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Jones had been counting on this when he sent Hoges 9th Armored Command to Winterspelt rather than Schoenberg. A second attempt on the bridge, made by about 40 men four hours later, was also thrown back by machine-gun fire. of the Army, 1965. 1945) English PDF (18 MB) Jan B-627 Volkssturm (Oct. 1944-Apr. 18th Artillery 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. The next version of this story can be found in a 1947 book by Major Donald P. Boyer of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion titled St. Vith, The 7th Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge, 17-23 December 1944: A Narrative After Action Report. However, Company B, 27th AIB was sent to help ease the situation, covering the cavalrys left flank. It was at full strength and supplied with the latest equipment. 2014. The foot elements of the 27th AIB were then to move out with Company B, 482nd Antiaircraft Artillery and some light tanks from Company D, 14th Tank Battalion following behind Company B, 27th AIB. The lumbering heavy tank continued moving towards the American line before turning north towards the town of Hunningen, Belgium, passing the armored car. The troop was to hold until relieved by the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion (AIB) and then reconnoiter farther down the road toward Winterspelt. 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. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. The new sector assigned to CCB was on the fringe of territory the Sixth Panzer Army had mapped out for its further maneuvers. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. Three of these Tiger IIs belonged to Schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 501 (Heavy SS Tank Battalion 501); Tiger 105 was abandoned in the town of Stavelot, Belgium after getting itself stuck in a building, Tiger 332 was abandoned near Coo, Belgium as a result of mechanical damage, and Tiger 008 was abandoned at a farmhouse near Trois Ponts, Belgium. Luftlande-Division 19416 19421944 19453 22 22. The entry only states that a Tiger tank was knocked out. Design, Production & Modifications. After Clarke and Hoge settled upon a mutually supportive command structure, Clarke noted that Hoges command was, for the most part, forward of a railroad track built on a high embankment. This is puzzling, to say the least. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. 2014. However, it cannot be definitively stated that this is another version of the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story due to its ambiguity. This was no place to conduct a mobile defense with armor-heavy forces. CCBs new position blocked the main Winterspelt-St. Vith highway and the valley of the Braunlauf Creek, a second natural corridor leading to St. Vith. Within the Kloster, General Hoge found a division headquarters staff in a state of disarray and confusion. 18th Flak Division 651 . Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. 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. The last Tiger II belonged to Schwere Panzer Abteilung 506 (Heavy Tank Battalion 506) and was lost to enemy fire on the Lentzweiler road in Luxemburg. Mastering all the usages of 'poor shape' from sentence examples published by news publications. The 16th Field Artillery also pitched in, as did a battalion of 155mm howitzers sited around Commanster. 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. Counter to the plan laid out earlier by General Jones, Hoge had decided to launch his attack on Winterspelt with the entire 14th Tank Battalion as the lead element rather than with the more vulnerable infantry of the 27th AIB. Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Period: First World War (1914-1918) Awarded on: October 30th, 1917. The greatest danger existed in the 424ths position because the regiments flank lay vulnerable to attacks by the 116th Panzer Division to the south. Anderson, Thomas. The losses in men and equipment for CCB, 9th Armored, as with the rest of the American units defending St. Vith, had been severe. M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91. On December 21, 18. The fall of Rodt effectively split 7th Armoreds CCA from General Clarkes CCB. Volksgrenadier-Division. Troop D, 89th Recon had positioned its troop headquarters and first platoon to cover the bridge over the Our. When Model released the Fhrer Escort Brigade to General Manteuffel, he thought that he would be able to gain quick access to the St. Vith road network. Clarke pulled back his left flank to protect Hinderhausen, a key position on the emergency exit route to Commanster and Vielsalm. 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 . VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. Farther to the north, in the 7th Armored sector, the pressure exerted by the enemy was also intense. Revised Edition, Arms and Armour Press, 1973. Home News Random Article Install Wikiwand Send a suggestion Uninstall Wikiwand Upgrade to Wikiwand 2.0 1945). General Frederich Kittel, the division commander, ordered his mobile battalion up from his 164th Regiment reserve at Pronsfeld and into the attack along the Winterspelt road. It is possible (if unlikely) that this event was completely unrelated to the M8 Greyhound versus Tiger story. Protected by armor between 25 mm to 145 mm thick and armed with a fearsome 88mm KwK 36 L/56 main gun, the Tiger I was arguably the most feared tank of World War II by Allied soldiers. Once in St. Vith, Jones explained that only the leading elements of the 7th Armored Division had arrived thus far and that St. Viths northern approach was under attack. Which specific Tiger II this was is unknown. After learning of the attack by the Fhrer Escort Brigade, Brig. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. Another attack hit the left flank of 7th Armored. 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. events, and resources, The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith. Two hits were scored on the enemy tank in the rear, and its crew evacuated. Jentz, Thomas. 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. The Sixth Panzer Army, with the 15th Army on its right, was to launch the main attack between Monschau in the north and Prum in the south. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, 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. War Department Field Manual FM 2-20 Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop Mechanized. I am weighing toward a stray Panzer IV or maybe a SP gun like the one you described. On this day, CCB of the 9th Armored Division was still in its assembly area in the vicinity of Faymonville. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. All but five troopers of 2nd Platoon were lost to enemy action. Hoge departed Faymonville at approximately 1800, arriving at General Joness headquarters in the St. Josephs Kloster about a half hour later. Two of its tanks were mired in mud that had not frozen and had to be retrieved by a tank dozer. 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. If Hoge told him that the situation was bad, then without a doubt the situation was worse than he thought. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. Soon after its crossing, B Company ran into German infantry dug in along the high ground overlooking the village of Elcherath. 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. 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. Company B of the 9th Engineers and D Company of the 89th Recon joined the line to supplement the armored infantry. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. VGD. 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. Also no Ferdinand/Elefant recorded to have seen combat on Western Front. [1] On March 6, 1945, when Botsch was ordered to take command of the LIIIrd Army Corps, the 18. At CCB, 9th Armored Divisions headquarters in Faymonville, General Hoge was just finishing up his briefing for his commands move to the Losheim Gap and Manderfeld when the call came through from General Jones informing him of 9th Armoreds new Winterspelt mission. After listening to the information provided by General Clarkes staff officer, General Hoge decided to go to St. Vith himself to assess the situation. The stubborn defenders of St. Vith played a major role in defeating the final German offensive of World War II in Western Europe. The M8 was used mostly as a reconnaissance vehicle for scouting. Adding to the slowdown of operations against St. Vith, the 18th Volksgrenadier Division was still using two of its three regiments and all but one of its artillery battalions against the two trapped 106th Infantry Division regiments on the Schnee Eifel. Osprey Publishing, 2002. The fact that there were Panzer IVs attacking the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (minus Troop B) and the similarity in appearance between the Tiger I and Panzer IV would account for both Troop Es account and Troop Ds potential account of this event. 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. 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. The fight lasted for more than three hours before the Germans withdrew, leaving one burning tank and approximately 150 dead. For example, when G.I. Add to cart. German Division Nr. With the unexplained disappearance of D Troop from the 89th Reconnaissance Platoon, Company B, 27th AIB became the leading element. Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. One Day at Stavelot, a Tale of Two Archives The Tiger II vs US Tank Destroyers in the Ardennes. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2005. 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. Zaloga, Steven. Johnston, W. Wesley. 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. During the afternoon of December 19, Hoge visited Clarkes command post in St. Vith and expressed his frustration with the current chain of command. Shortly thereafter, Hasbrouck called and asked, Bruce, do you think you can get out? Clarke answered, A miracle has happened, General! Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. He said that the fight took about ninety minutes and that they used almost all their ammunition. 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. By 1300 on the 21st, the entire line was ablaze with German artillery, rockets, tanks, and infantry. While making his reconnaissance at Monschau he received an urgent message to call V Corps headquarters. The village of Bauvenn was designated the linkage point for the two combat commands. Encyclopedia of German tanks of World War Two. Maurice Delaval Papers Collection of the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA. 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. Dragon 1629 1/16th Feldwebel 352nd Volksgrenadier Division R 275.00. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-603 352d Volks Grenadier Division (19 Freb.-21 Mar. Eisernes Kreuz 2.Klasse (1914) Periode: Eerste Wereldoorlog (1914-1918) Toegekend op: 30 oktober 1917. One gun, firing from the house that had been the 14th Tanks command post an hour earlier, disabled two of the Shermans, but the other tanks managed to knock out the four antitank guns plus three German command vehicles. That cold snap that hit us has frozen the roads. Osprey Publishing, 2013. The Pontiac, Michigan, resident also served 10 years in the U.S. Army. I wanted to focus on the M8 vs Tiger story, I already noticed the Ferdinand claim, but decided not to mention it. At 0600 Im going to start to move.. 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. There was little they could do other than vow to get the attack moving early on the 20th. Ridgways plan was premised on the assumption that that the American forces in this goose egg-shaped defense could be supplied by air; however, whoever drew up the plan was thinking in terms of supply requirements for the lighter airborne divisions, not for fuel-hungry and shell-reliant armored forces. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating the 571st Volksgrenadier Division. Those factors dictated that at least another 24 hours would be needed before a major assault on St. Vith could begin. of the Army, 1965. 1940 194111. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. Eventually retreating through Germany until the end of the war, when it surrendered. All in all, the only things that the American claims concerning the famed M8 Greyhound versus Tiger engagement can agree on are that on the 18th of December 1944 an M8 Greyhound from some unit of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron killed some sort of German tank in or around the town of St. Vith. Tigers In Combat II. At St. Vith, Lt. Col. William H. Slayden was with Jones when Jones received the call from Middleton concerning 7th Armored Division support. The reason for this comparative respite was due to the fact that the roads to the German rear were completely jammed. Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier captured Winterspelt, its losses were high and its left regiment had made little headway in the Heckhuschied sector. The time was approximately 1800 on Saturday, December 16, when Combat Command B of the 9th Armored Division began its move to St. Vith. 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. 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. Heeft u zelf meer informatie over deze persoon? which, in principle, is comparable to the 37 mm American gun. Osprey Publishing, 2010. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. Furthermore, General Clarke had no idea when his command would arrive. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. 47. 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. Zaloga, Steven. There is no comparison to Tiger. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. 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. 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. At about 0930, the enemy attacked St. Vith from Hunningen to the north, apparently in an effort to envelop Clarkes left flank. The next move was up to General Lucht and his corps. While walking to avoid the traffic congestion, Manteuffel encountered his superior, Field Harshal Model. Early on the 19th, the Germans made reconnaissance probes. Jentz, Thomas. General Jones wanted Hoge to use the infantry of his 27th AIB to seize the series of hills near Winterspelt while the 14th Tank Battalion was to remain west of the Our River for use as the situation developed. Soldiers of the 18th Volksgrenadier Division infiltrated the American lines at the villages of Roth, Weckerath, Kobscheid, and Auw before the artillery barrage began. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=18th_Volksgrenadier_Division&oldid=1127007404, Military units and formations established in 1944, Military units and formations disestablished in 1945, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 12 December 2022, at 11:24. Once St. Vith was taken, Model intended to drive the brigade swiftly for the Meuse River or cut behind the opposition on the Elsenborn Ridge that was bottling up the Sixth Panzer Army. At least 900 soldiers who had stood in front of the town were either dead or captured. 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. As the offensive steam came to an end in the Ardennes, the division went on the defensive, and there they would stay. 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. By 1245, the original line was restored, and the antitank guns of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were recovered. 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. Each attack was preceded by an intense artillery barrage lasting from 15 to 35 minutes. 13th Flak Division 651 . }(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. By mid-afternoon, General Hoge ordered his infantry to halt and dig in. South of Sixth Panzer Army was General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army, with the Seventh Army on its left. How about a Tiger II? 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. Since the move from Faymonville to Winterspelt involved a greater distance, Hoge decided to get his command on the road immediately. On December 16th at 4:00 a.m., they took the twenty-two foot macadam road following the Our River valley towards Manderfield. 188 was raised in late 1939. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. Hoge immediately got on the phone and ordered Engeman to move out. 223 223. First-time contributor Charles Gutierrez is the son of a 9th Armored Division veteran. The hardest hit, though, were the armored infantrymen of the 27th AIB with nearly 300 battle casualties. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. Companies A and B held a line from Grufflingen to Hohenbusch with Company A, 14th Tank Battalion to their north. Andrews, Frank L. The Defense of St. Vith in the Battle of the Ardennes December, 1944. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. This version is also attributed to Captain Anstey and is nearly the exact same as his original version of the story as well as being plagued by the exact same issues. Situated next to B Company were Company A, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. Both assault groups suffered heavy casualties. 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. 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. As stated above, a 37mm cant penetrate the armor of an Tiger tank. December 20 was a day of disappointment for the Germans around St. Vith. 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 fortified goose egg ran nearly 10 miles in diameter, containing a mass of forest and only one decent road running northwest to southwest. While no Tiger Is were lost on the 18th of December, 1944, four Tiger IIs were lost that day. Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division drove the American defenders from Winterspelt, all was not going well for the Germans. The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944 An Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. The 14th Tank Battalion was on its way to the Steinebruck bridge when Brig. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. December, 1944 By Greg Moore gregpanzerblitz.com December, 2008 Battalion I x 5 x 4 x 1 x 2 x 12 293rd Volks- . Panzer Tracts No. 301 sentences with 'poor shape'. As the offensive steam came to an end in the Ardennes, the division went on the defensive, and there they would stay. St. Vith is built on a low hill surrounded on all sides by slightly higher rises. 2014 Volksgrenadier-Division. 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. It would be unable to turn its full strength on St. Vith until the American surrender in that area. Between these units, a place was found for the provisional company composed of the 424th Infantry stragglers. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. Panzertruppen Volume 2 The Complete Guide to the Creation & Combat Deployment of The German Tank Forces 1943-1945. 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. 2014. Manteuffel met near Wallerode with Model and Lucht that day. 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)! Im going to guess that they just created this all up in their head. 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. Volksgrenadier-Division 5 [ ] VGD division was absorbed into the 26. #WW2 . Manteuffel had hoped for considerably more on the 19th. The move had scarcely begun when an enemy attack hit the junction between Company B, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. He also hoped the 3rd Armored Division soon might attack to remove all threat of encirclement. On December 9, 1944, Brig. Volksgrenadier Division 5. On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. Once the bridge at Steinebruck was seized, the 62nd was to support the 18th Volksgrenadier Divisions drive on St. Vith by blocking the western and southern routes in and out of the town. He also said that they got a new Greyhound. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. At 0200 on December 22, the Fhrer Escort Brigade launched its attack against the town of Rodt, a small village west of St. Vith. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. The 18. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. However, just as the Americans began their pursuit, the Germans noticed them and began traversing their turret to face them. However, I am not so emotionally attached to my favorite LAV that I cant see the improbabilities. Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. The move would also have to be done under the cover of darkness in severe wintry conditions. The second task force consisted of B Company of the 811th Tank Destroyers. No one knew what was happening. What he claimed was that the fight wasnt as easy as it is presented here. 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. 10 Apr. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. 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. The village of St. Vith lay approximately 12 miles behind the front lines on December 16, 1944, the day the offensive code-named Operation Watch on the Rhine began. The other, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division, bore the number of an infantry division destroyed on the Eastern Front, which had been reconstituted. Amazing discounts for bundles. School of Tank Technology, April 1944. It was a new and inexperienced division made up of Luftwaffe personnel, former Kriegsmariners out of a 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. German reports are also far from subtlety. 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. 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. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was to attack along the two roads from Schoenberg, with the Fhrer Escort Brigade assaulting from the north. It was a race between the Germans who were desperately trying to bring their 88 mm gun to bear and the Americans who were trying to get as close as possible to the Tiger Is rear. Chamberlain, Peter, et al. The guns from a platoon of Shermans, the antiaircraft company, and a mortar platoon supplied a covering barrage, which broke up the German assault and inflicted heavy casualties. Instead of the M8 Greyhound firing three shots into the Tigers rear, the M8 Greyhound in Lieutenant Olsons version of events fired two shots. 1947. 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. 1946. 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. 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. 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 After conferring with Clarke, Ridgway wanted to talk to one more man in whom he had supreme confidenceBrigadier General Hoge. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. The next notable version of this tale comes from a 1966 book by the US Army Armor School titled The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944: A Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division 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. Engeman set out with two task forces to meet the enemy. 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.