After recuperating from his wounds, Dawson rejoined his unit in France, and after the break out at St. Lo, he led his company in the advance across France and into Belgium, engaging in a number of actions against the Germans. From Belgium, the 1st Division was engaged in the battle at Aachen, Germany in September and October 1944. Dawson's G Company (along with I Company) held off German counterattacks for thirty-nine days during the battle for Aachen on, what was called in contemporary papers and is still called in U.S. Army history, "Dawson's Ridge." This ridge sat astride the main route that for the German attempts to relieve the city of Aachen, which Hitler had ordered to be defended at all costs. G Company lost 117 out of 139 men during the battle for "Dawson's Ridge." For this action, Dawson's command was honored with the Presidential Unit Citation.
