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. On December 21, 18. VGD captured St. Vith, winning a great victory. As the offensive steam came to an end in the Ardennes, the division went on the defensive, and there they would stay. Eventually retreating through Germany until the end of the war, when it surrendered. On February 5, 1945 General Walter Botsch took over command of the division. On March 6, 1945, when Botsch was ordered to take command of the LIIIrd Army Corps, the 18. VGD division was absorbed into the 26. VGD led by Heinz Kokott, Heinrich Himmler's brother-in-law.