Wehrmacht Forces For The Ardennes Offensive - Wehrmacht Dispositions

Wehrmacht Dispositions

By December 1944, German forces defending against continued Western Allied offensives were organized into four separate army groups; three (Army Groups H, B. and G) fell under the command of Field Marshal von Rundstedt, while the fourth (Army Group Öberrhein) fell under the command of Heinrich Himmler. Army Group H, containing the Twenty-fifth and First Parachute Armies was commanded by Luftwaffe Colonel General Kurt Student, while to his south lay Model's Army Group B, containing the Fifteenth, Sixth Panzer, Fifth Panzer and Seventh Armies. The Sixth and Fifth Panzer armies, as well as the Seventh Army, were slated to take part in the upcoming Ardennes offensive. Model's southern flank was protected by Army Group G, commanded by General Hermann Balck, which was composed of the German First Army. In total, the attack would involve thirty divisions, including twelve panzer divisions—roughly 240,000 men.

The offensive's main effort would come from the Sixth Panzer Army, commanded by SS General Sepp Dietrich. The core of the Sixth Panzer Army, composed of four Schutzstaffel (SS) panzer divisions, had been withdrawn from battle early and had gone through a period of rest and refit, redeploying to the front in early November. This army was made up of the I SS Panzer Corps, commanded by General Hermann Priess; this corps included the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, 3rd Panzergrenadier Division, and the 12th and 277th Volksgrenadier divisions. The I SS Panzer Corps also included a number of ad hoc vanguard units, including Battle Group Peiper (forming part of the 1st SS Panzer Division), which contained a panzer battalion (72 mixed Panzer IV and Panther tanks) from the 1st SS Panzer Regiment, the 501st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion (45 Tiger Is) and the 3rd SS Panzer Grenadier Battalion. Under the 12th SS Panzer Division was Battle Group Kuhlmann, containing the 1st SS Panzer Battalion (80 tanks) and the 560th SS Heavy Panzer Battalion. Also in the Sixth Panzer Army was the II SS Panzer Corps, offering the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich and the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen. Finally, Dietrich's army also included the 326th and 246th Volksgrenadier divisions, forming the 67th (LXVII) Infantry Corps under the command of General Otto Hitzfeld.

South of Dietrich's forces was General Hasso von Manteuffel's Fifth Panzer Army. Manfteuffel's army was formed up by the 66th Infantry Corps (18th and 62nd Volksgrenadier divisions), 58th Panzer Corps (116th Panzer Division and 560th Volksgrenadier Division), the 47th Panzer Corps (2nd Panzer Division and 26th Volksgrenadier Division), the Panzer-Lehr-Division and the Führer Begleit Brigade. Although held as a reserve, the Panzer-Lehr-Division was officially attached to the 47th Panzer Corps. The Fifth Panzer Army was tasked with supporting the Sixth Panzer Army's left flank, and breach the Meuse River by the third day of the offensive. The Fifth Panzer Army was positioned directly opposite the American 28th Infantry Division.

The third army which was to take part in the impending German offensive was General Erich Brandenberger's Seventh Army, which was tasked with protecting the Fifth Panzer Army's left flank and tying down Allied reserves in Luxembourg. This army included General Baptist Kniess' 85th Infantry Corps (consisting of the 5th Fallschirmjäger and 352nd Volksgrenadier divisions), General Franz Beyer's 80th Infantry Corps (276th and 212th Volksgrenadier Divisions) and Kavallerie Graf von Rothkirch und Trach's 8th Infantry Corps. These three armies offered five panzer divisions, thirteen infantry-type divisions (airborne and volksgrenadier) for immediate assault, and another two panzer divisions and a panzer brigade in immediate support; these represented 70% of the strength which Hitler had originally decided to allot to the Ardennes offensive.