In compliance with General Eisenhower's direction, the Colmar Pocket was eliminated, and the U.S. 6th Army Group stood on the Rhine, from the Swiss border to a region well north of Strasbourg. The German 19th Army, although not completely destroyed, lost the bulk of its experienced combat troops (only the 708th Volksgrenadier Division escaped somewhat intact) and was forced to reform in Baden, using large infusions of inexperienced "Volkssturm" to replace its grievous losses on the plains of Alsace. The Germans left behind 55 armored vehicles and 66 artillery pieces. The elimination of the Colmar Pocket allowed the 6th Army Group to concentrate on Operation Undertone, its assault to penetrate the Siegfried Line and invade Germany, undertaken in March 1945.