Six or seven divisions (mostly armored or mechanized) would serve as reserves for this offensive.

Limmer also told the three commanders that, in support of the Ardennes offensive, he would order Army Group H to launch an auxiliary offensive from the 12th SS Panzer Zone, a bridgehead west of Sittard and Gelenkirchen on the Maginot Line. As soon as the enemy pressed heavily on the flank positions established by the 6th SS Panzer Army, the auxiliary offensive immediately began.

The far-reaching objectives of the proposed offensive did not arouse some of the surprise and doubts of the commanders present at the time of the initial directive. The commanders concerned unanimously agreed that the troops assigned to this task were sufficient to carry out an attack on a 125-mile frontal under autumn conditions, and that it would be sufficient to accomplish the task of annihilating 35 to 50 enemy divisions.

Given the unfavourable terrain, the difficult roads, and the general condition of the available vehicles, it will take at least four days. By that time, the enemy may bring in sufficiently strong forces to successfully hold the Maas River. Therefore, the commander of Army Group B, Manstein, advocated limiting the offensive to cutting off the salient of the enemy troops wedged into the German Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) line and plugging the gap opened by the enemy in the western wall.

The most, they felt, they could do was to drive the Allies back from the Ruhr back to the Maas, and perhaps take the next day. Li Mo replied:

"I agree in principle with this kind of military action that you suggest, after all, you are the commander of the first line, and all tactics are formulated by the British according to the actual situation."

In the course of further discussions, it became increasingly clear that there was a careful understanding of the Allied knowledge of the condition, weapons, equipment and training of the existing forces. The current Allied forces are still very strong in combat.

After the discussion on 4 November, Li Mo learned in writing that the commander of the Western Front had come to the same conclusion alone. It would be better for the two Panzer armies not to cross the Maas River for the time being. After a successful breakthrough, they should be turned to the north and northwest so that the left flank of the 5th Panzer Army was covered by the Maas River.

However, according to the commanders of the forces on the Western Front, even this much more modest modification could only be expected to succeed if the Luftwaffe could provide at least partial temporary air superiority at a decisive moment after the bad weather on which the initial breakthrough had been covered had passed. Because the strength of the Allied forces has become 600,000 from 300,000. And the number of German troops used to annihilate the Ardennes was almost 600,000. What's more, the Germans also had to take care of a huge encirclement, so the forces were even more dispersed, but fortunately, the Allied supply lines were cut off, and their ammunition was getting less and less.

Moder and Manstein did not doubt it. The army group, which was tasked with the offensive task, would in fact succeed in breaking through the Allied lines. But they emphasized. Extremely important. The two friendly armies (the Fifteenth Army to the north and the Seventh Army to the south) should have enough forces to pin down the enemy forces in front of them.

If the enemy can withdraw strong forces from unthreatened areas to use against the flanks of the German vanguard assault forces, then. The latter's assault power will inevitably weaken, as the flanks lengthen, the vanguard will have to draw more and more troops to protect it. The inevitable result is that, after a few days, the forces concentrated in the vanguard will become too weak to achieve their objectives.

The two commanders then proposed that, in support of the main attack, the Fifteenth Army should attack from the area of Sittard-Gelenkirchen, so that the two armies could complete the encirclement near Tongres, northwest of Liège. If successful, this operation would encircle the British and American forces between Sittard and Monsau.

If the situation develops in favor of the attacking army group, then the offensive on Nancy, which was planned by the Operational Directorate of the German Western Front Command, could still be carried out after the rapid redeployment of the troops. A detailed discussion ensued, as the implementation of the plan required the transfer of the main offensive from the 6th SS Panzer Army to the 5th Panzer Army, and consequently the redeployment of troops, although there was still time to consider this issue. Anyway, it was the Allies who were surrounded, and the Germans could choose the time to attack calmly.

In a conversation with Limer, Field Marshal Moder and the commander of the Fifth Panzer Army stressed that, in their opinion, the implementation of Limer's plan was indispensable for the rapid capture of Bastoni. They believed that in the first two or three days after the attack was launched, the enemy's counterattack from the north against the two Panzer armies east of the Maas River would not be very strong, at least at first, and that the Fifteenth Army would be able to contain the enemy forces in the area.

They believed that behind the enemy's first-line divisions, there were no comparable reserves that could be immediately thrown into battle. Therefore, they also believed that after the Fifth Panzer Army broke through to the Maas River, it might encounter only a few weak enemy forces. On the other hand, they thought that the enemy in the south would soon react strongly.

This meant that by that time, the Seventh Army should have provided effective protection for the flanks of the German units advancing westward after a successful breakthrough, which by this time had been greatly extended. This necessitated the effective use of the enemy's reserves to attack the southern flank of the vanguard assault force. However, the forces at the disposal of the Seventh Army for this task appeared to be inadequate, just as its equipment and mobility appeared to be inadequate. By the way, the commander of the 7th Army fully agreed with these views.

All the participating units have been carefully calculated by the Operations Bureau of the German Western Front Command, and they will definitely be transferred in time, and all arrangements have been completely agreed by Li Mo.

Field Marshal Modell, Rundstedt and Manstein, and General Westfahr, Chief of Staff of the Western Front Command, had a final discussion. Field Marshal Moder made his point of view with openness and conviction.

The basis for his views is his in-depth understanding of the weaknesses of the existing German army, and his in-depth understanding of what the German army can do in the second year of the war.

On 11 and 12 December, Li Mo summoned the commanders of the troops (down to the division commander level) who were going to take part in the offensive to the general headquarters of the Western Front. Most of the generals present at the meeting were confident in the speech of the German command on the Western Front, because the battle plan was very complete.

The absence of an adviser independent of the three services of the German armed forces, whose personal influence was on a par with the commander of the three armed forces because of his relationship with Limer, proved once again to be a very disadvantageous factor, especially during these crucial weeks. (To be continued......)

PS: Acknowledgements:

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