Airborne Command decided to cut its losses. On 17 March 1944, the 542nd Parachute Infantry Regiment was deactivated and reactivated as the 542nd Parachute Infantry Battalion, utilizing the 3rd Battalion, 542nd Parachute Infantry Regiment. 400 men were sent as replacements to the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, then fighting in the Anzio beachhead on the Italian Front.