M8 Greyhound vs TigerII

According to the 87th Cavalry Recon Squadron After Action Report (AAR), on Dec. 17th, (day before the action of interest), temporary Squadron Command Post (CP) was set up at Recht - northeast of Vielsalm and northwest of St Vith (7th AD HQ).

At this time, Troop B (the unit of interest) was detached from the Squadron and under placed under the direct command of Combat Command B, 7th Armored Division.

According to Cole's "The Ardennes, the Battle of the Bulge", the 424th Infantry Regiment was defending a line between Heckhuscheid and Winterspelt. This regiment had been the only part of the 106th ID able to hold off the initial German assault on Dec. 16th. The Germans broke through the other two regiments, the 423rd and 422nd, and cut them off southeast of Schönberg.

According to "The Battle at St Vith, Belgium 17-23, December 1944" , Combat Command B (CCB), 7th AD, established its CP in St Vith, taking over responsibilities for the defense of the sector from the 106th Infantry Division which had been shattered by the initial attack.

Units from the 106th ID that came under the command of the 7th AD included the HQ Company, 81st Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Battalion, 1st platoon, Company F, 423rd Infantry Regiment (providing security fo the 106th ID HQ). A separate armored field artillery battalion, the 275th with M7 105mm HMC under VIII Corps control was in the area and also came under 7th AD command. They were to provide the only artillery support for the sector until the 7th AD artillery arrived ...

The single infantry platoon, HQ company of the 81st Engineers and the 168th Engineer battalion were sent east towards Schönberg and told to dig in when they made contact with the enemy.

Troop B of the 87th Sq was the first 7th AD unit to arrive. They were sent up the road east of St Vith towards Schönberg to reinforce the defenses there. Troop B was placed in position to the left of the roadblock established "by the troops from the 106th ID" (probably Combat Engineers from the 168th). Other elements of CCB, 7th AD followed, until a defensive line was formed arrived to the east and north of St Vith. Cole described it this way: the most advanced units of CCB had reinforced the 168th Engineer Combat Battalion on the Schönberg road and pushed out to either side for some distance as flank protection.

Troop B was described as having gone into the defensive position "dismounted" - probably meaning most of the troopers who manned the Bantams (Jeeps in cavalry-speak) went on foot with their support weapons (30 cal MG and 60mm mortars) to fight as foot soldiers. The M8 scout cars with their 37mm cannon, 50 cal and 30 cal MG's were manned to provide fire support.

Cole further noted that before reinforcements arrived from the 7th AD, the 168th Engineer Battalion had defeated a probe by three German "tanks".

At 1300 German vehicles were seen in Setz, four and a half miles from the eastern edge of St. Vith. Half an hour later three enemy tanks and some infantry appeared before the 168th Engineer Battalion position astride the St. Vith road. Carelessly dismounting, one tank crew was riddled by machine gun fire; a second tank received a direct and killing blast from a bazooka; the third tank and the infantry withdrew.

Looking at German records - the attacking unit was the 18th Volksgrenadier Division made up of Luftwaffe Field Division and Kriegsmarine personnel. Armor support for the 18th VGD was provided by the Panzerjägerabteilung 1818 (14 Jagdpanzer 38t), reinforced by a "mobile battalion" consisting of 4 batteries with 14 StuG III (the 244.Sturmgeschutz Brigade) - under the overall command of the C.O. of Panzerjägerabteilung 1818.

The Foreign Military Study: B-688 18th Volksgrenadier Division (Sep - Jan 1945) reported that the "mobile battalion" had crossed the main line of resistance at dawn of the 17th and caught up with the 294th Volksgrenadier Regiment - reaching Setz, in the afternoon of the 17th.

The "tanks" reported by the 168th Engineers on the afternoon of the 17th were almost certainly Jagdpanzer 38t or StuG III - as they were the only German AFV's in the area.

The Führerbegleit 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. That eliminates this unit's Pzkw IV being the "Tiger" encountered by the Troop B M8 on Dec. 18th ...

Therefore, by a process of elimination ... the "Tiger" engaged by an M8 from Troop B, 87th Cavalry Recon Squadron ... was most likely a:

... StuG III

B-688 described the "Mobile Battalion" as advancing east of Wallerode Muehle, moving through the woods in a northwestern direction. Upon reaching Wallerode and the hills to the west and south of town, the battalion was able to cut off enemy traffic from St Vith to the north.

Elements of the 294th Infantry advanced about 2km along the road to St Vith, then took up positions on the western slope of Prümerberg. Here resistance stiffened and enemy tanks appeared. Attacks from St Vith towards the east were to be expected. The division artillery had not yet arrived.

With most of the Mobile Battalion further north near Wallerode, and the 294th Volksgrenadier Regiment establishing themselves on the (reverse) slope of a hill facing the St Vith defensive line - the sector east of St Vith was understandably quiet. A single StuG III moving along a trail in front of the main line of defense between Troop B and the 38th AIB suggests that it may have come down the road towards St Vith before taking a trail north towards Wallerode ...

Troop B was positioned to the left (i.e. north) of the 168th Engineers' roadblock on the road to St Vith and the 38th AIB was presumably on the right (south). A German AFV (StuG III) coming from the east and turning onto a north bound trail before reaching the roadblock would cross in front of the American defense line - passing from the section defended by the 168th Engineers and the 38th AIB before passing the section defended by Troop B ...

That set the stage for the M8's audacious dash from its defensive position on to the trail behind the German for a "shot up the kilt"! Definitely wasn't a Tiger II, nor a Panther since there were no units with these tanks in the area. Nonetheless, a very audacious attack - even though the StuG would have been unable to quickly deal with an attack from its rear on a narrow trail ...