PN1501 In December 1944, the Ardennes Forest in Belgium had become a frozen nightmare. The Battle of the Bulge had just begun, Hitler's last desperate offensive, and German forces had smashed through Allied lines. The weather was the worst Europe had seen in decades, with snow, ice, and wind that cut through every layer of clothing. … Read more
Normandy, June 6, 1944. As the Western Allies began their amphibious landings along a 45-mile stretch of coastline, thousands more men were already engaged in life-or-death battles inland to keep those coming ashore safe from enemy gunfire. Of all the many actions that day, one immortalized on screen in the series Band of Brothers has … Read more
Sapevo che qualcosa non andava nel momento esatto in cui il telefono vibrò per un invito in calendario invece che per una chiamata. Non so spiegare perché, ma fu quello a darmi la prima scossa. Un invito formale, con tanto di sala riunioni prenotata, da parte dello studio legale che seguiva gli affari della famiglia. … Read more
In December 1944, General George S. Patton Jr. was everywhere at the front, riding in his Jeep through the frozen mud of Luxembourg and France. But one cold morning near Nancy, France, a scene unfolded that had nothing to do with the Germans. A white first lieutenant stood face to face with a black second … Read more
In March 1945, in Germany, a supply sergeant named Harold Vance noticed a shortage in his inventory that he could not explain through normal consumption. Flour, potatoes, and canned vegetables had been taken in small amounts at irregular intervals over a period of three weeks. The quantities were not enough to disrupt operations, but they … Read more
Don Carlos of Spain had an inbreeding coefficient of 0.211. A child born to first cousins scores 0.0625. He was 3.4 times more inbred than that. The version of Don Carlos most people carry in their heads comes from an opera. Verdi's Don Carlos, premiered in Paris in 1867, gives you the beautiful doomed prince, … Read more
In late July 1944, Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower stood over a map table in Normandy, tracking the progress of George Patton's Third Army. The blue line representing Patton's advance should have been near Avranches. It was not. It was 40 miles beyond. An aide updated the position again. Now it was 60 miles past … Read more
Few monarchs in Spanish history have been judged as harshly as Ferdinand VII. Historians who have studied his reign tend to reach the same conclusion: that he was cruel, vindictive, and sexually deviant in ways that shaped the fate of a nation. Yet the full story of his marriages, his deformities, and his obsessions is … Read more
Perched above the rugged peaks of the Bavarian Alps, the Kehlsteinhaus—better known to the world as the Eagle's Nest—remains one of the most striking surviving relics of the Nazi era. Completed in 1938, the building sits more than 6,000 feet above sea level, overlooking the village of Obersalzberg and, far below, the town of Berchtesgaden. … Read more
Charles II of Spain was born on November 6, 1661, in the royal Alcazar of Madrid. He was the only surviving son of Philip IV of Spain and Mariana of Austria. His father was his mother's uncle, making the child both grandson and great-nephew to the same man. His birth was not merely a political … Read more