Y1806

On August 17, 1943, General Dwight D. Eisenhower sat in his headquarters in Algiers. The war in Sicily was ending, and it was supposed to be a day of victory. But on his desk sat a report that made his blood run cold. It was not a report about German tanks or casualties. It was … Read more

On October 14, 1944, a green army car waited in the lane outside the Rommel family house in Herrlingen, a village in the hills above Ulm. Inside sat two generals sent personally from Hitler's headquarters. In the hallway, Germany's most famous soldier put on his leather coat, picked up his field marshal's baton, and turned … Read more

In April 1945, as Germany collapsed and Allied forces liberated camps across Europe, General George S. Patton toured a facility in Bavaria that had just surrendered. He was there to assess conditions and ensure American prisoners were being treated properly. What he found would lead him to deliver a lesson in basic justice. The camp … Read more

In March 1945, a captured Panzer general was brought to Third Army headquarters in Germany. He was tall and rigid, the kind of Wehrmacht officer who still believed Germany could win the war. His uniform was immaculate despite days in captivity, and his Iron Cross was still pinned to his chest. Intelligence officers wanted to … Read more

In September 1944, the Third Army was fighting its way through the Moselle Valley in France. Over three days, 12 American officers were shot. None of them fell in combat or in assaults on fortified positions. They were shot while doing the ordinary work of command in the open, moving between positions, reading maps, and … Read more