The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. The fight lasted for more than three hours before the Germans withdrew, leaving one burning tank and approximately 150 dead. Hoge has just reported an attack. Two regiments of the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division attacked 9th Armored positions early that morning, their goal to gain the Salm River at Salmchateau. 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. 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. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. Since St. Vith should have been taken on December 16 or the 17th at the latest, he decided to leave his command post at Waxweiler and spend the night with the 18th Volksgrenadier Division at Schoenberg. The line companies were down to one officer apiece. Gen. Robert Hasbroucks 7th Armored Division would be arriving at St. Vith at 0700 on the 17th. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division completed its southern swing, encircling the two regiments of the 106th Division on the Schnee Eifel. 1946. How about a Tiger II? . How to use 'poor shape' in a sentence? The capture of St. Vith was, however, important for three other reasons: to ensure the complete isolation of Allied troops that might be trapped on a nearby ridge called the Schnee Eifel; to cover the German supply lines unraveling behind the armored corps to the north and south; and to feed reinforcements laterally into the main thrusts by using the St. Vith road net. The next move was up to General Lucht and his corps. Therefore, Montgomery ordered Ridgway to attack to the southeast until Vielsalm could be reached, ensuring an escape corridor for those trapped within the defense. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. Late on the 20th, patrols of the 82nd Airborne Division, on the other side of the Salm River, established contact with patrols of the 7th Armored Division. 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 division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Double-talking his identification over the radio with allusions to West Point football days, Ridgway gave Hoge a location at which to meet him. They were repulsed by machine-gun fire. 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. 'poor shape' in a sentence. All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. Late on December 17, General Manteuffel was concerned with the lack of progress in his attack beyond the Schnee Eifel toward St. Vith. Osprey Publishing, 2010. December 20 was a day of disappointment for the Germans around St. Vith. VGD. The entire division was to follow shortly thereafter. A two-day rest was planned for everyone. I should also note that reconnaissance doctrine was to disengage if at all possible and in no way engage enemy armour beyond scout elements. Both task forces reached St. Vith shortly before noon on the 18th to find not one, but two German attacks moving against the town. I wanted to focus on the M8 vs Tiger story, I already noticed the Ferdinand claim, but decided not to mention it. On its way to the new position, C Company came under a sudden artillery and rocket barrage in the village of Lommersweiler. Rejection & Neglect available to buy on Payhip! 120th Infantry Regiment (30th Infantry Division) 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion 319th Field Artillery Glider Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment German Units 3d Parachute Division 12th SS Panzer Division 18th Volksgrenadier Division 246th Volsgrenadier Division 884th March Battalion 905th Assault Gun Brigade At the close of the first day of battle, General Lucht could look with some satisfaction at the days events, although his 62nd Volksgrenadier Division had yet to break through the American line. Volksgrenadier-Division 5 [ ] The provisional company of 424th stragglers disappeared during the night. 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. 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. Field Marshal Montgomery, believing that Ridgways Corps could not attack successfully toward Vielsalm and that the American forces within the goose egg could better be used in support of other forces committed to the northern shoulder defense, decided upon a general withdrawal. Schneider, Wolfgang. A mobile battalion of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was already moving on Andler to seize the Schoenberg bridge and the road to St. Vith. 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 same story is retold in A Colonel in the Armored Divisions A Memoir, 19411945 by William S. Triplet, and like a game of telephone it gets even more distorted. EN. Company B of the 9th Engineers and D Company of the 89th Recon joined the line to supplement the armored infantry. 18th Artillery Division 651. Fire from the 16th Field Artillery broke up other enemy formations trying to assemble on the high ground to the south. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. Collins, Joshua, and Erik Albertson. 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. Osprey Publishing, 2002. Since 7th Armoreds withdrawal meant that 9th Armoreds left flank would be in danger, the two generals agreed that Hoge would have to readjust part of his line to maintain contact with Clarkes new rearward position. Andrews, Frank L. The Defense of St. Vith in the Battle of the Ardennes December, 1944. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. The story begins on the 18th of December 1944, two days after the start of the German offensive. The event simply was not that notable. Osprey Publishing, 2013. Its supporting field artillery battalion was at Kalterherberg, two miles south of Monschau, engaged in firing missions for the 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions. When B Company pulled back to refuel and rearm, A Company passed through to take up the fight. The 7th Armored had taken a beating in defending St. Vith. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Established in 1941, the unit was deployed in German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, in the Army Group North Rear Area. The division had lost four companies of armored infantry. Soon after its crossing, B Company ran into German infantry dug in along the high ground overlooking the village of Elcherath. 1945) English PDF (18 MB) Jan B-627 Volkssturm (Oct. 1944-Apr. Company C, 27th AIB withdrew under heavy artillery and sniper fire but managed to destroy a number of German vehicles. Clarke, Bruce. At about 0930, the enemy attacked St. Vith from Hunningen to the north, apparently in an effort to envelop Clarkes left flank. 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 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. It was at full strength and supplied with the latest equipment. 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. 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. 47. 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. Rebuilding the blown bridge to get their assault guns across was their first priority. But if four versions was not enough, there is potentially another version of this tale contained in a combat interview given by Lieutenant Arthur A. Olson of Troop D, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron on the 8th of January, 1945. 18th Panzer Division (later 18th Artillery Division) 19th Panzer Division (previously 19th Infantry Division) 20th Panzer Division 21st Panzer Division (previously 5th Light Division) 22nd Panzer Division 23rd Panzer Division 24th Panzer Division (previously 1st Cavalry Division) 25th Panzer Division The StuG III explanation also accounts for why Troop B makes no mention of it in their morning report and record of events entry for 18th December 1944 and why Lieutenant Colonel Boylan makes no mention of it his 1946 letter or in the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons After Action Report for the month of December 1944. This article already explains ballistics and mentions that while Panther was vulnerable to lower-caliber AT guns, the Tigers were almost immune to them. 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. Lieutenant Colonel Boylan also makes no mention of this event in a 1946 letter he wrote to Major General Robert W. Hasbrouck, the former commanding general of the 7th Armored Division, which details the actions of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron at the Battle of St. Vith. Both assault groups suffered heavy casualties. 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.