In February 1945, the full 42nd Division entered combat and took up defensive positions near Haguenau in the Hardt Forest. On February 27, the division went on the offensive. It attacked through the Haardt forest, broke through the Siegfried Line from March 15 to 21, and cleared Dahn and Busenberg, while units of Third Army created and expanded bridgeheads across the Rhine. The 42nd Division moved across the Rhine on March 31, captured Wertheim am Main on April 1, and captured Würzburg on April 6, following four days of intense fighting. After hand-to-hand fighting from 9 to 12 April, Schweinfurt fell. German forces in Fürth, near Nürnberg, put up fanatical resistance, but were defeated after combat on 18 and 19 April. On April 25, the 42nd Infantry Division captured Donauwörth on the Danube. On April 29, soldiers of the 222nd Infantry under Linden's command liberated approximately 30,000 prisoners at Dachau concentration camp. The 42nd Division ended World War II on occupation duty in Austria and was inactivated in January 1947. The 242nd Infantry Regiment's campaign participation credit included:   In April 1975, the New York Army National Guard's 142nd Tank Battalion was converted to Infantry and re-designated 1st Battalion, 242nd Infantry Regiment, a unit of New York's 42nd Division. This unit was inactivated in April 1984.