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. As each unit joined the rear of the column, it took its turn being the rear guard. Stackpole Books, 2015. The fall of Rodt effectively split 7th Armoreds CCA from General Clarkes CCB. Under cover of automatic weapons fire from a platoon of light tanks, Sergeant Eugene Dorland and two other men from the engineers went into the cold, bullet-splattered water carrying three cases of TNT and placed their charges on the south abutment of the bridge. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. Osprey Publishing, 2010. Before the day ended, renewed fighting broke out along the entire front. These troops were hit by the Fhrer Escort Brigade and driven from Rogery to Cierreux in some disarray. It was a new and inexperienced division made up of Luftwaffe personnel, former Kriegsmariners out of a This German World War II article is a stub. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. The most startling difference however is the range at which this engagement occurred, with Lieutenant Olsons version having the engagement take place at 800 yards (732 meters), compared to the original storys 25 yards (23 meters)! 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. On this day, CCB of the 9th Armored Division was still in its assembly area in the vicinity of Faymonville. Heeft u zelf meer informatie over deze persoon? 6 Schwere Panzerkampfwagen DW to E-100. Join historians and history buffs alike with our Unlimited Digital Access pass to every military history article ever published (over 3,000 articles) in Sovereigns military history magazines. Mines were laid. 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. 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. Osprey Publishing, 2003. After learning of the attack by the Fhrer Escort Brigade, Brig. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. js = d.createElement(s); For example, when G.I. Volksgrenadier-Division. I am weighing toward a stray Panzer IV or maybe a SP gun like the one you described. Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. One German tank was seen going up in flames. 223 223. The event that Lieutenant Olson recounts does bare a resemblance to the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story, with both events taking place at or near St. Vith on the 18th of December 1944 and involving an American armored car from the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron knocking out a German tank by shooting it in the rear. 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. Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. (function (d, s, n) { Tiger. 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. 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. 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). On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The division had lost four companies of armored infantry. The 294th Volksgrenadier Regiment was a unit of the larger 18th Volksgrenadier Division. Clarke asked, Why in the world when I had only 2,500 men available to my command on December 17, did you not just execute a powerful frontal assault and overrun me?. 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. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. 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. Schneider, Wolfgang. 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. Mastering all the usages of 'poor shape' from sentence examples published by news publications. After 1200 hours on 17th December 1944, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was reinforced by a mobile battalion. 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. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. He is being outflanked and is retiring west another 2,000 yards refusing both flanks. EnWik > 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) Zaloga, Steven. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-603 352d Volks Grenadier Division (19 Freb.-21 Mar. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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. Each attack was preceded by an intense artillery barrage lasting from 15 to 35 minutes. The sector now defended by CCB, 9th Armored extended across five miles of rugged terrain that was primarily held by the three infantry companies making up the 27th AIB. 18th Volksgrenadier Division Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2 After Clarke and Hoge settled upon a mutually supportive command structure, Clarke noted that Hoges command was, for the most part, forward of a railroad track built on a high embankment. Airfix J6017 Volkswagen Camper Van (Quick Build) R 405.00. Add to cart. Troop D, 89th Recon had positioned its troop headquarters and first platoon to cover the bridge over the Our. 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. Boyer, Donald P. St. Vith The 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge 17-23 December 1944 A Narrative After Action Report. 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. 188 was raised in late 1939. Design, Production & Modifications. Two of its tanks were mired in mud that had not frozen and had to be retrieved by a tank dozer. 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. The event simply was not that notable. An assault on Thommen forced out the troops holding the town, and efforts to retake it failed. The closest of the northern German armored thrust routes ran through Recht, about five miles northwest of St. Vith. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. 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. That evening General Clarke also put his command into Commanster. The guns of two platoons of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were overrun. When Model released the Fhrer Escort Brigade to General Manteuffel, he thought that he would be able to gain quick access to the St. Vith road network. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); In addition, the massive road jam caused by the inability to pass through St. Vith was creating acute shortages of gasoline and ammunition well to the west of St. Vith. Infanterie-Division . Due to the lack of detail in Troop Es entry, it is impossible to tell which Tiger tank is the one being referred to in the account. 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. American Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Choose a Unit. 223 () - Wikiwand 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. 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 CCB command post was moved to Neubruck, a small group of farmhouses on Braunlauf Creek about two miles southwest of St. Vith. Out of the 1,467 tanks the Germans brought with them to the Battle of the Bulge on the 16th of December, 1944, 52 of them were Tiger IIs and 14 of them were Tiger Is. Clarke pulled back his left flank to protect Hinderhausen, a key position on the emergency exit route to Commanster and Vielsalm. By the end of the day, the 27th AIB had withdrawn through Steinebruck without casualties despite enemy shelling of the village. Although the American forces in the St. Vith area came under command of General Ridgways XVIII Airborne Corps, the Airborne Corps itself was under the command of Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, overall commander of the northern sector of the Bulge. 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. Luftlande-Division 19416 19421944 19453 22 22. 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. List of German divisions in World War II (wikipdia) / List of Foreign A platoon of medium tanks counterattacked, and the enemy retreated. The ground was frozen solid. 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. VGD) was a volksgrenadierdivision of the German Army(Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Zaloga, Steven. The German plan for the attack through the Ardennes, an offensive that would forever be known as the Battle of the Bulge, was to be accomplished in the conventional manner. On December 9, 1944, Brig. Manteuffel had hoped for considerably more on the 19th. Revised Edition, Arms and Armour Press, 1973. A strong attack has just developed against Clarke again. Maurice Delaval Papers Collection of the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA. 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. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. This forest was criss-crossed only by trails. 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 . 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. 1945. So its quite possible! }(document, 'script', 'exco-player')); The M8 Greyhound was a small, 7.9 tonne American armored car with 6.4 mm to 25.4 mm of armor, only enough to protect against rifle caliber bullets, and armed with a 37 mm M6 main gun, a peashooter at this point in the war. 22nd Air Landing Division (wehrmacht) - Encyclopedia Information At 0100 the 23rd, D Troop, 89th Recon lost an armored car and a jeep to antitank guns. 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. That cold snap that hit us has frozen the roads. On December 21, 18. The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944 An Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. Ministry of Supply, 1945. Penguin Books, 2016. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. A mobile battalion of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was already moving on Andler to seize the Schoenberg bridge and the road to St. Vith. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. Olson states that, on the 18th of December 1944, one of the armored cars opened fire with its 37 mm gun on a German tank at range of 800 yards [732 meters]. He also hoped the 3rd Armored Division soon might attack to remove all threat of encirclement. During his meeting with Hoge, General Ridgway became convinced that defending this area any further would be futile. 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. 2014 Roadblocks were set up and manned. 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 Luchts plan for December 17 was simple. By 2300 enemy patrols tested 27th AIBs new position and a night attack was thrown back with the help of D Troop, 89th Recon. 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. 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. 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. 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. 12th Volksgrenadier Division 89; 197; 487; 557; 650; 727. 22 () - 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. 20th Panzergrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) - Atozwiki.com The Commands main body was led by the 27th AIB with B Company in front, followed by Headquarters and C Company. One task force was made up of A and B Companies of the 14th Tank Battalion, B Company of the 482nd Antiaircraft Artillery, and another platoon of the 14th. War Department Field Manual FM 2-20 Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop Mechanized. The second task force hit another probe by the 1st SS Panzer and pushed it out of Hunningen. 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. Both American units were able to drive forward, and the Shermans knocked out six German armored vehicles. January 1945 World War II Combat Interviews of the 7th Armored Division Captain Ansteys version lacks supporting documentation. Plastic Models - Page 8 - Esswex Hobbies 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. Gen. Bruce C. Clarke, commander of CCB, 7th Armored Division, arrived at General Joness command post in St. Vith at approximately 1030. While 9th Armored was thus engaged in the Winterspelt area during the morning hours of December 17, Brig. 111 () - 1/18th Scale Cars; 1/24th Scale Assembly Kits; 1/24th Scale Cars; 1/43rd Scale Cars; . 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 StuG III was a turretless assault gun based on the Panzer III. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division completed its southern swing, encircling the two regiments of the 106th Division on the Schnee Eifel. 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. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. Zaloga, Steven. Clad in armor between 25 mm and 180 mm thick and armed with deadly 88mm KwK 43 L/71 gun, the Tiger II was one of the deadliest tanks of the Second World War. 1945. Contents 1 Allied Forces 1.1 12th Army Group 1.1.1 U.S. First Army 1.1.1.1 V Corps 1.1.1.2 VII Corps 1.1.1.3 XVIII Airborne Corps 1.1.2 U.S. Third Army 1.1.2.1 III Corps 1.1.2.2 VIII Corps 1.1.2.3 XII Corps The mud had made the roads and open areas impassable for armored vehicles. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. German reports are also far from subtlety. The fortified goose egg ran nearly 10 miles in diameter, containing a mass of forest and only one decent road running northwest to southwest. Johnston, W. Wesley. South of Sixth Panzer Army was General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army, with the Seventh Army on its left. 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. In this version the M8 is replaced by an M5 Stuart from the 17th Tank Battalion of the 7th Armored during the retreat from St. Vith, that somehow miraculously ended up behind a Tiger when they thought they were following a Sherman.
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