Over the next two months, the division saw heavy fighting to the south and east of Metz, suffering very heavy casualties. On November 8, a USAAF air raid hit the divisional command post. With the "Götz von Berlichingen"'s combat units in tatters (the 38th SS Regiment had been reduced to a strength of about 800 men by November 15, 1944) and with no command structure, Hitler authorized the division to withdraw from Metz. The 38th SS Regiment was largely destroyed at Metz and reformed in November with troops from the SS training regiment "Kurmark". The remnants of the division pulled back to the Maginot Line, near Faulquemont to rest and refit. During this time, the "Götz von Berlichingen" was transferred to "SS-Gruppenführer" Max Simon's XIII SS Corps. US forces liberated Metz on November 22, 1944.