The 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment was in contact with the German forces along the Neder Rijn front in the Netherlands. They were located on an island just below Arnhem between the Neder and Rhine Rivers. In early November of 1944 they were relieved and sent down to Mourmelon Le Grande, an old Napoleonic barracks in Northeastern France.The 501st was sent down to Mourmelon to rest up and make repairs on equipment. The small amount of training received was geared to preparing the troops for an offensive into Germany sometime in the upcoming Spring.