The start of the operation had to be postponed several times, due to difficulties in assembling the 9th and 116th Panzer Divisions. Allied bombing and a shortage of petrol caused considerable delay in the scheduled assembly of troops and equipment for both divisions. These had to be re-routed by train and road transport from the fighting at Aachen. II SS Panzer Korps' attack, originally set for September 29, therefore was shifted to the following day. By then however both Panzer Divisions had arrived without their tank units and had to be supported by armoured units already present, and only one regiment of the 116th Panzer Division had arrived. The 9th Panzer Division had organised itself into two assault groups: Kampfgruppe Volker on the left, which consisted of the II/Panzer Grenadier Regiment 11; and Kampfgruppe Reich to the right consisting of II Panzer Grenadier Regiment 10. Volker supported by a company of heavy Tiger II tanks of the 506th Heavy Panzer Battalion, was strike first to the South of Elst near Heuvel. The 9th Panzer Division's primary target was the Elst area, and from there the division was to move further south towards Nijmegen bridge.