On October 24, 1944, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 141st Infantry Regiment, part of Dahlquist's 36th Division, moved to secure the right flank of the 3rd Division near the French town of St-Die. When the German forces counterattacked, the 1st Battalion was separated and cut off. After two days of attempted rescue by the other two battalions of the 141st Infantry, Dahlquist sent in the 442nd RCT, which had borne the brunt of the 36th Division's fighting for the previous eight days. The 442nd would suffer 800 casualties, including 121 dead, during the five days it took to rescue 211 men of the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry. Major General Lucian Truscott, commanding the VI Corps (under which unit the 36th Division was serving), considered relieving him of his command.