15. Armee
As the opening of the attack failed to create the conditions for the follow-up operation in the north 15. Armee was not involved as planned, and on December 18 the two mobile divisions asigned for the thrust from the Venlo area-the 9. Panzer-Division and the 15. Panzergrenadier-Division - were placed in OKW reserve amd moved south to the Eifel from where they were committed to the battle. Later two infantry divisions were moved south: 340.Volks-Grenadier-Division and 246.Volks-Grenadier-Division.
9.Panzer Division
Formed in January 1940 from 4. Leichte-Division, it fought in the Netherlands, Belgium and France; then in 1941 in the Balkans and Southern Russia, moving to the central section in October and taking part in in the summer offensive in 1942 and at Kursk in 1943. Transferred to the southern sector again in the autumn, it was heavily engaged in the battles in the Dneper bend and, having sustained continuing heavy losses from late 1943, was withdrawn from in March 1944 to Southern France where it was combined 155. Reserve-Panzer-Division. It was moved up to fight in Normandy in August. After the withdraw from France, it was engaged in the Venlo counter-attack and in counter attacks in the Aachen area against the First US Army. After undergoing a short-term refit it was earmarked for ‘Wacht am Rhein’. On December 10 the division’s Panzer-Regiment 33 was at the following operational strength: I. Abteilung, twenty-eight Panzer IVs; and II Abteilung, thirty-seven Panthers. The Division’s Panzerjäger Abteilung 50 had ten Jagdpanzer IV/70s operational.
15. Panzergrenadier-Division
Formed in May 1943 as Division Sizilien (Sicilian) and incorporating the remnants which escaped from Tunisia, it was designated 15. Panzergenadier-Division in July and fought in Italy until the beginning of September 1944, when transferred to France. In Lorraine it fought in attempting to counter the Allied advance in the West and in subsequent local counter-attacks, being moved north and engaging in similar attacks from the end of October in the Venlo and Aachen sectors. On December 10 its Panzer Abteilung 115 possessed fourteen IVs and thirty StuGs, and its Panzerjäger-Abteilung 33 twenty Jagdpanzer IV/70s and eight Stugs.
Artillery
In addition to those artillery units with its thirteen divisions 15. Armee was assigned:
a) three volks-artillerie corps-
Volks-Art.Korps 403, Volks-Art.Korps 407 and Volk-Art.Korps 409;
b) two battalions of light guns-
H.Art.Abt.843 and H.Art.Abt.992;
c) one battalion of heavy mortors-
Mörs.Abt.628;
d) one battery of heavy guns-
Fest.Art.Bttr. 1076;
e) six battalions of heavy guns-
H.Art.Abt. 1193, H.Art.Abt. III/139, Fest.Art.Abt. 1513, Fest.Abt. 1301, Fest.Art.Abt.1308, Fest.Art.Abt.1310
According to the document ‘Artillerie-Ausstattung der Herresgruppe B’ dated December 14 this brought the artillery strength of 15. Armee to 792 guns and mortars, of which 177 were 155mm or over-a total length of the 100-kilometer front held by 15. Armee, part of it outside the area of projected operations.
Assault Units
Alloted to 15. Armee were two assault gun brigades, Stu.Gesh.Brig. 902 and Stu.Gesh.Brig. 341; two assault gun companies, Stu.Mörs.Kp. 1000 and Stu.Mörs.Kp. 1001, equipped with the huge Tiger Mörser, and a battalion of towed anti-tank guns, the Pz.Jg.Abt.(mot.Z)682. Like most of the German units at this date, they were below strength. Stu.Gesch.Brig. 902 possessed twenty StuGs on the eve of the offensive; the nominal establishment for such a brigade being over forty-five. There were only three Tiger Mörsers in Stu.Mörs.Kp. 1000 and four in Stu.Mörs.Kp. 1001; so, for all its impressive size, this mobile assault rocket launcher which fired 380mm spin-stabilized projectiles was too few in number to be of more than limited tactical value.
Some of 15. Armee’s artillery and assault gun units were transferred south to the attacking armies. Thus Stu.Gesch.Brig. 902 and the two Stu.Mörs.Kp. were already assigned to 6.Panzer-Armee on December 16.
Engineers
To supplement its divisions’ engineers 15. Armee received the following units: Pionier-Btl. 16 (assault engineers);Baupionier-Btl. 434 (construction engineers); bridging columns Brüko 992, Brüko 885 (both with B equipment) and Brüko 914 (with J equipment); and two regiments of OT-Brigade 2.