by Sergey Gafarov » May 16th, 2012, 7:45 pm
German Order of Battle for Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein
5.Panzer-Armee
The first 5. Panzer-Armee had fought in Africa and disappeared with the capitulation of Tunisia in May 1943. A new one originated from France as Panzer Gruppen Kommando West on
January 24, 1944; under the command of General Geyr von Scweppenburg it faced the Allied invasion in Normandy and became the 5.Panzer-Armee in August 1944. General Hasso
Mantueffel took command on September 12 and led it in the Lorraine battles and around Aaechen.
LXVI.Armeekorps
Created as the LXVI. Reservekorps to take command of second line divisions within Ob.West on September 21, 1942,it became the LXVI Armeekorps on February 25 the following year.
The corps was based at Clermond-Ferrand when the Allied breakout from Normandy forced its withdraw to Germany. In December 1944 its commander was General der Artillerie Walter
Lucht.
18.Volks-Grenadier-Division
From being the 571. Volks-Grenadier-Division assembling at Ersbjerg in Denmark with the usual gamut of conscripts filling in the gaps around the remnants of the 18. Luftwaffe-Feld-
Division , it was renamed the 18.Volks-Grenadier-Division on Spetember 2, 1944. Oberleutnant i. G. Dietrich Moll, chief-of-staff of the new division, gave an insight into the activation of
the division in Denmark: ‘The division was allocated a cadre of 2,500 men from the Luftwaffe division near the Siene in August and 3,000 men from other Luftwaffe and naval units. The
division also received 5,000 men, largely rehabilitated personnel, combed out of the various establishments in the zone of the interior, the so-called ‘indispensables’ who hitherto had
occupied key positions in industry. These groups also included very few recent draftees so that the personnel of the division could scarcely be described as young. Not many of the
officers or men had seen much action, a fact which was to bear significantly on the coming operations. Germany was in her sixth year of war, yet few men of this division had campaign
ribbons or decoration.’
It was put into the line at the end of October to take over a section of the West Wall north of the Schnee Eifel, a quiet sector in which it was able to rotate units, thus providing its
conscripts with some experience and training the majority of them badly lacked and licking the division into shape/ Its Stu.Gesh.Kp. 1818, equipped at Milowitz, possessed fourteen
Jagdpanzer 38(t).
62.Volks-Grenadier-Division
As the 583. Volks-Grenadier-Division it began from scratch assembling at Neuhammer early in September 1944, and although from September 22 it bore the number of the 62. Infanterie-
Division destroyed near Jassy in Romania during the summer, there was no connection between the two. From Neuhammer it was moved at that end of November to the Wittlich area,
and from there during the night of December 15 into a part of the line held previously by elements of the 26. Volks-Grenadier-Division which was shifting southwards into its own attack
positions. The division’s Stu.Gesh.Kp. 1162 possessed fourteen Jagdpanzer 38(t) with which it was equipped at Milowitz.
LVIII. Panzerkorps
Created on July 28, 1943, as the LVIII.Reservekorps, it took part in the occupation of Hungary (Operation ‘Margarethe’) in March 1944 and then moved west, It became LVIII. Panzerkorps
on July 7 and as such was heavily engaged against the Allied in Normandy; in the atumn it was engaged in Lorraine. The corps commander was General der Panzertruppen Walter Krger
who had taken command in February 1944.
116. Panzer-Division
The original 16. Infanterie-Division had been motorized in Spetember 1940 and took part in the Balkans campaign and the invasion of Russia. Being re-designated a panzergrenadier
division on the Eastern Front in March 1943, it distinguished itself in the Ukraine in the Zaporozhe area but was badly battered near Uman and withdrawn to France where it was refitted
with elemnts of 179. Reserve-Panzer-Division to become the 116. Panzer-Division on March 1944. It fought in Normandy and the ensuing withdrawal across France, which tok it to
Aaechen , and had to be refitted again near D?sseldorf. During the Aachen battles its highly-decorated commander, Generalleutnant Gerhard Graf von Schwerin was relieved following
serious allegations of about his loyalty made by Nazi officials, prominent among them was Gauleiter Grohe and Reichsf?hrer Himmler. Von Schwerin (who in February 1945 was promoted
to LXXVI. Panzerkorps in Italy.) was succeeded on September 14 by Oberst Siegfried von Waldenburg, promoted to Generalmajor on November 1. On December 10 the division’s Panzer
-Regiment 16 consisted of I.Abteilung with forty-three Panthers operational and II. Abteilung with twenty-six Panzer IVs. The division’s Panzerjger-Abteilung 228 reported thirteen
Jagdpanzer IV/70s operational.
560.Volks-Grenadier-Division
The Division was formed on October 10 at Moss in Norway and incorporated various elements of garrison units stationed in Norway and Denmark. By the eve of the attack only half of
its men had arrived, the rest making their was by foot or train.
As the division’s commander, Generalmajor Rudolf Bader, was in the hospital at the time, the initial assault was led by the commander of one of its infantry regiments, Oberst Rudolf
Langhaeuser, Grenadier-Regiment 1128, who handed over to Bader on his return on December 27. The division’s Stu.Gesch.Kp. 1560 was equipped with the Jagdpanzer 38(t) at Milowitz
but it would seem none of its assault guns were present when the attack opened; just ten being available some days later.
XXXXVII. Panzerkorps
Created as the (mot.) XXXXVII. Armeekorps, it became a Panzerkorps on June 21, 1942. From June 1941 to April 1944 the corps commanded units on the Eastern Front before being
transferred to the West. It faced an Allied invasion and was later involved in the Lorraine battles. The corps was under command of General der Panzertruppen Heinrich von L?ttwitz
2.Panzer-Division
One of the original three panzer divisions, it was formed on October 15, 1935 at W?rzburg and after the Anschluss of March 1938 remained in Vienna. It fought in Poland and France; then
in April 1941 in Greece. From there it returned to France and in September joined the drive on Moscow, continuing to fight on the central sector and taking part in the Kursk offensive in
the summer of 1943, until transferred to France early in 1944 for refitting after losses suffered defending the middle Dneper. Heavily engaged in Normandy, after withdrawal from France to
the West Wall it was in a bad way and was transferred again to rest and refit near Wittlich. A new divisional commander, Oberst Meinrad von Lauchert, took over the very day before
the offensive and arrived when the division was already in the assembly area near Neurburg. The division was then about eighty percent strength. On December 10 the Panzer Regiment 3
reported forty-nine Panthers operational in I. Abteilung and twenty-six Panzer IVs and twenty four StuGs in II. Abteilung. The division’s Panzerj?ger-Abteilung 38 reported twenty-one
StuGs operational.
Panzer-Lehr-Division
Formed on January 10, 1944 around the staff and instructors of Krampnitz panzer training school from the demonstration units of various other training schools, which naturally made it
something of a crack unit, the division took part in the occupation of Hungary (Operation ‘Margarethe’) in March 1944 and was moved to France in May. In Normandy it proved one of
the main obstacles to the breakout from the bridgehead. It suffered heavily in the Caen and Saint L? sectors and after the withdrawal across France was transferred to Paderborn to refit.
Although already ear marked for ‘Wacht am Rhein’, it committed in late November against a thrust by the American Third Army in the Saar and therefore had to undergo an emergency
refit around Mayen in early December. To make good on its losses, the missing I. Abteilung of the Division’s Panzer-Regiment 130 had been replaced by the Schwere-Panzerj?ger-
Abteilung 559, with about fifteen Jagdpanthers and StuGs; II. Abteilung having twenty-three Panthers and thirty Panzer IVs. The division’s Panzerj?ger-Abteilung 130 had fourteen
Jadgpanzer IV/70s. When the Panzer-Lehr-Division moved into its assembly area near Kyllburg to take part n ‘Wacht am Rhein’ with 5. Panzer-Armee, it was at about eighty percent
strength. The divisional commander was Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein.
26.Volks-Grenadier-Division
Continuously engaged on the Eastern Front since July 1941, the 26.Infanterie-Division was withdrawn for refitting to Poznan, Poland, in September 1944 after the punishing battles of the
summer in the Ukraine. Merged Poznan with the 582. Volks-Grenadier-Division which had been assembling there since August, the resultant formation which still had the structure of one
of the old infanterie divisions was re-designated as 26.Volks-Grenadier-Division on September 17. Most of its new troops came from the Kriegsmarine, and they were able to blend quickly
with the battle-tried members of the old division, so its renamed counterpart continued in good stead. At the end of November-almost at full strength-it took over positions on the West
Wall in the Dasburg area, where it was to launch its attack. (It also happened to be well off for horses, having about 5,000 of them including some hardy beasts from Russia.), It
Stu.Gesch.Kp. 1026, which moved up from Milowitz, possessed fourteen Jagdpanzer 38(t)
Assault Units
An assault gun brigade, namely Stu.Gesh.Brig.224 and a Panzerj?ger battalion, s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 653, were assigned to 5. Panzer-Armee. Both were under strength, the brigade having only
fourteen StuGs and the battalion nine Jagdtigers. The Jagdtigers were not used as the unit was moved south for Unternehmen ‘Nordwind’. Pz.Jg.Abt. 741 and St.Gesch.Brig. 243 were
assigned later to the army; the former having twenty Jadgpanzer 38(t) and the later twenty StuGs on December 17.
Artillery
Apart from the artillery within its seven divisions, 5.Panzer-Armee received:
a) three volks-artillerie corps-
Volks-Art.Korps 401, Volks-Art.Korps 410 and Volks-Art.Korps 766;
b) three volks-werfer brigades-
Volks-Werf.Brig. 7, Volks-Werf.Brig. 15 and Volks-Werf.Brig. 16
c) one medium howitzer battalion-
H.Art.Abt.460
d) three heavy batteries-
H.Art.Bttr. 1094, H.Art.Bttr. 1095 and Fest.Art.Battr.25/975;
e) four heavy mortar batteries-
M?rs.Bttr.1119, M?rs.Bttr.1099, M?rs.Bttr. 1121 and M?rs.Bttr.638.
This brought its total to 596 guns, or which no more than 180 were 150mm or over, and 367 rocket launchers-232 of 150mm, 81 of 210mm and 54 of 300mm.
Engineers
5.Panzer-Armee was alloted these additional engineer units:
a) two combat engineer battalions-
Pi.Btl.600 and Pi.Btl. 207;
b) two construction engineer battalions
Baupionier-Btl. 803 and Baupionier-Btl. III/999
c) four bridge columns equipped with Br?ckenger?t B-
Br?ckenger?t 22, Br?cko 6, Br?cko 1/409 and Br?cko 957
d) foru bridging columns equipped with with Br?ckenger?t J-
Br?ko 850, Br?ko 846, Br?ko 894 and Br?ko 892.
It was also allotted four regiments of OT-Brigade 3.
6. Panzer Armee
The army staff only had recently been formed, on September 24, around the remnants of XII. Armeekorps destroyed in July near Minsk, with the addition of members of the staff of the
Wehrmacht command for Belgian and northern France and from the Waffen SS. SS-Oberstgruppenf?hrer ‘Sepp’ Dietrich assumed command of the army upon its activation.
LXVII. Armeekorps
The corps staff originated on September 24, 1942, as LXVII Reservekorps for overseeing reserve divisions in the West and its headquarters were in Brussels. On January 20,1944, it
became LXVII. Armeekorps and as part of 15.Armee spent the year in France and the Netherlands. The corps commander was Generalleutnant Otto Hitzfeld.
272. Volks-Grenadier-Division
The former 272 Infanterie-Division was badly mauled in Normandy and what remained was set to D?beritz and included in the 575. Volks-Grenadier assembling there since August. On
September 17 this was redesignated 272.Volks-Grenadier-Division. Its Stu.Gesch.Kp.1272 was equipped with the Jagdpanzer 38(t) at Milowitz. The Division left D?beritz at the beginning
of November and took over part of the West Wall in the Monschau area, where the end of the month it came under increasing pressure from V Corps of the First Army driving from the
Rur (Roer) dams.
362.Volks-Grenadier-Division
The Volks-Infanterie-Division had been destroyed in Normandy and, on September 4, 1944 a new 326.Volks-Grenadier-Division was created by giving the number to the 579.Volks-
Grenadier-Division assembling at Kaposvar in Hungary. It was moved to the Eifel in November and stationed near Gerolstein. The original intention was for it to attack with the LVIII.
Panzer-Korps of 5.Panzer-Armee, but as it was insufficiently mobile-being some 400 horsesshort, besides vehicles-it became part of LXVII. Armee-Korps with the 6.Panzer-Armee on the
northern wing of the attack where less distance had to be covered, assembling in the Kall area on December 10. Its Stu.Gesh.Kp. 1326 was equipped with Jagdpanzer 38(t) at Milowitz.
I.SS-Panzerkorps
The corps was formed on July 27, 1943, in Berlin Lichterfelde. It served on the southern sector of the Eastern Front until in the end of year and was then transferred west to take command
of the 1.SS-Panzer-Division and 12.SS-Panzer-Division. It was heavily involved Normandy battles and the subsequent withdrawal across France. SS-Gruppenf?hrer Hermann Preiss had
taken command of the corps during the refitting period just before “Wacht am Rhein’.
277.Volks-Grenadier-Division
the 277.Infanterie-Division had been badly battered in Normandy and its remnants moved to Hungary and incorporated in the 574.Volks Grenadier-Division assembling in the Budapest
area since August. The change of number 277 took place on September 9. On November 5 the division left Budapest for the West to take over part of the West Wall in the Losheim area.
It was to experienced difficulties in moving into the assembling area during the two nights preceding the offensive: one of its battalions was not relieved in the line as planned, and the
attack had to go ahead without it. Kr?mer considered the division to have been at eighty percent strength. Its Stu.Gesch.Kp.1277 was equipped with the Jagdpanzer 38(t) at Milowitz and
could field six assault-guns on the eve of the offensive.
12.Volks-Grenadier-Division
As 12. Infanterie-Division, before it was merely re-designated 12.Volks-Grenadier-Division on October 9, 1944 it had fought with distinction in Poland, France and on the Eastern Front
before being transferred to the West in September, where it had fought on the Aachen sector. It was withdrawn from the battle sone near J?lich and D?ren during the night of December 2
for a brief rest and refit near Blankenheim. When it moved into the assembly area near Scheid it was estimated by Kr?mer as having been at eighty percent strength. According to the
division’s commander Generalmajor Gerhard Engel, the rough number of assault guns received by its Stu.Gesch.Kp. 1012 at Mielau amounted to six StuGs. An experienced division, in
good shape, it was regarded by 6.Panzer-Armee as the best of that armies infantry Division.
3.Fallschirmj?ger-Division
Formed in France in October 1943, it fought in Normandy the following summer and suffered heavily around Saint-L? and in the Falaise pocket. During October it was withdrawn to
Oldenzaal in Holland for refitting; most of the replacement troops being Luftwaffe ground personnel. With the promotion of its famous commander, Generalmajor Richard Schimpf, the
division was taken over by Generalmajor Walther Wadehn. As few of the replacements had any experience of fighting infantry as infantry, this created a considerable headache for its
newly-assigned officers. The new Chief-of-staff had no idea of what was involved in ground operations, which meant that the Chief-of-staff of I.SS=Panzerkorps, to which the division
had been assigned, had to ask 6.Panzer-Armee for his immediate replacement by someone who did! On the eve of December 16 the division have been able to move only two regiments
into this assembly area near Hallschlag and launched its attack with them alone; the third coming up the following night. According to Kr?mer the division was at seventy-five percent
strength and had no assault-guns.
12.SS-Panzer-Division ‘Hitlerjugend’
Formed as a panzergrenadier division in July 1943 and re-designated a panzer division in October, it first went into action June 7 in Normandy and was heavily engaged in the vicinity of
Caen, becoming one of the rearguard which fought to keep the Falaise Pocket from being closed. Having suffered considerable losses in Normandy and the subsequent withdraw across
France, the division was ordered to the Suligen area un the north-west Germany for rest and refitting. Its well-known commander, SS-Oberf?hrer Kurt Meyer, nicknamed ‘Panzermeyer’,
had been taken prisoner during the retreat in September and SS-Standartenf?hrer Hugo Kraas took over the division on November 9.
When the division moved into the assembly area near Sistig, according to Chief-of-staff of 6. Panzer-Armee. SS-Brigadef?hrer Fritz Kr?mer, it was at ninety percet strength in manpower
and eighty percent in equipment. On December 10 its SS-Panzer-Regiment 12 consisted of: I. Abteilung with thirty-eight Panthers and thirty-nine panzer IVs; standing in for II.
Abteilung was Schwere-Panzerj?ger-Abteilung 560 with about twenty-five Jagdpanzer IV/70s and one company of of Jagdpanthers. The division’s SS-Panzerj?ger-Abteilung 12 had
twenty-two Jagdpanzer IV/70s.
1.SS-Panzer-Division ‘Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler’
Formed as a motorized division in 1941 from the expansion of elements of Hitler’s bodyguard unit, which had served in Poland, and the West, it fought in the Balkans and the suothern
section of the Eastern Front, being designated a panzer division while in France during the later half of 1942. Except for a brief period in Northern Italy (August-October 1943) it remained
on the Eastern Front. Heavily engaged west of Kiev, it was transferred to belgium for rest and refitting in the spring of 1944. It was then angaged against the invasion sustaining heavy
losses in the Normandy battles-including Mortain-and the withdrawal from France, and was refitted near siegburg in Westphalia in November. The young conscripts for this once hand-
picked elite formation were described by the commander of its SS-Panzer-Regiment 1 as ‘pretty good considering the standard replacements assigned at that time’. According to Kr?mer,
when the division moved to its assembly area near Stadtkyll it was almost ninety percent strength in man-power and eighty percent in equipment. On December 10 the I. Abteilung of SS
-Panzer-Regiment 1 could field thirty-seven Panthers and thirty-four Panzer IVs, and Schwere-SS-Panzer-Abteilung 501, attached in the absence of the panzer regiment’s II. Abteilung,
could field fifteen Tiger IIs. The division’s SS-Panzerj?ger-Abteilung 1 possessed ten Jagdpanzer IV/70s. A further thirty Tigers were in the process of being delivered, and it could be
that half of them reached them actually reached the front, as the situation map for December 17 show thirty Tigers with the division.
II.SS-Panzerkorps
Created in July 1942 as the SS-Panzer-Generalkommando, it became knows as II.SS-Panzerkorps in July 1943 . The corps served on the Eastern Front during the Kharkov and Kursk
battles and moved to Italy in the summer of 1943. Then after a period in France, it moved east again to the Tarnopol area in April 1944. With the Allied landings in Normandy it was
hurredly ordered west to face the invasion and subsequently withdrew to Germany in autumn, Its commander was SS-Obergruppenf?hrer Wilhelm Bittrich.
2.SS-Panzer-Division ‘Das Reich’
A motorized infantry division formed during the winter of 1940-41 from the bulk of SS-Verfug?ngstruppe-Division, it fought in the Balkans and on the central sector of the Eastern Front,
becoming a panzergrenadier division in November 1942 whilst in France during the second half of that year. It took part in the recapture of Kharkov in March 1943 and the battles in the
south, it was withdrawn to France for rest and refit in February 1944 after suffering heavy losses west of Kiev, having been designated a panzer division the previous October. after
fighting in Normandy, its extraction from the Falaise Pocket and withdrawal across Fance had brought it to the Schnee Eifel area, behind the West Wall, and it had to be refitted again
near Paderborn in the autumn. According to Kr?mer, when it moved into its assembly area near Satzvey the division was up to eighty percent of its designated strength
On December 10 its armored regiment, SS-Panzer-Regiment 2, comprised: I.Abteilung, fifty-eight Panthers; II.Abteilung twenty-eight Panzer IVs and twenty-eight Sturmgesch?tz. The
division’s SS-Panzerj?ger-Abteilung 2 reported twenty Jagdpanzer IV/70s Operational.
9.SS-Panzer-Division ‘Hohenstaufen’
Formed at the beginning of 1943 as a panzergrenadier division, it completed its assembly and training in nort-east France and became a panzer division in October 1943. It was moved to
the Ukraine in March 1944 and fought in the Tarnopol sector, then June was ordered to return to France with II.SS-Panzer-Korps to counter the Allied invasion of Normandy. After the
retreat it was only twenty percent of its normal composition early in September when quartered in Arnhem, yet shortly afterwards it played a major part in defeating the Allied airborne
landings. From October it was reorganized and refitted near M?nsteeifel, and according to to Kr?mer was at seventy-five percent when it was mustered to the south in its assembly area
in Sch?nau.On December 10 the operational strength of its SS-Panzer-Regiment 9 was I.Abteilung, thirty-five Panthers and twenty-eight StuGs; II.Abteilung thirty-nine Panzer IVs and
twenty-eight StuGs. The division’s SS-Panzerj?ger-Abteilung 9 reported twenty-one Jagdpanzer IV/70s.
Assault Units
The 6. Panzer-Armee was assigned two assault gun brigades, Stu.Gesch.Brig.394 and Stu.Gesch.Brig.667; and assault gun battalion, Stu.Pz.Abt. 217, equipped with the Sturmpanzer IV
‘Brummb?r’;and a battalion of towed anti-tank guns, the Pz.Jg.Abt.(mot.Z) 683.
Needless to say, even the favored Waffen SS army units could not expect to receive units at full strength. On December 17 the two brigades could only field eight StuGs between them,
and the battalion only eight Brummb?rs, although December 25 the situation had improved somewhat, in that the two brigades had then twenty-five StuGs between them.
Other units assigned later were: two battalions of Tigers, Schwere-Panzer-Abteilung 506 and Schwere-Abteilung (FK1) 301, and one of Panzerj?gers, Schwere-Panzerj?ger-Abteilung519,
equipped with Jagdpanthers. On December 17 the two panzer battalions could field twenty-two Tigers and Schwere-Panzerj?ger-Abteilung 519 twenty-one Jagdpanthers and Stugs.
Artillery
Apart from the artillery with its nine divisions 6. Panzer-Armee had the following units placed under its command:
a) three volks-artillerie corps-
Volks.Art.Korps. 338,Volks.Art.Korps. 402 and Volks.Art.Korps. 405
b) three volks-werfer brigades-
Volks.Werf.Brig.4, Volks.Werf.Brig.9 and Volks.Werf.Brig.17;
c) four heavy mortar batteries-
M?rs.Bttr. 1110, M?rs.Bttr. 1098, M?rs.Bttr. 1120 and M?rs.Bttr.428;
d) one heavy battery of heavy artillery-
Fest.Art.Bttr.1123
This gave the army a total of 685 guns, though only 180 of there were 150mm or over, and 340 rocket launchers of which 214 were 150mm, 108 were 210mm and 18 were 300mm.
Engineers
Again, comparatively well off, 6.Panzer-Armee was alloted these additional units:
a) three engineer battalions-
Pi.Btl.73, Pi.Btl. 253 and Pi.Btl.62;
b) two construction engineers battalions-
Baupionier-Btl. 798 and Baupionier-Btl.59;
c) one bridge building battalion-
Pi.Br?ck.Btl. 655;
d) five bridging columns equipped with Br?ckenger?t B-
Br?cko 602, Br?cko 2/406, Br?cko 1/403, Br?cko 967 and Br?cko 968
e) four bridging columns equipped with Br?ckenger?t J-
Br?cko 895, Br?cko 844, Br?cko 851 and Br?cko 175
Four Regiments of OT-Brigade 4 were also allotted to it.
7.Armee
The Army was created August 25, 1939, and in 1940 took part in the Battle of France. It remained as army of occupation in Brittany and Normandy and in June 1944 found itself facing the
allied invasion. It subsequently withdrew to Germany and took responsibility for defending part of the West Wall. General Erich Brandenberger assumed command on September 3, 1944.
LXXXV. Armeekorps
Created as Generalkommando Kneiss in October 1943 in southern France, it was attached to 19. Armee until December 2, 1944, when it became LXXXV. Armeekorps and transferrred to 7.
Armee. Its commander was General der Infanterie Baptist Kniess.
5.Fallschirmj?ger-Division
This paratrooper formation was created in March 1944 but it was virtually destroyed in the Falaise Pocket, and, when re-formed in the Netherlands from ex-Luftwaffe ground personnel, it
was but a shadow of its former self. The replacements-officers and men- were poorly trained for their role as infantry, and there was a lack of cohesion to the extent that during the
offensive individual units quite often went completely their own way regardless!
Responsibility for this poor state of affairs fell to the lot of its commander, Generalmajor Ludwig Heilmann, a Fallschirmj?ger veteran of Crete and Russia who had won fame at the head of
Fallschirmj?ger-Regiment 3 in Sicily and Italy and been awarded the Swords to the Knight’s Cross at Monte Cassino. The division moved into the Bitburg area at the begining of
December and was not badly off for assault guns as it was given the support of Fsch.Stu.Gesch.Brig. 11, under the command of Oberstleutnant Hollander, though inevitably below
strength, at twenty, according to Oberst i. G. Rudolf von Gersdorff, the army chief-of-staff.
352. Volks-Grenadier-Division
The original 352. Infanterie-Division had been destroyed in Normandy during the summer, and 352. Volks-Grenadier-Division came into being on September 21 by changing the number of
the 581. Volks-Grenadier-Division then assembling on the border with Denmark at Flensburg. Its replacements came mainly came from the Kriesgmarine who therefore possessed little of
no fighting experience of ground fighting after a period of training which lasted to mid-November, the division was moved to the Bitburg area to complete its organization, and by the end
of the month had taken over a section of the West Wall between Viaden and Echternach. The division’s commander, Oberst Erich Schmidt, considered it to be more than in good shape
for a volks-grenadier division, as it was almost at full strength and displayed a good fighting spirit. Its Stu.Gesch.Kp. 1352, formed at Milowitz, was said by Schmidt to have possessed no
more than about half a dozen Jagdpanzer 38(t) at the start of the offensive.
LXXX. Armeekorps
This corps was created in western France from the H?h.Kdo.z.b.V. XXXI and had its headquarters at Poitiers. It had been attached to 1. Armee unit October 1944 when it was transferred
to 7. Armee. The corps commander was General der Infanterie Franz Beyer.
276. Volks-Grenadier-Division
Following the almost complete destruction of the 276. Infanterie-Division in Normandy, a new 276. Volks-Grenadier-Division had came into being in Poland when the number of the 580.
Volks-Grenadier-Division was changed in September 4. Rebuilt around wounded veterans not long out of the hospital, the division was in poor shape, deficient in leadership and poorly
motivated. It was moved west from Poland on November 15 and completed it organization in the area between Bitburg and Echternach, although to mislead both local population and
Allied intelligence companies exchanged billets frequently. It moved up to the starting line between 352 VGD and 212 VGD during the two nights preceding the attack yet none of the
StuGs supposedly allotted its Stu.Gesch.Kp. 1276 at Milowitz.
212. Volks-Grenadier-Division
after three years on the Eastern Front the 212. Infanterie-Division had been badly shattered in the Autumn of 1944 during the withdrawal on the Lithuanian sector and its remnants
brought back to Schieratz in Poland for refitting. They were incorporated into the 587.Volks-Grenadier-Division assembling there, and the new division was renamed 212.Volks-Grenadier
-Division on September 17. Contrary to what happened with 276. VGD, the outcome was not to prove a disappointment. At almost full strength in manpower and well-proven
commanders, Brandenburger regarded it as his best division. It had left Poland at the begining of November and taken part of the West Wall south of Echternach. When moved north to
reach its start line on the eve of the attack only five StuGs had arrived from Mielau with its Stu.Gesch.Kp.1212.
LIII.Armeekorps
The LIII. Armeekorps was frmed at Danzig on November 11, 1944 from Generalkommando von Rothkirch which had previously controlled the area on the Eastern Front. It then moved
west and was given responsibility for the southern wing of 7.Armee. The corps commander was General der Kavallerie Friedrich-Wilhelm von Rothkirch. The forces under LIII.
Armeekorps command had the job of anchroing the left wing of 7. Armee along the rugged ‘moat’ of the Sauer and Moselle rovers, and consisted of a motely collection of low-grade
units: a punishment battalion, Fest.Inf.Btl.XIII/999; a machine gun battalion of fortress troops, Fest.M.G. Btl.44; and, well to the rear, and army school near Trier.
Engineers
Despite the fact that 7. Armee faced two wide rivers-the Our and the Saur -along the whole of its front, it was not provided the necessary additional engineer units. On December 12
Brandenberger complained to Jodl about this ‘catastrophic situation’ but his army was given no more and had to make due with the following:
a) three engineer battalions-
two battalions of Pi.Brig.(mot.) 47, and Baupionier-Btl.677;
b) one bridge building battalion-
Pi.Br?k.Btl.605;
c) four bridge columns equipped with Br?ckenger?t B-
Br?cko 964, Br?cko 965, Br?cko 966 and Br?cko 961;
d) one bridging columns equipped with with Br?ckenger?t J-
Br?cko 974.
Also assigned to the army were two regiments of OT-Brigade 1.
Assault Units
The 7.Armee was alloted a battalion armed with static anti-tank guns, namely s.Pz.Jg.Abt. 501 (fest), and two battalions of towed anti-tank guns, Pz.Jg.Abt. (mot.Z.) 657 and Pz.Jg.Abt.
(mot.Z.) 668.
Artillery
Augmenting the artillery strength of its four divisions, 7. Armee was allotted:
a) two volks-artillerie corps-
Volks-Art.Korps.406 and Volks-Art.Korps 408;
b) two volks-werfer-brigades-
Volks-Werf.Brig. 8 and Volks-Werf.Brig. 18;
c)five heavy batteries
H.Art.Bttr.1092, H.Art.Bttr. 1093, H.Art.Bttr. 1124, H.Art.Bttr. 1125 and
H.Art.Bttr.660;
d)one heavy mortar battery-
M?rs.Battr.1122.
This gave the 7. Armee a total of 381 guns (just 76 of them 150mm or over) and 248 rocket launchers. Of these, 140 were 150mm, 54 were 210mm and 54 were 30mm.
HEERESGRUPPE B RESERVE AND OTHER UNITS
The single division in reserve on the eve of the Ardennes offensive over which Heeresgruppe B had direct control over was 79. Volks-Grenadier-Division.
79. Volks-Grenadier-Division
The original 79. Intraterie-Division had been destroyed during the summer around Jassy in Romania. The new 79. Volks-Grenadier-Division came into being on October 27 by a change in
number of 586. VGD, which was assembling at Thorn (Torun) in Poland since September. When it left for the West on December 11 the division was in poor shape, and lacking in
transport and with neither its anti-aircraft nor anti-tank units. Its Stu.Gesch.Kp.1179, equipping with Jagdpanzer 38(t) at Mielau, failed to appear in time.
Engineers
The range of engineer units available to Heresgruppe B included construction
engineers (baupionier-battalions) and others required for different tasks-for instance, Schneer?um-Kompanie 226 to carry out snow clearance. Different altogther were the combat or
assault engineers (pionier-battalions) and such units as the Panzer-Pionier-Kompanie 813 equipped with miniature wire-guided tracked ‘Goliath’ demolition charge carriers.
Four bridging columns were allotted: Br?ckenkolonne or Br?ko 888, Br?ko 921, Br?ko 969, Br?ko 956, each with standard Br?ckenger?t B steel pontoon briding equipment capable of
spanning a fiver fifty meters wide and bearing up to ten tons, or half width and taking double the weight. (Br?ckenger?t J pontoon bridging equipment which could span up to eighty-five
meters and take up to 30 tons-or fourty meters and seventy tons-was also in service with the armies)
There was also two labor regiments of OT-Brigade 5 belonging to the Reich’s utility service and semi-military, all-purpose construction and engineering concern, Organization Todt.
Taking OT-Regiment 2 as an example, it consisted at that time of 1,500 German and 800 foreign workers.
Artillery
A unit of long-range railway guns was alloted to Heeresgruppe B. This was the Eisenbahn-Artillerie-Abteilung 725, comprising three batteries: E-Battr. 674, with one 24cm Th.Br. K gun
having a range of 28 kilometers; one 24cm Th.K. gun, range 28 kilometers, and one 27.4 cm K 592(f) gun, range 30 kilometers; E-Bttr. 668, with one 28cm K 5 gun, range 60 kilometers and
E-Battr. 749 with two 28cm K 5 gl. which had a purported range of up to 125 kilometers!