CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. On his way to St. Vith, General Hoge stopped in Faymonville to alert his command to be prepared to move immediately. (1944) 111 111. By midnight on the 19th, the horseshoe- shaped defense of St. Vith had taken form. Both B and C Companies pulled back to the vicinity of Neidingen, near the battalion command post, while the 14th Tank Battalion established a perimeter defense around its assembly area near Breitfeld about halfway between the Our and St. Vith. A mobile battalion of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was already moving on Andler to seize the Schoenberg bridge and the road to St. Vith. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, The division fought in the Ardennes, inflicting on the 106th US Infantry Division the worst defeat suffered by U.S. forces in the ETO, when over 8,000 US soldiers surrendered to the volksgrenadiers. Johnston, W. Wesley. 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. Under the chain of the northern sector command, only General Ridgway was unsure of Field Marshal Montgomerys decision to withdraw from the defense. Collins, Joshua, and Erik Albertson. The northern prong of the horseshoe was composed of CCB, 7th Armored Division from Poteau and Vielsalm. War Department, 1944. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. Thus, the job of rescuing the two trapped infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel passed from the 9th to the 7th Armored Division. 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 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The M8 was used mostly as a reconnaissance vehicle for scouting. 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. Hoge and Clarke agreed that Hoges entire command should be withdrawn west of the railroad tracks. Design, Production & Modifications. Do you have more information about this person? The mobile battalion consisted of three platoons of assault guns, a company of engineers, and another of fusiliers. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. Close. The 62nd, like the 18th, included three regiments of two battalions each. This information came from the division's senior headquarters, the VIII Corps, First U.S. Army. Situation reports suggested that the Germans were intent on crossing the Our River at Steinebruck. According to Hugh M. Cole, an American historian and army officer. Troop D, 89th Recon and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion formed a line from Grufflingen to Thommen, and Companies B and C of the 14th Tank Battalion took up positions between Thommen and Maldange. Volksgrenadier-Division. 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. September 18th, 1944: Kdr. Volksgrenadier-Division. General Luchts plan for December 17 was simple. The similarity in appearance between the Panzer IV and Tiger I is often cited as a reason to why there are so many claims made by soldiers during World War II of battling Tiger Is, despite Tiger Is being a fairly rare encounter. First-time contributor Charles Gutierrez is the son of a 9th Armored Division veteran. 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.. 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. As the offensive steam came to an end in the Ardennes, the division went on the defensive, and there they would stay. By 1300 on the 21st, the entire line was ablaze with German artillery, rockets, tanks, and infantry. Manteuffel met near Wallerode with Model and Lucht that day. Osprey Publishing, 2003. Back in the 1970s I worked with a man who told this story, he claimed he was the driver. 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. Ridgway knew Hoge to be calm, courageous, and imperturbable. On 18 January 1945, the final alignment became (XVIII Corps, U. S. First Army, 12th Army Group) -- the alignment in the hierarchy given here. 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. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Since speed was the key to success of the German plan, two panzer armies would spearhead the offensive. When B Company pulled back to refuel and rearm, A Company passed through to take up the fight. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. 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. 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. On top of attacking the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (minus Troop B), a Panzer IV can be easily misidentified as a Tiger I. 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. Having first conferred with General Jones, Hoge ordered a withdrawal from the river to begin after nightfall. The armored infantrymen kept themselves well hidden until the column was directly in front of them and then opened fire. Ninth Armored and its attachments traveled southwest on N26 to the junction with N33 west of Beho, then turned north on N33 to Salmchateau, and finally west on N183 through Lierneux to Malempre-Jevigne, southeast of Manhay. The last of the St. Vith defenders to come out were Task Force Jones and the 112th Infantry Regiment. With the unexplained disappearance of D Troop from the 89th Reconnaissance Platoon, Company B, 27th AIB became the leading element. Hoge pointedly asked Ridgway how it could be done. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. 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. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Hunnicutt, R. P. Armored Car A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. On the road to Winterspelt, General Hoge soon learned that the situation there was worse than General Jones had described. Instead of the M8 Greyhound firing three shots into the Tigers rear, the M8 Greyhound in Lieutenant Olsons version of events fired two shots. Panzertruppen Volume 2 The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Deployment of The German Tank Forces 1943-1945. Fortunately for Colonel Reid, word came at about 1730 that his 424th Infantry Regiment was to withdraw immediately. Ministry of Supply, 1945. Schneider, Wolfgang. The StuG III was a turretless assault gun based on the Panzer III. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. Similar events have happened more than once, though on the Eastern Front. 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. Gen. Herbert T. Perrin, assistant commander of the 106th Infantry Division, drove up carrying a message from General Jones. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. 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. Zaloga, Steven, and Tony Bryan. . The division's intelligence officer, Lieutenant Colonel Robert P. Stout, noted that the division faced two known enemy divisions, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division and the 26th Volksgrenadier Division. 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. According to the British, 37 mm M6 guns APC M51 can only penetrate around a maximum of 65mm of rolled homogeneous armor plate (RHA) at 30 degrees under V50 ballistic standards. 18th Flak Division 651 . Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. So, rather than spill blood needlessly to take meaningless ground, Hoge called off the attack on Winterspelt. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. This was no place to conduct a mobile defense with armor-heavy forces. 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. To execute this maneuver, Hoges entire command would have to move all the way up to St. Vith and back down again. 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. Confusion, darkness, and mud slowed the move, but by morning a medium tank company and a platoon of riflemen had reached the village. 324 324. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. 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.