Tiger I nickname "Tiger" by Ferdinand Porsche, and the Roman numeral was added after the later Tiger II entered production. The initial designation was "Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausführung H" (‘‘"Panzer VI version H"’’, abbreviated "PzKpfw VI Ausf. H") where 'H' denoted Henschel as the designer/manufacturer. It was classified with ordnance inventory designation "SdKfz 182". The tank was later re-designated as "PzKpfw VI Ausf. E" in March 1943, with ordnance inventory designation "SdKfz 181". Today, only seven Tiger I tanks survive in museums and private collections worldwide. The Tiger 131 at the UK's Tank Museum, which was captured during the North Africa Campaign, is
Wehrmacht forces for the Ardennes Offensive army was made up of the I SS Panzer Corps, commanded by General Hermann Priess; this corps included the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend, 3rd Panzergrenadier Division, and the 12th and 277th Volksgrenadier divisions. The I SS Panzer Corps also included a number of ad hoc vanguard units, including Kampfgruppe Peiper (forming part of the 1st SS Panzer Division), which contained a panzer battalion (72 mixed Panzer IV and Panther tanks) from the 1st SS Panzer Regiment, the 501st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion (45 Tiger Is) and the 3rd SS Panzer Grenadier