deals for buyers. Fortunately, a tank destroyer from Vielsalm turned up and hit the leading two German panzers, which drove the rest for cover. However, this platoon never completed its mission. 18th Artillery Division 651. 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. Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. 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. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. During the early hours of December 17, the Germans laid heavy mortar and artillery fire on the front-line positions of his regiment. Those factors dictated that at least another 24 hours would be needed before a major assault on St. Vith could begin. 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. 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. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Armament T-70 gun cal. Zaloga, Steven. Jones wanted Clarke to counterattack immediately with his combat command and break that ring that these people have closed around the Schnee Eifel.. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. While on its way, the platoon was commandeered by a colonel from the 106th Division. 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. He is being outflanked and is retiring west another 2,000 yards refusing both flanks. 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. With this contact, all units in the vicinity of St. Vith, including 9th Armored Division forces, passed to the command of Maj. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgways XVIII Airborne Corps. Do you have more information about this person? Zaloga, Steven. Possibly such events took place in reality. Companies A and B held a line from Grufflingen to Hohenbusch with Company A, 14th Tank Battalion to their north. To this end, General Hoge was in the town of Monschau to check on the possibility of getting his command across in that area. . 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.. The Commands main body was led by the 27th AIB with B Company in front, followed by Headquarters and C Company. Volksgrenadier-Division. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. 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. Unable to advance, it pulled back to the nearest high ground and dug in. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. Volksgrenadier Division 5. 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. Could a Panther be a possibility? Home News Random Article Install Wikiwand Send a suggestion Uninstall Wikiwand Upgrade to Wikiwand 2.0 The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. Airfix J6017 Volkswagen Camper Van (Quick Build) R 405.00. 1941622 . 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. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division under the command of Generalmajor Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn patrolled the Schnee Eifel area. General Hoge received his order to pull CCB, 9th Armored out at 0605 on December 23. 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. 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. After conferring with Clarke, Ridgway wanted to talk to one more man in whom he had supreme confidenceBrigadier General Hoge. Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER II. 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. An M8 Greyhound armored car of Troop B, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron was lying in a concealed position just northeast of the vitally important crossroads town of St. Vith, Belgium. 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. 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. 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. Before the day ended, renewed fighting broke out along the entire front. The troops were exhausted and spread out. Lucht anticipated that the Americans would counterattack the next day, but that their reaction would be too late to avoid complete encirclement. Jentz, Thomas. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. In the 27th AIBs move to take the high ground, B Company advanced along the center of the road. Division C E R T I F I C A T E 24 June 1945 I certify that I am S-3 Ardennes 1944: Hitlers Last Gamble. 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. General Frederich Kittel, the division commander, ordered his mobile battalion up from his 164th Regiment reserve at Pronsfeld and into the attack along the Winterspelt road. According to Hugh M. Cole, an American historian and army officer. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. 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. 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. Griffin, Marcus S. After Action Report, Month of December 1944. 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. 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. They were followed in order by the half-tracks and other vehicles of the 27th AIB, the tank companies, the antiaircraft company, and the engineers. Once the bridge at Steinebruck was seized, the 62nd was to support the 18th Volksgrenadier Divisions drive on St. Vith by blocking the western and southern routes in and out of the town. Lever het aan! These troops were hit by the Fhrer Escort Brigade and driven from Rogery to Cierreux in some disarray. 16 Dec 2022 08:28:00 which, in principle, is comparable to the 37 mm American gun. 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. 223 223. Volksgrenadier-Division.

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