18th volksgrenadier division

Hoge and Clarke agreed that Hoges entire command should be withdrawn west of the railroad tracks. 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. It would be unable to turn its full strength on St. Vith until the American surrender in that area. 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. 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. First Edition, Presidio Press, 2002. By the end of the day, the 27th AIB had withdrawn through Steinebruck without casualties despite enemy shelling of the village. . Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Just kept to the main story. The platoon lost four men missing and two wounded in the ensuing engagement. Shortly thereafter, Hasbrouck called and asked, Bruce, do you think you can get out? Clarke answered, A miracle has happened, General! Sell, Buy or Rent Panzers in Winter: Hitler's Army and the Battle of 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. Resistance by service company personnel in Rodt was fierce with every possible mandrivers, cooks, radio operatorsemployed in the defense; however, after nine hours of battle against the much superior German force, Rodt fell. By mid-afternoon, General Hoge ordered his infantry to halt and dig in. 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. The commanders were at the center of the Foret Domaniale du Grand Bois. Boylan, Vincent L. Letter to Robert W. Hasbrouck. 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. 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. EN. Aside from the cold and mud, there was also the enemy to contend with. Double-talking his identification over the radio with allusions to West Point football days, Ridgway gave Hoge a location at which to meet him. The mud had made the roads and open areas impassable for armored vehicles. So its quite possible! The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. . 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.. 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. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. 324 324. Anderson, Thomas. The surviving Volksgrenadiers fled in disarray. Boyer, Donald P. St. Vith The 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge 17-23 December 1944 A Narrative After Action Report. The new sector assigned to CCB was on the fringe of territory the Sixth Panzer Army had mapped out for its further maneuvers. Zaloga, Steven. His troops remained in place, and the pullout to the west side of the Our River began at dusk. Furthermore, General Clarke had no idea when his command would arrive. 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. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. 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. 1/18th Scale Cars; 1/24th Scale Assembly Kits; 1/24th Scale Cars; 1/43rd Scale Cars; . VGD division was absorbed into the 26. 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. Thus, the job of rescuing the two trapped infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel passed from the 9th to the 7th Armored Division. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. js.className = n; It was around 1200 hours and all was quiet when suddenly a German heavy tank was spotted slowly approaching the American line, a Tiger I. The ground was frozen solid. 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. The formations started to peel backward in succession from opposite Neubruck to Maldingen. 1945. General Jones and his staff had pulled out of St. Vith on the morning of the 18th for Vielsalm. 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. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. 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. The reason for this comparative respite was due to the fact that the roads to the German rear were completely jammed. Now with a new armored combat command due to arrive at 0700 hours the next day, and with the rest of the division to follow, Jones believed he would soon have the potential to deal with both the Schnee Eifel and Winterspelt emergencies. During the afternoon of December 19, Hoge visited Clarkes command post in St. Vith and expressed his frustration with the current chain of command. Rapidly, the M8 advanced to within 25 yards (23 meters) of the Tiger I and quickly pumped three rounds into its rear. The supply trains led the way north on N27 to St. Vith. Farther to the north, in the 7th Armored sector, the pressure exerted by the enemy was also intense. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. Infanterie-Division 19398 . Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER II. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. Rather than reaching the Meuse and driving on to Antwerp, the offensive stalled and eventually was turned back. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. Staff officers were casualties. Panzer Tracts No. 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. This break appeared to be only a dream, however, as it seemed every outfit wanted a piece of CCB, 9th Armored to help shore up its positions. 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. That evening General Clarke also put his command into Commanster. A scratch force made up of one platoon of riflemen from Company A, 27th AIB and a platoon from Company B, 9th Engineers were sent to contain the Germans. Between these units, a place was found for the provisional company composed of the 424th Infantry stragglers. 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. The Commands main body was led by the 27th AIB with B Company in front, followed by Headquarters and C Company. 1940 194111. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. Dragon 1625 1/16th Obersturmfuhrer Totenkopf Division Budapest 1945 R 275.00. 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. Hunnicutt, R. P. Armored Car A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles. If neither a Tiger I nor a Tiger II was killed on 18th December 1944 in or around the town of St. Vith by an M8 Greyhound, what was? 16 Dec 2022 08:28:00 The Germans attacked the center of the 27th AIB. Volksgrenadier-Division. At 0100 the 23rd, D Troop, 89th Recon lost an armored car and a jeep to antitank guns. 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. Troy Middletons VIII Corps. The provisional company of 424th stragglers disappeared during the night. 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. CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. By dark, just as General Hoges command was getting underway from Faymonville, Kittels mobile battalion and infantry from the 190th Regiment were closing in on Winterspelt. Accordingly, that evening Sixth Panzer Army commander Dietrich issued orders to the 2nd SS Panzer Corps to move to the south so that parts of that corps could assist Manteuffel in taking St. Vith. 'poor shape' in a sentence. 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. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. The column came upon stragglers from the 424th Infantry retreating in disarray toward St. Vith. The fall of Rodt effectively split 7th Armoreds CCA from General Clarkes CCB. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. 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 . Chamberlain, Peter, et al. 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. This was no place to conduct a mobile defense with armor-heavy forces. 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 move would also have to be done under the cover of darkness in severe wintry conditions. For example, when G.I. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-603 352d Volks Grenadier Division (19 Freb.-21 Mar. Its mission was to break through to the south of the 18th Volksgrenadier in the Grosslangenfeld-Heckhuschied sector, advance northwest on a broad front, and seize the Our River crossing at Steinebruck, five miles southeast of St. Vith. Both B and C Companies pulled back to the vicinity of Neidingen, near the battalion command post, while the 14th Tank Battalion established a perimeter defense around its assembly area near Breitfeld about halfway between the Our and St. Vith. It is interesting to note that the U.S 7th Armored Division suffered a moderate 425 Battle Casualties, on page 465 of Hitlers Last Gamble by Trevor N. Dupuy, for December 17-23, 1944 in the Battle of Saint Vith including the 1st day of the Battle of Manhay, out of the 3,397 Battle and Non-Battle Casualties suffered during the Battle by the U.S 112th Infantry Regiment of the U.S 28th Infantry Division, the U.S 424th Infantry Regiment of the U.S 106th Infantry Division, Combat Command B of the U.S 9th Armored Division and ofcourse the U.S 14th Cavalry Group. 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. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. This German World War II article is a stub. 18th Flak Division 651 . It was a new and inexperienced division made up of Luftwaffe personnel, former Kriegsmariners out of a 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. He could not believe it. The other, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division, bore the number of an infantry division destroyed on the Eastern Front, which had been reconstituted. Not to mention that the M8s 37 mm M6 gun is more than capable of penetrating the rear hull armor of the Panzer IV, which was only 20 mm thick angled at 10 degrees. 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 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. There was little they could do other than vow to get the attack moving early on the 20th. 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. 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. Revised Edition, Arms and Armour Press, 1973. The line companies were down to one officer apiece. Osprey Publishing, 2013. 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. Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1918) Period: First World War (1914-1918) Awarded on: . Fortunately for Colonel Reid, word came at about 1730 that his 424th Infantry Regiment was to withdraw immediately. Beevor, Antony. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Infanterie-Division 193510 [1] 22 22. Griffin, Marcus S. After Action Report, Month of December 1944. At about 0115 on December 17, a platoon from 9th Armoreds D Troop, 89th Recon was detailed to proceed through St. Vith in a southeasterly direction and seize the high ground along Highway N27 south of Steinebruck. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. Volksgrenadier-Division. Outnumbered and in danger of encirclement, the cannoneers and their rifle support from C Company made a platoon-by-platoon withdrawal toward Winterspelt. This means that 50% of shots fired will penetrate this amount of armor. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 120th Infantry Regiment (30th Infantry Division) 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion 319th Field Artillery Glider Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment German Units 3d Parachute Division 12th SS Panzer Division 18th Volksgrenadier Division 246th Volsgrenadier Division 884th March Battalion 905th Assault Gun Brigade 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. Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1918) Periode: Eerste Wereldoorlog (1914-1918) . Osprey Publishing, 2003. Good Tank, Poor Deployment | T-34-76 and T-34-85 in Yugoslav Partisan Service. 18th Volksgrenadier Division Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 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 . Johnston, W. Wesley. Sicherungs-Division) was a rear-security division in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. Schneider, Wolfgang. 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. 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. This one, however, most likely did not. Manteuffel answered, We estimated that we were up against a division, and perhaps against an entire corps. 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. That night, infantry patrols found German medics removing their wounded. At approximately 0930 on December 17, B Company was the first 9th Armored Division unit to cross the Our River. General Luchts plan for December 17 was simple. 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. 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. The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. Two of its tanks were mired in mud that had not frozen and had to be retrieved by a tank dozer. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. The M5 got within a yard of the Tiger and knocked it out with 5 rounds. 1941622 . The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. 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. 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. The next move was up to General Lucht and his corps. However, this platoon never completed its mission. Possibly such events took place in reality. Volksgrenadier-Division. 281st Security Division (281. 2014. 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. 560th Volks Grenadier Division (15-29 Dec. 1944) and 12th VGD (1-28 Jan. 1945). The Seventh Armored Division in the Battle of St. Vith. 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. Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force | World War II by Day 111 () - Osprey Publishing, 2013. By midnight on the 19th, the horseshoe- shaped defense of St. Vith had taken form. The staff officer wanted to know if 9th Armored could spare some desperately needed help. WWII Pictures on Twitter: "Soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division Osprey Publishing, 2002. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Schneider, Wolfgang. December 20 was a day of disappointment for the Germans around St. Vith. which, in principle, is comparable to the 37 mm American gun. 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. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-513 German General Staff Officers, Casualties. 47. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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. Do you have more information about this person? Gen. Robert Hasbroucks 7th Armored Division would be arriving at St. Vith at 0700 on the 17th. To this end, General Hoge was in the town of Monschau to check on the possibility of getting his command across in that area. Johnston, W. Wesley. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. During the 27th AIBs assault, a call went out for the 14th Tank Battalion to join the action. Infanterie-Division . 1964. 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. Then there is the issue of the entrys ambiguity in regards to the Tiger tank that was knocked out. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The area being defended was beginning to take the form of a large horseshoe, its axis running approximately northeast to southeast. General Hoge received his order to pull CCB, 9th Armored out at 0605 on December 23. The village of Bauvenn was designated the linkage point for the two combat commands. The division retrained as 22.Luftlande-Division (Air Landing Division) for rapid tactical deployment to capture enemy airbases and performed in that role during the . If Hoge told him that the situation was bad, then without a doubt the situation was worse than he thought. What a fantastic real-life story or is it? All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. Yeah but Panthers rear and side armor is very weak, so its completely different story. The unit was converted to an infantry division in 1945, while stationed in Courland. In blinding snow and on slippery roads the tanks and infantry of CCB, 9th Armored headed for Bauvenn. At about noon that day, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Divisions 190th Regiment had broken through north of the 424th Infantrys Cannon Company. The Pontiac, Michigan, resident also served 10 years in the U.S. Army.