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. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. Panzer Tracts No. The hardest hit, though, were the armored infantrymen of the 27th AIB with nearly 300 battle casualties. The second task force hit another probe by the 1st SS Panzer and pushed it out of Hunningen. As the offensive steam came to an end in the Ardennes, the division went on the defensive, and there they would stay. No one knew what was happening. School of Tank Technology, April 1944. Schneider, Wolfgang. According to two combat interviews given by men of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadrons After Action Report for the month of December 1944, and Lieutenant Colonel Boylans 1946 letter, on 18th December 1944, the Germans attacked the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (minus Troop B) with infantry and tanks. December, 1944 By Greg Moore gregpanzerblitz.com December, 2008 Battalion I x 5 x 4 x 1 x 2 x 12 293rd Volks- . There was a bitter struggle to the south of Grufflingen, and the Germans were again active in the Neubruck area. 223 223. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 194311 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. Dragon 1625 1/16th Obersturmfuhrer Totenkopf Division Budapest 1945 R 275.00. So its quite possible! Dragon 1629 1/16th Feldwebel 352nd Volksgrenadier Division R 275.00. Tiger. At 0200 on December 22, the Fhrer Escort Brigade launched its attack against the town of Rodt, a small village west of St. Vith. 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. Armour Plate Porforation [sic: Perforation] of Tank and Anti Tank Guns. Within the Kloster, General Hoge found a division headquarters staff in a state of disarray and confusion. Johnston, W. Wesley. Beevor, Antony. 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. The leading vehicles of General Hoges command entered St. Vith on Sunday morning just as dawn was breaking and halted close to the 106th Divisions command post at the St. Joseph Kloster. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 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. Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division drove the American defenders from Winterspelt, all was not going well for the Germans. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. Volksgrenadier-Division. A strong attack has just developed against Clarke again. Furthermore, General Clarke had no idea when his command would arrive. 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. 13th Company, 28th Jager Regiment, 8th Jager Division 286. 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. 1/18th Scale Cars; 1/24th Scale Assembly Kits; 1/24th Scale Cars; 1/43rd Scale Cars; . 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. Panzer Tracts, 2001. Hoge immediately got on the phone and ordered Engeman to move out. Hoge pointedly asked Ridgway how it could be done. General Hoge moved his command post to Commanster. Zaloga, Steven. At St. Vith, Lt. Col. William H. Slayden was with Jones when Jones received the call from Middleton concerning 7th Armored Division support. December 20 was a day of disappointment for the Germans around St. Vith. Shortly thereafter, Hasbrouck called and asked, Bruce, do you think you can get out? Clarke answered, A miracle has happened, General! Tigers In Combat I. Orders for CCB, 9th Armored to move to a new defensive position were issued at 1600. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. With this contact, all units in the vicinity of St. Vith, including 9th Armored Division forces, passed to the command of Maj. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgways XVIII Airborne Corps. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Were any of these Tiger Is and or Tiger IIs knocked out on the 18th of December, 1944? Together they broke up the attack. CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. 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. 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. VGD) was a volksgrenadierdivision of the German Army(Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. On 18 January 1945, the final alignment became (XVIII Corps, U. S. First Army, 12th Army Group) -- the alignment in the hierarchy given here. 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. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. 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. 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 fight lasted for more than three hours before the Germans withdrew, leaving one burning tank and approximately 150 dead. At 0400 hours on 16th December, 1944, men of the German 18th Volksgrenadier Division began to leave their positions and make their way towards the American lines. Personally I have not believed this event at all. However, Company B, 27th AIB was sent to help ease the situation, covering the cavalrys left flank. During the night, the troopers experienced harassing fire from light and medium artillery and could observe enemy infantry and at least four tanks moving along high ground to the south of the river. To execute this maneuver, Hoges entire command would have to move all the way up to St. Vith and back down again. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. 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. 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. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Battle of the Bulge 1944 (1): St Vith and the Northern Shoulder. 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. History. The town was also in Fifth Panzer Armys area of advance. General Hoge received his order to pull CCB, 9th Armored out at 0605 on December 23. 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. Back in the 1970s I worked with a man who told this story, he claimed he was the driver. 1945. Home News Random Article Install Wikiwand Send a suggestion Uninstall Wikiwand Upgrade to Wikiwand 2.0 He also hoped the 3rd Armored Division soon might attack to remove all threat of encirclement. Fortunately, a tank destroyer from Vielsalm turned up and hit the leading two German panzers, which drove the rest for cover. Based upon this fairly optimistic view, Ridgway, shortly after midnight, ordered the entire St. Vith force to withdraw from its current positions and form a defensive ring west of St. Vith and east of the Salm River. 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. Osprey Publishing, 2003. js = d.createElement(s); Your email address will not be published. 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 . The ground was frozen solid. Airfix J6017 Volkswagen Camper Van (Quick Build) R 405.00. All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. VGD. Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Period: First World War (1914-1918) Awarded on: October 30th, 1917. of the Army, 1965. By dark, just as General Hoges command was getting underway from Faymonville, Kittels mobile battalion and infantry from the 190th Regiment were closing in on Winterspelt. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. 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. 13th Flak Division 651 . Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Next came B Company, 9th Armored Engineers; the 16th Armored Field Artillery; B Company, 482nd Antiaircraft Artillery; and the 14th Tank Battalion. 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. The M8 was used mostly as a reconnaissance vehicle for scouting. It consisted of the 136th 138th and 139th Mountain Replacement Regiments and the 112th Artillery Mastering all the usages of 'poor shape' from sentence examples published by news publications. 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. An M8 Greyhound armored car of Troop B, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron was lying in a concealed position just northeast of the vitally important crossroads town of St. Vith, Belgium. By midnight on the 19th, the horseshoe- shaped defense of St. Vith had taken form. 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. By that time the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division should have the bridge at Steinebruck rebuilt, at least two regiments of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division should be forward, and the Fhrer Escort Brigade should be ready to make the principal thrust down the Ambleve highway into St. Vith. These German tanks would later be specified to be Panzer IVs or Mark IVs. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. 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. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. 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 Infanterie-Division 19398 . The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. 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. General Jones and his staff had pulled out of St. Vith on the morning of the 18th for Vielsalm. 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)! 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. After learning of the attack by the Fhrer Escort Brigade, Brig. 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. 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. By 1300 on the 21st, the entire line was ablaze with German artillery, rockets, tanks, and infantry. 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. The 424th Infantry had its back to the Our River, and if the Germans seized the bridge at Steinebruck and spread along the far bank his regiment would be hard pressed to effectively withdraw. Ninth Armored sent out billeting parties as it reached its new area. Required fields are marked *. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion had some trouble disengaging. Zaloga, Steven. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. While 9th Armored was thus engaged in the Winterspelt area during the morning hours of December 17, Brig. 1946. How about a Tiger II? 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. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. 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. }(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. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The area being defended was beginning to take the form of a large horseshoe, its axis running approximately northeast to southeast. The fight ended when he slammed the M8 (he called it a Greyhound) into the rear of Tiger and the gun crew fired three rapid fire rounds into the engine compartment. Volksgrenadier-Division. The last of the St. Vith defenders to come out were Task Force Jones and the 112th Infantry Regiment. This version of the story, which is paraphrased in the introduction, will be referred to as the original version of the story. Osprey Publishing, 2013. The provisional company of 424th stragglers disappeared during the night. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. 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. Under the chain of the northern sector command, only General Ridgway was unsure of Field Marshal Montgomerys decision to withdraw from the defense. Two of its tanks were mired in mud that had not frozen and had to be retrieved by a tank dozer. One Day at Stavelot, a Tale of Two Archives The Tiger II vs US Tank Destroyers in the Ardennes. 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. Gen. William Hoges Combat Command B (CCB) of the 9th was attached to V Corps to support the 2nd Infantry Division in its planned attack through the Monschau Forest as part of the U.S. Armys strategy to capture or destroy the Roer River dams. 8 Sturmgeschuetz s.Pak to Sturmmoerser. events, and resources, The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith. The new sector assigned to CCB was on the fringe of territory the Sixth Panzer Army had mapped out for its further maneuvers. The distance from Burg Reuland on the southeast to Poteau on the northwest was about 10 miles with only a single secondary road as a line of retreat for thousands of men defending the horseshoe against attack from three directions. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. However, I am not so emotionally attached to my favorite LAV that I cant see the improbabilities. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Close. During the early hours of December 17, the Germans laid heavy mortar and artillery fire on the front-line positions of his regiment. Clerks were running everywhere and junior staff officers were arguing among themselves; upstairs, however, Hoge found General Jones remarkably composed. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. That night, infantry patrols found German medics removing their wounded.

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