1941622 . 47. Colonel Alexander D. Reid, commander of the 424th Infantry Regiment, had reason to fear encirclement. As the offensive steam came to an end in the Ardennes, the division went on the defensive, and there they would stay. By this time the Germans had essentially closed the trap on the two infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel. So, rather than spill blood needlessly to take meaningless ground, Hoge called off the attack on Winterspelt. 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. Jentz, Thomas. He also said that they got a new Greyhound. Captain Ansteys version lacks supporting documentation. 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. 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. Andrews, Frank L. The Defense of St. Vith in the Battle of the Ardennes December, 1944. Schneider, Wolfgang. An attack to the east by the 7th Armored Division could then relieve the two surrounded regiments of the 106th. Tigers In Combat II. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith. Established in 1941, the unit was deployed in German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, in the Army Group North Rear Area. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. 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. The division had lost four companies of armored infantry. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. This means that 50% of shots fired will penetrate this amount of armor. All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. 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. What a fantastic real-life story or is it? By mid-afternoon, General Hoge ordered his infantry to halt and dig in. Yeah but Panthers rear and side armor is very weak, so its completely different story. The greatest danger existed in the 424ths position because the regiments flank lay vulnerable to attacks by the 116th Panzer Division to the south. 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. According to Hugh M. Cole, an American historian and army officer. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-603 352d Volks Grenadier Division (19 Freb.-21 Mar. The next move was up to General Lucht and his corps. It was a race between the Germans who were desperately trying to bring their 88 mm gun to bear and the Americans who were trying to get as close as possible to the Tiger Is rear. Inform us! Thus, there are four different versions of this story circulating: Troop Es version with a Tiger I, Troop Es version with a Tiger II, Captain Ansteys version with a Tiger I, and Captain Ansteys version with a Tiger II. Beevor, Antony. 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. 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. The staff officer wanted to know if 9th Armored could spare some desperately needed help. After learning of the attack by the Fhrer Escort Brigade, Brig. The last Tiger II belonged to Schwere Panzer Abteilung 506 (Heavy Tank Battalion 506) and was lost to enemy fire on the Lentzweiler road in Luxemburg. 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. 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. Eventually retreating through Germany until the end of the war, when it surrendered. Staff officers were casualties. 1940 194111. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. 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. Instead of the M8 Greyhound firing three shots into the Tigers rear, the M8 Greyhound in Lieutenant Olsons version of events fired two shots. CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. The column came upon stragglers from the 424th Infantry retreating in disarray toward St. Vith. 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. 22nd Air Landing Division (wehrmacht) - Encyclopedia Information Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. Im going to guess that they just created this all up in their head. 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. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. 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. WWII Pictures on Twitter: "Soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division Manteuffel met near Wallerode with Model and Lucht that day. 194311 Double-talking his identification over the radio with allusions to West Point football days, Ridgway gave Hoge a location at which to meet him. 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. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Heer - TracesOfWar.com Schiffer Publishing, 1996. Tigers In Combat I. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. The 27th AIB was ordered to establish a defensive position south, east, west, and southeast of Malempre. The surviving Volksgrenadiers fled in disarray. 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. General Jones and his staff had pulled out of St. Vith on the morning of the 18th for Vielsalm. The guns of two platoons of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were overrun. 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 . Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Period: First World War (1914-1918) Awarded on: October 30th, 1917. Clerks were running everywhere and junior staff officers were arguing among themselves; upstairs, however, Hoge found General Jones remarkably composed. 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. Good Tank, Poor Deployment | T-34-76 and T-34-85 in Yugoslav Partisan Service. 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 . The mobile battalion consisted of three platoons of assault guns, a company of engineers, and another of fusiliers. The other, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division, bore the number of an infantry division destroyed on the Eastern Front, which had been reconstituted. Wikizero - 281st Security Division (Wehrmacht) Infanterie-Division 19398 . 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 . The situation on Reids left flank was unclear, and the Germans were attacking in considerable force against his right flank. Boyer, Donald P. St. Vith The 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge 17-23 December 1944 A Narrative After Action Report. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Germany) (Paperback) Rebuilding the blown bridge to get their assault guns across was their first priority. The 294th Volksgrenadier Regiment was a unit of the larger 18th Volksgrenadier Division. Elements of D Company, 89th Recon screened the flanks. Home News Random Article Install Wikiwand Send a suggestion Uninstall Wikiwand Upgrade to Wikiwand 2.0 By midnight on the 19th, the horseshoe- shaped defense of St. Vith had taken form. Additionally, the M8s 37 mm M6 gun is more than capable of penetrating the rear hull and rear casemate armor of the StuG III. 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. 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. Before the day ended, renewed fighting broke out along the entire front. During the afternoon of December 19, Hoge visited Clarkes command post in St. Vith and expressed his frustration with the current chain of command. Hoge pointedly asked Ridgway how it could be done. Although the Germans were facing stiff resistance all along the American defensive line, they were determined to take St. Vith. 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. Those men were a scrappy bunch. I have come to believe is that this type of fight happened more than once. However, he kept these misgivings to himself. Similar events have happened more than once, though on the Eastern Front. 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. General Luchts 66th Corps was shifted from General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army to the Sixth Panzer. 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. Panzer Tracts No. 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. 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. 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. Since speed was the key to success of the German plan, two panzer armies would spearhead the offensive. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. 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. Johnston, W. Wesley. 188th Division (Nazi Germany) - Atozwiki.com 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. 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. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Germany) - liquisearch.com VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. Communications with division headquarters in St. Vith were limited to liaison officers running along a road now being shelled by the Germans. In blinding snow and on slippery roads the tanks and infantry of CCB, 9th Armored headed for Bauvenn. Both task forces reached St. Vith shortly before noon on the 18th to find not one, but two German attacks moving against the town. During ceremonies observing the 20th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, General Clarke was able to talk to General Manteuffel and discuss German operations against St. Vith. 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. Zaloga, Steven. The platoon lost four men missing and two wounded in the ensuing engagement. 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. In minutes, a platoon of medium tanks from A Company of the 14th rolled across the bridge at Steinebruck and placed high explosive and heavy machine-gun fire on the enemys position in the woods and along the draw. Such was not the case, however, and by the evening of the December 20, the Germans were feeling the growing negative effects of the St. Vith salient. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. (function (d, s, n) { 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. After 1200 hours on 17th December 1944, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was reinforced by a mobile battalion. Were any of these Tiger Is and or Tiger IIs knocked out on the 18th of December, 1944? 'poor shape' in a sentence. 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. It was a new and inexperienced division made up of Luftwaffe personnel, former Kriegsmariners out of a Osprey Publishing, 2010.