September 18th, 1944: Kdr. The 62nd, like the 18th, included three regiments of two battalions each. 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. 13th Flak Division 651 . 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. 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 provisional company of 424th stragglers disappeared during the night. Johnston, W. Wesley. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. The corps consisted of two infantry divisions. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. A two-day rest was planned for everyone. Volksgrenadier-Division. Beevor, Antony. American Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Choose a Unit. At about 2130, General Clarke phoned General Hoge to tell him that the enemy was entering St. Vith from the north and that his forces were withdrawing to form a new line northwest of the city. M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91. 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. Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1918) Periode: Eerste Wereldoorlog (1914-1918) . Boylan, Vincent L. After Action Report, Month of December, 1944. That eliminates this units Pzkw IV being the Tiger encountered by the Troop B M8 on Dec. 18th . 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 . 1/18th Scale Cars; 1/24th Scale Assembly Kits; 1/24th Scale Cars; 1/43rd Scale Cars; . Besides the previously mentioned absence of any recountings of this event in several notable documents that should have contained it, and most peculiarly, Captain Anstey himself makes no mention of the engagement when he discusses and documents the events of the 18th of December 1944 in a combat interview he gave on the 2nd of January 1945, just over two weeks after the event supposedly took place. Together they broke up the attack. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. Infanterie-Division . Furthermore, General Clarke had no idea when his command would arrive. 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. Each attack was preceded by an intense artillery barrage lasting from 15 to 35 minutes. He also hoped the 3rd Armored Division soon might attack to remove all threat of encirclement. Personally I have not believed this event at all. Engeman set out with two task forces to meet the enemy. It consisted of the 136th 138th and 139th Mountain Replacement Regiments and the 112th Artillery The last of the St. Vith defenders to come out were Task Force Jones and the 112th Infantry Regiment. 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. Fifth Panzer was to attack from Prum in the north down to Bitburg and Bastogne in the south. 194311 Volksgrenadier Division 2. However, this platoon never completed its mission. By 1300 on the 21st, the entire line was ablaze with German artillery, rockets, tanks, and infantry. It was a new and inexperienced division made up of Luftwaffe personnel, former Kriegsmariners out of a 1946. Looking at German records The Fhrerbegleit Brigade with one Panzerabteilung of four companies of Pzkw IV and a Sturmgeschutzabteilung with four batteries of StuG III were in reserve assembled in the area around Daun on the 17th and not yet in action only beginning to move up at 1600H on the 18th. And why would it not? The division, which was under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, absorbed . Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. 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. 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. 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 division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. The southernmost battle group of the 18th Volksgrenadier would also undertake a mobile thrust and, finally, the 62nd Volksgrenadier would break loose at Heckhuscheid and drive for the Our River Valley. The second task force hit another probe by the 1st SS Panzer and pushed it out of Hunningen. According to British penetration diagrams from 1944, the 37 mm M6 gun firing its standard round, the 37 mm APC M51, could, under ideal conditions, penetrate the 80 mm thick rear hull armor angled at 9 degrees when firing at an angle of 0 degrees, albeit just barely. Situated next to B Company were Company A, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. #WW2 . The Tiger II, also known as the King Tiger, Royal Tiger, Knigstiger, and Tiger Ausf.B, was an enormous, 69.8 tonne German heavy tank. Panzer Tracts No. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. . However, I am not so emotionally attached to my favorite LAV that I cant see the improbabilities. 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. Heeft u zelf meer informatie over deze persoon? The greatest danger existed in the 424ths position because the regiments flank lay vulnerable to attacks by the 116th Panzer Division to the south. As each unit joined the rear of the column, it took its turn being the rear guard. That is correct, however, that was off the topic of this story. Our preliminary briefings had told us that there would be no armor in our path. The mud had made the roads and open areas impassable for armored vehicles. 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. At about 1330, three German self-propelled guns and 19 or 20 horse-drawn artillery pieces went into position on the high ground 800 yards to the southeast of Steinebruck. The next notable version of this tale comes from a 1966 book by the US Army Armor School titled The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944: A Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. After that mornings enemy assaults, the line of the 27th AIB was reestablished west of Neubruck. However, Company B, 27th AIB was sent to help ease the situation, covering the cavalrys left flank. Zaloga, Steven. VGD. Hoge managed to stop the stragglers, and soon a provisional company of men from the 424th was formed to reinforce the 27th AIB on its march toward the Our. 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. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. Based upon this fairly optimistic view, Ridgway, shortly after midnight, ordered the entire St. Vith force to withdraw from its current positions and form a defensive ring west of St. Vith and east of the Salm River. Those men were a scrappy bunch. Model informed Manteuffel that he would be given the Fhrer Escort Brigade, which was nearly equal in strength to an American light armored division, for the upcoming assault on St. Vith. 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. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. 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. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. Volksgrenadier Division 5. Orders for CCB, 9th Armored to move to a new defensive position were issued at 1600. VGD. Protected by armor between 25 mm to 145 mm thick and armed with a fearsome 88mm KwK 36 L/56 main gun, the Tiger I was arguably the most feared tank of World War II by Allied soldiers. 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. 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. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division(18th VGD) was a volksgrenadierdivision of the German Army(Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Dragon 1629 1/16th Feldwebel 352nd Volksgrenadier Division R 275.00. Ardennes 1944: Hitlers Last Gamble. Tigers In Combat II. 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. 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. At about noon that day, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Divisions 190th Regiment had broken through north of the 424th Infantrys Cannon Company. The Tiger I was a 57 tonne German heavy tank that has become one of the most famous tanks in history. 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. The 27th AIB was ordered to establish a defensive position south, east, west, and southeast of Malempre. Infanterie-Division Hamburg 19453 . December, 1944 By Greg Moore gregpanzerblitz.com December, 2008 Battalion I x 5 x 4 x 1 x 2 x 12 293rd Volks- . The area being defended was beginning to take the form of a large horseshoe, its axis running approximately northeast to southeast. Between these units, a place was found for the provisional company composed of the 424th Infantry stragglers. Inform us! It is time to withdraw.. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Still quite a feat for a little Greyhound, though well probably never know conclusively. Im going to guess that they just created this all up in their head. It is certainly possible that the tank destroyed in this engagement was a Panzer IV or a StuG III but in the absence of new evidence coming to light it can only be concluded that either the Greyhound crew knocked out a completely different tank or were otherwise exaggerating some action. Osprey Publishing, 2013. Bergstrm, Christer. No one knew what was happening. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. Add to cart. Fortunately, a tank destroyer from Vielsalm turned up and hit the leading two German panzers, which drove the rest for cover. 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. Anderson, Thomas. 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. These troops were hit by the Fhrer Escort Brigade and driven from Rogery to Cierreux in some disarray. 1945. Manteuffel had hoped for considerably more on the 19th. Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. Close. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. Osprey Publishing, 2002. 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. Osprey Publishing, 2002. Company C, 27th AIB withdrew under heavy artillery and sniper fire but managed to destroy a number of German vehicles. As a result of 7th Armoreds earlier regrouping, Rodt was the junction point between CCA of the 7th Armored under the command of Colonel Rosebaum and General Clarkes CCB. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. General Hoge received his order to pull CCB, 9th Armored out at 0605 on December 23. Since speed was the key to success of the German plan, two panzer armies would spearhead the offensive. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. While walking to avoid the traffic congestion, Manteuffel encountered his superior, Field Harshal Model. For example, when G.I. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division infiltrated the American lines at the villages of Roth, Weckerath, Kobscheid, and Auw before the artillery barrage began. Another attack hit the left flank of 7th Armored. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. There is no comparison to Tiger. 45 mm. That cold snap that hit us has frozen the roads. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. 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. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. This was no place to conduct a mobile defense with armor-heavy forces. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. 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. Although General Jones was deeply worried about his two regiments on the Schnee Eifel, he was also highly concerned about the German advances in the Winterspelt area where his 424th Infantry Regiment was defending. The closest primary German armored thrust route to the south ran through Burg Reuland, also about five miles from St. Vith. This moment marked the beginning of the famous Battle of the Bulge, Germanys last major offensive on the Western Front in World War II. 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. 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. 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 unit was converted to an infantry division in 1945, while stationed in Courland. 188 was raised in late 1939. Roadblocks were set up and manned. Volksgrenadier-Division. The situation on Reids left flank was unclear, and the Germans were attacking in considerable force against his right flank. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. 2014. The move had scarcely begun when an enemy attack hit the junction between Company B, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. At CCB, 9th Armored Divisions headquarters in Faymonville, General Hoge was just finishing up his briefing for his commands move to the Losheim Gap and Manderfeld when the call came through from General Jones informing him of 9th Armoreds new Winterspelt mission. 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. Our database is searchable by subject and updated continuously. Situation reports suggested that the Germans were intent on crossing the Our River at Steinebruck. 3. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Hoge pointedly asked Ridgway how it could be done. By 1245, the original line was restored, and the antitank guns of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were recovered. This information came from the division's senior headquarters, the VIII Corps, First U.S. Army. On December 21, 18. To execute this maneuver, Hoges entire command would have to move all the way up to St. Vith and back down again. 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. On the road to Winterspelt, General Hoge soon learned that the situation there was worse than General Jones had described. The staff officer wanted to know if 9th Armored could spare some desperately needed help. 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. Stackpole Books, 2015. 223 223. M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91. Fire from the 16th Field Artillery broke up other enemy formations trying to assemble on the high ground to the south. Do you have more information about this person? Andrews, Frank L. The Defense of St. Vith in the Battle of the Ardennes December, 1944. 560th Volks Grenadier Division (15-29 Dec. 1944) and 12th VGD (1-28 Jan. 1945). At about 0930, the enemy attacked St. Vith from Hunningen to the north, apparently in an effort to envelop Clarkes left flank. 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. 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. The second task force consisted of B Company of the 811th Tank Destroyers.
