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, Schneeräum-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: Brückenkolonne or Brüko 888, Brüko 921, Brüko 969, Brüko 956, each with standard Brückengerät 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. (Brückengerät 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!