This moment marked the beginning of the famous Battle of the Bulge, Germany's last major offensive on the Western Front in World War II. Gen. Hasbrouck, commander of the 7th Armored Division, sent a message to General Ridgway urging withdrawal, which in part read, P.S. United States 106th Infantry Division on the 16th and 17th of December 1944 (the first two days of the battle of the Ardennes were as follows: 1. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Germany) - liquisearch.com The 18th Volksgrenadier Division(18. The provisional company of 424th stragglers disappeared during the night. 18th Volksgrenadier Division Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) - Alchetron, the free social The 16th Field Artillery also pitched in, as did a battalion of 155mm howitzers sited around Commanster. English translation for " 18e volksgrenadier division Tiger. 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. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. General Luchts 66th Corps was shifted from General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army to the Sixth Panzer. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. South of Sixth Panzer Army was General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army, with the Seventh Army on its left. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. 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. 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. Shortly thereafter, Hasbrouck called and asked, Bruce, do you think you can get out? Clarke answered, A miracle has happened, General! The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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. 1946. Roadblocks were set up and manned. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. 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. Mines were laid. In the 27th AIBs move to take the high ground, B Company advanced along the center of the road. This one, however, most likely did not. 188 was raised in late 1939. By mid-afternoon, General Hoge ordered his infantry to halt and dig in. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. The closest of the northern German armored thrust routes ran through Recht, about five miles northwest of St. Vith. 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. The time was approximately 1800 on Saturday, December 16, when Combat Command B of the 9th Armored Division began its move to St. Vith. Between these units, a place was found for the provisional company composed of the 424th Infantry stragglers. Elements of the 62nd Volksgrenadier had taken the eastern half of Winterspelt during the night, and at daybreak reinforcements finally drove Colonel Reids 1st Battalion from the village. The fortified goose egg ran nearly 10 miles in diameter, containing a mass of forest and only one decent road running northwest to southwest. Sturmpanzer.com - Sturmpanzer and WW2 German Army Research German reports are also far from subtlety. Soon after its crossing, B Company ran into German infantry dug in along the high ground overlooking the village of Elcherath. 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. 12th Volksgrenadier Division 89; 197; 487; 557; 650; 727. During his meeting with Hoge, General Ridgway became convinced that defending this area any further would be futile. Bork, Max Hermann (Generalleutnant) - TracesOfWar.com 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. Hoge pointedly asked Ridgway how it could be done. 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. The M8 was used mostly as a reconnaissance vehicle for scouting. The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944 An Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. Beevor, Antony. The Sixth Panzer Army, with the 15th Army on its right, was to launch the main attack between Monschau in the north and Prum in the south. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. events, and resources, The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith. Hoge and Clarke agreed that Hoges entire command should be withdrawn west of the railroad tracks. 20th Panzergrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) - Atozwiki.com Soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division infiltrated the American lines at the villages of Roth, Weckerath, Kobscheid, and Auw before the artillery barrage began. The troops request for armored support was denied by General Hoge because his tank companies sent north to help the 7th Armored had not yet returned and no reserve was on hand. Hunnicutt, R. P. Armored Car A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles. What he claimed was that the fight wasnt as easy as it is presented here. English PDF (33 MB) Jan B-700 The move would also have to be done under the cover of darkness in severe wintry conditions. Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1918) Period: First World War (1914-1918) Awarded on: . 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. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. The fact that there were Panzer IVs attacking the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (minus Troop B) and the similarity in appearance between the Tiger I and Panzer IV would account for both Troop Es account and Troop Ds potential account of this event. Hunnicutt, R. P. Armored Car A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. By 2300 enemy patrols tested 27th AIBs new position and a night attack was thrown back with the help of D Troop, 89th Recon. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. 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. 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 village of Bauvenn was designated the linkage point for the two combat commands. Wikizero - 18th Volksgrenadier Division The Seventh Armored Division in the Battle of St. Vith. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. 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. January 1945 World War II Combat Interviews of the 7th Armored Division By this time the Germans had essentially closed the trap on the two infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel. Thus, the Fifth Panzer Army commander ordered that St. Vith be taken no later than the second day of the offensive. Johnston, W. Wesley. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. The armored infantrymen kept themselves well hidden until the column was directly in front of them and then opened fire. Troy Middletons VIII Corps. 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. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army ( Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. 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. Schneider, Wolfgang. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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 job of capturing St. Vith went to the Fifth Panzer Armys 66th Corps, commanded by General Walther Lucht. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. 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. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; It was a new and inexperienced division made up of Luftwaffe personnel, former Kriegsmariners out of a 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. Volksgrenadier-Division. 18th Volksgrenadier Division - Wikipedia Infanterie-Division Hamburg 19453 . 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. 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. While 9th Armored was thus engaged in the Winterspelt area during the morning hours of December 17, Brig. 13th Flak Division 651 . js = d.createElement(s); Despite the loss of St. Vith, General Ridgway believed that the American armored and infantry forces defending St. Vith since December 16 could still hold. 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. Volksgrenadier-Division. 47. 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 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. 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. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. A Company moved south under the protection of the high river bank, while C Company deployed along the left side of the road as the enveloping company. Volksgrenadier-Division. 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. 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. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. 1940 194111. Your email address will not be published. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. 18th Artillery Division 651. After 1200 hours on 17th December 1944, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was reinforced by a mobile battalion. However, just as the Americans began their pursuit, the Germans noticed them and began traversing their turret to face them. Airfix J6017 Volkswagen Camper Van (Quick Build) R 405.00. 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. One Day at Stavelot, a Tale of Two Archives The Tiger II vs US Tank Destroyers in the Ardennes. 1940. Despite nearly a foot of snow, the ground underneath was still soft, and with the passage of only a few heavy vehicles it was soon churned into a morass of mud. Possibly such events took place in reality. 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. The closest primary German armored thrust route to the south ran through Burg Reuland, also about five miles from St. Vith. CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. The message was that his command was now back with VIII Corps and that he was to go to St. Vith and report to Maj. Gen. Alan W. Jones, commander of the newly arrived 106th Infantry Division. Which specific Tiger II this was is unknown. At about midday, the field marshal sent a message to General Hasbrouck: You have accomplished your missiona mission well done. 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. Double-talking his identification over the radio with allusions to West Point football days, Ridgway gave Hoge a location at which to meet him. Eventually retreating through Germany until the end of the war, when it surrendered. Outnumbered and in danger of encirclement, the cannoneers and their rifle support from C Company made a platoon-by-platoon withdrawal toward Winterspelt. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. Having failed to find a soft spot to the north, the Germans then moved against Hoges 9th Armored command in the south; however, even before this attack got going three German tanks were knocked out and the rest of the probing force withdrew. This version of the story, which is paraphrased in the introduction, will be referred to as the original version of the story. 22 () - 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. 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. Panzer Tracts No. 19454 Together they broke up the attack. This moment marked the beginning of the famous Battle of the Bulge, Germanys last major offensive on the Western Front in World War II. In blinding snow and on slippery roads the tanks and infantry of CCB, 9th Armored headed for Bauvenn. Rather than reaching the Meuse and driving on to Antwerp, the offensive stalled and eventually was turned back. Johnston, W. Wesley. The German tank then stopped dead in its tracks and shuddered; there was a muffled explosion, followed by flames which billowed out of the turret and engine ports. The situation on Reids left flank was unclear, and the Germans were attacking in considerable force against his right flank. A mobile battalion of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was already moving on Andler to seize the Schoenberg bridge and the road to St. Vith. The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. When you get surprised like this, you become cautious.Undoubtedly much, if not most, of the armor encountered by Manteuffels probing actions during the early days of the German offensive belonged to CCB, 9th Armored Division. Although both men agreed that a withdrawal at this stage was the wiser decision, Hoge was skeptical that, given the weather and ground conditions, the defenders would be able to get out. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, Since St. Vith should have been taken on December 16 or the 17th at the latest, he decided to leave his command post at Waxweiler and spend the night with the 18th Volksgrenadier Division at 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. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. Were any of these Tiger Is and or Tiger IIs knocked out on the 18th of December, 1944? That cold snap that hit us has frozen the roads. By the end of the day, the 27th AIB had withdrawn through Steinebruck without casualties despite enemy shelling of the village. Both task forces reached St. Vith shortly before noon on the 18th to find not one, but two German attacks moving against the town. Close. A second attempt on the bridge, made by about 40 men four hours later, was also thrown back by machine-gun fire. 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. 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. The stubborn defenders of St. Vith played a major role in defeating the final German offensive of World War II in Western Europe. Unable to advance, it pulled back to the nearest high ground and dug in. 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. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. EnWik > 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) At approximately 0530 on December 16, eight German armored divisions and 13 infantry divisions launched their all-out attack on five divisions of the U.S. First Army. Division 3. How to use 'poor shape' in a sentence? 47. This forest was criss-crossed only by trails. The second task force hit another probe by the 1st SS Panzer and pushed it out of Hunningen. Its supporting field artillery battalion was at Kalterherberg, two miles south of Monschau, engaged in firing missions for the 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions. I think we can make it now. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. By dark, Lt. Col. Engeman and his two task forces were back in their assembly area in the vicinity of Breitfeld. Colonel Alexander D. Reid, commander of the 424th Infantry Regiment, had reason to fear encirclement.