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. 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. EN. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. The capture of St. Vith was, however, important for three other reasons: to ensure the complete isolation of Allied troops that might be trapped on a nearby ridge called the Schnee Eifel; to cover the German supply lines unraveling behind the armored corps to the north and south; and to feed reinforcements laterally into the main thrusts by using the St. Vith road net. It would be unable to turn its full strength on St. Vith until the American surrender in that area. 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. Division 4. So its quite possible! of the Army, 1965. It is possible that it was really a Tiger tank. Unable to advance, it pulled back to the nearest high ground and dug in. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. He said that the fight took about ninety minutes and that they used almost all their ammunition. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18. Slayden had been sent to Jones by Middleton as an adviser until the 106th Division could become acclimated. Late on December 17, General Manteuffel was concerned with the lack of progress in his attack beyond the Schnee Eifel toward St. Vith. 1945. Similar events have happened more than once, though on the Eastern Front. 281st Security Division (281. The staff officer wanted to know if 9th Armored could spare some desperately needed help. 'poor shape' in a sentence. Add to cart. We made several probing attacks, and every time we went into your position, we encountered armor. 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. 1940 194111. The hardest hit, though, were the armored infantrymen of the 27th AIB with nearly 300 battle casualties. Schiffer Publishing, 2000. 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. The 14th Tank Battalion was on its way to the Steinebruck bridge when Brig. Generals Manteuffel and Lucht had planned an all-out attack to take St. Vith starting at daylight with a three- pronged envelopment by the 62nd Volksgrenadier Division against 9th Armored positions in the south. 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. Manteuffel met near Wallerode with Model and Lucht that day. Volksgrenadier-Division. 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. It is a classic David versus Goliath tale straight out of World War II that features American heroism. 4 Grosstraktor to Panzerbefehlswagen IV. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. Infanterie-Division 193510 [1] 22 22. Two of its tanks were mired in mud that had not frozen and had to be retrieved by a tank dozer. General Lucht hurried to Winterspelt to get the 62nd Volksgrenadier moving to the Our. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. Volksgrenadier Division 2. On this day, CCB of the 9th Armored Division was still in its assembly area in the vicinity of Faymonville. The silhouettes of the Panzer IV and the Tiger I are quite similar, especially due to their rectangular shapes and rounded turret (rounded through the later use of a curved armor plate around the otherwise angular turret). Bergstrm, Christer. 2014. So, rather than spill blood needlessly to take meaningless ground, Hoge called off the attack on Winterspelt. Shortly thereafter, Hasbrouck called and asked, Bruce, do you think you can get out? Clarke answered, A miracle has happened, General! 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. 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. This means that 50% of shots fired will penetrate this amount of armor. 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. The 62nd, like the 18th, included three regiments of two battalions each. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18th VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. When a particularly heavy onslaught was launched against 7th Armored, near 9th Armoreds left flank, Company A, 14th Tank Battalion shifted its mediums to fire directly on Breitfield in support of its armored neighbor to the north. Clarke pulled back his left flank to protect Hinderhausen, a key position on the emergency exit route to Commanster and Vielsalm. Panzer Tracts No. . They were followed in order by the half-tracks and other vehicles of the 27th AIB, the tank companies, the antiaircraft company, and the engineers. 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)! I wanted to focus on the M8 vs Tiger story, I already noticed the Ferdinand claim, but decided not to mention it. 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. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. According to Hugh M. Cole, an American historian and army officer. Hoge and Ridgway had been on the West Point football team together when Ridgway had been the teams manager. The 16th Field Artillery also pitched in, as did a battalion of 155mm howitzers sited around Commanster. Manteuffel answered, We estimated that we were up against a division, and perhaps against an entire corps. General Luchts 66th Corps was shifted from General Manteuffels Fifth Panzer Army to the Sixth Panzer. 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. 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. The Germans attacked the center of the 27th AIB. Two hits were scored on the enemy tank in the rear, and its crew evacuated. 22 22. By 2300 enemy patrols tested 27th AIBs new position and a night attack was thrown back with the help of D Troop, 89th Recon. Johnston, W. Wesley. Griffin, Marcus S. After Action Report, Month of December 1944. At about noon that day, the 62nd Volksgrenadier Divisions 190th Regiment had broken through north of the 424th Infantrys Cannon Company. By 1245, the original line was restored, and the antitank guns of Company A, 811th Tank Destroyers were recovered. The bridge at Steinebruck was intentionally left intact by General Hoge on the outside chance that some of the American troops trapped in the vicinity of the Schnee Eifel might be able to maneuver their way there. The 27th AIB was ordered to establish a defensive position south, east, west, and southeast of Malempre. Armament T-70 gun cal. War Department, 1944. Situation reports suggested that the Germans were intent on crossing the Our River at Steinebruck. [1] On March 6, 1945, when Botsch was ordered to take command of the LIIIrd Army Corps, the 18. 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. M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91. Osprey Publishing, 2003. The corps consisted of two infantry divisions. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. This article already explains ballistics and mentions that while Panther was vulnerable to lower-caliber AT guns, the Tigers were almost immune to them. What Jones did not tell Hoge was that in one of those regiments his own son was serving at regimental headquarters. The column came upon stragglers from the 424th Infantry retreating in disarray toward St. Vith. Rebuilding the blown bridge to get their assault guns across was their first priority. Osprey Publishing, 2002. St. Vith is built on a low hill surrounded on all sides by slightly higher rises. 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. 12th Volksgrenadier Division 89; 197; 487; 557; 650; 727. 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. Armored Champion, The Top Tanks of World War II. M8 Greyhound Light Armored Car 1941-91. Zaloga, Steven. Roadblocks were set up and manned. Company A of the 27th AIB had been assigned to the 99th Infantry Division and was in the process of being retrieved when the march to St. Vith began. Under the command of Gnther Hoffmann-Schnborn, the new division absorbed elements of the 18th Luftwaffe Field Division. Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Third Printing, US Army Armored School, 1966. At about 2130, General Clarke phoned General Hoge to tell him that the enemy was entering St. Vith from the north and that his forces were withdrawing to form a new line northwest of the city. Outnumbered and in danger of encirclement, the cannoneers and their rifle support from C Company made a platoon-by-platoon withdrawal toward Winterspelt. Companies A and B held a line from Grufflingen to Hohenbusch with Company A, 14th Tank Battalion to their north. Volksgrenadier-Division. It was a new and inexperienced division made up of Luftwaffe personnel, former Kriegsmariners out of a 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 The German 20th Infantry Division was an infantry division of Nazi Germany.HistoryThe was established in 1934 under the cover name. }(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. Although the American forces in the St. Vith area came under command of General Ridgways XVIII Airborne Corps, the Airborne Corps itself was under the command of Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, overall commander of the northern sector of the Bulge. 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 losses in men and equipment for CCB, 9th Armored, as with the rest of the American units defending St. Vith, had been severe. By the end of the day, the 27th AIB had withdrawn through Steinebruck without casualties despite enemy shelling of the village. Jentz, Thomas, and Hilary Doyle. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. Lieutenant Olsons version of the story would be the most contradicting version yet. Company A of the 14th Tank Battalion had some trouble disengaging. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945. The surviving Volksgrenadiers fled in disarray. Im going to guess that they just created this all up in their head. First Edition, Stackpole Books, 2004. Schiffer Publishing, 1996. During the early hours of December 17, the Germans laid heavy mortar and artillery fire on the front-line positions of his regiment. 18e volksgrenadier division English translation: 18th volksgrenadier division (wehrmacht).. Combat Interviews of the 38th Armored Infantry Battalion, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient and Manhay, December 17-23, 1944. Under the chain of the northern sector command, only General Ridgway was unsure of Field Marshal Montgomerys decision to withdraw from the defense. 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. . (1944) 111 111. 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. Not long after Rodt fell to the Fhrer Escort Brigade, an attack came against the 7th Armored from the direction of Recht. Aside from the cold and mud, there was also the enemy to contend with. The move would also have to be done under the cover of darkness in severe wintry conditions. Schiffer Publishing, 1997. The division was formed in Denmark, in September 1944, by redesignating 571. In addition, elements of the 116th Panzer Division and the 560th Volksgrenadier Division were moving against the weakly held southern flank of St. Vith defended by remnants of the 424th Infantry Regiment of the 106th Infantry Division and the 112th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division. I am a huge M8 Greyhound fan, having built a model at age 13 and I now own a 1:6 scale one with 4-man crew. Early on the 19th, the Germans made reconnaissance probes. The entry only states that a Tiger tank was knocked out. The two commanders agreed that even without the mud to contend with the withdrawal would have to be delayed simply because of heavy enemy pressure. 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. Mines were laid. Infanterie-Division 19398 . Darlington Productions Inc., 2000. However, he kept these misgivings to himself. 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 18th Volksgrenadier Division (18.Volksgrenadier-Division; 18. Zaloga, Steven. This version of the story, which is paraphrased in the introduction, will be referred to as the original version of the story. 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Wehrmacht) - Unionpedia, the concept map Volksgrenadier-Division 5 [ ] The move had scarcely begun when an enemy attack hit the junction between Company B, 27th AIB and Company D, 14th Tank Battalion. Slayden, knowing that the nearest units of the 7th Armored Division were at least 60 miles away in the Netherlands, had serious doubts that a whole combat command could reach St. Vith on the 17th, much less by 0700 hours. Infanterie-Division 19398 . Clad in armor between 25 mm and 180 mm thick and armed with deadly 88mm KwK 43 L/71 gun, the Tiger II was one of the deadliest tanks of the Second World War. Which specific Tiger II this was is unknown. Fortunately, a tank destroyer from Vielsalm turned up and hit the leading two German panzers, which drove the rest for cover. Elements of D Company, 89th Recon screened the flanks. 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. English PDF (15 MB) Jan B-603 352d Volks Grenadier Division (19 Freb.-21 Mar. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. This initial thrust carried the enemy approximately 400 yards into the battalions sector. Combat Interviews of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division: The St. Vith Salient, December 17-23, 1944. Rapidly, the M8 advanced to within 25 yards (23 meters) of the Tiger I and quickly pumped three rounds into its rear. The Sherman tanks of B Company repulsed the enemy with fire from their 76mm guns. VGD. The fight lasted for more than three hours before the Germans withdrew, leaving one burning tank and approximately 150 dead. The sector now defended by CCB, 9th Armored extended across five miles of rugged terrain that was primarily held by the three infantry companies making up the 27th AIB. The 424th Infantry still blocked the road to the Our River and Steinebruck. 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. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. Could a Panther be a possibility? Furthermore, late-war Panzer IVs equipped with Schrzen additional armor would look bigger, even closer to the size of a Tiger and this is before consideration is made on the stress of war, camouflaging materials applied to vehicles, the weather, and level of knowledge of the crews. Chamberlain, Peter, et al. English Edition, Casemate Publishers, 2014. German Division Nr. 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. However, after careful analysis, it can be said with certainty that neither a Tiger I nor a Tiger II was killed by an M8 Greyhound from any troop of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron on 18th December 1944 near St. Vith. The mobile battalion consisted of three platoons of assault guns, a company of engineers, and another of fusiliers. (function (d, s, n) { Although the 62nd Volksgrenadier captured Winterspelt, its losses were high and its left regiment had made little headway in the Heckhuschied sector. The division had lost four companies of armored infantry. The route terminated at several vital crossroads in the city of St. Vith. Established in 1941, the unit was deployed in German-occupied areas of the Soviet Union, in the Army Group North Rear Area. 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. This was no place to conduct a mobile defense with armor-heavy forces. 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. At 0100 the 23rd, D Troop, 89th Recon lost an armored car and a jeep to antitank guns. 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. 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. Although both men agreed that a withdrawal at this stage was the wiser decision, Hoge was skeptical that, given the weather and ground conditions, the defenders would be able to get out. Operation Nordwind 1945 Hitlers last offensive in the West. Seventh Armored Division Association 2517 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington 8, D.C., 1947. 194311 General Hoge moved his command post to Commanster. Fifth Panzer was to attack from Prum in the north down to Bitburg and Bastogne in the south. 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. Boylan, Vincent L. After Action Report, Month of December, 1944. The reason for this comparative respite was due to the fact that the roads to the German rear were completely jammed. 18th Flak Division 651 . Luftwaffe-Feld-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. 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. events, and resources, The Battle of the Bulge & The Defense of St. Vith. 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. What he claimed was that the fight wasnt as easy as it is presented here. German reports are also far from subtlety. The Ardennes 1944-1945: Hitlers Winter Offensive. Orders for CCB, 9th Armored to move to a new defensive position were issued at 1600. Besides the previously mentioned absence of any recountings of this event in several notable documents that should have contained it, and most peculiarly, Captain Anstey himself makes no mention of the engagement when he discusses and documents the events of the 18th of December 1944 in a combat interview he gave on the 2nd of January 1945, just over two weeks after the event supposedly took place. With the unexplained disappearance of D Troop from the 89th Reconnaissance Platoon, Company B, 27th AIB became the leading element. 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. Armour Plate Porforation [sic: Perforation] of Tank and Anti Tank Guns. Gen. Hasbrouck, commander of the 7th Armored Division, sent a message to General Ridgway urging withdrawal, which in part read, P.S. It appeared now that the fate of his two northern regiments was sealed. Manteuffel had hoped for considerably more on the 19th. VGD) was a volksgrenadier division of the German Army (Heer) during the Second World War, active from 1944 to 1945.. 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. Rodt was garrisoned by the service company of the 48th AIB and some drivers belonging to the battalion whose vehicles were parked there. Late on the 20th, patrols of the 82nd Airborne Division, on the other side of the Salm River, established contact with patrols of the 7th Armored Division. 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.. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law. There is no comparison to Tiger. Although General Jones was deeply worried about his two regiments on the Schnee Eifel, he was also highly concerned about the German advances in the Winterspelt area where his 424th Infantry Regiment was defending. The 7th Armored had taken a beating in defending St. Vith. Together they broke up the attack. 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 heroic defense of St. Vith, though costly in men and materil, disrupted the German timetable extensively. Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. Therefore, Montgomery ordered Ridgway to attack to the southeast until Vielsalm could be reached, ensuring an escape corridor for those trapped within the defense. General Luchts plan for December 17 was simple. Germanys Tiger Tanks D.W. to Tiger I: Design, Production & Modifications. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. js.className = n; As each unit joined the rear of the column, it took its turn being the rear guard. The mud had made the roads and open areas impassable for armored vehicles. Clarke, Bruce. However, this platoon never completed its mission. However, this version of Captain Ansteys account has one key difference: it was not a Tiger I that was knocked out, but rather a Tiger II, almost analogous to the fisherman whose fish gets bigger each time he tells the tale of his catch. 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. The provisional company of 424th stragglers disappeared during the night. The M8 was used mostly as a reconnaissance vehicle for scouting. Ridgway knew Hoge to be calm, courageous, and imperturbable. Communications with division headquarters in St. Vith were limited to liaison officers running along a road now being shelled by the Germans. 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. After listening to the information provided by General Clarkes staff officer, General Hoge decided to go to St. Vith himself to assess the situation. 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. 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. During his meeting with Hoge, General Ridgway became convinced that defending this area any further would be futile. Should 7th Armored lose St. Vith, 9th Armored would be unable to withdraw on its own axis. Attack on Panther PzKw V and Tiger PzKw VI. 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. Then there is the issue of the entrys ambiguity in regards to the Tiger tank that was knocked out. There was little they could do other than vow to get the attack moving early on the 20th. The supply trains led the way north on N27 to St. Vith. 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. var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; Jones had been counting on this when he sent Hoges 9th Armored Command to Winterspelt rather than Schoenberg. Jones wanted Clarke to counterattack immediately with his combat command and break that ring that these people have closed around the Schnee Eifel.. 324 324. However, just as the Americans began their pursuit, the Germans noticed them and began traversing their turret to face them. Thus, the job of rescuing the two trapped infantry regiments on the Schnee Eifel passed from the 9th to the 7th Armored Division. 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. Tigers In Combat II. 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. Within the Kloster, General Hoge found a division headquarters staff in a state of disarray and confusion. 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. The Battle at St. Vith, Belgium 17-23 December 1944 An Historical Example of Armor in the Defense. How to use 'poor shape' in a sentence? #WW2 . Maurice Delaval Papers Collection of the Military History Institute in Carlisle, PA. One Day at Stavelot, a Tale of Two Archives The Tiger II vs US Tank Destroyers in the Ardennes. It was at full strength and supplied with the latest equipment. The 18th Volksgrenadier Division was to attack along the two roads from Schoenberg, with the Fhrer Escort Brigade assaulting from the north. Volksgrenadier-Division. VGD. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. 223 223. Bergstrm, Christer. It is possible that, as part of the attacks on the line held in part by Troop B of the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, a lone StuG III was used to probe out the American line, as had been done on the previous day, and was subsequently knocked out by an M8 Greyhound.