L0810

In December 1944, three days into the Battle of the Bulge, the headquarters of Third Army was operating on almost no sleep. Officers and staff had gone roughly 72 hours without proper rest as the German counteroffensive developed across Luxembourg and Belgium. It was in that setting that a 28-year-old captain named Thomas Raeburn was … Read more

In March 1945, the Third Army was pushing east of the Rhine. A single German infantryman walked out of a tree line with both hands raised, with no weapon visible anywhere on him. Two American soldiers took him into custody at a checkpoint outside a small town the Third Army had secured the previous day. … Read more

In April 1945, the war in Europe was two weeks from ending. Everyone could feel it. The 45th Infantry Division had just liberated Dachau, and the SS guards who had not fled were still on the grounds when the Americans arrived through the gates. What happened next happened fast. The soldiers of the 45th had … Read more

In April 1945, the war in Europe was two weeks from ending. The 45th Infantry Division had just liberated Dachau, and the SS guards who had not fled were still on the grounds when the Americans came through the gates. What happened next happened fast. The soldiers of the 45th had just walked through a … Read more

In March 1945, as the Third Army pushed deeper into Germany, General George S. Patton was riding in his Jeep through a recently captured town. It was a routine inspection of the advance, the kind of trip he made often in the final months of the war. A column of German prisoners was being marched … Read more

In May 1945, four days after Germany's surrender, Gen. George S. Patton's Third Army was shifting from combat operations to occupation duties. Patton was touring his sector, conducting the kind of unannounced, on-the-ground inspection he had carried out throughout the campaign to verify what was actually happening against what his reports described. He arrived at … Read more