560th Volks Grenadier Division (15-29 Dec. 1944) and 12th VGD (1-28 Jan. 1945). Mastering all the usages of 'poor shape' from sentence examples published by news publications. Dragon 1625 1/16th Obersturmfuhrer Totenkopf Division Budapest 1945 R 275.00. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. As each unit joined the rear of the column, it took its turn being the rear guard. So, rather than spill blood needlessly to take meaningless ground, Hoge called off the attack on Winterspelt. 1947. The situation on Reids left flank was unclear, and the Germans were attacking in considerable force against his right flank. Before the day ended, renewed fighting broke out along the entire front. 10 Apr. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Ministry of Supply, 1945. The stubborn defenders of St. Vith played a major role in defeating the final German offensive of World War II in Western Europe. Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1918) Periode: Eerste Wereldoorlog (1914-1918) . The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. We made several probing attacks, and every time we went into your position, we encountered armor. The division, which was under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, absorbed . This article already explains ballistics and mentions that while Panther was vulnerable to lower-caliber AT guns, the Tigers were almost immune to them. Osprey Publishing, 2010. That night, infantry patrols found German medics removing their wounded. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. 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. Approximately three hours later a German company marched out of Neidingen and along the road leading straight into C Companys position, apparently totally unaware of 9th Armoreds recent change of position. 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. Soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division infiltrated the American lines at the villages of Roth, Weckerath, Kobscheid, and Auw before the artillery barrage began. Panzertruppen Volume 2 The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Deployment of The German Tank Forces 1943-1945. The guns of two platoons of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were overrun. 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)! Each attack was preceded by an intense artillery barrage lasting from 15 to 35 minutes. Not only does Troop Es version of the story involve a different unit than the original story, it also takes place in a different location, note the following map. The 14th Tank Battalion was on its way to the Steinebruck bridge when Brig. The ground was frozen solid. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. The surviving Volksgrenadiers fled in disarray. js.src = "//player.ex.co/player/710cf52d-720a-4250-8e95-fc85dcedab01"; Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Jones wanted Clarke to counterattack immediately with his combat command and break that ring that these people have closed around the Schnee Eifel.. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. A platoon of medium tanks counterattacked, and the enemy retreated. Could an M8 Greyhounds 37 mm M6 gun even penetrate the rear hull armor of a Tiger I? Its population in 1944 was about 2,000, and its citizens were very much pro-German. Panzer Tracts No. Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. 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). fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); 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. 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. Daniel P. Kneeland, Grafton, Ma. Zaloga, Steven. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. I should also note that reconnaissance doctrine was to disengage if at all possible and in no way engage enemy armour beyond scout elements. While making his reconnaissance at Monschau he received an urgent message to call V Corps headquarters. This is before you take into account that the manufacturing process for German armor allowed for a tolerance in plates which often left plates 2 to 5 mm thicker than ordered. Ardennes 1944: Hitlers Last Gamble. Osprey Publishing, 2013. Bergstrm, Christer. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. A mobile battalion of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was already moving on Andler to seize the Schoenberg bridge and the road to St. Vith. Soon after its crossing, B Company ran into German infantry dug in along the high ground overlooking the village of Elcherath. 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. Tigers In Combat II. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. On top of attacking the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (minus Troop B), a Panzer IV can be easily misidentified as a Tiger I. Johnston, W. Wesley. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, Moreover, it was expected that General Luchts two infantry divisions would be forwarded to the Salm River sector as right-wing cover for two panzer corps. 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 division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. 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. 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. However, it cannot be definitively stated that this is another version of the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story due to its ambiguity. When B Company pulled back to refuel and rearm, A Company passed through to take up the fight. Such events might have taken place in reality, true. Should 7th Armored lose St. Vith, 9th Armored would be unable to withdraw on its own axis. The fight lasted for more than three hours before the Germans withdrew, leaving one burning tank and approximately 150 dead. 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. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division completed its southern swing, encircling the two regiments of the 106th Division on the Schnee Eifel. 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. After that mornings enemy assaults, the line of the 27th AIB was reestablished west of Neubruck. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. 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. The Tiger I was a 57 tonne German heavy tank that has become one of the most famous tanks in history. By mid-afternoon, General Hoge ordered his infantry to halt and dig in. js.className = n; Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. The commanders were at the center of the Foret Domaniale du Grand Bois. This one, however, most likely did not. 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 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 closest primary German armored thrust route to the south ran through Burg Reuland, also about five miles from St. Vith. The closest of the northern German armored thrust routes ran through Recht, about five miles northwest of St. Vith. Sicherungs-Division) was a rear-security division in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. Boylan, Vincent L. After Action Report, Month of December, 1944. The southern prong was defended by General Hoges CCB, 9th Armored with the weakened 424th Infantry Regiment tied in and bent back protecting Burg Reuland. VGD. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. . The men of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps had expected to be on the Meuse by December 19, but on the night of December 20 the Americans still denied them access to St. Vith. One would think that Lieutenant Colonel Boylan, or at the very least Troop A, would make some sort of mention of this fairly notable engagement. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith. 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. That evening General Clarke also put his command into Commanster. It was a clear disappointment to Jones when Clarke told him that he, his operations officer, his aide, and his driver were the only representatives of the 7th Armored Division to have reached St. Vith at that time. Thus, the job of rescuing the two trapped infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel passed from the 9th to the 7th Armored Division. After conferring with Clarke, Ridgway wanted to talk to one more man in whom he had supreme confidenceBrigadier General Hoge. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. 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. General Hoge received his order to pull CCB, 9th Armored out at 0605 on December 23. There was a bitter struggle to the south of Grufflingen, and the Germans were again active in the Neubruck area. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. 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. Troop D, 89th Recon held the sector from Steinebruck to Weppeler while A Company, 27th AIB put up a defensive line anchored on the high ground east of Maspelt. 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.. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-603 352d Volks Grenadier Division (19 Freb.-21 Mar. 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. Still quite a feat for a little Greyhound, though well probably never know conclusively. Since speed was the key to success of the German plan, two panzer armies would spearhead the offensive. Manteuffel answered, We estimated that we were up against a division, and perhaps against an entire corps. Six paved or macadam roads converged at St. Vith, but none of these was considered by the Germans to be a major military trunk line. It was to cross the Meuse on both sides of Liege before advancing on to Antwerp. Although the Germans were facing stiff resistance all along the American defensive line, they were determined to take St. Vith. 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. Stackpole Books, 2015. The time was approximately 1800 on Saturday, December 16, when Combat Command B of the 9th Armored Division began its move to St. Vith. 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. The corps consisted of two infantry divisions. 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. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Rapidly, the M8 advanced to within 25 yards (23 meters) of the Tiger I and quickly pumped three rounds into its rear. 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. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. 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. Fire from the 16th Field Artillery broke up other enemy formations trying to assemble on the high ground to the south. 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.
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