 Rundstedt noted the difficulty of holding encircled American troops once the operation began, due to the lack of sufficient infantrymen.New infantrymen received a maximum of eight weeks worth of training, and the new divisions were deficient of anti-tank and artillery weapons; their make-up was at best eclectic, as divisions were formed from the remnants of units which had taken heavy casualties in fighting in the West or on the Eastern Front.Some new infantrymen had been recruited from occupied territories in the East, and so many new soldiers did not even know German.