clifforddward Posted April 18, 2018 Share #1 Posted April 18, 2018 I am hoping someone here may be able to answer a long time question I've been pondering...related to a story from my Dad from his service during the Ardennes. Charles H. Ward was a Staff Sargent with the 84th Division, 333rd Infantry, Company L. His encounter with a Tiger tank during the Ardennes Offensive was a family favorite as I was growing up...the attached audio is from a recording he made at 65 years of age. I've always wondered with the limited number of Tiger tanks that participated in the battle if it would be possible to identify the likely German group the tank was from...perhaps someone on this forum has a history cross reference that would identify where the 84th division was during the battle and what German tank group with Tiger tanks would have likely have been operating in the area? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated! Best Regards, Cliff Cliff Ward Cary, North Carolina tank story.wmv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garandomatic Posted April 18, 2018 Share #2 Posted April 18, 2018 That would sure be cool... my beloved 12th armored worked with the 84th a good bit, I believe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted April 18, 2018 Share #3 Posted April 18, 2018 Just being nit picky but while the literal translation of Königstiger is King Tiger, it is better translated as Royal Tiger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M422A1 Posted April 18, 2018 Share #4 Posted April 18, 2018 Actually, "Königstiger" is the German name for a Bengal Tiger, So maybe we should really be calling them "Bengal Tigers". :^) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted April 18, 2018 Share #5 Posted April 18, 2018 Actually, "Königstiger" is the German name for a Bengal Tiger, So maybe we should really be calling them "Bengal Tigers". :^) You're right, I completely jacked up what I was trying to say because I was was rushed . It should have read: "while they are often call King Tigers by American sources, the literal translation of Königstiger is Royal Tiger, but it is better translated as Bengal Tiger." good luck with finding the unit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manayunkman Posted April 18, 2018 Share #6 Posted April 18, 2018 You might ask that question on WAF. Several years ago I had a soldiers blurry snap shot photo of a Tiger II abandoned on the side of the road. I posted the snap shot in the Panzer section, the tank, its location and unit were all Id'd. There are guys who know where all these rare tanks were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clifforddward Posted April 21, 2018 Author Share #7 Posted April 21, 2018 Listening back through Dad's war story tape I determined that the tank story comes from the days after Company L helped re-take the town of Verdenne in the wee hours of Christmas day 1944....it was while he was in his foxhole on the far side of the town that the tank was encountered. I've found a couple of references that mention the German 116th Panzer division may have been involved in the Verdenne area...but question is did they have any Tiger 2 tanks operating in that area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonmoen Posted April 22, 2018 Share #8 Posted April 22, 2018 The German word for King is König, the translation for Royal Tiger is königlicher Tiger. Bengal is a place name so the translation for Bengal tiger would be bengalischer Tiger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted April 22, 2018 Share #9 Posted April 22, 2018 You had the Army's Heavy Tank Battalion 506, but they were in the 6th SS Panzer Army, ditto the SS Heavy Tank Battalion 501. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted April 22, 2018 Share #10 Posted April 22, 2018 Nice site with info on Tanks from the Bulge King Tiger: http://tank-photographs.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/La-Gleize-Stoumont-king-tiger-tank-II-1944.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyler Posted April 22, 2018 Share #11 Posted April 22, 2018 https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/two-american-soldiers-inspect-german-king-tiger-tank-belgium-1945/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbUSWM Posted April 22, 2018 Share #12 Posted April 22, 2018 I can provide the divisions your father encountered for during any day of the Bulge... obviously narrowing from there is gets difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbUSWM Posted April 22, 2018 Share #13 Posted April 22, 2018 Your father's 84th Division was located 20 miles north of Aachen on December 15, 1944 opposite the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich as part of the 6th SS Panzer Army commanded by Brigadier General Heinz Lammerding. By December 18, 1944, the 9th Panzer Division was also in the mix. On December 20th, the 84th Division was moved 80 miles southwest directly in the path of the bulge approximately 25 miles northwest of Bastogne. By December 24, 1944, the 84th Division were still holding their position at the tip of the bulge against the 9th and 11th Panzer Divisions. By December 28th, the 84th was opposite the 116th and 9th Panzer Divisions. Your father's division never gave an inch between December 21st and the end of the Battle of the Bulge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbUSWM Posted April 22, 2018 Share #14 Posted April 22, 2018 Just read your followup post... On December 25, 1944, the 84th Division was in direct battle with the 116th Panzer Division 25 miles northwest of Bastogne which was under siege. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbUSWM Posted April 22, 2018 Share #15 Posted April 22, 2018 Here is Omar Bradley's map from December 25th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Camouflage Pattern I Posted April 22, 2018 Share #16 Posted April 22, 2018 The German word for King is König, the translation for Royal Tiger is königlicher Tiger. Bengal is a place name so the translation for Bengal tiger would be bengalischer Tiger. König is king, Konigs is Royal. In German the Bengal Tiger is called the Royal Tiger, not the Bengal Tiger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patches Posted April 23, 2018 Share #17 Posted April 23, 2018 König is king, Konigs is Royal. In German the Bengal Tiger is called the Royal Tiger, not the Bengal Tiger. King of the Tigers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud Kraut Posted May 15, 2018 Share #18 Posted May 15, 2018 1. Königs- = Royal 2. Königstiger = Bengal-Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now