La Roquette, Company E distinguished itself and received a commendation from General Frederick. The RCT's momentum was slowed by a line of enemy fortifications extending from the Maritime Alps to the sea. On 3 September, a small force from the RCT drove into Monaco, liberating it from the Germans who had just left following a naval bombardment. However, the Germans attempted to hold a series of forts at all costs. On 5 September, Company D succeeded in taking some high ground near Col de Braus. Heavy fighting ensued. Companies G and H were successful in capturing Col de Braus. A step closer to the heavily defended Sospel Valley. The 1st Battalion, supported by 460th fire, pressed into Peira Cava. A red-letter day of the campaign occurred when Ventebren and Tete de Lavina were captured by the 2nd and 3rd Battalions. The remainder of September was spent digging defensive positions in and around Peira Cava. The 517th RCT now held a thinly manned front, using mines and booby-traps to take the place of troopers. Attacks on Hill 1098 ended the month with the roar of artillery duels echoing through the Maritime Alps. Despite heavy artillery fire, a patrol from Company F pushed into Sospel on 29 September. The Germans withdrew as Company B moved up to occupy Mount Agaisen. The siege of Sospel was over after 51 days of continuous fighting. Troopers fanned out in pursuit of the enemy. 517th involvement with the campaign was terminated on 17 November 1944. The RCT marched 48 km to La Colle. On 6 December the RCT moved from La Colle to entrain at Antibes for movement to Soissons and assignment to XVIII Airborne Corps. The 517th PRCT suffered over 500 casualties and had 102 men killed in action. On 15 July 1946, the President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic issued Decision Number 247 awarding the French Croix de Guerre to the RCT. Ardennes-Alsace (Battle of the Bulge) All elements of the RCT were quartered in Soissons by 10 December. Every American airborne unit in Europe was now part of General Matthew B. Ridgway's XVIII Airborne Corps. This included the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions just back from the Netherlands and the 517th and other separate units up from the Mediterranean. Additionally, the 17th Airborne Division was now in England and was scheduled to come across to France in the near future.