Good Tank, Poor Deployment | T-34-76 and T-34-85 in Yugoslav Partisan Service. On this day, CCB of the 9th Armored Division was still in its assembly area in the vicinity of Faymonville. December, 1944 By Greg Moore gregpanzerblitz.com December, 2008 Battalion I x 5 x 4 x 1 x 2 x 12 293rd Volks- . Its population in 1944 was about 2,000, and its citizens were very much pro-German. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. 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. Panzer Tracts No. So its quite possible! Thus, the job of rescuing the two trapped infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel passed from the 9th to the 7th Armored Division. At about 0115 on December 17, a platoon from 9th Armoreds D Troop, 89th Recon was detailed to proceed through St. Vith in a southeasterly direction and seize the high ground along Highway N27 south of Steinebruck. 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. 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. 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. 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. The corps consisted of two infantry divisions. However, this platoon never completed its mission. Panzertruppen Volume 2 The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Deployment of The German Tank Forces 1943-1945. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. However, the monumental traffic jams in the Losheim Gap and at Schoenberg continued to delay both the 18th Volksgrenadier Division and the Fhrer Escort Brigade, and not until after daylight on the 20th would a bridge be ready at Steinebruck for the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division. To cover this dangerous gap in the line C Company, 27th AIB was ordered to the Our between Troop D, 89th Recon and Company A, 27th AIB. Jentz, Thomas. Tigers In Combat II. Maurice Delaval Papers Collection of the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA. On its way to the new position, C Company came under a sudden artillery and rocket barrage in the village of Lommersweiler. Those factors dictated that at least another 24 hours would be needed before a major assault on St. Vith could begin. What Jones did not tell Hoge was that in one of those regiments his own son was serving at regimental headquarters. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. In the 27th AIBs move to take the high ground, B Company advanced along the center of the road. 1964. The American plan was that once the 2nd Infantry Division reduced the German defenses at the Wahlerscheid crossroads, CCB was to spearhead a drive to the reservoirs north of Gemund and Schleiden. Volksgrenadier-Division. I mention it for the sake of completeness as I suspect that the whole thing is a myth. The provisional company of 424th stragglers disappeared during the night. At about 1700, the enemy attacked along the Schoenberg road from the east; at 1830, they came down the Malmedy road from the north, and at 2000, an attack started from the southeast along the Prum road. 13 relations. 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. This initial thrust carried the enemy approximately 400 yards into the battalions sector. CCB, 9th Armored was linked on its left with CCB, 7th Armored and what was left of the 424th Infantry Regiment on its right. Troy Middletons VIII Corps. General Luchts plan for December 17 was simple. Hoge departed Faymonville at approximately 1800, arriving at General Joness headquarters in the St. Josephs Kloster about a half hour later. Tigers In Combat I. The unit attacking Troop B, the 294th Volksgrenadier Regiment, had StuG IIIs and had been using StuG IIIs the previous day in small probing attacks east of St. Vith where Troop B would end up being positioned. js.src = "//player.ex.co/player/710cf52d-720a-4250-8e95-fc85dcedab01"; Jones wanted Clarke to counterattack immediately with his combat command and break that ring that these people have closed around the Schnee Eifel.. An assault on Thommen forced out the troops holding the town, and efforts to retake it failed. After Action Report, Month of December, 1944. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. Rather than reaching the Meuse and driving on to Antwerp, the offensive stalled and eventually was turned back. 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. En route, the officer was approached by a member of General Clarkes staff who told him that German tanks were approaching St. Vith along the road from the north. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. General Lucht hurried to Winterspelt to get the 62nd Volksgrenadier moving to the Our. 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. #WW2 . Then, four German antitank guns covering the Grufflingen-Maldange road were encountered. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. 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. js = d.createElement(s); Heeft u zelf meer informatie over deze persoon? VGD. He could not believe it. Zaloga, Steven. How about a Tiger II? In my opinion, the only definite conclusion that can be made from all this is that some American vehicle engaged something at St. Vith on the night of the 18th. As a result of 7th Armoreds earlier regrouping, Rodt was the junction point between CCA of the 7th Armored under the command of Colonel Rosebaum and General Clarkes CCB. 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. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944 An Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. Johnston, W. Wesley. German 18th Volksgrenadier Div. Mastering all the usages of 'poor shape' from sentence examples published by news publications. Not to mention that the M8s 37 mm M6 gun is more than capable of penetrating the rear hull armor of the Panzer IV, which was only 20 mm thick angled at 10 degrees. The 7th Armored had taken a beating in defending St. Vith. The German armored and infantry attacks were preceded by the shelling of the American positions with at least 657 light, medium, and heavy guns and howitzers and 340 multiple rocket launchers. 324 324. They were repulsed by machine-gun fire. Bergstrm, Christer. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. 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. This German World War II article is a stub. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. The Seventh Armored Division in the Battle of St. Vith. So many soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division converged on Wallerode for the final push against St. Vith that the villagers themselves threatened to be squeezed out. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. Hoge and Clarke agreed that Hoges entire command should be withdrawn west of the railroad tracks. 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. At about midday, the field marshal sent a message to General Hasbrouck: You have accomplished your missiona mission well done. 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. 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. Little offtopic here but another misidentification might be the 1 destroyed 88mm assault gun (Ferdinand). Volksgrenadier-Division. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. On December 16th at 4:00 a.m., they took the twenty-two foot macadam road following the Our River valley towards Manderfield. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Rebuilding the blown bridge to get their assault guns across was their first priority. 12th Volksgrenadier Division 89; 197; 487; 557; 650; 727. Late in the day, the Germans launched three major attacks, each directed along a main road leading into the town. 2014. The failure to capture St. Vith was preventing the linkup of the Fifth and the Sixth Panzer Armies. The move had scarcely begun when an enemy attack hit the junction between Company B, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. On 18 January 1945, the final alignment became (XVIII Corps, U. S. First Army, 12th Army Group) -- the alignment in the hierarchy given here. The division, which was under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, absorbed . Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. During ceremonies observing the 20th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, General Clarke was able to talk to General Manteuffel and discuss German operations against St. Vith. Overall operational command for the offensive fell to Field Marshal Walther Model. A platoon of tank destroyers had vanished. We made several probing attacks, and every time we went into your position, we encountered armor. The circuitous march up one road and down another led to a new line just a few hundred yards to the west of the old one and was miraculously carried out while under attack without the loss of any men or equipment. The CCB command post was moved to Neubruck, a small group of farmhouses on Braunlauf Creek about two miles southwest of St. Vith. . Double-talking his identification over the radio with allusions to West Point football days, Ridgway gave Hoge a location at which to meet him. Jones had been counting on this when he sent Hoges 9th Armored Command to Winterspelt rather than Schoenberg. Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. 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.
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