United States 106th Infantry Division on the 16th and 17th of December 1944 (the first two days of the battle of the Ardennes were as follows: 1. The fall of Rodt effectively split 7th Armoreds CCA from General Clarkes CCB. Generals Manteuffel and Lucht had planned an all-out attack to take St. Vith starting at daylight with a three- pronged envelopment by the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division against 9th Armored positions in the south. 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. This forest was criss-crossed only by trails. I should also note that reconnaissance doctrine was to disengage if at all possible and in no way engage enemy armour beyond scout elements. Task Force Jones and the 112th Infantry eventually found their way into 82nd Airborne Division lines during the night of the 24th, but not before the units suffered heavy losses. By noon, the 27th AIB, with the help of Company A, 14th Tank Battalion, had retaken that first stretch of high ground. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. There are a few notable issues raised by this morning report and record of events entry, the most obvious one being that the M8 Greyhound is reported as being from Troop A of the 87th, not Troop B of the 87th, as it is in the contemporary story. 19454 How about a Tiger II? Excellent deductive research! 1941622 . Unable to advance, it pulled back to the nearest high ground and dug in. 1964. Maurice Delaval Papers Collection of the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA. 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. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. The Commands main body was led by the 27th AIB with B Company in front, followed by Headquarters and C Company. Ridgway knew Hoge to be calm, courageous, and imperturbable. Both American units were able to drive forward, and the Shermans knocked out six German armored vehicles. The armored infantrymen kept themselves well hidden until the column was directly in front of them and then opened fire. While walking to avoid the traffic congestion, Manteuffel encountered his superior, Field Harshal Model. 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. 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. South of Sixth Panzer Army was General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army, with the Seventh Army on its left. 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. Instead of the M8 Greyhound firing three shots into the Tigers rear, the M8 Greyhound in Lieutenant Olsons version of events fired two shots. While no Tiger Is were lost on the 18th of December, 1944, four Tiger IIs were lost that day. The lumbering heavy tank continued moving towards the American line before turning north towards the town of Hunningen, Belgium, passing the armored car. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. of the Army, 1965. [1] On March 6, 1945, when Botsch was ordered to take command of the LIIIrd Army Corps, the 18. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. At daybreak on December 21, the Germans launched their first assault of the day on CCB, 9th Armored. While making his reconnaissance at Monschau he received an urgent message to call V Corps headquarters. Tigers In Combat II. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-513 German General Staff Officers, Casualties. 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. 18th Artillery Division 651. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 1945). of the Army, 1965. 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. Osprey Publishing, 2002. However, he kept these misgivings to himself. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. The colonel ordered the troop east along the road to Schoenberg to delay a German tank and infantry team approaching St. Vith from that direction. Little offtopic here but another misidentification might be the 1 destroyed 88mm assault gun (Ferdinand). Mines were laid. So its quite possible! 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. General Luchts plan for December 17 was simple. Furthermore, General Clarke had no idea when his command would arrive. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. It appeared now that the fate of his two northern regiments was sealed. . Once the bridge at Steinebruck was seized, the 62nd was to support the 18th Volksgrenadier Divisions drive on St. Vith by blocking the western and southern routes in and out of the town. Osprey Publishing, 2002. Pegov in March 1944 on a light tank T-70 destroyed two German Panthers aboard. 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. Osprey Publishing, 2013. Schneider, Wolfgang. fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); The StuG III was a turretless assault gun based on the Panzer III. 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. He also hoped the 3rd Armored Division soon might attack to remove all threat of encirclement. 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. Still quite a feat for a little Greyhound, though well probably never know conclusively. During the assault, B Company suffered about 40 casualties including its commanding officer, Captain Henry D. Wirsig. 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. Panzertruppen Volume 2 The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Deployment of The German Tank Forces 1943-1945. This battalion hit the 424ths Cannon Company at the Weissenhof crossroads. 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. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. After conferring with Clarke, Ridgway wanted to talk to one more man in whom he had supreme confidenceBrigadier General Hoge. 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. On December 21, 18. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Periode: Eerste Wereldoorlog (1914-1918) Toegekend op: 30 oktober 1917. The second task force hit another probe by the 1st SS Panzer and pushed it out of Hunningen. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. Dragon 1629 1/16th Feldwebel 352nd Volksgrenadier Division R 275.00. All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. 47. 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. js = d.createElement(s); 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. With the enemy inside Steinebruck and excellent direct fire by the German artillery, what was left of 2nd Platoon, 89th Recon withdrew along the St. Vith road. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division ( 18. During his meeting with Hoge, General Ridgway became convinced that defending this area any further would be futile. That is correct, however, that was off the topic of this story. At approximately 0530 on December 16, eight German armored divisions and 13 infantry divisions launched their all-out attack on five divisions of the U.S. First Army. Engeman set out with two task forces to meet the enemy. The last of the St. Vith defenders to come out were Task Force Jones and the 112th Infantry Regiment. Im going to guess that they just created this all up in their head. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. 1946. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. which, in principle, is comparable to the 37 mm American gun. While on its way, the platoon was commandeered by a colonel from the 106th Division. On its way to the new position, C Company came under a sudden artillery and rocket barrage in the village of Lommersweiler. The 424th Infantry still blocked the road to the Our River and Steinebruck. By this time the Germans had essentially closed the trap on the two infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel. First-time contributor Charles Gutierrez is the son of a 9th Armored Division veteran. One, the Sixth Panzer Army, was commanded by SS Obergruppenfhrer (brigadier general) Josef Sepp Dietrich, and the other, the Fifth Panzer Army, was commanded by General Hasso von Manteuffel. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. Ridgways plan was premised on the assumption that that the American forces in this goose egg-shaped defense could be supplied by air; however, whoever drew up the plan was thinking in terms of supply requirements for the lighter airborne divisions, not for fuel-hungry and shell-reliant armored forces. 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. Add to cart. No reinforcements were expected. The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944 An Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. I mention it for the sake of completeness as I suspect that the whole thing is a myth. The two commanders agreed that even without the mud to contend with the withdrawal would have to be delayed simply because of heavy enemy pressure. The Tiger I was a 57 tonne German heavy tank that has become one of the most famous tanks in history. Johnston, W. Wesley. The 62nd, like the 18th, included three regiments of two battalions each. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. The 16th Field Artillery also pitched in, as did a battalion of 155mm howitzers sited around Commanster. 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 Pontiac, Michigan, resident also served 10 years in the U.S. Army. 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. Which specific Tiger II this was is unknown. 45 mm. There are two likely candidates, the first being a Panzer IV. Close. He said that the fight took about ninety minutes and that they used almost all their ammunition. Volksgrenadier Division 2. Given that the American accounts do not give a consistent account of what happened that day at St. Vith, the other side of this story must also be investigated. A platoon of medium tanks counterattacked, and the enemy retreated. 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. Another attack hit the left flank of 7th Armored. Company B was stationed east of Galhausen and maintained contact with the nearest elements of the 7th Armored Division on 9th Armoreds left flank. 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. 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.