PN1501

In April 1945, General George S. Patton was driving through newly liberated territory in southern Germany, outside the small town of Landsberg. The Third Army was advancing fast, German resistance was collapsing, and towns were surrendering every day. As his jeep passed a makeshift holding area, Patton noticed something that stopped him cold. American soldiers … Read more

In late January 1945, near the German border in Eastern France, General George S. Patton received a three-page intelligence report about a German POW camp that had just been overrun. The language was clinical. The numbers were not. The report described 380 American prisoners. Their average weight at liberation was 94 pounds. A year earlier, … Read more

In December 1944, as the Battle of the Bulge began, the Third Army was racing north to relieve Bastogne. Every man, every vehicle, and every ration counted. Among the units keeping the supply lines alive was the Third Quartermaster Truck Company, an all-black outfit that drove through the night, through artillery fire, and through roads … Read more

In January 1945, the Soviet Union launched a series of massive offensives into German-held Polish territory. The attacks led to the capture of Warsaw and Krakow and, against weak German opposition, carried Soviet forces into East Prussia and Silesia, eventually threatening Berlin itself. By February 1945, Soviet spearheads halted after advancing 300 miles west. The … Read more

On March 23, 1944, sixteen members of the Italian Resistance concealed themselves along the Via Rasella in Rome. They were well armed with machine pistols and revolvers hidden under their clothing as they mingled with the Roman crowds. One of them pushed a rubbish cart along the road, occasionally stooping to pick up discarded rubbish. … Read more

After World War II, German generals spent years explaining why they lost. They disagreed about almost everything. Some blamed Hitler. Others blamed each other. Some pointed to bad strategy, bad timing, or the sheer difficulty of the task. But when the discussion turned to one American general, something unusual happened. The arguing stopped. These were … Read more