By the September of 1944, the Wehrmacht had been pushed into Germany proper, after being defeated in France by the Western Allies. The 1st, 2nd and 12th SS Panzer Divisions, as well as the 9th and 116th Panzer Divisions were off the front line for a rest and refit. In October, the responsibility of the Aachen sector's frontier's defense was given to General Friedrich Köchling's LXXXI Corps, which included the 183rd and 246th Volksgrenadier Divisions, as well as the 12th and 49th Infantry Divisions. They later gained 506th Tank Battalion and 108th Tank Brigade, numbered roughly 20,000 men and 11 tanks. Köchling was also promised a reformed 116th Panzer Division and the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division, numbering a total of some 24,000 personnel. The 246th Volksgrenadier Division replaced the 11