High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Wehrmacht forces for the Ardennes Offensive were the product of a German recruitment effort targeting German males between the ages of 16 and 60, to replace soldiers lost during five months of fighting against the Western Allies in France. Although the Wehrmacht was keeping the Allied forces contained along the Siegfried Line, the campaign had cost the Germans nearly 750,000 casualties, mostly irreplaceable. However, the rapid advance had created a supply problem for the Allied armies. By October, the progress of the Western Allies` three army groups had slowed considerably, allowing the Germans to partly rebuild their strength and prepare for the defense of Germany-proper. German chancellor Adolf Hitler decided that the only way to reverse his fortunes would be to launch a counteroffensive in the West, forcing the United States and Great Britain to an early peace, and allowing the Wehrmacht to shift its forces to the Eastern Front, where it could defeat the Red Army.