When George Patton died on December 21, 1945, Dwight Eisenhower received the news in his Washington office. For three years, Eisenhower had walked a careful line—publicly disciplining his most effective general while privately depending on him to win battles no one else could. He defended Patton to politicians, apologized for him to allies, and restrained … Read more
The Nuremberg trials are the most famous postwar proceedings against Nazi leaders, but they were not the only courts to deliver justice. Following Germany’s surrender, many high-ranking generals faced execution for war crimes committed during World War II. Some of these men were tried by Soviet tribunals, others by Allied or Yugoslav courts. Their cases … Read more
George Smith Patton Jr. was born on November 11, 1885, in San Gabriel, California, into a family with deep military roots. His lineage included ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and the Civil War, with relatives dying at the Battle of Winchester and at Gettysburg. This legacy of service shaped his upbringing and his … Read more
In the spring of 1879, on the edge of the Llano Estacado in Texas, a Texas Ranger named Cases Holloway rode out alone to track a single man. Holloway was 41 years old, a veteran of 18 years with the Rangers, and by his own quiet count, the last man left from the company he … Read more
In the autumn of 1881, an entire community of 312 people vanished from a small valley in west-central Pennsylvania. The settlement, known as Yarrow Pass, was not destroyed or burned. It was simply left empty, with meals on tables, beds made, and a town prepared for daily life that never came. The valley was isolated, … Read more
Alfred Jodl rose through the German military to become one of Adolf Hitler’s most trusted officers. As chief of the operations staff, he was at the center of Nazi Germany’s war planning. Yet his final act was signing the document that ended the war in Europe. Jodl’s last words before his execution were, “I salute … Read more
In August 1944, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force was deep in planning. General Dwight Eisenhower stood over a map of France, calculating distances, supply requirements, and realistic timelines for the next phase of the Allied advance. The breakout from Normandy had finally succeeded after months of brutal fighting in the hedgerows. The phone rang. It … Read more
DATELINE: DACHAU, GERMANY — The stench of death hung over the rail siding like a physical shroud, a mixture of human waste, lime, and the sweet, cloying rot of thousands of unburied corpses. When the lead elements of the U. S. Seventh Army’s 45th Infantry Division breached the gates of the Dachau concentration camp on … Read more
On the morning of October 1, 1946, in Nuremberg, Germany, the International Military Tribunal delivered its verdicts. After more than ten months of proceedings, 21 of the most prominent political, military, and economic leaders of Nazi Germany stood to hear their sentences. They were held accountable for the unspeakable atrocities committed during the Second World … Read more
In January 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge, American medic Daniel Strickland was captured near Bastogne. He was taken when German forces overran the aid station where he was working during the chaotic retreat. Strickland was held for three days in a farmhouse cellar behind German lines. During that time, Wehrmacht intelligence officer Captain … Read more