 Although ordered to wait " until every tank , gun and plane was assembled " , Kluge and SS General Paul Hausser ( commanding the German 7th Army , which held the western part of the front ) decided to attack as soon as possible , before the overall situation deteriorated further . The main striking force assigned was the XLVII Panzer Corps , commanded by General Hans Freiherr von Funck . Instead of eight Panzer Divisions , only four — one of them incomplete — could be relieved from their defensive tasks and assembled in time ; the 2nd Panzer Division , 116th Panzer Division , the 2nd SS Panzer Division and part of the 1st SS Panzer Division , with a total of about 300 tanks . The Panzer Corps was supported by two Infantry Divisions and five Kampfgruppen , formed from the remnants of the Panzer Lehr Division and four equally battered infantry divisions . 
