In 1998, the famous American director Spielberg directed a war movie "Saving Private Ryan". In the film, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Admiral Marshall, for humanitarian reasons, arranges an 8-man squad to brave the rain of bullets to go deep into the German-occupied areas to save Second Class James Ryan and send him safely to the rear.
Patton, a famous American general during World War II, did a similar thing, organizing a unit to go to the German-occupied areas to rescue a prisoner of war who was locked up in a prisoner-of-war camp. The difference is that Ryan, the soldier rescued by Marshall, is not related to him, while the prisoner of war rescued by General Patton is his son-in-law.
What's going on?
That was in 1945. In March of that year, Patton led the Allies on the Western Front to break through the German Siegfried Line and penetrate deep into the German hinterland. In the face of the powerful Allied offensive, the German army was gradually defeated. When Patton's army arrived not far from Fort Hammel in Bagoria, an order was given to the 37th Tank Battalion of the 4th Panzer Division to form a task force to go to the German 13B Officers' Prisoner of War Camp at Hamelburg to rescue the prisoners of war.
Because, in the POW camp, There was Lieutenant Colonel John Waters, Patton's son-in-law. Previously, Waters was fighting in North Africa, where he was captured by the Germans in Tunisia and held in the German 13B officers' prisoner-of-war camp in Hammelburg.
The 37th Tank Battalion received the order and formed a task force, commanded by Captain Alaborham Baum, which was named "Baum Task Force". The Baum detachment consisted of 303 men, carrying 10 Sherman tanks, six Stuart tanks, 27 half-track vehicles, and more than a dozen other vehicles.
Usually, it is very dangerous to send a small detachment deep into the enemy's hinterland. Many staff officers suggested to Patton that the size of the contingent should be expanded, or that a regiment should be sent to avoid being annihilated by the Germans. But Patton refused.
On 26 March, the Baum contingent departed. They tore a hole in Aschaffenburg, the weakest German defense line, and immediately entered the German occupation zone. After a day and a night of action, they finally found the 13B Officers' Prisoner of War Camp, 80 kilometers from the base camp, and after a brief exchange of fire, eliminated the German defenders and found Waters.
By this time, the operation of the Baum contingent had been relatively smooth. However, what they never expected was that Waters was wounded by the Germans during the rescue, and the wounds were still very serious, and there was no way to take him away, but to stay in the hospital of the prisoner of war camp. In this regard, the rescue operation of the Baum task force has been declared a failure.
There were more than 1,000 prisoners of war in the 13B Officers' Prisoner of War Camp, all of whom hoped to return with the vehicles of Baum's task force. The Baum contingent stipulated that officers of the rank of 0-4 (major) or above could get on the bus, and the rest of the prisoners of war could only walk back behind the car. After some confusion, Baum's contingent set off with more than 200 prisoners of war on their way back.
When Baum's task force rescued the 13B officer prisoner-of-war camp, the Germans were not idle to watch the hilarity. Nearby Germans discovered the whereabouts of Baum's contingent and set up barricades on their way back to base camp. The Baum contingent had to move forward and clear the roadblocks, which took a lot of time.
However, the trouble with The Baum Task Force had only just begun.
The Baum task force made its way back to its base camp, passing through a German training ground. The training ground was home to more than 100 well-trained Anderkers with excellent marksmanship. After receiving orders to intercept baum's contingent, they had already been ambushed in the woods on both sides of the road, waiting for the baum contingent to penetrate into their pockets.
Late on the night of March 27, Baum's detachment arrived at the training ground and was ambushed by the Germans. Although Baum's contingent had more than a dozen tanks, it was defeated in the face of the German bazooka attack without a counterattack. During the battle, many prisoners of war on foot were killed and wounded, and the remaining prisoners of war had to surrender and were sent back to the 13B officers' prisoner of war camp.
The Baum contingent retreated as it fought, retreating to a nearby 427 high ground, ready to be defended from above. However, German reinforcements soon arrived and attacked the heights. Isolated, Baum's task force surrendered to the Germans and ended the rescue operation.
Throughout the rescue operation of the Baum Detachment, a total of 247 officers and men were wounded or captured, 32 officers and men were killed, and only 24 successfully broke through and returned to the Allied base camp. Baum, the commander of The Baum Task Force, was wounded in battle and became a prisoner of the Germans. Later, Captain Baum summed up the tragic experience of Baum's task force this way: "I thought about it, hell, what the hell did we do?!" ”
On 6 April, the Allies launched a full-scale attack, which captured the 13B Officers' Prisoner of War Camp and freed all the prisoners, including General Patton's son-in-law, Waters.
Baum's task force was completely destroyed, leaving Patton's face in disgrace. After all, in March 1945, the Allies were advancing on all fronts, but one of his military operations was a crushing defeat. Later, even Eisenhower was alarmed and approached Barton to inquire about the cause and effect.
Years later, in his later years, Patton was full of chagrin at the military operation, believing that it was the only major mistake he had made on the European battlefield: "I dare to pack a ticket, and in the whole of Europe I have not made any major mistakes, except this time - I have not sent enough troops to conquer the prisoner camp at Hammelburg!" ”