18th volksgrenadier division

Volksgrenadier-Division. Zaloga, Steven. Boylan, Vincent L. After Action Report, Month of December, 1944. General Lucht hurried to Winterspelt to get the 62nd Volksgrenadier moving to the Our. War Department Field Manual FM 2-20 Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop Mechanized. The two task forces held onto their respective positions on N23 and N27, deflecting all German armored attempts to penetrate St. Vith, until they were relieved late in the afternoon by CCB, 7th Armored Division. The event simply was not that notable. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Add to cart. 12th Volksgrenadier Division 89; 197; 487; 557; 650; 727. The Sherman tanks of B Company repulsed the enemy with fire from their 76mm guns. 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. Its population in 1944 was about 2,000, and its citizens were very much pro-German. While on its way, the platoon was commandeered by a colonel from the 106th Division. The mobile battalion consisted of three platoons of assault guns, a company of engineers, and another of fusiliers. 22 22. This information came from the division's senior headquarters, the VIII Corps, First U.S. Army. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. It was at full strength and supplied with the latest equipment. Beevor, Antony. Wikizero - 18th Volksgrenadier Division Jentz, Thomas. Schneider, Wolfgang. Panzer Tracts, 2001. History. Were any of these Tiger Is and or Tiger IIs knocked out on the 18th of December, 1944? The line companies were down to one officer apiece. Penguin Books, 2016. 1946. 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. It contained the 293., 294. and 295. grenadier regiments, Panzerjger-Bataillon 1818, Pionier-Bataillon 1818, Fsilier-Bataillon 1818 and Artillerie-Regiment 1818.[1]. Stackpole Books, 2015. Two hits were scored on the enemy tank in the rear, and its crew evacuated. 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. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. . At least 900 soldiers who had stood in front of the town were either dead or captured. During his meeting with Hoge, General Ridgway became convinced that defending this area any further would be futile. 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. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. 1947. In blinding snow and on slippery roads the tanks and infantry of CCB, 9th Armored headed for Bauvenn. The situation on Reids left flank was unclear, and the Germans were attacking in considerable force against his right flank. The Germans were now on the high ground north of Eigelscheid overlooking the road to Winterspelt. What Jones did not tell Hoge was that in one of those regiments his own son was serving at regimental headquarters. Schneider, Wolfgang. Clarke, Bruce. 1/18th Scale Cars; 1/24th Scale Assembly Kits; 1/24th Scale Cars; 1/43rd Scale Cars; . Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The brigade had 9,000 men, Mark IV tanks, assault guns, 104mm and 105mm artillery, 88mm antiaircraft guns, and a number of heavy automatic weapons batteries. Our preliminary briefings had told us that there would be no armor in our path. Possibly such events took place in reality. 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. It can be safely assumed that the armored car that Lieutenant Olson is talking about in his story is an M8 Greyhound due to the fact that the only armored cars that the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron fielded were M8 Greyhounds. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. I should also note that reconnaissance doctrine was to disengage if at all possible and in no way engage enemy armour beyond scout elements. Osprey Publishing, 2010. Airfix J6017 Volkswagen Camper Van (Quick Build) R 405.00. We made several probing attacks, and every time we went into your position, we encountered armor. 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. On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. The heroic defense of St. Vith, though costly in men and materil, disrupted the German timetable extensively. The CCB command post was moved to Neubruck, a small group of farmhouses on Braunlauf Creek about two miles southwest of St. Vith. Anderson, Thomas. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. And why would it not? Jones had been counting on this when he sent Hoges 9th Armored Command to Winterspelt rather than Schoenberg. 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 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. No reinforcements were expected. I mention it for the sake of completeness as I suspect that the whole thing is a myth. 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. The new sector assigned to CCB was on the fringe of territory the Sixth Panzer Army had mapped out for its further maneuvers. Hunnicutt, R. P. Armored Car A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles. 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. Manteuffel had hoped for considerably more on the 19th. 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. The fight lasted for more than three hours before the Germans withdrew, leaving one burning tank and approximately 150 dead. The formations started to peel backward in succession from opposite Neubruck to Maldingen. Engeman set out with two task forces to meet the enemy. 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. 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. It is stated as being reported to Major Boyer by one Captain Walter Henry Anstey of Company A of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, who is said to have been a witness to the event. Its possible that the M8 took out an late production Panzer IV, but even that is unlikely due to the danger of more troops coming from behind with Panzerfausts or even a 20 millimeter. Also no Ferdinand/Elefant recorded to have seen combat on Western Front. 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. Germanys Tiger Tanks VK45.02 to TIGER II. There was a bitter struggle to the south of Grufflingen, and the Germans were again active in the Neubruck area. 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. 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. 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. 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. I wanted to focus on the M8 vs Tiger story, I already noticed the Ferdinand claim, but decided not to mention it. Ardennes 1944: Hitlers Last Gamble. By noon, the 27th AIB, with the help of Company A, 14th Tank Battalion, had retaken that first stretch of high ground. 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. 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 fall of Rodt effectively split 7th Armoreds CCA from General Clarkes CCB. . 281st Security Division (281. Panzer Tracts No. For faster navigation, this Iframe is preloading the Wikiwand page for 18th Volksgrenadier Division. Should 7th Armored lose St. Vith, 9th Armored would be unable to withdraw on its own axis. These German tanks would later be specified to be Panzer IVs or Mark IVs. January 1945 World War II Combat Interviews of the 7th Armored Division [1] On March 6, 1945, when Botsch was ordered to take command of the LIIIrd Army Corps, the 18. 18th Flak Division 651 . Outnumbered and in danger of encirclement, the cannoneers and their rifle support from C Company made a platoon-by-platoon withdrawal toward Winterspelt. Created as 22.Infanterie-Division in 1935, one regiment participated in the 1939 Invasion of Poland; the rest of the division stayed in garrison on the Siegfried Line in case of a French attack in defense of Poland. German 18th Volksgrenadier Div. 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. If neither a Tiger I nor a Tiger II was killed on 18th December 1944 in or around the town of St. Vith by an M8 Greyhound, what was? The closest of the northern German armored thrust routes ran through Recht, about five miles northwest of St. Vith. Model informed Manteuffel that he would be given the Fhrer Escort Brigade, which was nearly equal in strength to an American light armored division, for the upcoming assault on St. Vith. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. Division C E R T I F I C A T E 24 June 1945 I certify that I am S-3 Johnston, W. Wesley. The stubborn defenders of St. Vith played a major role in defeating the final German offensive of World War II in Western Europe. Captain Ansteys version lacks supporting documentation. On his way to St. Vith, General Hoge stopped in Faymonville to alert his command to be prepared to move immediately. Looking at German records The Fhrerbegleit Brigade with one Panzerabteilung of four companies of Pzkw IV and a Sturmgeschutzabteilung with four batteries of StuG III were in reserve assembled in the area around Daun on the 17th and not yet in action only beginning to move up at 1600H on the 18th. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. A scratch force made up of one platoon of riflemen from Company A, 27th AIB and a platoon from Company B, 9th Engineers were sent to contain the Germans. The 424th Infantry still blocked the road to the Our River and Steinebruck. That eliminates this units Pzkw IV being the Tiger encountered by the Troop B M8 on Dec. 18th . 18th Volksgrenadier Division - Wikipedia The StuG III was a turretless assault gun based on the Panzer III. Because the Our had ceased to be a barrier anywhere else, General Hoge felt that there was little to gain in continuing to overextend his command to hold the low ground along the river. Instead of the M8 Greyhound firing three shots into the Tigers rear, the M8 Greyhound in Lieutenant Olsons version of events fired two shots. Both task forces reached St. Vith shortly before noon on the 18th to find not one, but two German attacks moving against the town. 1945. Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division drove the American defenders from Winterspelt, all was not going well for the Germans. On 18 January 1945, the final alignment became (XVIII Corps, U. S. First Army, 12th Army Group) -- the alignment in the hierarchy given here. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. The M5 got within a yard of the Tiger and knocked it out with 5 rounds. The U.S. 9th Armored Division contested the German advance around St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge, and won precious time in the process. The Unknown Dead: Civilians in the Battle of the Bulge on JSTOR 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. 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. General Luchts 66th Corps was shifted from General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army to the Sixth Panzer. The troop was to hold until relieved by the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion (AIB) and then reconnoiter farther down the road toward Winterspelt. However, there is one major issue with this explanation, Panzer IVs were not attacking Troop B. While 9th Armored was thus engaged in the Winterspelt area during the morning hours of December 17, Brig. 188th Division (Nazi Germany) - Atozwiki.com The 62nd, like the 18th, included three regiments of two battalions each. 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. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. This means that 50% of shots fired will penetrate this amount of armor. Armour Plate Porforation [sic: Perforation] of Tank and Anti Tank Guns. At about noon that day, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Divisions 190th Regiment had broken through north of the 424th Infantrys Cannon Company. War Department Technical Manual TM 9-1904 Ammunition Inspection Guide. Early on the 19th, the Germans made reconnaissance probes. Both assault groups suffered heavy casualties. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. Osprey Publishing, 2002. However, this platoon never completed its mission. Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Period: First World War (1914-1918) Awarded on: October 30th, 1917. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. Heeft u zelf meer informatie over deze persoon? Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. During the early hours of December 17, the Germans laid heavy mortar and artillery fire on the front-line positions of his regiment. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) - Alchetron, the free social 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. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. 22 () - A platoon of medium tanks counterattacked, and the enemy retreated. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. Volksgrenadier Division 2. On its way to the new position, C Company came under a sudden artillery and rocket barrage in the village of Lommersweiler. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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 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 . 3. 47. Yes in theory. Hoge departed Faymonville at approximately 1800, arriving at General Joness headquarters in the St. Josephs Kloster about a half hour later. 1945. 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 division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. 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. The only known witness to the supposed event, Captain Walter Henry Anstey, died on 26th October 2003 at the age of 90, taking the truth of the events that day to his grave. of the Army, 1965. Osprey Publishing, 2002. Manteuffel met near Wallerode with Model and Lucht that day. Boyer, Donald P. St. Vith The 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge 17-23 December 1944 A Narrative After Action Report. General Jones and his staff had pulled out of St. Vith on the morning of the 18th for Vielsalm. The attacks made east of St. Vith on 18 December were carried by a part of the 294th Infantry [German], whose patrols had been checked by the 168th Engineers [US] the previous day. The other, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division, bore the number of an infantry division destroyed on the Eastern Front, which had been reconstituted. 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. 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. Resistance by service company personnel in Rodt was fierce with every possible mandrivers, cooks, radio operatorsemployed in the defense; however, after nine hours of battle against the much superior German force, Rodt fell. Out of this grand battle would come a too-good-to-be-true story symbolic of the stiff American resistance put up against the German offensive, that of how an M8 Greyhound armored car destroyed a Tiger I heavy tank. Verwundetenabzeichen in Schwarz (1918) Periode: Eerste Wereldoorlog (1914-1918) . Company C, 27th AIB withdrew under heavy artillery and sniper fire but managed to destroy a number of German vehicles. Griffin, Marcus S. After Action Report, Month of December 1944. 223 223. 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. Fortunately for Colonel Reid, word came at about 1730 that his 424th Infantry Regiment was to withdraw immediately. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division(18th VGD) was a volksgrenadierdivision of the German Army(Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. The rounded portion of the horseshoe was composed of Colonel Dwight Rosebaums CCA, 7th Armored between Poteau and Rodt and General Clarkes CCB, 7th Armored in the very center protecting St. Vith. 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. It saw action in France before taking part in the fighting in the Ardennes where it suffered heavy losses, it continued fighting on the western front until the end . With all of these contradictions, ambiguity, and lack of supporting documentation and evidence surrounding Troop Es entry in mind, it is safe to conclude that this is not the most reliable account of what really happened on the 18th of December, 1944 at St. Vith. One task force encountered reconnaissance probes on N27 conducted by units of the 1st SS Panzer Division approximately 1,000 yards north of St. Vith. Division 3. The surviving Volksgrenadiers fled in disarray. December, 1944 By Greg Moore gregpanzerblitz.com December, 2008 Battalion I x 5 x 4 x 1 x 2 x 12 293rd Volks- . What a fantastic real-life story or is it? All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. Still quite a feat for a little Greyhound, though well probably never know conclusively. This is puzzling, to say the least. By 1300 on the 21st, the entire line was ablaze with German artillery, rockets, tanks, and infantry. PDF German 18th Volksgrenadier Div. December, 1944 Confusion, darkness, and mud slowed the move, but by morning a medium tank company and a platoon of riflemen had reached the village. Add to cart. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Germany) - liquisearch.com This German World War II article is a stub. 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. Furthermore, the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons After Action Report (AAR) for the month of December 1944, written by Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Laurence Boylan, the commanding officer of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron at the time, makes no mention of this event either. Jones explained to Hoge that his division was being attacked along its entire front and that two of his three regiments, the 422nd and the 423rd, had been partly surrounded in the Schnee Eifel area just east of Schoenberg. The Pontiac, Michigan, resident also served 10 years in the U.S. Army. Orders for CCB, 9th Armored to move to a new defensive position were issued at 1600. During the 27th AIBs assault, a call went out for the 14th Tank Battalion to join the action. Plastic Models - Page 8 - Esswex Hobbies Home News Random Article Install Wikiwand Send a suggestion Uninstall Wikiwand Upgrade to Wikiwand 2.0 Schiffer Publishing, 2000. 2014. It consisted of the 136th 138th and 139th Mountain Replacement Regiments and the 112th Artillery The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. American Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Choose a Unit. 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. Osprey Publishing, 2003. Greyhound vs. Tiger at St. Vith - Tank Encyclopedia Soon after its crossing, B Company ran into German infantry dug in along the high ground overlooking the village of Elcherath. Mastering all the usages of 'poor shape' from sentence examples published by news publications. 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. 188 was raised in late 1939. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. Design, Production & Modifications. The closest primary German armored thrust route to the south ran through Burg Reuland, also about five miles from St. Vith. Sicherungs-Division) was a rear-security division in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany. 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. There is no comparison to Tiger. EnWik > 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) Ridgway knew Hoge to be calm, courageous, and imperturbable. Bork, Max Hermann (Generalleutnant) - TracesOfWar.com Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. Your email address will not be published. 18th Volksgrenadier Division - Wikiwand 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. 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.